jhojhet

Hello everyone, I acquired a 2000 honda civic EX with D16Y8 200K original miles engine no mods solid stock. The previous owner decided to wash the engine bay and that started all the problems.
The car will crank but won't start, with the new distributor from Autozone that car finally came to life. That does not end there and here's are the things we did so far -
The car will start smooth on idle just like a normal D16Y8 would, when the gas is press on idle, it will go up but it feels very heavy and will not pass 3500 RPM
When driving, the car is very sluggish and it very difficult to drive. Most of the time it will die when approaching a stop and very hard to get up to 30mph. the car might be in LIMP mode. I don't exactly know how and what to expect when on limp mode so I can't tell if this is exactly what the car is at.
Here are other things we did to diagnose -
- check timing with a timing gun
-replace spark plug
-replace spark plug cable
-replaced distributor
-check TPS sensor
-replaced with a used IAC valve
-replaced oil
-replace with a used ECU
-replaced with a used injector
-check coolant
-check for a vacuum leak
-check coolant
- NO CEL CODE

I don't know what else to check or replace! thanks for your help.

1992BB2

When you say "heavy", do you mean the accelerator pedal itself has resistance? Does the engine sound like it has a misfire at any point?
Some things you might want to try are checking the fuel pressure at the fuel rail, and checking the cylinders for compression.

DumpdEJ6

Check mechanical timing (making sure the marks on the cam gear are lined up with the head when the TDC mark on the crankshaft pulley is lined up with the mark on the timing belt cover.) It sounds like you're a tooth off.

agb22

check the throttle body. take it off. clean up the carbon build up. the throttle plate might be getting stuck. if you take off the IACV and try to drive it would be in limp mode and wouldnt rev past 2000 rpm

DudeEX

I've experienced the exact same thing when after spray washing my engine. I guess I'm not doing a good enough job protecting the electrical components. It's happened twice and each time, in warm weather, waiting an hour or so fixed it.

mk378

When you set spark timing, did you jump the ECU test plug? This is necessary to prevent the ECU from advancing the timing which it does in normal operation. If you set timing without the plug jumped, it will end up seriously retarded. With the plug jumped, the CEL should stay on steady while the engine is running. This shows that the ECU actually entered test mode and the bulb works.

And yes, "sluggish, won't rev over 3000" is exactly what happens if the timing belt skips back one tooth.

Txdragon

Make sure you're wires are properly in place on the distributor and in the plugs. A couple could be out of place. Remember, when you're checking timing, you're checking number 1 and number 1 only. Ignition timing will be good here. Issues will surface then when you try to drive it.

Txdragon

Also, anything to put the car in limp mode will certainly set a cel.

DumpdEJ6

That's true, I didn't even think about that. Bet OP's CEL is burned out/removed.

jhojhet

Thank you all for the feedback. Couple of things I would like to point out -
Engine was running strong and smooth up until the washing of the engine was complete. It will crank but it will not start.
We did replaced with Autozone distributor and it finally start! What we did not do when checking the timing with the gun is to jump the ECU.
CEL bulb is good

Here's what I'll do based on the feedback
Check fuel pressure- I hear the pump whining upon turning on the ignition. I know there is pressure since it spits out fuel from the fuel filter. I will check if the pressure is consistent tho
Jump the ECU then do the timing
Will update soon!

petr0lb0mb

Do yourself a favor and set the timing first. If that's not the problem, then proceed to check fuel pressure.

DudeEX

Maybe the aftermarket distributor was put in with the stamped groove not facing the way it was when removed? Try flipping it.

jhojhet

Thank you for everyone's input. We discovered that the catalytic converter is blocked. Replaced the cat with straight pipe and the car was reborn.

DumpdEJ6

Thanks for updating the thread! Glad to see you got it figured out. I had the same thing happen to my Subaru Forester, I wish I'd put the symptoms together to help you out earlier.

mk378

Cats get "clogged" because the engine is running rich or misfiring. Raw gas going into a cat causes it to overheat and melt down inside. So you should still look into that performance issue.