Can someone tell me what could cause this? My first thought was a tune-up like spark plugs and such. I just know something is wrong with it. I have 150k on this car and have had it since it was new. I know when something isn't right with this car like it is part of me.

 

did you check the timing?....if it idles poorly and is getting really bad gas milege, and you replaced spark plugs, its gonna either be ignition or fuel related

 

change timing belt if not done yet...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ricebike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">change timing belt if not done yet... </TD></TR></TABLE>

an old timing belt is not going to give the car rough idle ...............not unless it jumped a few teeth

yo tom,, chk plugs, wires, chk for vaccum leak. and chk injectors as well make sure they are all working properly .........if you have a miss, you are going to suffer on the mpg ...fix the idle issue and mpg will return to normal

 

OK, I thought the first place to start would be the spark plugs. Can someone break down the method you use to change spark plugs? I would like to know:

1. What kind of plugs most guys use
2. Size of socket used
3. How tight you make them
4. What the gap should be and if you trust the gap from the store

Before you roll your eyes like I would do let me tell you why I'm asking this. I've done this years ago and I messed something up. One of the wires got messed up and I was basically running a 3 cylinder. I know how to do this but I want to remove any chance of something messing up. By the way, when I had problems I had aftermarket wires that had to be grounded. I forgot the name but I don't think they did anything and they cost a lot.

 

use NGK spark plugs i believe ur car takes ZFR5F11 if cannot find at parts store get them at dealer.. as for socket get it at any parts store or SEARS just a plug socket there are 2 sizes just get the smaller size ,,,,do them hand tight once bottomed just give it a little snug and for the gap they should be fine from store they are pre gapped ,but gap is at .040-.044 set them at smaller end cause as they wear gap gets bigger ,,,,,,and as for screwing up the wires just do them 1 at a time and put wire back in same place that way u minimize the chances of hooking up in wrong cylinder..............if you need plud wires get NGK brand good wires and cheaper than dealer

 

clean out your egr ports =D

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1199662

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by deserthonda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">an old timing belt is not going to give the car rough idle ...............not unless it jumped a few teeth

yo tom,, chk plugs, wires, chk for vaccum leak. and chk injectors as well make sure they are all working properly .........if you have a miss, you are going to suffer on the mpg ...fix the idle issue and mpg will return to normal</TD></TR></TABLE>

oops sorry DH, shoulda said "sidenote" since t-belts are good for 90-100k ( i noticed he has 150K) before playing "wait-until-the-belt-breaks-&-***-up-the-valves-or-pistons" game.

would a slightly clogged fuel filter be another possible cause to this as well?

 

Which NGK plugs are most people using on their Accords. I know this has been debated before and I don't want to spend money for nothing or not get good enough plugs.

My timing belt. Almost exactly five years ago (I can't recall the mileage) I got married and went on a cruise. When we got back I pulled the car around to get the luggage. The car was pouring oil out like it was coming out of a bottle. I had to leave my car in California and the work done included changing the timing belt. A little while later I got a recall notice in the mail saying the problem could cause oil to come out of the engine. Hello! I got some of my money back for the repair and it was all good. I say all of this to say I have had my timing belt replaced. I think it was in the 70,000 neighborhood because I don't like the thought of what could happen if it breaks. Keep in mind, this engine behavior isn't really something that has been gradually getting worse. I let my car sit for one day because I rode the metro to a class and when I drove it on Saturday I could tell something wasn't right. I don't think it should be time for a timing belt again yet.

 

what u r talking about is the balancer shaft seal they pop out and oil spills all over actually you should have gotten all your moneu back from honda .....Honda says do it at 90-105k but in severe weather condition like in AZ and other hottter then hell places should be done at 60k i have looked at many t-belts at 60 and can still go at least 20-30 k ..so definatelly do it around 80-90k ..also if u do mostly city driving i would do it closer to 75k cause while u r standing at stops miles in odometer will not go up but t-belt is still spinning ................
but like i said an old t-belt will not cause car to run rough you got another issue

as for plugs use the 1s that ur car calls for i believe it is NGK ZFR3F11 ,,unless it takes a platinum tip plug than it would be PZFR5F11..

 

i just use regular ngk plugs.. i dont know waht there called or what the code is i think there the ZFR3F11 as stated by deserthonda.. but yea those always worked just fine for me... did you loook into the egr cleaning?

 

I ordered the wires and plugs last night. My wife is driving the car this week since she rides the subway.
I didn't look into the EGR cleaning because I think that might be a little bit too much for me to do.

What do you guys think of these fuel system cleaners? Do any of them work or are they just a wast of money?

 

oooops i just realized i typed wrong # it should say ZFR5F11 NOT ZFR3F11

 

some of these gas additive fuel cleaner work pretty good i have noticed mostly on acura legends it really helps smooth out the idle ...
the product i use is BG 44K u add it to tank make sure to fill gas tank i dont know if u can get it at any part store i get it from a representative that comes to the shop

 

I changed the plugs and wires. The car is still burning gas too fast. I normally get 330 miles to a tank or more. I'm at half a tank with 135 miles right now. I will let this tank run out before I go to the dealer.

Will the fuel filter, PCV valve, EGR or valves needing adjustment cause any of my problems? If so, where is the fuel filter for this car? I've done one before but not on this car. What about the PCV valve? I have heard that it is super simple to change but I haven't done it either. I want to get the simple stuff out of the way before I go to the dealer.

I will soon have to ride a bike if the gas prices continue to go up.

 

Can anyone help me with these questions? ^^^

 

it wont be the fuel filter causing u to waste more gas unless of course it is leaking but an a 96 accord it is located on driver side under hood below brake master cylinder,,,,if u plan on rerplacing it u need to loosen up the lower line from under car first use a 14mm crow foot, long extension ..the rest is pretty simple

the pcv valve is on the valve coverm there is a tube that goes from v.c. to throttle body it is very easy to replace valve //

have u done a throttle body service??? fuel injector service??? and i am assuming timing is ok