Crypt91

I'll start off with trying to keep this as basic as possible and appreciate any input. I purchased a '97 Honda Accord LX 2.2L 4Cyl from my dad about 8 months ago. When he owned and drove it it seems to always start right up etc. and never had any problems. Lately I've been having a lot of problems with engine cooling and the engine starting after I've driven it for only a few minutes. My dad is a mechanic and we've been trying to determine what is wrong for a while now.

The problems:

-Engine will just continue to turn over after a hot soak like it's not igniting properly.

- Engine seems to heat up and the radiator fan won't kick on to cool engine when driving for a while then stopping at a long traffic light for example.

-Condenser fan will also not turn on when the AC is on like it should but the radiator spins up instead.

Now the engine not starting after a short drive is what I primarily want to fix obviously. The only way I can get it to start up properly is to take the spark plugs out and let the plugs and cylinders where they go air out. When I do this the car starts right up. I pretty much take it to work, take the plugs out, and let them sit while at work all day and put them back in when leaving and it starts instantly. I've been doing this to not wear out my starter mostly. Sometimes I can get the engine starting after putting the gas pedal to the floor after a hot soak, without taking plugs out, when starting but then the engine sounds really rough and the car shakes. I've been replacing some bad sensors etc. and will list what I have done below.

**Note** When I turn the switch the fuel pump activates. All fuses and relays both under the dash and the hood all check out fine. When I sometimes get it started and it runs rough a P0301 Cylinder 1 Misfire happens.

Replaced Parts:

Main Fuel Relay under dash (was fried)

Fan Switches located on upper and lower radiator hoses(fixed fan not turning on when car was off but sadly didn't fix fan to cool engine when running idle)

Battery (was trashed from sitting all winter)

Condenser Fan (replaced because old one's frame was rusted and not secure)

Condenser and compressor relays located by condenser fan( was hoping it would fix condenser fan not running)

Radiator Fan Relay behind glove box ( fan was running for too long after car was off killing battery, fixed but battery turned out to be bad)

Distributor and Cap/Motor along with Spark plugs and spark plug wires


Back to the problem. Now I was having this problem about 2 months ago and my dad put some Mopar top engine cleaner in to clear out possible carbon deposits that built up. This process seemed to work and my car ran great for about 3 weeks. Then I started having cooling issues(air in the lines which we bled and fixed), then the battery started to fail a week later, tested it and it was dying/dead. So I bought a new battery and it ran great for a day. The next day the same starting issues came back.

Now after some discussion and reading on some other posts it would seem the Head Gasket or some other gasket is failing after the engine runs for a while with heat built up. I purchased a new gasket kit, bolts and belts and my dad offered to replace it with me thankfully(because I can't afford it) but putting it off until August. So I'm basically nursing the car along until then.

However I am here because for some reason I feel like it may not be the head gasket and was hoping for some ideas and input from the community if anyone that has experienced this might have another solution. Thanks for any support I really mean it.

holmesnmanny

I would say first compression test the engine to see if coolant is leaking into the cylinder and not allowing the car to start up.

Also, the car shouldn't randomly overheat. I would think this also could point to a leaking head gasket as exhaust gases could be entering the system.

Do you experience any coolant loss ?

toker2

My *guess* would be the igniter is causing your starting issues when hot.