Below is a book of problems I am having after an install of jrsc(stock) onto a jdm b18c nestled in a 98 coupe. It is quite lenghty and in depth and that is just so you can understand as fully as possible. I have searched hours and hours on end for all of these questions and have founds lots of tips to try but I still can't figure these out. I am ready to take it to a mechanic and let them figure it out but I've went so far with no help except you guys and kind of wanted to keep it that way and my funds are pretty drained at the moment(myrtle beach golfing!!).
Just to let you know a little history, I bought the car at 20 at 21 put b18c in with no prior mechanical knowledge, ran good all summer, this last winter I bought jrsc threw it on and now here we are spring time with summerJUST around the corner.



First Problem

Coolant leak


I am leaking coolant on the passenger side and it looks to be coming out around the main water pipe. Took the thermostat housing off and took the oring off the main pipe. It was kind of rusty in the groove so I sanded that out, Greased up oring and put it back together, still leaks, oring looked aliright.

Both the other coolant hoses coming off the water pipe are tight..triple checked.

I did put a new t-stat in and reused gasket off other t-stat. It doesn't leak where the t-stat cover comes off. So I don't think its that.

How do I fix the main water pipe from leaking? tape,sealer stuff, what?

Also the leak only happens after the car is warmed up and the bouncing idle starts(thats a whole different post). I then will shut my car off cuz of bad idle and wait like 5-10 minutes, it takes a little while, and then it starts to leak out. I've shined a light in thier and cannot see the leak. I've looked from beneath as well and it sure seems like where the main water pipe goes in.

Why does it only leak after the car is shut off and sitting for a while?

Alright lets go onto another topic shall we? Oh what fun!

IDLE

It goes like this: Start the car cold and when it warms up its a constant ~2.5rpm.
But....after my little ticking time bomb has fully warmed up the idle bounces from ~1-3 rpm.

I've sprayed everyhose, gasket, anywhere(I think), that air can get in or out.
I'm using starting fluid,not even sure if that will work but it does drop the idle when I spray directly in tb, but no where else I spray.

I am putting coolant in it until no more will go in with cap off whole time and the bouncing idle just won't go away.

It revs just fine if that makes a difference.

I've taken iacv and cleaned(screen looked good to begin with), and tightened fitvalve wax ring(wasn't loose to begin with). When I unplug iacv the idle does drop but it still bounces very slightly from like 500-600. It will almost want to die and then pick itself back up. I've tried the screw on the tb as well fully turned in to other settings.

What is causing my bouncing idle if thier is no vacuum leak?

On to just one more problem, I promise this is that last one.

Timing

Paper clip in service connector Check!
Start car and begin to time car with dist all the way towards firewall(Fully retarded) and it looks like its at, if I had to guess, is 25 Thats with it fully retarded and car warmed up or cold I beleive. With Jackson Racing tell me it should be at 10 btdc that kind of scares me.

Why does it read so advanced?

Personally I don't really think it its at 25 or it probably wouldn't run real good right?

Did I skip a took on the timing belt or something?

I will paypal 10 bux to the poster that solves each of my three problems. Hell I'll do 10 bux for each problem. So post away and help me out. If your post is the one that solves a problem you get 10 bux. Hell .... cheaper than a mechanic.

Thanks guys and sorry about the long *** post,
98civic94gsr

 

are you checking idle fully warmed up? Also, your idle is likely from your IACV, but have you driven the car at all? You probably just need to go through some heat cycles, took my buddies car a few small trips to get the coolant all settled in. Make sure your heater is on full hot when you fill up too.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by coneheadsracing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">are you checking idle fully warmed up? Also, your idle is likely from your IACV, but have you driven the car at all? You probably just need to go through some heat cycles, took my buddies car a few small trips to get the coolant all settled in. Make sure your heater is on full hot when you fill up too. </TD></TR></TABLE>


The car has been running about 5-10 minutes in heated garage.

I have not driven the car at all.

**** I forgot to turn the heater on. I will go try that right now.

So you think its safe to drive with it leaking coolant

Thanks,
98civic94gsr

 

I've had the bouncing idle thing a couple of times, turned out to be some corrosion on the pins of my TPS plug. They were pretty well eaten up so I grabbed some pins out of my cruise control plug and that fixed it. I think because that plug faces up it can collect water or something, but it's happened to me twice.

 

Well the car was only leaking after it sat shut off for a while but now its leaking pretty much instantly. I also just tried it with the heater on and it still wont idle correctly.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rmcdaniels &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've had the bouncing idle thing a couple of times, turned out to be some corrosion on the pins of my TPS plug. They were pretty well eaten up so I grabbed some pins out of my cruise control plug and that fixed it. I think because that plug faces up it can collect water or something, but it's happened to me twice.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I will check it out and see how they look.

 

You can't check your timing if the idle is surging, so you need to fix the idle.

My car has also idled irratically from low coolant, so the idle could be caused by the leak. Put some Honda Bond on the water neck to seal it.

Did you eliminate any possible leak locations? Check all your gaskets and hoses and make sure there are no cracks anywhere. Sometimes hairline cracks develop around bolt holes in the flanges. Coolant is hard to tell where the leak is because it is very light green almost clear.........

Good luck

 

If it's leaking from the main water pipe, buy a new gasket or at least get some rtv sealant and put it on the gasket before you install it.
As far as your idle is concerned take a look at this link, step by step diagnosis: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread/343980
I'd get the "above" problems resolved and then see if your timing is any better.

 

Well I've got some Goop laying around the house somewheres. I slather the pipe in that **** and slap 'er together and see if she holds.

Keep your thumbs crossed.


Thanks,
98civic94gsr

 

#1 problem will be resolved with a new o-ring, and hondabond generously applied.

#2 problem is most likely your fast idle thermo valve gone bad, it's underneath your throttle body, and easily replaceable.

#3 problem is that if you're moving your dizzy towards the firewall you're advancing it.

Where's my reward lol

 

Well I gooped the pipe up and it still leaks like a sive. I let it cure for 4 hours so I know it was all dry. I generously applied it so thier is no way it could leak.

Well guess what. It leaks just the same. All my hoses are tight I beleive. I do have a few clamps that are the original squeeze with pliers type, not the tighten the 5/16 bolt type. Its leaking onto the header and then onto the ground.

Its gets really wierd though. My idle is cured. It idles at about 1000 rpms when warmed up. I could tell instantly when I started it after gluing the pipe that it was better. Instead of soaring to 2.5 when cold it went up to close to 2000 rpms and then as it got warmed up it dropped right down. BUT IT STILL LEAKS!!

I said, "expletive it" I'm gonna take it for a quick spin up the road. Well it was making a wierd whistle noise when I pressed the gas, it sounded just like the sound that my buddies saturn made when he had a bearing going out in the motor. The belts seem tight as **** to me. Which one is more prone to slipping, the alt to crank or alt to sc? If it was the sc itself whining it made no power. The car seemed slow and kind of boggy. It almost felt like it wanted to die.


Also now that its idiling about 1000 rpms the wideband reads "lean". If I burp the gas it drops right down.

Why at idle now does it read lean? When its cold and the rpms are at 2000 rpms it reads 14.5-9 or so. When the idle drops it leans out.

So where could it leak from that I'm not thinking of? Its a pretty damn good leak.

Well if I can't figure it out in a few more days I'm taking it to a mechanic.
NOOOO!!!

Also SC4DR, 1. didn't help. 2. Fast idle is fine, oring is tight. 3. I told you wrong. I am putitng it towards the front of the car to retard it. Thanks though, keep trying.

Help guys,
98civic94gsr

 

All hose clamps are tight. Main water pipe fixed. Doesn't seem to be leaking from t-stat housing. Seems to leak from passenger side of car. What could it be?

Afr are "lean" at 1000 rpm steady idle. When I press the gas to 2000 rpms they are about 13 or so. Why so lean at idle? Could it be from a vacuum leak?

Took car for a ride and could hear a wierd whistle noise when I accelerate. Belts seemed very tight to me. The car didn't have much power though. When I got on it, it was kind of boggy. The whistle noise was scaring me so I turned around after 100 yards or so, and the car would barely run. Ended up shutting it off and pushing home. Oh yeah it was leaking coolant so bad it started to overheat as well. Yeah I know probably shouldn't have took it for a ride.

Anymore ideas?

Thanks again

 

Don't drive it around anymore. You might have a blown headgasket. I don't know your mechanical knowledge, but it might not be a bad idea to take it to someone.

 

Ahh I don't think I've got a blown headgasket. I thought maybe I did because of the coolant loss but thier isn't a lick of coolant on the dipstick. I took the oil filter off and poured the oil out of it into a cup and no water separated from the oil. It looks the same after 2 days...just oil.

Well I would really like to give away some money. Come on guys help me out.

Thanks again,
98civic94gsr

 

Your strange whistle might be your supercharger belt slipping. That would explain you loss of power. You might wanna make sure the belt is in good shape assuming it's tight.

 

Both brand new.

 

Your strange whistle might be the actual supercharger whine, which is perfectly normal when making boost. However, if it whines/whistles when you're not making boost that something else altogether.

 

Sorry to jack the OP, but what would it mean if the s/c whines out of boost? I dont think mine whined as much last week and it seems to get louder each day. It still holds 10psi @ wot. Maybe it's just me, I dont know.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 98civic94gsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ahh I don't think I've got a blown headgasket. I thought maybe I did because of the coolant loss but thier isn't a lick of coolant on the dipstick. I took the oil filter off and poured the oil out of it into a cup and no water separated from the oil. It looks the same after 2 days...just oil.

Well I would really like to give away some money. Come on guys help me out.

Thanks again,
98civic94gsr</TD></TR></TABLE>

You might not have a blown headgasket, but I've seen them blow with no coolant in the oil. When a headgasket blows it doesnt necessarily flood the oil passages, it can blow internally, and cause it to pressurize your coolant system. This will cause it to overheat, and the coolant will find the easiest escape route which might be your leaks. Also, if you have a bored TB, they whistle.

When your car first starts up cold it should be rich. As it warms up, generally your ecu will start to lean it out. This helps maintain a smooth idle, and good gas mileage. You should start @ around 11-12 afr, an slowly end up near 14-15 afr. At tip in your afr should dip back down in the low 12's to high 11's. If this is the case(roughly) you're alright there.

Do a coolant system pressure test, you can rent a kit from Salvo, it's real easy to do. This will tell you a lot. Also do a compression test. Check to make sure your cams are at TDC in relation to your crank pulleys white mark lined up w/ the pointer on your timing belt cover.

 

Well I got it all figured out on my own. Who needs a mechanic. hehehe

No coolant leaks, its timed and it idles perfect.

The only thing now is. I went to take it for spin and when I speed up to say 30 mph and then let off the gas it immediately reads Lean or Air on my wideband o2. Are they suppose to do that when you let off the gas? When I'm on the gas it reads about 13 or so, not in boost. To tell you the truth I didn't even feel a difference in 1st and part of 2nd gear. It was dark and I have no headlights so it was kind of hard to hold a flashlight out the window keep an eye on the road and keep an eye on my wideband.

Why does it run lean when I let off the gas? Is this normal?

Also if I advance the timing past a certain spot I get the bouncy idle. Is this normal?

If I retard it to much it doesn't rev quick like it should. Its kind of a boggy rev.

So I put the timing right in between those two points which looks about 7 on my timing light.

Thanks for the help guys,
98civic94gsr

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 98civic94gsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I went to take it for spin and when I speed up to say 30 mph and then let off the gas it immediately reads Lean or Air on my wideband o2. Are they suppose to do that when you let off the gas? </TD></TR></TABLE>

That is exactly the way Honda designed their fuel injection. When you let off the gas completely, and the car is in gear (over run), they designed their engine management to turn off the injectors completely. That means zero fuel is being injected, which means all that is going out the exhaust is air.

 

Well I just got done taking it for a spin in the daylight and it is very boggy up until about 5500 rpms. Why is this?


What I think it could be is maybe my timing. I have it set between 7-10. If I try to advance it further the idle gets bouncy.

Is this due to advancing it or is it due to something else such as a vacuum leak or something?

To tell you the truth right now it doesn't seem any faster. Maybe after 5500 rpms but it is slow as hel up until then.

My afrs seem pretty rich to me at like 11-13 cruising hard. When I'm under boost I saw it drop to 10.

Maybe that has to do with my bogginess huh?

Let me know how to make it faster in the lower rpms. I bought this damn sc because I thought it would help my lowend and in turn it turned it to ****.


Thanks guys,
98civic94gsr

 

take it for a run, turn it off and pull/read the plugs.

boggy?? as in stuttering boggy or just plain slow??

so what was the water leak problem and what was the idling problem if you dont mind divulging??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stackz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
so what was the water leak problem and what was the idling problem if you dont mind divulging??</TD></TR></TABLE>

Inquiring minds want to know!

 

was the coolent leak from the water lines to the oil cooler? when i had my jr on my gsr they would leak about every 5,000 to 10,000 miles. after they did it a few times i just bent the pipes on the oil cooler to keep them from rubbing. ( dont know if that fixed the problem cause i sold the car)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 98civic94gsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well I just got done taking it for a spin in the daylight and it is very boggy up until about 5500 rpms. Why is this?


What I think it could be is maybe my timing. I have it set between 7-10. If I try to advance it further the idle gets bouncy.

Is this due to advancing it or is it due to something else such as a vacuum leak or something?

To tell you the truth right now it doesn't seem any faster. Maybe after 5500 rpms but it is slow as hel up until then.

My afrs seem pretty rich to me at like 11-13 cruising hard. When I'm under boost I saw it drop to 10.

Maybe that has to do with my bogginess huh?

Let me know how to make it faster in the lower rpms. I bought this damn sc because I thought it would help my lowend and in turn it turned it to ****.


Thanks guys,
98civic94gsr</TD></TR></TABLE>

If what you described is accurate, you're running really rich, and your timing is way low. I tune mine to run around 12.2 @ wot and 14-15.0 cruising. I also run my timing @ at least 16 deg. base timing w/ 93 octane, and even more w/ race gas.

What are you using for management again? Are you going to have someone tune it for you?

And btw, jrsc's make some SICK low end torque when tuned CORRECTLY!!!!