dsidegzr

like the title says, i have a bad sputter problem. the car is a 99 integra gsr b18c1 with basic bolt ons. mileage-138,xxx. when i bought the car about 2 yrs back, it had a bad after o2 sensor and misfire codes. did a tuneup and got ngk iridium spark plugs, new spark plug wires with cap and rotor. the misfires went away. i got a new after o2 sensor put in and it cleared up my cel. i have an air/fuel gauge that tells me im running rich, its been like that ever since ive had the car. the car also backfired here and there. about 6 months back i got a cel and the code was a p1457, got a new charcoal canister because mines had a hole in it and it cleared the code. now down to the problem i have as of right now, about 3 months back, my spark plugs fouled up and i was running on 3 cylinders, got them replaced with ngk iridiums again and it ran fine for 5 mins, then everytime im at about 1/2 throttle, it sputters and backfires like crazy. when im at full throttle its fine, when its at no throttle it backfires every 3 seconds or so. 2 days ago my cel comes back on and its code po138. oh yea and not to mention, the car has bad piston rings and valve stem seals, burns oil like no other!!!

possible solutions but where to start?:
ETC sensor
MAP sensor
EGR valve
o2 sensors
injectors
another tuneup but it hasnt been long since its last tuneup

so the questions are:
-why is my car running rich and backfiring so much?
-how to clear code po138?
-other solutions with the sputtering?

1998GsRIntegra

Sounds like a combination of things.

O2 sensor may have gone bad again and is causing the ecu to dump to much fuel in.

If it burns as much oil as you say it does, it could be fouling up the combustion process.

To much fuel+oil does not make for a happy engine.

Compression test it and see how bad it actually is. If you come up with something like 130 across the board, that motor is in need of some serious help.

VegasInvasion

First off, V-Power copper-core plugs are better than Iridium plugs, stop spending your money on those stupid things.
Second...
FIX IT! Then replace your catalytic converter and O2 sensor which are probably destroyed from the oil & fuel carbons, and you should run fine again. DO NOT use oil thickening agents to procrastinate fixing your rings & seals. Get it done.

dsidegzr

****!!!! lol...as i was doing a compression test yesterday, we finished doing cylinder 1 and it was at 170, then as we were screwing the spark plug back in, we notice it just kept going and going, then when it stopped, it looked like it was barely in there. thats when my friend and i take a look at the compression tester and ****!!!, the adapter is still in there! we tried over and over again to get it back out with the compression tester but that didnt work, then we tried with another spark plug, nothing. so we went to sears and bought a long flat, hammered it in and tried turning it, all that did was stripped all the thread on the adapter. we got a smaller flat and stuck it in the small hole and hammered a few times, tried to turn it and the adapter cracked. so its 9 am and imma go pull this head off. who'd thought a freakin compression test would end up with 3 hrs of headache.

dsidegzr

ill take a few pics, and maybe this was a sign i needed to get my new guides and seals in. so while the heads pulled off, imma take it to the shop and have them do it. i'll go ahead and try to replace the piston rings myself. wish me luck!!

C-Rex1021

Good luck. I gotta do this too, but my engines tore down completely and i'm bringing it to a pro just to avoid the headache. Let me know how the re-ring turns out.

dsidegzr

thanks man. ill keep you guys updated, i had to go to work so all i did was take off the valve cover and loosened up some bolts. its 7:30pm in this cold a$$ mn weather but im determined to get this done asap. will be in the garage to do the rest tonight, will take pics as i go.

1998GsRIntegra

I hate to even mention this now, but if you loaded up the end of the compression tester you had in your hand with loctite, then threaded on to the piece stuck in the head you may have been able to get it off. I've seen people do that before. Good luck with the build.

dsidegzr

yea, its a little late for that...lol. i guess i shouldve read the million forums about that before i tried anything else. o well, i wanted to take off the head anyways, heres my chance to. thanks for the luck man!

Piro Frost

This sounds like an issue I was having, but I haven't let it get as bad as your saying. the sputtering at half rev sounds like map sensor. The way to test it is take a volt meter turn the car to the "on" position, but don't start the car. have your map sensor unplugged and test the red/white and green/black wire.

you should have 5 volts, if not.. bad ECU (or wiring). If yes turn car off plug the sensor back in and take two paper clips and shove them into the back of the plug while still plugged into the sensor. turn car to "on" position check the voltage again (same wires) and you should now have 3 volts, you you have more or less than that bad MAP sensor, if its OK it could be ECU.

This is only if the MAP sensor is the only issue. If your idle also seems rough, clean up your pvc valve with some carb cleaner. I'm speaking from experience on my 01 integra GS. I haven't got it ls/vtec yet.

dsidegzr

thanks for the info, i'll try this after i do get the head off and back on and running. i was working on it just earlier and my buddie and i was taking the IM bracket off. then we decided it got too cold so we stopped.

Built4Battle

Try checking your TPS
my car was also doing that after i did a swap sputter like crazy and when you rev it back fired loud as gun shots and ****
so me and my homie did a valve lash iono how it did but it fixed it stopped sputtering after hope that helps

dsidegzr

alright, ill try that as well. thanks for the info....keep them coming!

lsvtechatchy

sounds exactly what im having problems with, i want to them it is the CAT cause, dude we burn alot alot alot of oil. lets us know what fixes it for you. sounds like it would probably work for me too

dsidegzr

could be, not sure yet till i get my head back from the machine shop. i got a very good deal from the machine shop though. once i get that back in, i'll take a look down there and replace the cat and 02 sensors. im gonna get all the necessary sensors as well. ill get back to let you guys know what happens.....

myparkerbros

did you ever figure out your problem? I'm having the same issue with my integra

ChE_UND_09

I like fast cars. Working on 5 posts so I can post wheels for sale. Sorry.

dsidegzr

Sorry for the late reply. It was a bad map and tps sensor

Drzhope89

I have made some long research to this Into why my Got a 98 GSR car sputters out of the exaust why does it do this come to conclusion that its the catalic converter because I took the spark plugs out and they were black and cleaned them out and 1 day later again they were black so the air flow going to the cat was bad because it was clogged to check it remove where the headers connect to the cat remove the headers from the cat and see if it doesnt sputter if it doesnt that means its your cat I cleaned the fuel injectors cleaned the Fuel filter and pcv valve now its running like a champ !!!!