stunt1048

Here its is got a b16 swap in an eg ran perfect for 2 weeks hit a nasty pot hole and it started sputtering.so I checked full exhaust system no leaks took it to a half *** mechanic and said it was my cat so I took it out put a test pipe in and it sputtered changed cap rotor plugs wires ecu wire harness and it still ****en sounds like its misfiring ne body got any suggestions I hate to post up old threads but all the other threads either don't say if they fixed their **** and how they did it or say **** I already replaced weird thing is it hits v perfect and no loss of power when I power thru all rpms but I can still hear the sputtering even after I let off the throttle I can still hear it. I did a compression test before I drove it the first time and it all four cylinders were 190 across the board I mean its getting frustrating cause now the second mechanic said its my exhaust because my headers changed the sound of the exhaust (bullshit I said as he was telling me ) but seriously ne help would be appreciated n no stupid comments I'm just tired of this I'm about to part this bitch out and give on Hondas forever and stick with my bitch getter r6 lol

Former User

Just spent the last 9 days in Montebello.

Is it misfiring or do you have a hole in an exhaust pipe?

fleabag

Maybe you bent your half-shaft or something of the sort. If only you had an automatic you could powerbrake and see if the 'sputtering' goes away (it would take out the half-shaft as a variable whilst loading the engine down). I don't know, maybe you could attempt to powerbrake with the clutch while stopped at the risk of burning up your clutch.

Or... You could inspect your half-shaft to see if it looks bent.

stunt1048

Well I originally had a leak so I could hear the misfire but I took it to get fixed since my first opinion was that the pothole mad a bigger leak but when I fixed the leak it just made the noise quiter plus like I said I can hear the sputter thru out all rpm range even if I let off the gas from taking her past vtec I don't have the o2 hooked up because I wanted to rule that out and the ecu gave me code 11 before than after I fixed the leak it gave me code 1 and 6 the thing is I swapped out temp sensor from another fresh b16 head and it still gives me those codes but I never ran the o2 from the beginning since my headers kind of restricted the placement of them but on another note just curious y u would say it could be the half shaft since the noise sounds like a misfire or an ignition problem I've had a problem like this before but it wasnt a constant sound and went away when I changed the plugs but this noise is continous from a cold start and sounds a little louder when its warm but hasn't gotten worse. Also I when I checked the dizzy cap and rotar it looked like the spark came a couple of seconds off because the tips of the metal inside the dizzy cap weren't scorched throughout the entire metal nipples it was towards the right of them and the dizzy rotar had obvious signs that it also only ingnited in the left portion of the rotar. I am using an ls dizzy I just chopped the leg and rewelded it with aluminum to get it to bolt but like I said the first few weeks she ran sweet with no sound like now in fact after I hit the pothole I heard it sound like a lil misfire but it would go away and come back I figured it was my headers because they were loose from the top bolts on the head but it once I placed the dc ones on it made the noise more clear I pulled each plug and checked each cylinder but it was an obvious difference on each when I pulled them

stunt1048

Ugh and **** is I really don't feel a loss of power maybe a slight difference at lower rpms but after 3500 it runs fine also when its cold the idle doesn't sound to off I can still hear it just not as much when its warm I thought it could've been the temp sensor on the head since it shoots code 11 and 6 but fan operates normally and I changed the sensor and changed harnesses I'm thinking it might be the dizzy or maybe a timing issue but it ran fine before just after I hit that dip its been acting up I'm running a p06 chipped but when I used a p30 no difference

fleabag

Holy crap, can you please break that up into something comprehensible? Paragraph breaks and eliminating run-on sentences would be a good start!

If I understand correctly, you have check engine codes that you have yet to address? Why not put back the o2 sensor and any other disconnected/missing sensors and try to get the car working from there... You say everything went to **** when you hit a pothole... Well, like I said, check the driveshafts/cv boots to make sure they're not bent. Does the car have this sort of 'misfiring' feel when revving in neutral?

Also I suggest checking your battery voltage with a volt meter and try shaking/wiggling around the battery to see if the voltage fluctuates. The reason I mention this is that I've heard a few cases where a person discovered they had a slightly cracked battery plate which caused all sorts of electrical problems yet the car cranked and started just fine... BTW, in the morning, is the battery voltage above 12.0v? If not, try charging the battery as a battery w/low voltage can sometimes cause the electronics in a car to go haywire (this is mostly true for newer cars).

Check ALL your electrical grounds with an ohm meter (multimeter on ohms function) to make sure they're all measuring less than .2 ohms of resistance (Zero ohms is best, infinite resistance is the worst) to the battery negative post. If you have a weak/dirty ground, that can cause CELs to be lit for various sensors since the sensors have to fight the electrical resistance of your dirty grounds and get 'drowned out'. Dirty electrical grounds can cause various problems from weak spark to erroneous sensor output (therefore garbage data).

It's a bit unreasonable to expect us to diagnose a car with a check engine light even if you're attempting to eliminate sensors from the car in order to troubleshoot your problem. Disconnecting sensors is really one of the worst ways to diagnose a car, even a swapped car such as yours.

stunt1048

Lol sorry using phone so it sucks typing but it makes a continuous noise in nuetral or when driving thru out all rpms I checked grounds today and they were 0. But the temp sensor cel keeps coming on with two different temp sensor I switched out and the headers don't have the fitting to place it on so even if I wanted to I can't put it on but the temp sensor keeps coming on even after I put the new wire harness on.
I was thinking it might be an obd2 head that might be on so would ob series change just for that particular sensor I mean the im dizzy alt and other sensors are for an obd1 so I'm not sure if I should just swap it. I work at jdmcarboy in Norwalk so getting one isn't an issue or I have an obd1 b18b block I can pull it from.
Any ways the battery is good checked out fine with voltmeter I have from early morning to night. The alternator also checked out so its not an electrical issue it sounds like a minor misfire like the dizzy might be going out or maybe a fuel issue I'm going to check for leaks do a compression test and check the dizzy tomorrow to rule those out but ne more advice what to check would definitely help dude

speedjunkie_g35

What quality of gas are you using. Cheap no name gas will clog your injectors quick. Could be something to check out. With you saying no power loss makes me think this because you injector or injectors might not be completely clog but enough to make the motor run ruff.

stunt1048

Actually Arco 91 but I changed three different types of injectors already

stunt1048

Plus I ran Lucas fuel cleaner thru these injectors I have on

stunt1048

Come on yall this is y I hate this shiznit

rollinkhutis

Can you upload a video?

fleabag

Do you have an OBD-II reader? Maybe one that will show long term fuel trims? How are your spark plugs? Did you test your ignition coil? Is this problem worse when the car is warmed up or is the problem unchanged depending on temperature? Here are some excerpts from the '96-'00 Civic Service Manual.

stunt1048

Dang I could but since I fixed the exhaust leak u can't hear it to good but I'm gonna put the test pipe back on cause when I got the leak fixed I didn't want the muffler shop talking smack since im running it with out a cat so it can be a little louder

However after I placed the new engine harness I got new cel codes 10 17 and 21 which makes no sense since my Speedo is fine vtec pops right on que and the iat sensor was swapped twice but I noticed the car doesn't really have a power loss when cold and even tho I can still hear the misfire is not as loud as when its heated . However when its warm the noise sounds much louder and power feels a lil more sluggish since I work at jdmcarboy tomorrow in gonna check the timing I'm hoping itsa timing issue like the belt skipped a tooth cause thats an easy fix

stunt1048

Also if u have any input what I should check besides the compression since I'm checking tomorrow as well that'd be awesome dude any input is better than a dead thread lol

stunt1048

No I don't have an obd II reader but ill check the shop tomorrow .havnt checked the coil yet only because I just purchased a new multimeter .

However I can hear the misfire from cold start but it gets a little louder not to much but noticeable from outside the car and sounds like an obvious misfire.

stunt1048

I'll also check plugs tomorrow since I put new iridium ngks on Sunday

fleabag

Now, when you said you checked your electrical grounds with the multimeter and the ohms showed 0, what make and model multimeter do you have? How many decimal places does it have and what sensitivity did you have it on?

stunt1048

@fleabag lol cool name neways naw grounds completely check out did a compression check today and wow all above 210 so its gotta be a dizzy problem now luckily since I work at a jdm store randys got some b16 dizzys I'm going to check to rule out my dizzy

But thanks for the pics flea they really helped out I checked each spark plug ,wire and now I just need to check the coil and igniter ill keep u guys posted so if ne one else has this problem at least now there's a thread on it from start to finish lol

worx

do a leakdown test i had asimiliar problem i did a leak down test. i was leaking air into my intake in cyl 2

stunt1048

Will do worx thanks

stunt1048

Ok so I fixed it I had took a look at the headers and they were knock off dc ones so I put the stock headers to return them and when I drove it the noise went away so I guess cheap knock off **** will jack up ur car lol thanks all of you who helped I learned more about my eg in the process and thanks flea with some good info and pics

fleabag

When you say headers, these were exhaust or intake? What 'exactly' do you think went wrong with these headers? Or is it possible they're just amplifying regular engine noises?

stunt1048

Don't really know that either but they were exhaust headers there wasn't any leaks it just amplified normal noises I guess but now its running great just need some tranny fluid gonna use some 10-30 till I get paid than refill with Honda mtf but thanks flea I think since they were knock off headers they made a different sound

fleabag

This issue is piqued my curiosity which is why I keep asking questions... Did you replace the exhaust manifold gasket when you put back on the 'original' headers? Could you think of ANY changes that could have made this 'noise' go away in the process of putting back the manifold you have now? It's good to know definitively the cause of the problem because if this happens again in the future, you'll know what to look for or to expect.