kodie

Hey there! So I've been working at this thing for awhile now and was hoping that maybe someone here could have an idea what my problem is.

A little bit of a back-story:
I bought the car a little over a year ago. The lady I bought it from said she had the distributor replaced but was having idle problems. It did have a little bit of an idle problem but it was no big deal, I bought the car for $1000 and drove it this way for a long time. I tried adjusting the position of the distributor with no difference so I figured it was the throttle positioning sensor or something. Fast forward a few months and I ran in really low on gas, after I filled it up again it never ran right (would die at stop signs if I wasn't giving it gas). I drove it this way for a couple months because I was dreading having to drop the gas tank to replace the fuel pump. (I replaced the fuel filter and that didn't fix the problem). Until one morning I had the car running out in the driveway to warm up to drive to work and I heard a weird noise (kind of like a clunk) and it died. I went out there and it wouldn't start. Tried it again a few more times throughout the day and it wouldn't start so I figured the fuel pump finally gave out on me.

So I dropped the tank and replaced the fuel pump and strainer, put the tank back in and reconnected everything, put the tire back on and put the car back on all fours. I hopped in the driver's seat and put the key in, I turned the key, not all the way but just forward so the fuel pump would kick on. I turned the key off and on about 3 times to get fuel in the lines and then finally it was time to turn the car on. Nope. The car did the same thing it was doing before I replaced the fuel pump, it would crank and crank but not start.

So here's what I've gone through so far:

• Replaced fuel pump, fuel strainer, and fuel filter.
• Opened the fuel check port. It's getting fuel.
• Replaced all four spark plugs. Checked each one to see if they would arch against the exhaust manifold. Each one sparked blue/white. It's getting spark.
• Sprayed starting fluid in the air intake with no difference, not even a spud or pop like it was going to start.
• Removed each spark plug wire and sprayed starting fluid in where the spark plugs are. Still no difference.
• Unplugged the throttle positioning sensor with no difference other than the check engine light came on this time obviously.
• Tried starting it with my Jeep's 800 cca battery with no difference other than it seemed to crank faster.

Here's what I've gathered by reading around and from past experience (please correct me if I'm wrong about anything):

• Timing Belt: I don't believe this is the issue because I'm still getting spark.
• Main Relay: I don't think it's this because the fuel pump definitely kicks on.
• Ignition Control Module (ICM): I don't believe it's this because again, I'm still getting spark.
• Engine Control Unit (ECU): I'm not 100% sure, but I'm guessing it's probably not it. My check engine light isn't on so it's not throwing up any CELs.
• Distributor/Coil: I don't think it's this because I'm still getting spark and the car doesn't even seem like it's trying to start.

Things I plan on doing tomorrow:

• Compression test
• Test fuel injectors with a multimeter.

Other things worth noting:

• Like I mentioned above, it's not throwing up any CELs (the check engine light isn't on.)
• The car has been sitting for about a month without being started in the middle of this Iowa winter in a non-heated garage.
• After I try starting it and I stop, I can hear a really small quiet kind of slurping noise coming from the engine. I'm guessing that this is just the coolant but I can't be sure. You have to be really listening to hear it.

I'm stumped. I'm guessing that even though the fuel pump was in fact going out, it's not what made the car die all the sudden that cold Monday morning.

Any suggestions would be awesome. Thanks!

cptbarkey

its easy enough to remove the fuel rail and injectors and inspect them. check if they are clogged up.

holmesnmanny

check mechanical timing

kodie

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I will inspect the injectors and check the timing either tonight or tomorrow.

kodie

Okay so tonight I did a compression test on it and found that my number 3 cylinder has 0 compression. So I was following the directions on this page: http://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/hon...-compression-2 and I did a "wet" compression test with a small amount of oil in the cylinder and still got 0 compression on just that one cylinder. So according to that page my problem is the Cylinder Head Valves.

Does this sound right to you guys? Also, if I only lost compression in one cylinder, shouldn't the car still be able to start and just run rough on the other 3 cylinders? Thanks again for any help.

hondamark35

typically the car will start if just one cylinder is bad and the others are fine. you say you did the compression test, did you also check the cam timing? if the belt skipped a tooth or two, throwing the timing off then that combined with the lack of compression on one cylinder (bent or burnt valves likely) could keep the car from starting.

kodie

Thank you for your reply! What's the easiest way to check if the timing belt slipped on this thing? I don't have much experience with timing belts or even over-head cams for that matter, lol.

EDIT: I'm assuming I have to take the timing belt cover off and visually check if the crank and the cam both align at TDC?

tim73

I had a similer problem with mine when I first bought it. Turned out, the balance belt had snapped, and shredded the crank sensor behind the crank pulley, also the timing belt was off by like four or five teeth, not sure if they were related. I dont know how it got this way. But I only had compression on one cylinder. So, i removed the timing belt and realigned it, and replaced the crank sensor. Still no compression. So, I bought a rebuilt head, and replaced the head, gasket and timing belt and water pump. Worked from there

holmesnmanny

Perhaps I should put something really cool in my profile info so people will listen to what I have to say.

hondamark35

it does seem to help holmes... haha.

not too hard to do. the valve cover will need to come up to get the upper timing cover off. which means pulling the plug wires, ground wire, a few hoses and then the four chromed nuts holding the cover on. then you can get the timing cover loose after removing the 1 or 2 bolts. that hold it on. there is a rectangular rubber plug on the front of the transmission below the upper coolant hose. pull this plug to reveal timing marks on the flywheel. 19mm socket on the crank pulley; turn CCW until the cam pulley shows arrow "up" and notches near the edges align with the valve cover mating surface. then check the timing marks on the flywheel.

i hope i've remembered all of that correctly... the method is correct if the details are a bit off... should get you in the ballpark. I only get under the hood of one of these anymore in the junk yard.

holmesnmanny

sorry dude, that wasn't a knock on you...mostly on new posters lol

hondamark35

yeah, i know. i think it's funny because it's a little bit true.

kodie

Haha, no, I just did the compression test first and thought that maybe I had found my problem without having to check the timing. Unfortunately I'm not going to get off that easy. But I really appreciate your reply, really, thank you!

I will get on this this weekend! Thank you for your descriptive advice.

Now, another question. Let's say that my timing belt did skip a tooth or two and that caused my valve to bend/break in the number 3 cylinder. Would my best bet be to replace the timing belt and take the head to a machine shop for a valve shop or could I just replace that one bent valve myself and call it good? Thanks again!

hondamark35

it may not be necessary to replace to belt if it wasn't damaged, but i would do it for good measure since it's not too expensive. what to do with the head depends on the extent of the damage. you could check the sealing of all of the valves as part of your damage assessment.

with the head off, remove the rocker arm assembly and camshaft. set the head on a work bench with the ports pointed up. fill the port with some liquid (i use a mix of rubbing alcohol and water since it's a little thinner than just water and will get through the tighter spots) and watch for it to leak out around the valve seats in the chambers. you only need enough in each port to cover the backs of the valve. i normally let it sit for 5 minutes then check for any leakage.

if everything is dry other than the #3 valves, you could just replace those and bolt it back together. if there are any more, or you find any other type of damage take it to a specialist or replace it with a rebuilt unit.

kodie

Just in case anyone was wondering what came of this, here is where I'm at now: https://honda-tech.com/engine-manage...first-3238114/