Mark1997

Anyway, the car is a 1997 Accord LX wagon (it's my moms). A little more than a month ago, the oil light came on after I changed the oil. Of course, she didn't pull over and shut it off immediately, and instead proceeded to drive it about another mile until she got home. When I looked at it a couple days later, there was no oil on the dipstick. I added some oil, started it up, and oil started pouring out from behind the lower timing belt cover. I offered to take a look at it, but instead she decided to get a friend of a friend who stated that he works at a local Honda dealership to take a look at it.

So, he comes over and takes everything apart, and it turns out the balance shaft seal had backed out. I had suggested earlier to go ahead and replace the timing belt, balance shaft belt, tensioner pulleys, water pump, and accessory belts. I order the parts, he tells my mom he'll be back the next weekend to do the work. Anyway, he does the work, she pays him, and the next day my mom notices that the car has no power, it wants to die, and the CEL is on. I check the CEL with a Pocketlogger, and it's a P0335 (if I remember correctly) for the crank sensor. I proceed to take everything apart again, and the first thing I noted was that a piece of plastic fell out from behind the lower timing cover. After I take the covers off I noticed that the timing belt has a gouge in it, lines cutting intermittently across the length of the belt, and a small bolt behind the balance shaft gear? (the one immediately behind the crank pulley). I'm assuming the bolt backed out or fell in, cut the belt, and also broke one of the resistors (or whatever) for the Crank Position Sensor. I left the timing and balance shaft belts on the car. My mom calls the guy, he takes a look, and says he didn't touch the Crank Position Sensor and doesn't know what happened. He takes off the timing belt, balance shaft belt, and broken Crank Position Sensor. The car is already apart, so I buy a new Crank Position Sensor and timing belt. I replaced the timing belt on my car (1997 Eclipse GS-T) successfully, so I thought that this would be easier since it's a SOHC.

Anyway, I followed the FAQ in the forum, a Haynes Manual, and part of the factory service manual I downloaded. I put on the new sensor and timing belt, and put back on the balance shaft belt (it only had like 5 miles on it). I went to the local dealership and got a balance shaft seal retainer (I had ordered one previously for the guy to put on, but he didn't and I don't know where it is. He put the seal in and put in a bead of silicone). I double checked the timing marks (cam gear, front balance shaft, balance shaft gear, rear balance shaft/oil pump). I held the rear shaft in place with a screwdriver. I tensioned the timing and balance shaft belts before putting the timing cover and everything else back on. When I went to start it, it sputtered for about a second, ran for three seconds, and then shut off. I cranked it over again, and the same thing happened. At this point I'm worried that maybe the timing marks were off, and bent some valves. I take off the valve cover, upper timing belt cover, and put it at TDC to see if the belt jumped or the timing was off, but the timing marks were spot on. I started to take everything apart to re-check, but then decided to let this guy come and do it instead (he was supposed to come back this weekend anyway, but since I had time I decided to give it a shot). Any ideas or suggestions? The CEL isn't on anymore, but I don't want to crank it over again and risk damaging something if I messed up.

Mark1997

Okay, I was gone for the weekend and the guy who worked on it originally came by and "fixed" it. Well, the car does the exact same thing, starts up and dies after running for 3 seconds. My dad said the guy started it up and deemed it "fixed." Anyway, if I step on the gas while cranking it, it will run and I can take my foot off the gas and it will idle. The CEL is on, and it's showing P0336 (Crank Position Sensor) and P1361 (I'm guessing it's related to the first code: Intermittent Interruption In TDC 1 Sensor Circuit). As soon as I clear the CEL, the car dies. The thing is, the Crank Position Sensor is new (it's a Wells unit from Autozone). I started tearing everything apart and I'm going to take the sensor back. Question is, should I return it and get one from somewhere else, or exchange it? It's just a pain to have to take everything off to get to the sensor. I checked the wiring on the harness and the sensor end, and it appears to be fine. Is there any way to check the sensor with a multimeter to ensure that it is good prior to me returning it or installing a new one?


Modified by Mark1997 at 8:12 PM 6/3/2008

Bulli Kid

wow that sucks man. crappy mechanic.
how many miles was on the stock belt?

Mark1997

Yeah, not even sure if the guy is a mechanic. All my mom knows is that he works at a local Honda dealership. Who knows, he could just be a service writer or the janitor..... Not sure how many miles were on the stock belt, but it doesn't look like too many. They bought the car used a couple years ago.

FSBxtreme

isn't there 2 crank position sensors? Did you try to turn the engine couple times to see the timing mark line up (cam gear pointer and the crankshaft pointer)?

I did the timing belt replacement on my 1996 Accord LX 4cyl SOHC a while back and it started up instantly after I put everything back together.

bluejean

I have the same exact problem. I checked the timing marks. and the balancing marks. and runs real rough. Did you figure out the problem?

phootbag

bluejean; If there is a lot of vibration but the car actually runs ok, the rear balance shaft drive may be out of sinc. It is a gear reduction drive. It needs to be on the correct rotation matched to the crankshaft. I don't know if that's your problem but I have observed that in the past.

OP; If the Tbelt never jumped time, it's likely a poor sensor. Try OEM. Oh, and kick that guy in the *****. And, when you are done, make him pay for the new OEM sensor. By the way, have a talk with your mom about "some guy who works on cars". They usually don't...

hondamark35

bite the bullet and tow it to a qualified honda mechanic to have everything set right. cut your losses...

billyrusa

Check this link http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1208. Code P1361 maybe still under HONDA FACTORY WARRANTY. Good luck.