htk

99 Civic EX with B16

ok, here we go. Car was throwing codes for cylinder 2,3, & 4 misfire. Sometimes just cylinder 4. Sometime with o2 sensor. So I replaced the following: distributor cap & rotors, spark plugs, wires, and fuel filter. Along I did a fuel treatment with premium BP gas. Works great for about 2 days and CEL came back on, not surprised. Scan it and it only reads one code, oxygen sensor. Got that wow face that I fix it(most of it). Few days later, which is now, CEL came on again. Thinking it's just the sensor again I scan it and it reads Misfire Cylinder 2,3, and 4 but no sensor code this time. Car drives perfectly normal regardless if the CEL comes on or not but when at idle during CEL on, majority of the time it will have a slight rough idle. Engine never dies but just a noticeable rough idle you can feel. Rpm does not jump. If no CEL the car idles steady and normal. So I'm puzzled. Those CEL codes are NOT consistence. Sometimes reads just misfire cylinder 4, sometimes 2,3, &4. Sometimes with and without o2 sensor. That's why I'm annoyed by it. I can still beat the crap out of the motor and it will still perform fine. So I'm puzzled of what's going on with my motor.

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

Hmm. is it the original coil in the distrib?


Oh wait... Its a swap. OK so lets take it to a tuner and do some datalogging.

Did you buy it like this or swap it yourself? Might be old shotty wiring somewhere, could be a few things.


The engine itself isnt the problem. I can tell you that!

htk

I purchase it like this. Precious owner told me everything was swapped from a 99 Si. Should I replace the ignition coil? I did a bit research and it says if it's a faulty coil it affects ALL cylinder. Why just 2, 3, & 4? Why sometime only 4?

What I believe is that the misfire causes an o2 sensor code because lean condition messes up the sensor's reading?

tony_2018

So did you diagnose the coil or not?

delsolintegra

Could be a hairline crack in the exhaust manifold near the O2 sensor causing the cel. Happened in a 93 del sol si. Went with a header and cured the problem

htk

Putting in new ignition coil this weekend. Not gonna bother testing it and might be faulty. My b16 is almost 200k miles so guess it's a good tune-up parts anyway. I get $40 off coupon from my autoparts store so I don't mind buying new one. Will update after driving for at least a day. CEL usually comes on about half a day of driving so if after driving for the weekend it doesn't come on than it's most likely fixed. Will update. I have a few extra o2 sensor from my other Honda so maybe I'll try that too but first the ignition coil.

I'm not worry so much about the o2 sensor CEL. But I'll put the car on jack stands and listen for any leaks. It's a stock exhaust system so should be easy to hear any leaks.

andoxviii

iTrader: (1)

So much fail.

The engine isn't your problem.

tony_2018

It doesn't matter, main topic was what can he keep when swapping to a non-vtec motor. Thats been covered a quite a bit now. Swapping a B-series doesn't require much searching because the first few links that come up when you do google has everything he needs.

htk

Update...
Installed new ignition coil this morning and drove to the store. CEL came back on. Check and it's Misfire Cylinder 4 only. Cleared it and drove to work. CEL came back on. Check and its o2 Sensor only. On way home, cleared it and yes it came on again. Sensor only again. I understand misfire causes bad converter/o2 sensor but damn, CEL codes going back and forth from misfire to sensor. Sometime I could drive all day with sensor code only. Some misfire codes only. Again, idles a little rough when CEL light comes on. After I clear it, it runs/idle normal.

Another note though. I do see oil leakage on the head gasket. Should I do head gasket? I would hate to go through all those labor to find out it doesn't fix the issue. When I change my spark plugs I do notice Cylinder #4 is black(no oil just black) and the other 3 is clean.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Do a compression test, and test your O2 sensor with a DIMM.

blackeg

Your plug is black because it's burning excess carbon either fuel like an Injector sticking or excessive oil consumption possibly leading to misfire. U ever do compression or leakdown tests? Also check the wiring for the o2 sensors make sure they aren't grounding or shorting out somewhere

andoxviii

iTrader: (1)

Honestly, this may sound stupid, but try another OBD2 scanner. The flip-flopping of codes does seem suspicious.

htk

My scanner is basically new. This the 2nd car I scan since I purchase it. It's the most expensive one from Harbor Freight tools.

I will try a compression test. I got strong feeling cylinder 4 may be low compression. If low compression what can I do? Head gasket? Performance shop quoted me $1000 for labor only for b16 rebuild. Just purchased a "How to rebuild Honda B-series engine" book. Read everything and seems like a job I can do. Minus the machining job.

johnjohn316

you have a burnt valve that is why your cylinder 4 no/low compression and has a rough idle. it probably sounds like a wrx atm. with that many miles im pretty sure it's that. maybe a shot cat. converter could be the issue too. check the easy stuff if all fails, rip apart the block.

worst case, you have a burnt valve:

option1: rebuild and boost trust me it makes daily driving that much more fun

option2: b20/vtec and do your research. don't swap a 1.8

option3: buy a skyline gtr

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Why has zero effort been put into diagnosis, still? Why are we still entertaining a complete motor swap without even making an effort to figure out what's wrong? Test the O2 sensor. Do a compression test.

htk

that'll be nice but I'm a Supra fan. If I didn't have my DD Corolla which is not paid off I would try to rock one this past fall already. Otherwise, I thinking a lifted Nissan Titan. Don't mind going back to Subaru too.

Back to the point. I will do a compression test tomorrow. It's 10* degree outside and a pain to work in that kinda temperature. Will need to heat up my garage for 2hrs before entering and compression test it. Just bought a compression test kit and Haynes repair manual. Hopefully the Harbor Freight compression test kit do the job alright. Many users said the readings are lower with this kit but important thing is getting stable readings through all cylinders. Haynes repair manual said my b16a2 compression should be at 184psi with a minimum of 135psi and maximum variation between cylinders 28psi. We will find out...

tony_2018

Return that P.O.S. manual and google the Helms manual.