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Ep3 possible timing chain or tensioner fault

siezar

siezar

Messages
4
First post and as always its someone looking for help:

My gf's 02/03 ep3 with 90000 miles has been making a rattle noise on cold startups and she once let the oil level drop too low about 3 months ago (they drink a bit of oil, so i now believe. It was filled up immediately after I checked it). She told me last week it was kangarooing while she drove it home from work so I took it out for a spin the next day(after checking the oil was ok). It did the usual rattle but it seemed fine when driving easy. Once it was warmed up i pushed it and the vtec was engaging but much weaker than usual.
I work away from home a lot so I told her to take it to the garage to check it and get a service anyways.They changed the plugs, oil and filter(could have been more but I doube it for £105). They supposedly had a look at it(no mention of them checking the alignment o the pulleys and chain though) and said it was driving ok but to keep an eye on it for a few days and if it happens again it may be the chain and tensioner which would cost £700+. Well, it happened again on the drive home from the garage!

What do you guys think? Are these possible symptoms of a slipped/stretched chain(lack of oil affecting the hydraulic tesioner) when im home next weekend or next I'll check the timing marks on the pulleys to see if they align and I'll check the chain is sitting on the correct pulley

Honda have quoted £215 for the chain and tensioner.

I have the workshop manual and im thinking of changing it myself. Is there anything I should be wary of or any special tools I need? I'll have a thorough look through the procedures on the manual tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks in advance.
 
Hi siezar when did she last have a value adjustment done on her car?
Might be nothing to do with her problem but they can rattle if they need adjusting according to Honda
They should be checked every 25,000 miles
 
If the car is kangarooing from past experience with other cars it could be a head gasket but that would be like it all of the time!
 
Has it thrown any fault codes at all? Jumped timing chain normally throws up at least one.
 
If the chain had already jumped a tooth then you would have bad running from start up on every start up and throughout the rev range, a stretched chain would give a rough running and a luck of power as the stretch is putting the timing out. for it to run ok then start to kangaroo, rattle on start up that then fades, previously low on engine oil and weaker than usual vtec.

chain tensioner springs to mind.
 
Thanks for the reply folks.

It has a full service history(not honda though) so I'm guessing the valves were adjusted at 75000.

There doesn't seem to be any water in the oil for the head gasket to have failed. Unless there are other symptoms?

How do I check for fault codes?

I'm going to order a chain and tensioner from honda for when I go home not this weekend but next. They've said that I can return them if I don't use them, which is GREAT!

How do I check the chain tensioner? Should I check the tension of the chain while the car is cold or should I heat it up before taking the rocker cover off?
 
If it wasn't serviced at Honda I would bet it hasn't been done so many garages don't realise they need adjusting most just assume they are self adjusting Honda will charge around £80 to do it well worth trying that! You can buy a fault code reader but I've heard before that sometimes they don't pick up all the codes! Honda or any good electrical car specialist should be able to check and reset if needed
 
But if you want to check and adjust the valves yourself there is a thread Mr the forum somewhere for it! Personally I would rather Honda check it!

I may be wrong but cold would probably be best mainly cause your liable to burn yourself if you touch something hot! Honda I would imagine would work on it when cold not hot due to health and safety reasons! Which I was told only today as mine has gone in for some work to be done
 
Click here for fault codes and here for tappet adjustment, though the link contains the K20A3 settings not K20A2 (I'm looking for them at the moment).

EDIT.

Settings are 9 Inlet and 11 Exhaust.

And another posts states:

Intake:

0.21 - 0.25 mm (0.008 - 0.010 in.)

Exhaust:

0.25 - 0.29 mm (0.010 - 0.011 in.)
 
I'd say if your trying this yourself It's hard work! Trying to undo the bottom pulley is a nightmare and snapped a 24" powerbar!

First off I'd check timing as Lottie's post above but the pictures dont show that the chain also has coloured links (blueish) which also align.
This should show if the chain has jumped teeth from slack chain, faulty tensioner etc

Also there is a small panel you can remove to look at the tensioner without removing the whole side plate of the engine.
 
Had the same problem with the chain bro, When i started the car from cold i would get a little noise for the first few secs till the chain lost its slack. (only when cold)
New chain and tensioners sorted the problem out, Oh yeah i did have a faulty tensioner that was the main problem.
Only had the car in for the valve clearances ending up paying £500 for new chain and tensioners aswell lolz. Not sure on the kangarooing bro never had that problem :(

Edit: £200 new chain nice bro mine was £420 with tensioners from honda cannock
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sorry about the text speak: bad habit using my iphone.

Things have got very bad!!

My girfriend got her car back from honda with the new timing chain and tensioner and she told me over the phone(I'm working away from home at the moment) that it was running great. When I got home last weekend I took it for a spin and immediately noticed there wasn't any vtec even though the car was indeed running smooth and starting without any chain noise. Well...she took it back into honda on monday so they could have a look at it and they've came back saying the oil pump needs replacing. They told her that since the oil pump isn't working properly(causing the vtec to drop out) there may be wear on the big end bearings which would need replacing, quoting £1700.

Now my issue is that they charged us a mandatory £50 to run a diagnostic before any work was done to the car and, I'm guessing, this should have been flagged up. Is it possible they never ran this diagnostic and just replaced the chain etc? They are saying that they couldn't have known the oil pump wasn't working correctly because they couldn't start the car due to the chain slipping. BUT, could the chain slipping not have been cause by the oil pressure in the first place???? AND, why did they give us the car back when the oil pump is faulty??? They obviously never checked it after they did the work

We are really p1ssed off because we've just spent £600 on the car 3 months ago on the MOT, £650 on the chain and now this.

:-(
 
I had the same problem,my car was noisy from cold i took it to honda and quoted me £1400 for a new chain,tensioners and oil pump obviously labour was included in the charge. is there any suggestions where i could get it done cheaper ? leicester area/midlands
 
Hi - I have just done my Timing chain and Tensioner. I was quoted £1000 to get it done... Luckily I have a mate who knows what he's doing and together we sorted it out. Euro Car Parts do the Chain, Tensioner and Guides for £180.
There is a video on YouTube and it shows you how to do it all (I will try and find the link)

We are based in Northampton, so maybe a bit far to get the job done. But I could have a chat with him and see if he would take on the job for you?
 
Hi cheers for replying i found the link on youtube in the end but decided for myself that it's a abit of a mission to do,if you could have a word with your mate i would be thankfull.
 
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