hey guys im having some issues with my crx that has a d15b2. first thing is that it is burning oil like crazy. all 4 cylinders have 180psi compression. i dont know what it could be? is it the valves, i just did a valve clearance adjustment on it.

the other thing is that when i have my EACV, electronic air control valve (aka idle air control valve) plugged in, my car idles erratically and high and my radiator hose looks like its about to burst. but when i unplug it, it idles fine except my check engine light comes on.

thank for any ideas and help.

 

just posted yesterday and now on the 4th page with no replies.

thanks for the help guys...

 

bump again... *sigh*

 

check for vacuum leaks.

 

it has a blown head gasket. oil is getting into the cylinders past the gasket, and the radiator is being pressurized by the cylinders compression leaking past the gasket. to prove, take off the radiator cap and i bet the car idles smoother.

dont drive it, your radiator will burst.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike_belben@yahoo.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it has a blown head gasket. oil is getting into the cylinders past the gasket, and the radiator is being pressurized by the cylinders compression leaking past the gasket. to prove, take off the radiator cap and i bet the car idles smoother.

dont drive it, your radiator will burst. </TD></TR></TABLE>

i was leaning towards headgasket. but i know it recently had a new one put on before i got the car. and all 4 have 180psi. so it can still be the headgasket? you kinda made sense. because if i leave the EACV plugged in the radiator hose gets real big and is about to burst. so i just leave that unplugged. but ive been driving it with no problems besides loosing oil.

 

okay taking off the radiator cap did nothing at all.

 

Valve seals senor

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike_belben@yahoo.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it has a blown head gasket. oil is getting into the cylinders past the gasket, and the radiator is being pressurized by the cylinders compression leaking past the gasket. to prove, take off the radiator cap and i bet the car idles smoother.

dont drive it, your radiator will burst. </TD></TR></TABLE>

first let me calm you down and say u dont have a blown headgasget. if u did u could not get that compression.

the oil problem is the valve seals. when it's on intake vacume pulles oil in to the A/F mix.

if your radiator hole looks like it's about to burst, play it safe and get a new one. are they soft sillicone feel or hard dried oout rubber feel?

your idle problem i dont know with out more information recarding when it happens, and under what sercasances.

 

yea need more details...

 

if the radiator hose feels as hard as a rock, the only way its getting that pressure is through the compression leaking past the headgasket and pressurizing the coolant ducts. the water pump doesnt have the ability to pressurize the radiator to the point of expansion. if the car is puffing white and seems like its choking on water (running very rough) and there is water or oil ON THE SPARKPLUG in liberal amounts, its the headgasket.

"burning oil like crazy" leaves a little too much room for interpretation.

ive had fair compression on several blown headgaskets, the cars ran almost fine. headgaskets can leak to varying degrees, its not an on/off switch

 

.. your radiator hose ONLY does this when the eacv is plugged in?

 

Gotta love that disappearing quart of oil every time I fill up with gas. I just stepped up to 20W-50 oil to try to slow the process. I truly think it's all leaking into the cylinders through the head [valve stem seals]. There isn't a drop on my driveway.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike_belben@yahoo.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">.. your radiator hose ONLY does this when the eacv is plugged in? </TD></TR></TABLE>

that is correct. and when it is plugged in. it has a erratic idle.

the radiator hose feels and looks like new.

ive never dealt with valve seals before..only headgaskets. i guess even if it is the valve stem seals. im going to still have to take the head of and replace the headgasket anyways. does anyone know what to look for with the valve seals to see if they are bad? or is it just common sense? ive never looked at them before.

when i say its smoking like crazy. i mean its puffing out a little smoke when idling and if i gun it. it will shoot alot more smoke out. it burns about a quart a week and i dont even drive it much.

 

if you have erratic idle with the iacv plugged in and it idles fine with it unplugged then you have to take off your iacv and clean it with carb cleaner, theres alitle screen in there that you need to clean. put it back on and clear your codes and try and see if it still idles erratically

 

valve stem seals can be changed with the head on the car. You just need to pump shop air into the cylinder while you do it so the valves dont drop. Try a leakdown test on the cylinders

 

IAC valve check: disconnect with car running. check across yel/black wire to body ground for battery voltage. if no, open circuit exists between main relay and IAC.

the iac valve lets extra air into the engine during cold starts to raise rpm by 150-300 and help smooth idle. the fast idle thermo valve (FITV) and the IAC work in conjunction, there is a coolant passage from the intake manifold through fitv then IAC and finally back to thermostat housing.

my theory is this: its either a leaking headgasket that is pressurizing the coolant and goes away with the valve unplugged because the idle control circuit introduces more volume for the coolant to expand, therefore relieving the pressure

OR...

the intake manifold gasket is leaking water into the #4 runner around the coolant passage used to supply the idle circuit, forcing it into the cylinder.

are you sure youre not confusing FITV with IAC?

i am not spending any more of my time flipping through manuals until you run the car, make it do its stumbling thing for a while, then pull all 4 plugs and tell me exactly what they look like.

water and oil are my concern.

 

ok thanks guys for all the help.

BUT...

i just put a new headgasket on, checked for warpage and cracks..you know the drill. and i also put on 16 new valve stem seals. i didnt believe it was the headgasket because it looked like someone recently put a new one on before i got the car at the auction.

and after doing those things. the car still smokes and idles erratically. very pissed.

im at a loss. i dont know what else could be causing the oil burning. but im going to take the IAC out and clean it to see if that helps the idle.

heres what ive done so far..

new headgasket
new valve stem seals
180psi compression in all 4 cylinders
adjusted the valve clearances
set timing (it was way off)
etc etc...


Modified by mike93eh at 9:31 PM 11/15/2004

 

well, i cleaned the IACV out and nothing different...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The intake manifold gasket is leaking water into the #4 runner around the coolant passage used to supply the idle circuit, forcing it into the cylinder</TD></TR></TABLE>

That does sound like a legit concern, have you checked that out?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dr_latino999 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

That does sound like a legit concern, have you checked that out?</TD></TR></TABLE>

well when i change a headgasket, i also change the intake manifold and exhaust manifold gaskets.

i checked the IAC and it has voltage. theres a guy i know down the street with about 20 junked crx's..ill probably try yanking one of the IAC's off and seeing what that does.

still blowing some mad smoke...

 

Possibly sucking oil in through the PCV?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DaX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Possibly sucking oil in through the PCV?</TD></TR></TABLE>

how so? ive also replaced the pcv valve.

heres another interesting tidbit. okay, i have the IAC plugged in and its idling erratically, but if i pinch the pcv valve hose shut, it idles normal and its not all erratic and revving itself up and down.

 

Maybe you need a new IACV? Thats a pretty weird thing.

 

call me unlucky, but the two times ive tried replacing headgaskets without block and head surfacing, it still leaked. have you checked the plugs since then? does the radiator hose still pressurize?

dax made a great point.. and you say the engine is idling differently when the pcv is pinched? factory breather tank on the block is actually supposed to be an air/oil mist seperator, but they dont do a very good job. the pcv system is to breath vapors back into the engine,, but engines love to detonate and smoke when its oil mist they are drinking. try removing the pcv line from the manifold and plugging the manifold port. this is called open loop and is no harm for the engine, just frowned upon by the government.

when the gasket was being changed, were the manifold runners and ports oily and wet? or did the oil start at the valvestem?

have you recently added a clamp on valvecover breather or cold air intake?