Hi!

My friend has B16A2 delSol and has some serious VTEC issues...

The green connector under the VTEC solenoid was broken so he went to the dealership and they changed it... they also "adjusted" timing and they did some mild valve lash adjustment...

And it was all fine, but now after a few weeks, VTEC doesn't engage...

The car revs fine but VTEC just wont kick in... there are no CEL codes...

But I noticed a few problems when I met him few days ago...

1. The upper left valve cover bolt is fucked up (if you look from the front of the car)...

The bolt was stripped by the mechanic and he replaced it with the different bolt and this one would not go in all the way so the engine spills oil and pressure through the gasket because valve cover is not tightened properly... and I mean SPILLS...

There's oil all over the engine and as soon as you start the engine, there is white smoke coming through the gasket (yes the engine needs rebuild so that's where the smoke is coming from)

2. timing is not set properly... engine idles at 500rpm and below and if you push the gas pedal, it boggs a bit and then revs up fine... it only boggs until revs reach 1200rpm... after that it revs smooth and fine

3. head gasket is blown but the engine is not overheating YET

4. there is NO BACKUP/RADIO fuse in the fuse box near the battery... there should be 7.5A fuse for ECU and the radio presets/code but IT IS NOT THERE... I think that is why there are no CEL codes stored... because everytime he shuts off the engine, the ECU resets...

Can ANY of those problems cause VTEC malfunction?

What can be the problem...

I must say that even with the GREEN PLUG broken, VTEC was kickin in everytime and there were no engine issues at all except oil burning... after the plug replacement, valve adjustment and timing adjustment it all went downhill...

please help!

 

take it back to the dealer and tell them they messed it all up and make them pay for it.

 

Yeah, but it worked for 2 weeks and now it doesn't... and I doubt he will ever go there again...

Can a fuckd up vlave cover bolt cause VTEC malfunction???

Because the engine loses oil rapidly through the cover gasket and pressure blows by the gasket like nothing I've seen so far...

 

Just to clear things up...

Here are the pictures... note that when you start the engine, there's a blow-by through the vlave cover gasket under that bolt...

 

Come on guys!!!

Can anyone just TRY?!?!?!?

 

best bet is to take it to the dealie and tell them to pay...it might take some work but once you show them that it was the bolt thats causing oil spills...they'll fix it...and wtf is with the missing fuse...ask them about that shiet

 

Vtec is not working because there's not enough oil, simple fix. Take the motor back to dealer, quite simple.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sicky &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Vtec is not working because there's not enough oil, simple fix. Take the motor back to dealer, quite simple.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, I know VTEC doesn't work when the engine is low on oil...

But even if he fills it to the MAX mark on the dipstick, VTEC doesn't work...

He was at the dealership today and they told him that THERE IS NO WAY THEY COULD HAVE DONE THAT... after a lot of argue he left cos he couldn't do anything else...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KKVTi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yes, I know VTEC doesn't work when the engine is low on oil...

But even if he fills it to the MAX mark on the dipstick, VTEC doesn't work...

He was at the dealership today and they told him that THERE IS NO WAY THEY COULD HAVE DONE THAT... after a lot of argue he left cos he couldn't do anything else...</TD></TR></TABLE>

at that point, your friend needs to get a lawyer.

 

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

Yes, I know VTEC doesn't work when the engine is low on oil...

But even if he fills it to the MAX mark on the dipstick, VTEC doesn't work...

He was at the dealership today and they told him that THERE IS NO WAY THEY COULD HAVE DONE THAT... after a lot of argue he left cos he couldn't do anything else...</TD></TR></TABLE>

couldnt? or didnt want to? if he has an invoice for the work done, they are responsible for the work.

Also you dont have enouh oil pressure to engage vtec, it doesnt help that you are probably spilling so much of it that your quanity is low. fix your damn valve cover.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Vero &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">couldnt? or didnt want to? if he has an invoice for the work done, they are responsible for the work.

Also you dont have enouh oil pressure to engage vtec, it doesnt help that you are probably spilling so much of it that your quanity is low. fix your damn valve cover.</TD></TR></TABLE>

They said that that bolt WAS NOT BROKEN when the car left their garage... they acused him for braking the bolt...

And he can't prove anything because HE DIDN'T SEE IT IMMEDIATELY... infact, he didn't see it at all, cos he doesnt know anything about cars or engines... I saw it immediately after I opened the hood... but that was 2 weeks after he was at the dealership...

Just to describe his "car-skills" here is an example...

The timing is not adjusted properly so car was bogging on low rpm's (but it reved fine after 1100/1200 rpm)... he thought that one of his cylinders stopped working and didn't want to drive the car for 5 days until I came and explained the problem to him...

You can easily mislead a man who doesn't know anything about engines... and why should he... that's WHY HE PAID THE MECHANIC to take care of something he doesn't know anything about... but mechanic fucked him up real good...

And that's not the whole story... it goes on and on, but I don't want to waste bandwidth with irrelevant stories... let's just say that their incompetence cost him a lot of money... hint: 250miles tow-truck ride... and that's a lot

 

for the idle i would clean throttle body, turn idle air screw out some(screw on throttle body), maybe take off idle air control vavle off and clean screen.
for vtec i would check engine temp sensor to see if it is sending the right temp signal, vtec won't activate if it isn't thinking it is warm enough. i would also check to see if the vtec solenoid is working by suppling battery voltage to the one wire solenoid make sure you supply power to only the solenoid or you will fry the ecm, if it is working you should hear a click sound.
i would put the 7.5amp fuse back in, check engine light should come on without fuse, check codes after fuse install, some codes can set without check engine light coming on.
why do think the head gasket is bad?

good luck

 

also when you put the fuse back in make sure that the check engine light bulb is good and that the car has one

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by blcivsi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">why do think the head gasket is bad?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Because I see oil marks on the block and the oil is coming from the head gasket...