Tylando

I am having a problem today on the way to school. I bought a 2004 Civic EX (manual transmission) with 128,000 miles on it earlier this month. On my way to school, in the rain, The car stalled while in neutral. The car didn't want to start without me giving the car a little gas. I limped it home, but at every light the car wanted to stall. It also wanted to stall with the clutch pushed in between shifts. While in gear, the car wasn't lacking too much power, but did buck just a little.

Just after I bought the car, I got a code for multiple cylinder misfire, individual codes for misfires on cylinder 1, 2, 3, 4, and one for the EGR (I didn't act very smart and assumed these things were unrelated, and I unfortunately did not check to see what the actual EGR code was, whether or not it was insufficient flow or if it was for a malfunctioning valve). The car bucked under some throttle but stopped doing it at anything above about 1/4 throttle. I decided to replace plugs, the EGR valve, and coil packs (another mistake, my only previous car had wires, and that had misfires before caused by bad wires and plugs, so I assumed that coil packs were virtually the same).

When the problem persisted, I smartened up and searched the forums and google. I realized that EGR ports get clogged often, and can cause misfires and a lack of power at low to medium throttle. I cleaned the ports under the valve using intake cleaner and cleaned the passageways on the injector plate (not sure if I am using the correct terminology here. I mean the plate between the head and intake manifold that the injectors mount on). The plate looked completely flat where the passageways were, as the carbon buildup was so extreme.

After this cleanup, the misfires and lack of power went away. A few days later, the cel came on for another code. At this point, I bought a scan tool and began writing all my codes down. This code was P0420 or cat efficiency. I looked on the forums and google again and people suggested doing the o2 sensors first before resorting to replacing an expensive cat. I figured maybe some carbon that had been dislodged may have dirtied the sensors or may have helped clog the cat.

After replacing both the front and rear sensors with denso(sp*)
replacements, the code went away. I replaced them exactly 2 weeks ago. Now, after the car is having the stalling issue, it has no check engine light. However, it does have the code P0404. I cleaned the passageways on the injector plate extremely thoroughly but I am wondering if I did not clean the inlets under the valve adequately?

I am new to these forums but I am not new to automotive forums in general. I tried using the search function on these forums but it says that search is down temporarily. I did use google and as far as the code is concerned that this is for a bad EGR valve. My EGR valve is brand new so I am not convinced that it would be bad already. Recently, I did some tune ups which include:

02 and A/F sensors
Accessory belts (had a bad squeal from a/c and alt belt. before the replacement and after the replacement, I noticed that my headlights like to fluctuate in brightness, but sometimes it is hard to notice. This only happens when the car is in gear. As soon as the clutch is let out, and the car is in gear, it stops)
Coil packs
Spark plugs
EGR valve replacement
Air filter (stock air box)
Cleaned some ground points (in effort to fix the dimming headlights)

I have also noticed a clicking coming from the head. Oil levels are perfect, and I do not think this is related, however, too much information is never a bad thing I feel! I cannot pinpoint its location but at first, I thought it could be loud injectors. Not sure if it is related or not. I would test to see if it happens faster as I increase the rpms, but I can't start the car and keep it running currently to get out and get back under the hood quickly enough to open the throttle and keep it running. I can do this once another member of my family gets home. Additionally, I have a vibration when turning left at low speeds, however, I am almost certain this is unrelated as well. I have a feeling this is just a bad axle.

Thank you guys in advance!

Tylando

Problem solved! I cleaned the throttle body and searched for vacuum leaks but finally settled on the EGR valve. The piece under the throttle body (spring?) was wedged against the walls of the base of the valve so I believe the valve was stuck open. I just touched the spring and it shot back to the closed position.

husyk

Good thing you solved the problem, I suggest using fuel system cleaner to clean engine internals. If it was really bad I recommend using Seafoam when you are due for your next oil change.