First post... bear with me.

Specs: 256,xxx miles
2003 civic LX
Manual
1.7L SOHC


So i was driving down the freeway cruisin' at 80 and i look down and oil light came on.. i lost power then the car shut off... so i coast over to the shoulder and try to restart... it cranked and fired but there was a horrific knock coming from under the hood and i immediately turned it off. Towed it back to my house and tore into it.. turns out the timing belt skipped a few teeth (knock sensor must have detected it and turned it off). so i replaced the timing belt, water pump and tensioner. timing is dead nuts. started the beast up and she ran.

PROBLEM: She runs smooth, but is still making what sounds like a knock or scrapping noise (obviously its hard to describe a sound). Again, i shut it off immediately.

QUESTION: What could cause this noise? Could i have bent a valve slightly?

This is my daily driver so the sooner i get an answer the better..


UPDATE: I used a video scope to look at the pistons, and they are dinged up. therefore answering my questions as to what the knocking is.

 

Running out of oil will ruin the crank and rod bearings, causing a loud knocking sound from the bottom of the engine called "rod knock". Replace engine.

 

I just recently had it in for an oil change. I check the oil level now and it is full and clean. I get a oil change every 3000-5000 miles. Well, i did at least...

 

If the oil light came on, there was lack of oil pressure. Usually that is because the oil pan is empty, but it could be the pump, filter, etc. Anyway the bearings starve for oil.

 

I took the head off. Looks like the intake valves nicked the piston in three cylinders. I got another head from my local salvage yard and am getting it machined and pressure checked. Im just gonna slap that on and hope it didnt tweek a dogbone. Id post pictures... But i cant figure out how to do it since im on my phones internet browser.

 

With the head off, you can check that all the pistons come up to the same height, which should be nearly even with the top of the block. Running on the freeway with no oil pressure I'm almost sure you're going to have problems with the bottom of the engine and you should replace it.

 

YoU are exactly right sir. I HAD to of thrown a bearing or something. Do you think its worth fixing at 208,000 miles? Im on the fence about it cuz a new si would look awesome in my driveway too...

 

Doing the work yourself, a used engine won't be very expensive. You can still get more miles out of it or if you sell it it will be worth fixing first.

 

I'd replace the engine. Even if the bottom end is ok a "half rebuild" by doing the head is usually not good for very long. It'll cost a lot less than a new Si.

 

i had the same issue with my car, im still trying to figure out what the noise is, ive been told rod knock, but the same exact thing happened to me. going down the highway doing 80 and the car shut off. when i looked at the dip stick, it was dry, although i had just changed the oil about a week ago. ive been told rod knock. new engine required. mine is about 210k so im iffy abouta rebuild. what was your end result?