brine

hopefully someone knows whats going on with my car. first off, my car is throwing cel codes p0420 and p1337. it is a 97 civic lx 4 door automatic. i have already had the crankshaft fluctuation sensor replaced so i dont get why i am getting the p1337 code. the only thing i can think of that may have something to do with it is that my crankshaft (the groove that holds the tiny "key") is cracked but still holds the key. dont know if that affects anything but i thought id throw that in there.
second, my engine rocks like crazy. for lack of a better way of explaining this, about half the time i turn on my car my tachometer goes crazy and jumps from around 500 to slightly over 2k rpms while idling in park. while this happens, my engine shakes fairly hard and at times sounds like its revving itself up. when i drive, my car feels like it cant shift gears and the tachometer keeps acting crazy; i basically cant get it out of first gear and its speed wont go over around 10 mph. also, while idling last night (hoping id get lucky and find a vacuum leak as the culprit of the p0420; no luck by the way) my car started doing the rpm jumps and engine shakes and the battery light would come on in the dash like my car was going to die but it wouldnt. it just seemed like it died for a second and came back to life and kept shaking. the other half of the time, the car runs just fine. i turn it on and drive it around in the city and at highway speeds and nothing strange happens. im confused and no one i know has seen anything like it so im completely stumped. if anyone has any advice i would really appreciate to hear it. i know im sorta jumbled but i hope it makes enough sense for someone to have some idea as to whats going on. if not feel free to ask me anything that may help. thanks.

lazlong

Are you sure it's P1137 and not P0137 (secondary O2 sensor)? P0420 is a Catalytic converter gone bad. LIGHTLY tap the cat and if you hear stuff rattling around inside replace it. Then reset the ECM/PCM. If the code still comes back replace the secondary O2 sensor. It's recommended that you replace both sensors when replacing the cat.

brine

i have one of those autozone cel print outs and it says p1337 and p0420. i appreciate the advice on the cat. ill try that once it stops raining. ive been searching like crazy and cant find anything that sounds like what my car is doing so im starting to think i might be facing more than one problem. which means i need to tackle these problems one at a time and hope that the bigger issue fixes itself in the process.
as a quick add on to the symptoms my car is facing, i started the car and looked at my tailpipe to see if it might be an exhaust leak and the tailpipe was sputtering alot. im about to have a friend cover the tailpipe while i look underneath to see if theres a leak somewhere. also, my speedometer moved on its own a couple of times (while i was in park) but then stopped doing that altogether.
everything else aside, are there many problems that can cause an engine to shake erratically? i wanna see if i can narrow down whats causing the shaking and see if it fits in any way with the other problems.

flush_EJ1

P1337 is the crank sensor. The crank is cracked and its throwing off the CKF sensor. The bad mixture/misfiring probably took out the Cat. Why did you replace the sensor? Did it test bad the first time or was it a guess? Maybe the wiring to the sensor is bad. This is definitely the direction I would go.

lazlong

He's right, the mis-fires probably made the cat and/or the sensor go bad.

Bad sensor wiring would probably throw a no signal code. Just like the P1337 is a no-signal code for the CKP sensor.

Inspect the the connector at the crank sensor for any corrosion or broken wires or if it's even plugged in. The sensor is sticking out of the lower timing belt cover. If you have a multi-meter we can test the sensor but, it's probably bad. To replace the sensor you have to take off the crank pulley (among other things) and that thing is a real pain in the azz to get off. Your looking at $300-600 at the mechanics to replace the sensor.

*If you're anywhere near time to do the timing belt you might as well replace the timing belt, tensioner, and water pump also. Interval for the timing belt is every 60- 90K miles.

brine

so i just went ahead and replaced the crankshaft sensor and both of the oxygen sensors since i know how to. check engine light went away but my car is still jerking when i first turn it on and im in park. the engine revs on its own (i was told thats why the rpms rise even when i dont hit the accelerator), the speedometer jumps to between 10 and 20 mph (rarely), and no check engine light comes on. im sure my check engine light works since it turns on when i put the key in the ignition and ive even run a scanner through and nothing comes up. so far ive heard possibilities ranging from a vacuum leak somewhere, to an intermittent electrical problem, to a bad fuel pressure regulator or fuel filter, to faulty spark plug wires, to a faulty distributor, distributor cap or distributor rotor. frankly, im at a loss because ive always fixed things according to the check engine light and i would think my car lunging would raise some kind of red flag. anyone i talk to tries to voice their personal experiences but im guessing im just getting turned around in circles by listening.

akacoke

idle problem is usually IACV

brine

just looked up a write up on how to clean it and it looks pretty simple. thanks for the tip, it seems like it might be the culprit. im going to clean it on my next off day and hope it helps.

brine

so i cleaned the iacv and the shaking stopped but now im pulling the same p1337 code again. i used a brand new sensor and even checked it for continuity before i installed it. i am sure that it is connected as well. can anyone tell me how to check if the female end thats attached to the wiring harness is bad? also, how can i clean the pins that are on the wiring sensor side? and is there anything else that could be causing this code? i thought that replacing the sensor would fix the problem since ive read that most of the time it does.

seanbev24

Stop throwing parts at it until you have someone inspect the crank

brine

im fairly certain the crankshaft is okay since its a new engine and i had it inspected before i put it in. the only thing thats changed with it is the tiny piece that broke off on the end of it that holds the woodruff key. the key itself still fits in snugly and stays in place even without the crankshaft pulley on. the only time ive heard of that being a possible problem is when the woodruff key wont stay in by itself. my accord has an even bigger chunk missing out of it (but still holds the key in place on its own) and it doesnt give me any trouble.