2009 Honda accord 3.5 V6 200k miles. Loud tapping noise that sounds like it’s coming from the front left/middle of the engine. “Where I circle the wrench in the video”.

Checked the timing belt tensioner and that is good.

The tapping/knocking sound goes faster with higher rpm


Struggling to find a YouTube video or forum with a similar sound/issue. Hoping someone here has an idea or experienced this before.

“The noise the mic picked up through the video makes it sound louder than it is in person. Still very noticeable in person tho”

 

I can't open the video once downloaded. Regardless, sounds are tough to diagnose over the web.

Just to rule out items driven by the serpentine belt, remove the serpentine belt and start the engine. If the noise remains, then you ruled out all of those items.

If the noise is internal to the engine, then I'd suspect something in the valve train like a broken valve spring or the vtec actuator. You'd have to pull the valve cover to investigate. Maybe search vtc actuator noise for Hondas on YouTube to hear if the sound is similar to your sound.