green95

I just bought a 1995 Honda Accord EX coupe with a F22B1 engine and 160,000 miles that lacks power after 4500 and will not go past 5200 rpm in first gear. The car acts as if fuel is being cutoff like it's hitting the rev limiter early. The car has no CEL's but does have an ABS light illuminated.

Since I've got the car I have:
Changed the oil and filter
Drained and refilled the transmission fluid several times
Changed the air filter.
Cleaned the throttle body.
New Valve cover gasket and spark plug seals.

The car starts, runs, and drives perfect but doesn't make any power above 4500 rpm. I was wondering if you guys had any experience with this sort of problem?
While I was replacing the valve cover gasket I noticed that the timing belt had been replaced (Napa Belt). My guess is the car is one or two teeth out of time or the catalytic converter is clogged.

Searching hasn't really came up with a lot of answers other than just some suggestions on what to look at.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

chrisnick

Could be multiple things, but it sounds as if VTEC is not engaging. Ensure the proper ECU is in the car, no wires are broken/frayed, everything is plugged in, and that oil level is good.

VTEC should engage around 2500rpm, and you won't really hear/feel it, but it will pull cleanly to redline. It won't be anything like a B or H in terms of power, but that's not the strength of the SOHC F's.

green95

I pulled the carpet on the driver side to check to see if I had the correct ECU. According to https://www.hondata.com/tech-ecu-identification I have the correct ECU in the car. POA A51

Oil level is good.

Gave all the vac and electric components another once over and found nothing.

I need to weld up some of the exhaust on the car so I will pull the cat off and see what happens. If that doesn't do it then I will pull it apart and check the timing.

chrisnick

Very well could be a clogged cat, too.

Finally, someone who does things! Please don't leave us here all alone.

green95

I've been really busy at work and haven't had much free time. Hopefully I can find sometime to work on it over the weekend. I'll report back when I do.

green95

I pulled the timing belt cover off and checked the timing on the car. The timing was correct but the belt was so loose I could pull the timing belt off the cam gear. I got both belts tensioned correctly and rechecked timing. I will be putting it back together today and report back. Regardless of whether this was my problem or not I'm glad I checked it out.

Can a loose timing belt affect performance? Have any of you guys had experience with that?

I didn't mess with the exhaust on my car because I am still waiting on a new muffler to show up.

Tjw149

No a loose timing belt cannot affect performance as long as the timing is jumped. However, if the car has a knock sensor; it can throw false knock/pinging.

masospaghetti

You can try removing the O2 sensor temporarily. It will allow exhaust flow if the cat really is clogged and the engine will run a lot better.

Of course you don't want to leave it like this.

green95

Ok, thank you!

green95

This trick should work as long as the car does not go into closed loop. I will give that a try once I get it's ready to go back on the ground.

holmesnmanny

It won't matter if it's in closed loop or not. It will throw a code with the sensor disconnected but this is actually what you want. It will use predetermined air fuel values based on other sensors. If the cat is clogged the car will run better. Fortunately it doesn't run in loop mode with the oxygen sensor disconnected.

green95

You are correct and that's what I'll do. I was thinking of just pulling the sensor out of the bung and letting it hang and not disconnecting at the connector.

holmesnmanny

No, you definitely want it disconnected.

green95

Checked and tightened timing belts - No change

Disconnected and removed O2 from bung - No Change however I did confirm my CEL works.

Checked fuel pressure:
Idle 32#
All throttle inputs 40#

Fuel pressure never fell below 40-42psi at WOT

So... I'm stumped again.

holmesnmanny

What about your distributor cap, rotor, and plugs ?

green95

Plugs and wires appear to have been replaced. Anything to look for on the rotor and cap? Can position of cap and rotor affect performance with these motors or is there only one position that it can align in? I'll try and inspect it tonight.

holmesnmanny

Just replace them if you haven't. They're like $25 together and good maintenance if they havent been replaced in atleast 25k.

How is the ignition timing ?

green95

Unless ignition timing can be changed by the distributor then timing is spot on as far as the timing belt goes. One of the first things I checked.

holmesnmanny

Ignition timing can be changed by the distributor. It sounds like you don't know the difference between ignition timing and mechanical timing.

tamboo

green95

Replaced the distributor after testing the crank position sensor and finding it to be bad according to https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d...ensor-2796258/ CKP in distributor tested at 810ohm. Outside of the 300-700ohm window. I also replaced plugs and wires and set ignition timing to 15 degrees btdc and cleared the ECU. Still no improvement.

Local parts store guy seems to think my car is in limp mode because the transmission always shifts at 4500. He recommended I check the CKP.

There is also some mention of a faulty VSS or a bad or slow reading tach/cluster when reading through others posts but nothing confirmed.

About what speed do the 95 Accords shift at WOT in first?