CentralCalLude92

Need some help with this issue that just started the other day. As title says... VTEC all of a sudden is very loud and the pull is weak. The engine has been running great before this and VTEC engaged fine and pulled nice. I have never come across this issue before and searching came up with nothing or no conclusion. so anyone that may have had this issue or any ideas please help. TIA

FYI: 92 prelude JDM H22A

JTCdudeman

timing belt has jumped off a tooth or two. Are you using the manual tensioner?

CentralCalLude92

Really? That crossed my mind but I thought that I would notice it with a bad idle. And no, I'm using the auto tensioner. Ok I will check that out. Thanx

pentaq

yep timing is off.

vinuneuro

If his timing was off the car would idle and run poorly in general, not just in vtec. How old are you plugs wires, distributor cap and rotor, fuel filter?

Seroga415

how would what you just mentioned be related to weak vtec...i have the same problem ever since my 98 preludes auto tranny was rebuilt...my **** sometimes feels like it slows down by 6000rpm and sometimes wont switch gears from 1-2-3-4 which ever im in...is my timing belt messed up...or does my tranny need another rebuild???

1fastlude1

sounds like your auto tens. let the belt skip you wont always have a bad idle useually runs ok till higher rpms by buddys swap i just did idled fine but had no power sure enough brand new auto tens. f up

mattsnooz

I'm sure you've checked oil level right? Maybe clean out the vtec solinoid too perhaps.

If you could, can you play a sound clip of the vtec engaging? What does it sound like when it hits vtec anyway? I don't understand why it would be louder.

What sort of tune up have you done to your car in the last couple months? Is it well maintained as far as oil changes, spark plugs, cap/rotor etc?

JTCdudeman

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vinuneuro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If his timing was off the car would idle and run poorly in general, not just in vtec. How old are you plugs wires, distributor cap and rotor, fuel filter?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, I dont mean to challenge your thoughts mr. post *****. Have you ever had your exhaust cam off by a tooth and tried driving the car. Its very difficult to tell anything is amiss under normal driving. It idles fine and even pulls very close to normal. But, VTEC is much more pronounced audibly because of the valves opeing before they should. It lacks power because some of the expanding gas exits through the open valve instead of pushing down the cylinder.

Give it a try... Ive been there and done that. Trust me, its the timing. Im suprised you havent come across it 100x on here. I know Ive seen a few threads on it over the years. All the same result. Weak power in vtec, its louder.... and the autotensioner is starting to fail. slips a tooth at first...

OP.&gt; convert to a manual tensioner.

CentralCalLude92

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vinuneuro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If his timing was off the car would idle and run poorly in general, not just in vtec. How old are you plugs wires, distributor cap and rotor, fuel filter?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats what I thought but wasn't positive. Plugs,wires, cap and rotor, and fuel filter have all been changed within the past month, as I did all that for smog.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1fastlude1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sounds like your auto tens. let the belt skip you wont always have a bad idle useually runs ok till higher rpms by buddys swap i just did idled fine but had no power sure enough brand new auto tens. f up </TD></TR></TABLE>

Im confused some say it would idle fine some say not

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mattsnooz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm sure you've checked oil level right? Maybe clean out the vtec solinoid too perhaps.

If you could, can you play a sound clip of the vtec engaging? What does it sound like when it hits vtec anyway? I don't understand why it would be louder.

What sort of tune up have you done to your car in the last couple months? Is it well maintained as far as oil changes, spark plugs, cap/rotor etc?

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, oil is fine. Ill check the solenoid.

No sound clip dont have time to upload that. Sound is much more audible and obvious than the normal engagement that is apparent but subtle. I guess the closest way I could describe it is the way a B series sounds in VTEC.

Yes as described above.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JTCdudeman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Well, I dont mean to challenge your thoughts mr. post *****. Have you ever had your exhaust cam off by a tooth and tried driving the car. Its very difficult to tell anything is amiss under normal driving. It idles fine and even pulls very close to normal. But, VTEC is much more pronounced audibly because of the valves opeing before they should. It lacks power because some of the expanding gas exits through the open valve instead of pushing down the cylinder.

Give it a try... Ive been there and done that. Trust me, its the timing. Im suprised you havent come across it 100x on here. I know Ive seen a few threads on it over the years. All the same result. Weak power in vtec, its louder.... and the autotensioner is starting to fail. slips a tooth at first...

OP.&gt; convert to a manual tensioner.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well sounds as though you know this issue first hand.

So I had the car checked out today and the timing is fine and doesnt look like it has skipped a tooth. Could it have skipped back? or be skipping back and forth. It seemed to be running ok one time today on the short trip to the shop, but then it was back to the issue. Is that the auto tensioner going?

Definitely going to convert. This is going to be a problem sooner than I'd like.

vinuneuro

Actually, my timing belt did skip a tooth last week. It resulted in the car running poorly and shutting off on it's on. Timing belts don't skip back or back and forth. OP, your problem obviously isn't timing through your own look at the belt.

Not to stray too far off topic, but since when is just over 2.5 posts a day considered post-whoring. Take the insults elsewhere.

ken2830

Im having similar problems as the original poster, vtec is loud, doesnt seem to pull as hard on higher rpms, but it does idle fine and runs good..i guesss it must be timing issues, anyone know a good way to align the cams in place so they wont move at all wen installing the timing belt??

CentralCalLude92

Hey all
Well I talked to a local honda builder and he looked over everything timing belt, etc. He said that being off a tooth would definitely cause idle issues. So after consulting with him, he said to replace the distributor as he had seen this similar issue before...even though I recently changed cap and rotor. So I decided to go ahead and get a whole new distributor. And low and behold that was it. It is back to normal and even runs better than before. So I just wanted to let everyone know what the final fix was as most posts on here seem to never have a conclusion. Hope this helps others in the future that may come across a similar issue. Thanks to all for the posts.

vinuneuro

Wow, not sure many others would've solved this problem. Glad it's good now.

yamoftroy

Before replacing the Distributor did your car run hi rpm's at highway speeds and burn more fuel? I have a 98 prelude with simular problem.

Scheizty

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CentralCalLude92 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">As title says... VTEC all of a sudden is very loud and the pull is weak. The engine has been running great before this and VTEC engaged fine and pulled nice. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Have you gained a lot of weight lately?

vtecperformanc

i was experiencing the same problem and figured it could have been a oil pressure issue, so i done a full oil flushchange etc and still the vtec was engaging but lacked in power, so we tried changing over the tps/vss/o2 sesors but still no luck... replaced solenoid gasket etc and thought this time that we may have fixed the problem..however was still a big 'FAIL'.. its weird cause theres no 'check engine light', and ecu is throwing no codes.. Im running a apexi VAF-C ii controller and wondering maybe the settings on it may be causing the problem, so i reset the computer etc and my teg is still lacking power once its engaged in vtec mode?? any suggestion out there would be helpful

wh1teredneck

Something similar happened to me when I replaced my clutch with a 8lbs Fidanza Flywheel and the Exedy Stage 1 Clutch. My VTEC kicks in normal but I dont feel the VTEC pull as hard as it did before with my stock Clutch/Flywheel. Some people say its because I need to buy performance Cams and tune them, and others say you lose torque with lighter flywheels. Whats y'all take?

sirtef9

iTrader: (4)

my cat was clogged doing the same thing, check there.

kaymoto

wh1teredneck, you actually do lose torque with a lighter flywheel. I remember an article in an old honda tuning magazine issue that talked about it, but it was saying you'd only lose a couple of measurable lbs of torque.. it might also be that your low end power is more closely matched to the characteristics of your top end. so your vtec crossover isn't as noticeable, and a lighter rotational mass will increase your bottom end power curves..

Layla777

I just bought a 2001 Prelude with a h22 Vtec. Not only can I not hear the Vtec, It damn sure doesn't pull any further. Not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that my oil pressure light flickers at times? When I bought it they replaced the timing belt and put a new oil pump in it. It's not leaking, so I'm not sure why the light keeps coming on? And why my Vtec is pussing out. Any ideas?

MikeTheGreek

usually its a good thing not to hear VTEC some might say its a loss of power when you can hear it kick in. something that you guys might want to try doing is lashing your valves which the maintenance manual says this should be done every 8k miles its pretty easy to do and keeps your engine running great. Also if you are tuning VTEC without a dyno you should keep it around stock because you might actually lose power.

snobordboy

Layla 777, check your oil level, it sounds like low oil to me, which will cause vtec to not engage, since it works on oil pressure, and will happen before you get to the point of the light getting tripped by the sensor.

Layla777

Actually have too much oil in it I think. About a quart more than I should. Will that cause my oil pressure light to come on? And could that be messing up the vtec?

snobordboy

It shouldn't cause either of those issues, you may have a more serious issue. The first that comes to mind is a dented oil pan blocking oil flow into the pump pickup.