dscivicdx

my car is down due to an issue that i can not figure out.

symptoms:
when driving the car feels like im towing a house. i can run to about 2.5k rpm, but if i give it more than 1/4 throttle or try and go over 2.5k rpm there feels like a major load is being put on the motor. when i put in the clutch and coast the car rolls/coasts fine.
when idling in neutral the motor idles fine with no unusual vibration, but when i rev the motor it has the same problem as above. anything over 2.5k rpm feels like there is a major resistance being applied to the motor. also at 4k rpm there is a sound like air being let off or escaping from something under the hood.
the ecu is throwing no codes.
i have not run a compression test yet. i will be doing that tonight after work.

i thought at first it was tranny/axle related as i thought the issue was only occuring while i was driving. i had the axles replaced and there was no change. after doing that i realized that the problem was occuring even when sitting in neutral.
i thought that maybe the a/c compressor was bad and creating the drag on the motor, but the a/c is blowing cold and when the compressor kicks on, the idle drops a tiny bit, but nothing out of the ordinary.
any ideas?
thanks in advance.

dscivicdx

also there is no water in the oil, i smell no oil being burned and there is no white smoke in the exhaust. i do smell a bit more gas than usual though.
i checked all the plug wires and they seem to be ok too.

IHateJDM

sounds like timing to me. you might want to check and make sure your crank and cam(s) line up at tdc. What motor?

dscivicdx

its an OBD1 B18b from a 94 LS.
i dont have a timing gun, but i have a friend thats bringing one over on friday pending the compression test.
does that sound like something that could be a timing issue? could it be the distributor? if that was bad wouldnt it be throwing a code or no?
im fine with the mechanical stuff, but when it comes to the timing and stuff im kind of stupid.

.Ry

Sounds like the timing as well, feels like the car wont go anywhere but your giving it all it has. I just done got with something like that, but the computer retarded the timing for a problem to keep it safe and thats how it felt. Could the computer be in limp mode?

IHateJDM

try moving the dizzy while its running and see if you can pull more power out of it by turning the dizzy one way or another. If you can, then you are probably off a tooth on the belt.

RTI

is your timing belt lined up correctly? could also be a clog in cat.

dscivicdx

so im going to try resetting the ecu, turning the distributor and the compression test tonight. i wont be able to check the timing until tomorrow though.
i will let you guys know what i find out tonight!
thank you guys! i have been stressing trying to figure out whats been going on.

dscivicdx

i will be checking the timing belt on friday as well. i have a gutted cat(no flaming please).

dscivicdx

so the timing was fine, the distributor was fine and we didnt run a compression test, but there was a bit of oil leaking from the cam seal, so we took the valve cover off and removed the outside cam bearing. there were some minor grooves on the cam journal and some slight pitting on the bearing. my friend thinks that side of the exhaust cam wasnt getting enough oil and it was causing the cam to drag a bit. since we didnt have anything to machine the bearing we just torqued it back down and resealed the valvecover. i havent restarted it yet. im waiting on the hondabond to completely cure. if i still have the problem it looks like i will just replace the head.

dscivicdx

well i restarted it and its still doing the same thing. im stumped. anyone have any ideas?