mine ticks too ive been tryin to figure wat that was 4 a while.

 

Mine has been ticking louder than when it was new and I now have 21k
I read somewhere in the maintenance schedule about adjusting the valves if noisy. I got a recall in the mail and when I take the fit in for that ill ask them to check out the ticking noise too.

 

I have been running the max octane in the state of California (91) since I purchased the car, been using MOBIL 1 every oil change 5W 20 as recommended, using a Lucas product called FUEL INJECTOR CLEANER every 2/3 gas fill.
In addition I DO NOT MOVE my Fit until that cool engine light goes OFF. As a matter of fact my car doesn't move until the RPM's read around 890/900 RPM's....IMO it is extremely BAD to run your car until it is completely warm.
My Fit takes a daily beating by me. I am hard on my car and it purrz like a kitty!!! But keep in mind Honda's tend to be a bit noisey as well. Hope this helps.

 

hey tony i thought you might be interested in the following thread since you mentioned warming up your engine before driving. you could be right but you should check this out anyway. This article doesn't give much information but if you just google the topic there's a lot more out there.
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...tml#post226219

 

I read this before, but still maybe it is just superstition. DUNNO. IMO the car runs much smoother warm then when cold...what are your thoughts?

Thx Tonyd

 

yeah i agree that a car doesn't run well when cold. i think everyone should be able to agree with that as it is a fact that it doesn't work well when it's not at operating temperature. but i do believe that driving the car easy when it is cold is a more effective way to warm-up the components than letting the car idle. driving it easy helps circulate more cold oil to mechanical components, offering better protection than less cold oil being circulated. and the car gets to operating temperature in a shorter amount of time when you're just accelerating smoothly and keeping the rpms down.

i used to always idle my car for warm-up (because it's something my dad taught me to do), but after some research in the past, i think it's better to warm up the car while driving now. my dad still thinks otherwise but really, it shouldn't make much of a difference because even if his way was wrong, the cars he's owned have lasted 180k+ miles with no engine or smog problems WHATSOEVER. (also he only used fram filters because they were the cheapest lol, and nothing bad ever came of that either...just an interesting fact because everyone says frams suck). so in conclusion, i don't think there is too much to worry about when it comes to which technique you use to warm-up the car as long as you're warming it up.

 

Well stated!! It's certainly is a pain in the *** to warm up the car for like 8/9 minutes in the morning.. especially when your running behind. Thx for the relpy.

tonyd

 

13,600kms had to a valve lash adjustment. getting in the head I realized a few things.. The valves are alot more "verticle" to the combustion chamber than other Honda motors. there's room for much bigger valves .. maybe 2mm diameter bigger. If your hard on your motor like i am.. expect to get the valves adjustd every 10k miles or so.

 

After startup I let it idle 60 seconds, then stay under 3K and no hard acceleration until a couple minutes after the light goes off.

Don, I can't possibly imagine that jewel of a valve train needing to be adjusted every 10K miles unless you are near red line most of the time. I like to drive "VTEC on" when I can, shifting at 5K or so and keeping it revving, and my valve train is still perfectly smooth at warmed-up idle at 9K miles thus far.

Honda set the valves more vertical so they could narrow the engine via utilizing only one rocker shaft for both intake and exhaust, the first engine maker to design a SOHC that way, as I'm told. It really is a sweet motor. The exhaust manifold under that heat shield is a gorgeous stainless steel header. There are some sweet photos here:
http://asia.vtec.net/Series/FitJazz/lseriesphoto/

 

...and here's the tech article that shows the valve angles:
http://asia.vtec.net/Series/FitJazz/lseries/

 

of the 14900km's on my car around 4k of those were at the track or mountain roads up north etc. My fit is sorely abused...then m wife drives it, chatteres the clutch, downshifts with no attempt at rev matching.. often 5th gear going 110km/h down to 3rd etc. I abuse it for the sake of fun.. she just abuses it like a redheaded stepchild.

 

The reason of tick is a large gap valve....
It's very easy to adjust it. Next time I do it I'll post some pictures....

 

yeah longest part of th whole thing is getting off the intake manifold. Adjusting the valves takes about a half hour

 

That's pretty funny! I have read in the shop manual that I have to drop the intake manifold in order to remove the valve cover. Sounds like it is quite do-able in your experience, which is great! Once my valves start to sound funky, I will take the plunge. Believe me, after a 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera valve adjustment done successfully, it doesn't intimidate me. The Fit still runs great at approaching 10K miles. I am looking forward to driving it with the summer OEM Dunlops, since I had to mount snow tires the day I bought it.

Peace,

Dennis

 

still waiting on alf's diy on a valve lash adjustment

 

BINGO!

Lately, Honda injectors are ticking louder and louder. Nothing to worry about. If u really have some valve adjustment issues, u WILL know.

Using fuel injector cleaner is overdoing it, esp every tank. Most top tier fuel companies already add a load of their own detergents and cleaners, so there is no need for it. Once every 2 oil changes is understandable, but every fill up is not good.

 

I use AMS Oil's new PI every 6k miles or so. The bottel says every 4k miles but I always use 93 Octain Shell gas when possible so I don't see the need in cleaning them so often either.

And I've got 50k miles in my, probably aroun 600 of those are hard driving at the track and the other I drive it hard every day, I'm addicted to rev matching. I change my oil ever 7.5k - 10k miles with AMS Oil 0W-20 and a brand new AMS Oil Ea Oil Filter. I've been using this oil since its 4k miles and my engine bay has always had the same ammount of ticking noise. I had a CEL turn on that pointed to a valve rocker but after inspection at the dealership it was determined to be a faulty sensor that got fudged up by my body shop leaving the car overnight without a hood and letting it get rained on for a few days straight. (At the body shop touching up rock chips from front bumper and hood).

So my vote, its totally normal, after 50k miles I haven't needed a valve adjustment and she still sounds as good as new. Heck after 50k miles in less than two years with lots of hard driving but good maintenance schedule TLC my L15 is just FINE. For the record at the dealership they did open my valve cover to check things and everything was ok and they did not perform a valve adjustment.

 

Honda ECU will adjust how much fuel is dumped into the motor to help warm up the engine at start ups in cold weather.

 

I Have The Same Problem With My 09 Mugen Fit W/ 20K, Next Oil Change I Might Try Some Lucas Oil Stabilizer Because My 04 Srt4 Had The Same Problem Till I Used The Stabilizer. Hopefully It's Not To Thick For Such A Little Motor!

 

If it is genuinely valve lash caused, then using Lucas OS will quiet it down for sure.. but the potential issue of excessive intake lash is still there. Also, the silent but deadly twin problem of diminishing exhaust lash gets missed.... There are several threads around the topic of loss of power/ rough idle/ hard start due to lash out of adjustment.... The executive summary is that most L15's need a lash adjustment around every 30k miles.