1995 Integra LS

I believe that I got a tank of bad gas near the beginning of a long road trip (Maryland ->North Carolina -> Missouri -> visit, reverse). The car had no power and was getting steadily worse. I added some injector cleaner and over the next 40 or so miles, it came back to life. I continued on but had to keep adding cleaner to keep it running ok. I had the fuel filter changed at the destination and finally had full power in the high RPM. When heading home, the problem came back (quickly) so I started adding injector cleaner again, and added dry gas to the mixture. This time, it didn’t restore my power – it improved, but not close to normal. I managed to get home. Replaced the fuel filter again – no dice. Checked fuel pressure and is what’s shown in the manual (34 idle/ 44 vacuum line removed). So, I took apart the injector rail and cleaned each injector with carb cleaner. This improved things, but I still have no power. The car starts and idles like there is no problem. It doesn’t heat up beyond normal when driving. When I give it much gas, I get a hollow growl instead of power. It won’t go above about 4500 RPM (sudden no power). I am also getting a sound almost like a air escaping when I push hard on the accelerator pedal and I’m above about 3400 RPM. Sounds like it could be air rushing somewhere, then stopping and then rushing again – a ch-ch-ch kind of sound. A friend removed the battery and shorted the + to ground to reset the ECU. This improved things a little, but now it beeps 5 times when I turn it off.

I'm getting desparate. Any help or suggestions appreciated!

 

bad o2 sensor? check timing? bad clutch?

 

Clutch is fine.
Timing shouldn't have changed under these conditions (I did give it a tune-up and adjusted the valves -- no diff).

I considered the O2 sensor since it runs better cold then hot (forgot to mention that). Is there any way to test it? (I was told that the check engine light would be on if it was bad).

 

Ok, I know it shouldn't be the timing at all. But that's exactly what happened on my friend's car. Couldn't rev past 4k, no power, sucked down gas, made an odd sound under accelleration..etc, and didn't have a cel. I guess your timing belt couldnt have slipped teeth or anything...


You can unplug the O2 sensor and see if it's better. CEL will come on but shouldn't matter. You'll get power, but bad gas mileage. Mine drops about 8mpg with it unplugged.

 

Thanks for the response.

When I was adjusting the valves, I took a quick look at the timing belt position thinking that it may have slipped a tooth. It was ok. But, I double checked the ignition timing just now and it's right-on.

I also disconnected the O2 sensor and the car drove exactly the same -- no difference -- does that mean it's bad?

Is there an "official" way to reset the ECU? We disconnected the battery and grounded the 12v line for a few minutes.

 

Well, mine's a 99 w/obd2, but normally I pull the backup radio fuse for 30sec. It's under the hood.