95ex

Ok so I'm new to import tunning. I have a car I bought from a family member to fix, and drive. The car will only start if I pump the gas pedal, and will only run if I keep giving it gas. I replaced the fuel filter and it started and ran on it's own for about 5 minutes. Then back to having to pump the gas for it to start, and keep my foot on the gas to keep it running. When it was running the idle was really rough. When I opened the trunk to air out the carpet I saw about an inch or two of water around the spare tire (if that means anything). So if anyone could help give me ideas as to what to do. It was delivered to me with a full tank of gas, and I don't want to have to drain the tank if I can help it.

fmrprojects

do a tune up and top end cleaning. just do maintence and see what happens. sounds like the car was poorly maintained

MonkeyBoy668

If I were in your shoes I'd spring for new spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap, rotor, fresh oil, oil & air filters, pcv valve, double-check the timing, etc... basically try to catch up on all the normal routine maintenance, in case whoever had it before you decided that because it's a Honda it doesn't need any maintenance.

Oh, if the family member was the type of person who'd want to "make his car go fast" but doesn't know much about cars, you may want to pay special attention to the timing. There are a lot of idiot kids out there who think turning their distributor all the way forward gives them extra power.

big-cat

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MonkeyBoy668 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If I were in your shoes I'd spring for new spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap, rotor, fresh oil, oil & air filters, pcv valve, double-check the timing, etc... basically try to catch up on all the normal routine maintenance, in case whoever had it before you decided that because it's a Honda it doesn't need any maintenance.

Oh, if the family member was the type of person who'd want to "make his car go fast" but doesn't know much about cars, you may want to pay special attention to the timing. There are a lot of idiot kids out there who think turning their distributor all the way forward gives them extra power.</TD></TR></TABLE>

on that note, depending on what motor is in it, u might just want to look at buy a whole used d16z6. can get a complete motor swap for about 200-400 bucks. d-series that is.

95ex

Thanks for all the help. I was thinking about rebuilding/replacing the engine. I got the car from my mother who got it from my brother in law. The car ran fine up until a month ago. So I'm trying to get it to run long enough to hear the noise my mother was trying to describe. I doubt my mother was hot rodding the car, and I know she wouldn't know how to advance the timing. The engine is a 1.6 vtec

big-cat

well reading your name, 95 ex. your already rockin the d16z6(great engines) i would only imagine it would have problems from abuse. they arent known to have a problems. umm if you are throwing a cel(engine light is on) you could take it to a mechanic(one that u trust and isnt going to rip your *** off as bad as mine did) and ask him to hook a thing up to it to tell what the cel is. in other words he hooks a computer up to your ecu(your car computer). to see what your ecu is telling his computer is wrong, comprende?

95ex

yeah I am picken up what you are puttin down. I'll have to pay attention the next time I try to start it. I don't remember seeing a CEL though. I wonder if part of the problem is the CAI. The filter is low to the ground, and my Mom lives on the Oregon coast where it rains a lot. So would it be cheaper to rebuild or buy a rebuilt engine? Once I get the registration in my name I can bring it on base, and pull the engine at the auto hobby shop. So access to tools and equipment isn't an issue.

big-cat

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95ex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah I am picken up what you are puttin down. I'll have to pay attention the next time I try to start it. I don't remember seeing a CEL though. I wonder if part of the problem is the CAI. The filter is low to the ground, and my Mom lives on the Oregon coast where it rains a lot. So would it be cheaper to rebuild or buy a rebuilt engine? Once I get the registration in my name I can bring it on base, and pull the engine at the auto hobby shop. So access to tools and equipment isn't an issue.</TD></TR></TABLE>

with what u just said the rain and cold air intake, is there a by pass valve on the cai( like a little slit of a filter higher up on the cai, closer to the intake manifold)? it sounds like your moma might of sucked up a bit of water in the engine wich basically means new engine time, may not be the case though. like u say it knocks? and when it runs and knocks does it run like a 200lb gorilla is in your engine bay punching trying to get out lol? sounds like u might need new engine which isnt that bad money wise more time consuming and pain in the booty more than anything, but seeing where you live i dont think it would be that hard to find another d16z6.

95ex

Yeah considering I'm in the middle of the desert, and about 10 miles from Mexico I should be able to pick up a new engine. I think it would be a better idea to just get a new engine. Thanks for helping out a noob.

big-cat

lol that sucks but i saw cali and i was like "oh, there is engines for honda's basically every where u turn in cali" but that sucks on your guys's emissions laws. still look on h-tmarketplace on here and go to the cali section, socal is where the most honda dealing is basically. so hope i helped u out a little bit lol, i guess it would be bit tough trying to find an engine in a desert lol

95ex

Yeah, but atleast I don't have to worry about the emissions. The car has, and is keeping it's Oregon plates. One thing I like about being in the military. Thanks again for the help. If I read correctly when I signed up this is my last post for the day since it's #5.

MonkeyBoy668

I'd still do the stuff I mentioned. If it's still running lousy after installing all those parts, and you swap in a new engine, you'll want to replace those routine maintenance pieces anyway. Just move the parts on over. Assuming you get the same engine of course.

Good luck!

big-cat

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MonkeyBoy668 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'd still do the stuff I mentioned. If it's still running lousy after installing all those parts, and you swap in a new engine, you'll want to replace those routine maintenance pieces anyway. Just move the parts on over. Assuming you get the same engine of course.

Good luck!</TD></TR></TABLE>

i know but he might have sucked up water in his engine and has like minor hydrolockage.

95ex

Well changed the plugs, wires, rotor, and cap. Still does the same thing. When I pulled the plugs they smelled of fuel. When the vehicle runs I can smell fuel in the exhaust. I'm thinking the head is fubar. Once the engine warms up, and I rev the engine to about 3k I hear a loud clank kind of noise that goes away at idle. I don't know if it has something to do with the engine being vtec or not.

MonkeyBoy668

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by big-cat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i know but he might have sucked up water in his engine and has like minor hydrolockage.</TD></TR></TABLE>
My point still stands though - when you get a new engine, you'll want to perform all the standard maintenance items first thing. Parts with ~50 miles on them are just as good as new when you're talking about swapping them onto a used engine with who knows how many miles on those parts.

Syndacate

Try turning your idle up - tighten up the throttle cable a bit..

As far as the trunk goes, in the bottom, under the spare tire is a rubber grommet thing, mine was glued down or something so I busted it up, but either way, remove that and it's physically impossible for ur trunk to fill up w/ water .