I'm with Brillo if it is a loud tick I think it's more likelly a valve lash issue. I won't be surprised to hear you mechanic say something like, "I fixed the injector tick but there's still another noise" or " the injector noise was covering the other noise". I really hope your mechanic is right.

I do too but he sounded pretty confident. I don't trust too many mechanics but this guy has been good to me and knows his stuff. He's highly referred in the NSX and S2000 crowds and has NSX engines spread all over his shop. Also a fun guy to talk to about SCCA racing and mountain biking.

I understand nothing is certain until it is but it's in good hands. I will also ask that he check the valve lash while the covers are off.

I would definitely check that valve lash as that to me sounds like a valve. As injectors mostly dont have that whap sound they just tick. Being that valve cover cracked open is probably when your sound got louder. But I could be wrong. We shall see keep us posted.

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Y'all scaring me a bit. Mainly because the cylinder bank making the noise is the passenger side. Driver side VC is cracked. I don't believe the pass is but I haven't had the intake off to see the whole thing. Mechanic seemed pretty busy today so I hope he warmed it up enough. Noise is minimal to none when engine is cool. We'll see what happens I guess.

Joining Brillo & plcfncg and sticking with valve lash as the culprit.
Increased noise once the oil is hot certainly points in that direction.
Either way hopefully you’re on your way to a quiet and well running 4TR since I hate the thought of the road salt on the belly of that S2000!
Best of luck and let us know how you make out.

I have done 3 head gasket jobs while I don't know the service records on them before I got them they all needed a valve adjustment. Because of your mileage you will most likely be out of spec. My feelings are to budget for the valve adjustment this may add a couple of extra hours on the bill and the cost of shims. Glad you have someone that is familiar with this type of adjustment it is a bit involved. Let us know how it turns out.

I think it's been said before, but neither the injector tick or a valve lash being too tight is a "must fix" sort of thing. It will drive just fine with no risk of damage if you don't repair.

Now the cracked valve cover is an issue, in that it's causing a vacuum leak. Will mess up your gas mileage & cause a rough idle.

I agree with Jared on this one. Valve cover critical. The fuel injectors and valve flash are secondary issues.

Why did a valve cover crack is I am wondering at this point.



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If replacing the valve cover and gaskets it would most definitely be a good opportunity to check the valve lash, especially given the fact OP mentioned the noise has grown noticeably louder over past several weeks.
Unless of course no funds for the additional process.

Only one thing can crack a valve cover, that's user error in overtightening the bolts. Some people misread the FSM which says somewhere around 40 in/lbs and torque it to 40 ft/lbs. Boom, cracked valve cover. Normally the bolt will strip first though (done that one...).

Either that or the cylinder head blew up and send the camshaft into the cover lol!

I was thinking a bad cast of the cover as I have never seen a cover crack under normal circumstances.

Ah the misprint got them. That makes more sense.

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Correct on user error. When I bought the truck with 18x,000 on it, it had recently had the valve cover gaskets replaced. I was more concerned about looking at overall condition when I bought it and did not notice the cover had been cracked. Wouldn't have stopped me from buying it anyways. I am guessing that the mechanic that did the gaskets overtightened and cracked it. My mechanic also found a few vacuum lines that were cracked and some other odds and ends (swaybar end links and such). Oddly, it was running pretty well though MPG was pretty suspect (16-17ish for mostly highway) but not awful. All is being fixed at this point.

A different 3rd gen was my first vehicle and I've loved having this one as a daily the past 4 years, 40k miles. I've put most my time/effort/money towards the S2k but the 4Runner will be taken care of. I'd rather be doing the work on my own and have deferred most until I get a garage. To this point, I've done everything to avoid it dying or killing me (fluids, brakes, tires, axle seals, lbjs, radiator). It shot tranny fluid all over the place 2 weeks into my ownership, avoiding the pink milkshake for a broken cooler line. Lucky it did it when it was new to me and I was still walking around it before long drives. I heard fluid coming out and saw it, shut it off immediately. S2k went on a rescue mission, in December, finding the nearest OEM radiator at a stealership. After a cold, 1.5 hour ride with a truck radiator in my passenger seat with the top down and I got it buttoned up.

This particular one is in pretty good shape overall, clean body, no accidents, was one owner with pretty good maintenance, minimal rust for a north-east truck. I'll be happy to be caught up on basic maintenance and may finally consider doing nice-to-haves sooner than later. Things like a bluetooth radio, fixed climate control, driver seat, and install that OME suspension I bought a while ago would all be really nice. It just seemed dumb to do to a truck that really needed maintenance. FWIW, S2k hasn't been driven in salt yet... Uber FTW until it rains over the weekend or at least dries up.

I wanted to close this thread out so that if it is searched in the future, the people have answers. You're welcome future peoples... I got the truck back last week and all is well. Luckily, the mechanic was correct that a loud injector was my issue. The truck also had some much needed maintenance including valves checked, valve cover gaskets + cracked VC replaced, Timing belt, Water pump, vacuum hoses replaced, fuel filter replaced, fuel line replaced, injectors replaced, and Front + Rear end links replaced.

I think my mechanic also did me a few favors including bending my running board back into place so that my slightly taller tires don't rub when turning left at 3/4 lock. He also found me a used fuel door because the hinges were bent on mine causing it to not open completely. My wallet is lighter but the truck feels much better and now I actually trust it on road trips. For the peace of mind, completely worth it.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I'll also give a shout out to Ben at Daisy Import Auto (Woodbine, MD) in case anyone in Maryland is looking for a good shop.

Nice. Sounds like a trustworthy mechanic. Sometimes you just need to let them do their thing.

great to hear having a trusted Mechanic is a great comfort.