Can you hear your valves?
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Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 278
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From: Tallahassee FLorida
Can you hear your valves?
I wondered today how many of you have valvetrain noise. Mine seems to only occur when under load. Doesn't happen in park or neutral with revving, just when I give the engine strain/gas pedal. How noisy i 
s yours?
s yours?
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Haven't really noticed any noises in mine. I'll be driving it today, so I'll take a listen and see. All I hear usually is the "marbles in the can" type noise from the tranny. 
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 23,283
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From: Lake Elsinore, CA
What you're describing sounds more like detonation/ping than valvetrain noise to me. Rattling under load is usually a sign that detonation is present. The noise I noticed most when my car was still stock was primarily due to the injectors.
The valvetrain noise I experience due to my heads/cam is distinctive from detonation which I did experience a bit this summer with the car in high rpm/load conditions. 1/4 tank of 100 octane fuel eliminated it.
The valvetrain noise I experience due to my heads/cam is distinctive from detonation which I did experience a bit this summer with the car in high rpm/load conditions. 1/4 tank of 100 octane fuel eliminated it.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 575
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From: Richmond Hill Ontario
Valvetrain noise
You should not hear any valvetrain noise with a hydraulic roller camshaft if everything is working as it should. If you had a collpased lifter you would hear a ticking noise most likely.
The noise you're hearing is most likely 'pinging' also known as detonation. This is serious and can cause severe engine damage. Make sure you're using good quality gas with a sufficient octane rating (minimum 91) and if possible, use a higher octane. Although the knock sensor should signal the PCM to retard the ignition timing in order to prevent pinging, you need to make sure the knock sensor is working.
High mileage cars can suffer from this as deposits get built up in the combustion chamber effectively raising the engines compression ratio. A good fuel injector or combustion cleaner (not the stuff you put in the gas tank) flushed through the system by the dealer or local shop should help. You didn't mention if your check engine light had come on at any time.
Hope this helps you.
The noise you're hearing is most likely 'pinging' also known as detonation. This is serious and can cause severe engine damage. Make sure you're using good quality gas with a sufficient octane rating (minimum 91) and if possible, use a higher octane. Although the knock sensor should signal the PCM to retard the ignition timing in order to prevent pinging, you need to make sure the knock sensor is working.
High mileage cars can suffer from this as deposits get built up in the combustion chamber effectively raising the engines compression ratio. A good fuel injector or combustion cleaner (not the stuff you put in the gas tank) flushed through the system by the dealer or local shop should help. You didn't mention if your check engine light had come on at any time.
Hope this helps you.
