i just installed a skunk2 intake manifold on my 2000 GSR (so odb2)... now i cant drive it, the engine barely holds an idle and boggs like crazy.

i followed the skunk2 installation instructions and i removed the IAB and did the tee fitting for the PCV valve and EVAP. triple checked all plugs and sensors and am not having any leaks of any kind.

im running the stock ECU and that i think is the problem, i am going to go buy a p73 ecu asap but im not positive that thats my problem

would the stock ECU make the engine bog like crazy and barely idle just because of the secondary butterfly delete?

or do i have fuel pressure issues, ive been told i may need to buy a FPR and guage

need help asap, this is my daily driver and wasnt expecting to have it not running... HELP

 

i highly doubt it is your ecu. if anything unplug one of the vacuum lines to see if the idle jumps up, if it does then plug that vacuum line back in, if it does not make any difference in your idle then you already have a leak somewhere. The IACV helps with the idle so make sure that is hooked up correctly and use the TB idle screw to set the idle.

 

if i unplug a vacuum line the idle drops even lower, i adjusted the tension on the throttle cable so that it stays running, but once it gets hot it starts to spew out black smoke, almost seems like its running really rich, the engine normally eats oil pretty good, like a 4.5L jug evry month and a half, but i do drive like 120km a day just to work

dont think there are any leaks, oh and its a stock gsr just the new intake manifold and a cold air intake

if u slowly press the throttle down u can get it to rev up but if u tap the throttle down it will bog and whistle, like i said its not even drivable in its current condition

u dont think its the ECU causing the problem?

also, when i installed the new mainfold quite a bit of coolant poured out of the head and lines, i refilled at the rad and topped up my reservoir and it seems to be taking fluid from the reservoir...is there a bleeder valve anywhere on the system, do u think that air trapped in the system could cause such effects?

 

ok, well im an idiot, apparently the people at acura decided to use the same electrical connector for the TPS and the MAP and i plugged them in reverse

but im still having some issues, the engine runs okay, but im getting alot more smoke then ive ever seen before, specifically when it gets hot, when its cold its pretty normal, small amount of smoke when you push the throttle down heavily...but usually the smoke goes away once it gets hot, now the smoke pretty much pours out when its hot and hell of alot of smoke comes out when you push the throttle down heavliy when its hot

the smoke is like a white-greyish mix, smells like normal exhaust fumes...?

anyone have any idea what this could be?

 

White means coolant is being burned. Anyone want to correct me on this? Im not positive. Blown headgasket maybe?

 

hmm sounds to me like maybe the intake mani gasket broke while putting it on any leaks there will make it run horrible

 

did you scrape all the old gasket off? if there is still some there the mani wont seal right, then coolant will leak and burn.

 

i scraped the old gasket off but i couldn't get all of it off there was a tiny bit of the gasket on the outside rim of the studs, do u think that would cause a leak through the coolant tube that goes through the manifold? also, should i use a rtv sealant with the manifold gasket or are u supposed to install the gasket dry?

i think that this may be my problem because the engine never used to blow this much smoke untill i did the intake swap. dont think its a head gasket. i will remove the manifold and check the gasket tonight, will update when i figure out wats goin on

one more question though, i took it for a drive last night and i noticed that the vtec kicks in really oddly, it used to kick on at like 6500 now it comes on at like 5000 or something, plus it was running kinda oddly (maybe because of the coolant) .... should i go and pick up the P73 (OBD2 ITR) ECU, will that fix my issues with vtec timing, or will i need different injectors and miscellanious items to run the ECU?

im a new honda owner, so thanks for all the help guys

 

sounds like a leaking IM gasket

 

i hope so, i will be removing the manifold and redoing the gasket tonight, i think i will use some rtv sealant on the gasket as well

anyone have any idea on the ECU?

 

Your stock ecu is fine, I use a spray on coppercoat whenever I change the intake manifold or throttle body gasket. Seals very nicely.

 

Ya man it's going to be a leak between the head/ gasket/ manifold

 

I suggest hondata intake manifold gasket.
Make sure it is not reversed as you may be blocking a passage for coolant.
Make sure intake manifold and back of the head are clean and flat. I used a flat blade from a box cutter/scraper.
Sounds like you got everything else right. Vacuum lines correct?

You may notice a slight bog before vtec but that will be cured with a retune on the ecu. Idle should be fine though.

 

ya, i think its a leak in the manifold thats creating the smoke, as for the vacuum lines and coolants lines... one of the coolant lines started pissing out coolant when i finally got it to start, i would recommend replacing the small lines that connect to the IACV for anyone else doing this intake swap.

as for the vacuum lines... i still need to tee of the pcv valve to the evap (my evap is dumping the fumes into the engine bay for now but thats okay) but all my vacuum lines are sealed, however i do have one question there is a small vacuum port that runs off the back of the new manifold, in the installation insructions it says to use this for the evap for the obd1 gsr's but the for the obd2 gsr's u should tee of the pcv valve (guessing cause the size of the evap hoses on the obd2 gsr are much larger in diameter then that of the obd1 gsr) i have just plugged the port up because i couldnt see that anything needed to be plugged in there, is this wat most people do?

also, i ended up plugging a coolant line that runs from the manifold, on the intake there is a large coolant tube that gets connected to the thermostat housing, there is also a small tube that comes off of that tube (which isnt on the stock manifold) so i just capped it off, is this wat most people do?

will the p73 ecu fix the slight bog before VTEC?

 

^^ yep thats what i did...just remove it again and clean off the old gasket. then replace with new IM gasket.

 

i bought a new manifold gasket for the swap, i didnt re-use the old one, i will remove the manifold clean everything up and make sure that its sealling properly when i put it back on

will the p73 ecu fix the slight bog before VTEC? (no one has answered this yet)

 

Yes, the appropriate thing to do is cap the second water line on the passenger side of the car off.
No, the ecu will not cure the bog until you retune the ecu on a dyno or with wideband o2.

obd 1 p72 w/hondata is what I ran. Then a tuner can tune the bog out of your stock tune.
itr ecu will bog before vtec without itr cams. A tune is really the only thing that will cure the issue.

 

so the p73 wont cure anything?

i thought that because of the secondary butterfly delete that the ecu doesnt know when to kick the vtec on and thats why it bogs

i figured that with the type-r ecu (considering its running a single butterfly) that the vtec issue would be resolved...

is there anyway of getting it to run smooth without taking it to a dyno ($$$)

ie. flashing the ecu? piggyback? chip? p73? how can i get it to run smoothly?

 

with the gsr ecu it will bog in the midrange. an itr ecu would help but it still wont be tuned.

 

Honestly a dyno tune on your car is only 1 hour most likely. Around me that is $200.
p72 bog is mid range because of no butterfly.
p73 still bog before vtec because of less torque from lower compression.
Whether you like it or not, but best route is a tune on whichever obd1 ecu u choose.

Cheap-Reliable-Fast...pick 2, because that how this game of modifying cars is played.

 

okay thanks, i like your quote "Cheap-Reliable-Fast...pick 2, because that how this game of modifying cars is played" thats so true

so in order to get it tuned, do i need to switch it over to obd1? is obd1 the only style that can be modified or can obd2 also be modified?

 

so, i removed the manifold and re-installed the gasket using some rtv sensor safe sealant on both sides of the gasket, i took a look into the #1 intake ports on the head and i didnt notice any coolant, i did however notice that the intake ports in the skunk2 manifold had a little bit of some kind of greasy oil, anyone know what this could be?

i re-installed the manifold and refilled it with coolant, i waited untill this morning to start it up so that i could be sure that the rtv sealant was dry, it seems like there is less smoke and it seems to be running smoother, i didnt have a chance to let it get really warm though, so tonight i will take it for a test drive and see how the smoke is....will update tonight

 

okay, so i took it for a good test ride and it seems like the smoke has subsided but only time will tell, its hard to tell when ur driving

...so in order to get it tuned, do i need to switch it over to obd1? is obd1 the only style that can be modified or can obd2 also be modified?

 

You need to buy a jumper harness so your car can adapt the ecu wires from obd2 to obd1, then buy an obd1 ecu. An obd2 ecu can't be modified by most tuners.

 

OP, read the add'l info section on this to clarify everything:

http://ff-squad.com/wp/?p=366

obd2 at this point can only be used in unison with a piggyback if you are looking to change the tune. for the OP this means like a greddy e-manage, aem fic or apexi v-afc.

the "greasy oil" is probably from the PCV line. remember, during vacuum it is pulling crankcase gases from the block into the intake manifold. though there is a separator box on the back of the block, the fumes still are laden with oil. this is why a breather setup, even a basic one, can help performance, because it removes the oily fumes before they get to the intake tract.

OP, for the future...this stuff works wonders: