I took my in car in for a a diagnostics check at my local honda dealership because I noticed that after i washed my engine liek 2 days ago, it would sputter at hard throttle in about 1000-3000 rpm. the problem was intermittent, sometimes it did this, most of the tiem it didn't. I haven't had the car sputter on me at all today though. Anyways I think the dealership may be bullshitting me, these are the things they told me I "needed".

Distributer cap $27.50
Distributer rotor $24.91
Spark Plugs iridium $24.91
Spark plug wires $21.84
coil wire $23.86
Distributer coil $112.97
Cylinder Head $1719.43 Possibly if head is cracked
Head Gasket set $341.16
Thermostat w/ gasket $28.41
ABS pump motor $339.50

Ok the ABS pump motor, I'm not going to get, ABS isn't a necessity. But the rest I am not too sure about... I mean for instance the distributer cap/rotor/plug wires, my brother told me that it's not really necessary to change these, but I did install some new NGK v-power spark plugs just 2 months ago, so I think they are just BSing me on that one. The thing thats gonna cost me BIG bucks is the head gasket, would they really BS me on this? I mean my car hasn't overheated at all yet and I am only burning a quart of oil every 3000 miles, and that is with me using vtec....alot, and by this time I usually just change my oil. Also, if my head gasket was really bad, wouldn't I be losing coolent aswell? because my coolent levels are fine, I check every once in a while and its been the same.

 

So, uh, did you actually cover anything up when you washed your engine?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Featherfire &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So, uh, did you actually cover anything up when you washed your engine?</TD></TR></TABLE>

x2

WTF man. Did you just spray a whole bunch of water on it? Your head could be cracked if you sprayed cold water on it before letting it cool off.

Man, good luck with that. If i were you, i'd get a used head. Not sure if they'll install it - try to go to a small shop.

 

i had the same problem with my lude the problem for me was that there was water in my spark plug holes so i wasnt getting a good spark. so just lift your spark plug wires and see if you got water in it

 

Actually I used very little water, and I covered ALOT of things up with aluminum foil. I cleaned the engine in the morning, I was afraid to clean it too, after reading everywhere that I should clean and degrease the outside of it I finally musterd up the courage to do it. I didn't do a good job either, the engine still looks dirty. I sprayed some citrus degreaser on the sides of the engine and the transmission and the top of the VALF PGMFI thingy, I covered the throttle cable and all the wires I saw going to the valf with aluminum foil. I think the problem has gone away though, maybe water did get into the spark plug holes and is now dried up? And about this head gasket? What are the symptoms of a messed up head gasket anyways?

 

Aluminum foil? Next time use garbage bags and duct tape or grocery store bags.

 

loss of compression, oil in collant, collant in oil. if u have oil/collant mixture it will look like a chocolate milkshake.

 

aluminum foil should only be used to cook with, or if you are trying to hide from the voices, cause if you make a hat out of the foil it allows you to think privately withoutm them interupting you with their opinions and makes life so much more quiet and peaceful. make sure you wear the foil with the reflective side out.


oh yeah and nex time use something that will stop water when you clean your engine, water in the ignition system (inside the distributor for example) will cause your problems.

 

it's funny how for plug wires they only want that much, but they want just about as much for the damn dizzy cap.. what the hell? for my corolla (winter car) it cost me $50 for wires and 4.99 for a dizzy cap

PGMFI thingy?

i n t a k e m a n i f o l d

 

the big question is if it's done it since...if not, then you just temporarily screwed it up. my VW would do this when it was extremely humid out. it wouldn't cease until after the engine had warmed up enough.

so if it hasn't done it since, don't worry about it.

if it has, buy a used head and don't do it again.

 

I just get my engine steam cleaned by a professional

 

Damn man....all stuffs that you list cost almost 2000$. Save a little more to rebuild the hole thing if I were you.
At first I just replace the basic stuff like....spark plugs....distributor cap and rotor..coil.....YOu can reuse them with the new motor too.

 

more than likely just take your dizzy cap off and check for water.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rudelude22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">more than likely just take your dizzy cap off and check for water. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, I really don't know where this "cracked head" is coming from. Start with the basic electrical/ignition stuff, go from there. You've probably just got a bit of water where it shouldn't be.