Engine knock: DIY Rebuild?

schmiddr2 · Jan 8, 2013

Well if you drive it till it throws a rod and damages the block, it will really seem not worth it as the value of the car will drop like a rock.

Like I said, get a mechanic friend to come over, take off the pan and diagnose the problem. It will cost you an oil change, but that obviously is not the worst that can happen. Most likely the crank needs some repair, but maybe not and you can just use a plastigauge and get over-sized bearings.

http://www.plastigaugeusa.com/how.html

Although, if the oil pump is bad or weak then you will only be making a temporary fix.

Akingkhan · Jan 9, 2013

K thicker oil where ur @ isn't a good idea
I say fu€k it drive it till it blows up if ur lookin 2 do a swap any way
Just think of it this way ur motors wishes were D.N.R. (Do not resuscitate or in your case Do not repair)

MusicMan374 · Jan 9, 2013

Well I don't really care about the resale value of the car, I figure by the time I would have traded it in for a used from a dealership anyway it would only be worth $1000 or less. I'm more concerned about its immediate maintenance costs. I don't think it's going to throw a rod, mechanic said it wasn't rods or pistons, could be balance shaft, or something else midblock, or it could even be an arbitrary noise and the engine could run another 100k. Who knows, not worth the cost of figuring it out, and definitely not worth the cost of repairing it, whether it blows or not.

If thicker oil won't help then I won't bother, just a thought, I know some people do it. I just had an oil change last week, so I'm wondering if it's a drainback valve in the new oil filter that's defective. If so, does it matter a whole lot? After it goes off after about 3-5 seconds, it doesn't come on again at all until I start the car again when it's cold or been sitting for 30+ minutes. If it really does matter I'll replace the filter. If it's an oil pump giving me early signs, I'll probably just get rid of the car because it's becoming too much to handle financially. I don't have the income to support something that's going to suck over $1500 a year in repairs alone. What does it cost to replace an oil pump anyway? I mean if it's just a sending unit or oil filter that's simple enough. But if it's an oil pump (how could it be at 107k?) I could be in trouble. I swear I have the lemon of lemons.

Sil2DrV6 · Jan 9, 2013

I realized that you're @ 20 min away from my town.

PM'd.

BlkCurrantKord · Jan 9, 2013

Replacing the oil pump is basically doing a timing belt & water pump job. Everything on that side of the motor will come off.

Do yourself a favor, check the oil level, make sure its correct before you go jumping around to all these possible things that might be wrong with it. Even if you have a rod knock, it's not going to shoot the rod through the block.

MusicMan374 · Jan 9, 2013

Yeah, checking oil level was the first thing I did, it's fine. Honestly, I'm probably just in a pessimistic mood about the engine, and I know to check the cheapest things first and work my way up. Probably just a bad oil filter. Not gonna let it bother me right now. If it really does become a problem, I'll go buy or rent an oil pressure gauge and check the levels myself, it's probably nothing.

Thanks for all of your help, hopefully this knock just ends up being arbitrary and it lasts me another few years!

Russianred · Jan 9, 2013

cleansleeper said:
A knock is never really a good sign. I've never heard of an engine rebuild with it still in the car.

It is possible to do a 'race' rebuild, when the oil pan is dropped, the endcaps are removed from rods, and crank is manipulated until each rod and piston combo come out free for necessary maintenance from the bottom.

Snoobly · Jan 22, 2013

Just so you know, assuming you don't pull engines everyday, It will take you longer than 6 hours to replace it if that's the route you go. I just put a new Junkyard engine in my car. It took a total of probably 30 hours. But I was also replacing other small things and the fact that I'm turbo added some time too. It's really not a hard job to do though. Take everything out, unbolt the engine, and pull it. new 300-400 dollar junkyard engine in. That's a lot cheaper than taking it to a shop. That I can promise.
GL with the whole ordeal.

jwong512 · Jan 24, 2013

Thicker oil won't help with knocking but it would definitely help to run high mileage oil. They help with prolonging the lifespan of the motor and minor cleaning of the internals. I personally use Mobil 1 5W-30 High Mileage and a Purolator Pureone filter off Amazon. After about two oil changes, it has smoothened out the revs in my car and has lowered the amount of oil burning from 1 quart every 1500 miles to every 3000 miles now. I would recommend doing the first change with his high mileage oil at 3000 miles. It will clean out a good amount and you want to replace the oil and filter soon to make sure it's cleaning properly. Afterwards, you can continue to do an oil change every 5000 miles. If you want more information about this oil, you can read up on bobistheoilguy. You can pick up a 5 quart jug easily from Walmart for less than $30 and the Pureone filter on Amazon for $5-$6.

It's not worth it to rebuild the F23 whether you take it to a shop or do it yourself. Majority of these motors last forever unless they've been highly abused or haven't followed proper maintenance intervals. You could probably find one in decent condition at a junk yard for a reasonable price. The only time I would ever consider putting the time, effort, and money into rebuilding the motor would be for performance.

Just my 2 cents and good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Slowfinger · Feb 17, 2014

It seems I may have the same problem as you too! (Quick stats: 2002 Accord Coupe, F23A1 w/ 5spd, only 120,000Kms!) I've started noticing this very faint knocking sound about 8 months ago, it seems it would come and go. I even went to show my mechanic buddy about a month ago, but I couldn't get it to do it. Well, about two weeks ago I noticed that annoying "helicopter/knocking" sound linger a bit longer than normal, even when I drove the car for an extended period of time or when I revved it around the 2000 rpm range (±300) when in neutral, the knocking was still there. I tried to isolate the noise using a mechanic's stethoscope and I placed it all over the engine, but from the top I could not hear the sound as definitive as I wanted it to be. Well, the next day after work, I took it to the dealer and I had one of their senior mechanics diagnose the knocking noise I was talking about. We had to drive it around for a bit, to get the car warmed up good, as my work was close by. He was able to finally locate the sound when he had the car up on the hoist and one of the other mechanics was revving the engine to the 2000 rpm mark (±300). The sound was coming from the bottom end (you could hear it big time compared to when listening from the top), he said it was most likely the thrust bearing for the crankshaft, as the car is a 5spd. That explains why the sound still lingered when the plugs were pulled one at a time, thinking it was rod knock. He said this is somewhat common and not to worry. I ended up draining the oil yesterday (even though there was about 3000kms left before the next change), there was nothing noticeable when I strained it, the magnetic plug showed nothing, I even stuck a wire in the oil pan hoping to pull something, but nothing came out, just clear oil! I still think I may end up removing the oil pan just to be sure that it may not be something loose like the windage tray or some bracket of some sort. It's funny because I was talking to the service adviser the day I had the mechanic check it out, and we started talking about that maybe I should just sell it and buy a newer Accord. I laughed and then said, that I was going to but apparently the 4 bangers have some defect where they burn oil like crazy! It was the K24 engine, the same engine in the TSX (04-08), I know I'm kind of off topic, but my point is, it really doesn't matter what you get, there's always going to be something. :bawl: