darkstoner420

k so here's the deal, my vtec decides when it wants to work? or so it seems, when theres a little moisture in the air the car run's mint and you can feel the vtec kick in but on a normal day or most days it feels like a gutless turd...., cant even stomp a neon on these days, ooh and ive bin driving on 3 and 1/2 cylinders for about 2 years...., think the valves are bent, cause if it was the rings woulda wrecked my bearings and would have bin smoking by now, got a few oil leaks but i keep it full, fixed the dent today but no help any ideas?

kccord

Since we know what year/trim/engine you have, since we know what milage you have, since we know when the last time you have it serviced and its conditions. Yes we can help you. Maybe re-write in better grammar so we can be on the same page as you.

You won't be able to drive for even a short amount of time if the valves were bent and no, if you have an accord with a SOHC VTEC you will not feel any kick from vtec.

P_Adams

Let me get this straight.... you've been running it for two years with a cylinder misfiring?
None of what you've mentioned (I think) has any bearing on how it should run differently wet/dry.....
CEL Lamp on?

bseriescrxsi

dont kick yourself...my neon wouldve stomped on you on your cars good days also :-).....nah but seriously check the vtec solinoid as it may be electrically related as moisture seems to be the determining factor

darkstoner420

alright here we go lol sorry was in a hurry didnt take the time to point the details out

94 accord ex
f22b1 as you all know
running around 150,000
new oil presure sensor
new oil pan gasket
no more dent in oil pan
cleaned up vtec solenoid, grabbed one outta junkyard from motor with 90k on it
fresh oil change yesterday
new bosch 2 platinum plugs
new msd 8.5mm wires
new kei hin fuel injectors
new timing belt
new oil pressure sensor
new distributor cap and rotor
spark in all 4 cylinders
retimed it and everything
no power steering
no ac
oil changed every 2k miles
new clutch
master cylinder
slave cylinder

theres a little about the car
#1
and it reads 184/183/184/70

no idea on why the compression would be low and not burning oil, no oil in the cylinder hell the cylinder is all carboned up on top but i cant seem to come up with anything but bent cylinders considering the fact it has ran for the past 2 years like that any ideas let me know and again sorry for not being very descriptive

i suppose i can throw this in too... , k so i just put the new slave and master cylinder in and if i have it in first with clutch in hit about 6 grand car starts to launch, im guessing i got an air leak somewhere but not sure, ive blead it like hell and bubbles show up regardless no leaks, no low fluid just cant figure that one out either

19Accord97

Get rid of the POS Bosch plugs ASAP.

They have been known to kill Hondas. ONLY use NGK or Denso.

AMG

what.the.****.

darkstoner420

lol alright ngks?, still need to figure out my !@#$ed up car lol

darkstoner420

k so i just installed a vtec light for the hell of it and well lets say the light starts up between 2700 and 3300 rpms and goes till it hits the limiter at 7 is there something wrong with that picture or is it just me

oblivion2kx

lol ... spark plugs dont kill cars, people kill cars

P_Adams

One of two conditions come to mind:
Burned Valve
Siezed piston ring

Pull the plug from the effected (deficient) cylinder. Put a few squirts of oil into the cylinder and recheck the compression. If it improves, you've got issues with the ring(s), if it doesn't then the culprit is a valve.

If it is ring related; try this:

Pull the plugs and add equal amounts of either seafoam or GM Top Cylinder Cleaner (now disguised as fuel injector cleaner) into the cylinders. Let it sit for several hours (or as long as you can stand). Crank the engine over to clear the cylinders and reinstall the plugs. Start the car and immediately appologize to your neighbors for the smoke screen. Let the engine warm up and drive it around the neighborhood until it stops smoking. Change the oil and install a fresh filter.

I suspect that your piston rings (particularly the compression rings have seized in their respective grooves and no longer seal in the effected cylinder.

P

darkstoner420

thanks adams give it a shot in the morning, ur a damn good tribute to this site and anyone with a honda lol, read alot of your post and solved alot of problems, thanks again -jake

P_Adams

Thanks for the kind words.
Please let us know what you found.

P

PatPrimmer

First check the tappets to see that they all have enough clearance. If not, adjust them to spec.

If the tappets are correct and the problem persists, you could also turn the engine until the effected cylinder is at TDC on the compression/power stroke. Lock it there by say chocking both front wheels fore and aft and applying hand brake and selecting top gear. Also remove the other spark plugs to avoid any posibility of the engine firing.

Find a method to apply light air pressure to the cylinder through the plug hole.

If you use to much pressure this can move the car unexpectedly, so be careful.

Check if the air leaking from the cylinder comes out of the breather/dipstick, the exhaust or the inlet. Listen for the sound of wind with a stethescope placed near the exhaust then the inlet port.

Repeat with the added oil test suggested by P.

You should be able to tell if the air is getting past the piston rings or the inlet or the exhaust valve.

jhammond_82

iTrader: (1)

i would agree in most circumstances, but bosch plugs do hurt honda's.

PatPrimmer

jhammond
Is that just an off the cuff statement or can you back it up with evidence or logic or methodology.

jhammond_82

iTrader: (1)

yes and no. why would honda use ngk only in their factory engines? that is the recommended plug for our engines. if you search around h-t, there are tons of threads from guys who's cars run like **** on bosch plugs, change back to ngk and all running issues are gone.


https://honda-tech.com/forums/showth...recommendation
https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-integra-type-r-8/bosch-4-spark-plugs-they-ok-278886/
http://hondaaccordforum.com/forum/ar...p/t-11006.html
http://www.civicforums.com/forums/7-...ark-plugs.html
http://cardealerforums.com/rec-autos...p-setting.html
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef08fc3

PatPrimmer

Maybe Honda or a significant number of their major shareholders have financial interests in NGK.

Maybe they did a sweetheart deal.

Maybe they have worked together to develop a heat range to exactly suit a specific engine.

Maybe they are racist and don't like Germans.

Maybe they are patriotic and don't like anything not Japanese.

Maybe Honda engines can actually read and know you put Bosch plugs in and they go on strike.

Maybe and most probably it is a mix of some of the above.

The single most probable reason is close co-operation in development of accurately matched heat range to the engine, BUT once the engine is modified then that reason is gone.

I run NGK mostly in an alcohol, supercharged injected SBC. We replace them after every change to the tune, and being MFI that is almost every run.

We use NGK because they are cadmium plated and it is easy to read the heat patern left by the cadmium burning off.

On a stock engine I normally use any of the plugs on the sticker under the bonnet ot in the owners or factory workshop manual as they are extensivly tested to work with that engine.

Once I modify an engine I work to find a plug that suits by observing signs of heat and detonation or fouling. What I look for depends on degree of modification and fuel and ignition system used.

PatPrimmer

Re torquing them into place and antiseize. Follow the manufacturers recommendation as lubrication effects required torque, so the specified torque is only correct so long as the lubrication of the thread and washer matches the conditions used to do the tests to determine the factory recomendation.

PatPrimmer

Re platinum vs iridium vs copper centre electrodes and various earth straps:-

The higher the melting point and erosion resistance of the centre electrode, the finer it can be and still last. The finer the electrode, the higher the spark intensity so the less chance of missfire.

If copper does not missfire on your engine under your conditions the other metals will only impact on plug life. Platinum plugs can last a lot longer due to the erosion resistance of their electrode.

Fancy earth straps are marketing hype.

A few thou on gap size will not really make much difference unless you go to extremes. To much gap can cause a voltage spike that damages the high tension side of the ignition system. To small a gap can miss lighting the fire if the fire is harder to light for some reason. This also depends on ignition type. If you have more amps and longer spark duration you can use a tighter gap. If you have more volts you can use a larger gap so long as the rest of your system supports the increased voltage.

If you increase compression significantly or increase boost or run richer mixture or exotic fuels that require richer mixture, you will need to close the gaps somewhat. With blown alcohol and a magneto ignition you need about 0.018" gap.

For a stock engine, if possible, FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURERS RECOMENDATION. They have done many many hours of testing before they make their recomendations. If there is good reason to not follow their recomendation, be prepared to try a few sets to get the right plug.

Equivelents charts are only approximate. They list the nearest, not necissarily the identical plug. Sometimes this is very close. Sometimes it is way out. sometimes the slight difference suits your engine and environment better but almost always it does not.

To blindly recommend one brand name without considering the reason is just plain ignorance.