adk

HI everyone, I have a 2001 Accord DX. 2.3 non vtec and manual transmission.

I'll try to make my novel as short as possible. Picked this car up for a song knowing it needed a fuel tank. Had fuel tank replaced with a used one, new fuel and brake lines from front to back. Fuel pump and metering unit was robbed out of a running 2002 EX.

Once tank installation was complete, I drove the vehicle for about a week and experienced random losses of power and a solid MIL. Code was P0420. Replaced converter. Vehicle ran fine until I became low on fuel, randomly stalled upon deceleration and was difficult to start. Poor idle quality after this.

Had complete timing component replacement done as part of preventative maintenance. Vehicle sat for well over 3 years. Wasn't sure of the prior maintenance performed.

Brought to a senior Honda tech (26+ years). He did a valve adjustment but said they were not 'too far off', spark plugs, dist cap, rotor (all OEM parts), cleaned egr, cleaned iac, cleaned injectors (he said one was plugged and the others were not far behind). He felt that though the vehicle needed ignition tune up (cap was cracked, plugs due to be changed), he thought that my problem was fuel related. The tank I purchased was a used tank and had a bit of flash rust on the inside. I had a relative install the tank and he cleaned it as well as he could, but he did not believe it was significant enough to cause an issue.

He also checked compression and said it was fine.

Vehicle ran fine for about 2 days. Flashing MIL and poor acceleration, poor idle quality. Misfire on all 4 cylinders as well as a P1399.

I brought the vehicle to my father who has had his own independent shop since 1990. He removed the injectors and found the screens had caught some residue. Cleaned the injectors, installed an inline fuel filter, and took the car. Ran beautifully for about 100 miles. Today as I was driving home from work the vehicle had an occasional miss and the MIL would flash only under heavy acceleration at highway speed. idles fine. low speeds are fine.

It happens to be snowing. Quite heavily. The last time I had a severe problem with this car was during a similar snowstorm. I did not replace the plug wires. I do not know if the tech checked them. I am running regular unleaded fuel 10% ethanol. That's what's offered in my state.

Do any of you feel we are overlooking something? Hoping a new set of 'eyes' can point us in the right direction.

MAD_MIKE

If the cap is cracked then replace it and the rotor. Check resistance of the wires and check the gap of the current plugs.
How far into the EGR system did he clean? Did he remove the upper plenum and EGR valve and clean that port out?

adk

The cap and rotor were replaced along with spark plugs. Used Honda parts, no aftermarket. He set the gap to the book spec.

I will ask how far into the EGR system he cleaned. I'll also have him check the wires. Thanks

adk

Changed dustrbutor, wres, checked plugs. Still has misfire. Tech said he removed egr valve and cleaned thoroughly. Vehicle with backfire upon hard acceleration. Misfires heavily under load. I'm ready to push this thing off a cliff. Anyone have any other suggestions? I'm at a loss

adk

I think it's a blown head gasket. Just got home. Intermittent heat, vehicle smelled extremely hot when I parked it. (short drive, only about 7 miles). Coolant reservoir is empty. Just had the timing done two weeks ago. All fluids were a go.

Going to have it towed to the dealership tomorrow and have an antifreeze combustion test done. I'll update if that's my problem. I'm guessing that antifreeze is leaking into the cyl and causing the misfires, especially in the morning. I'm not a tech so this is absolutely a guess!!