Was going around 70-80mph and my car sounds like its not firing on all cylinders.
I get my car home and read the MIL. It say 71, misfire in cylinder 1.
I pull the spark plugs and sure enough, fuel all over spark plug #1.

I pull the distributor cap and found out that the rotor retainer screw came loose and ejected itself !


I had an extra retainer screw, old distributor cap and rotor (still in good condition). Cylinder #1 spark plug still won't fire!

I didn't have an extra leak cover, so I reused the one where the screw tore a hole (as shown in the picture).

Could this cause the misfire on the #1 wire ?

I tested my wire and it is within spec 16 kOhms (spec is 25 kOhms)
I tested the ignition coil and it is good 0.8 ohms between A and B terminals (spec is 0.6-0.8 ohms)
16kOhms between A and secondary winding terminals (spec is 12.8 - 19.2 kOhms)

So what it comes down to it, I get spark on #2, #3, and #4, but not on #1.

So I figure either two things are happening
1) There IS actually a spark but the fuel/air mixture is wrong because maybe there is a leak in cyl #1.
OR
2) (The better scenario) There is a short circuit when the rotor turns to terminal #1.

I think the coil is perfectly fine because I'm getting spark on all the other wires.
I'm going to order a new distrib.cap + rotor + retainer screws + leak covers .

Anything else I can test while I'm waiting for these parts ?
Should I do a compressions and/or leakdown test on cyl#1 ?

Or do you think replacing the cap, rotor, leak cover, etc.. will do the trick ?

 

Ok.. I just did a compression test. I have major engine problems.
NO compression at all on cylinder 1
I thought my guage might be broken, so I tried it on cyl#2. 250 psi.
Damn..

What is the next step ?
What could be wrong ?
And do you think it will be cheaper to repair/rebuild or buy a new engine?
What costs am I looking at here ?

 

pull the head, take pics and report back

 

**** man, that really sucks.....

iv had shitty luck with my R this week too... thankgod i have warranty though, if anything like this ever happened that is.

G'luck with everything :<

 

I guess I can pull the head, but in the middle of winter ? I only have a single car garage and I won't be able to pull it back in with the head off.

I'm further guessing that my valves on cylinder #1 are probably bent ?
I can't imagine the bottom end being screwed unless the cylinder was marred or piston was messed by the valves.

If I pull the head and find out that my valves are bent, I can replace them, but I don't trust myself properly seating them. Don't you have to ream the head where the valve sits if you get new ones ?

Can a misfire really cause this much damage? I really can't believe that its this major. I thought I would just need to replace the dizzy cap & rotor.

crap.. I'm in a world of hurt right now financially. I'm not sure if I can afford to repair or get a new engine.

 

only sure way to tell is to take it apart

 

You certainly can't drive it at this point - so you might as well diagnose it - at least you'll have a better idea what the monetary damages are

 

it is possible that becuase there was no spark in cyl 1 but the injector kept firing that the gas just sat there and washed the walls off of oil and messed up the cyl wall and rings.

but it should still show some compression...

 

I would think that all the gas would get pushed out the exhaust.
That's crazy that the compression gauge needle didn't move 1 psi for cyl 1.

I looked at used USDM B18C5 engine and they are selling for $5k. dang..

So. I think its in my best interests to take the head off and see the actually damage. Sigh..

I'm reading my Helms on head removal.
I've done a head swap on a Civic before, so I know some steps can be skipped.
What steps can I skip on the Type R ? Can I skip removing the Intake manifold from the head and also removing the camshaft sprockets and cams ?

 

the gas dose get pushed it but that one cyl runs stupid rich its not burning.
thats how you wash the walls and ruin it.

you have to take the cams off to pull the head. the head bolts are under the cam journals.

theres a intake manifold bracket its bolted to the block also i suppost if you take that off you can leave the intake manifold on.

 

I lost compression on #4 recently....and we took the head off without removing the intake manifold. But there are 2 bolts underneath that are a pain to get off.
2 foot extension FTW.
Its not that bad.


When the car is running does it sound like you have an exhaust leak?
You did a compression test, but what about leakdown? Did you try and hear where the air was escaping from?

What kind of header do you have?
Check your header to make sure its still fully bolted on.
In my case a stud had broken and the header had worked its way away from the block, which I'm sure contributed to the demise.

 

Thanks for the input. But what is FTW ?

When the car runs, it doesn't sound like I have an exhaust leak at all, but I'll be sure to check that too. I do remember hearing a little tick.. but I thought that was from the piston just floating around in there.. I dunno.

I don't want to order any more parts until I can see more of what is wrong. That way I don't have to pay more for shipping and handling.

I'm going to try to see if I can do the leakdown test today. I don't know where TDC is without taking of the valve cover though. I guess I can guestimate it by using a BBQ stick. But I might as well take of the valve cover to see if any of ther valve components died (springs, rockers, etc..).
I think its going to go down to 30 degrees today, so I might have to wait until friday.I think its supposed to be warmer that day.

Header: I have a Mugen 4-1 USDM header.

What exactly did you find that caused #4 to loose compression ?

 

Find TDC by lining up the mark on the crank pulley with the "spline" on the lower t-belt cover. I also drop drinking straws down through the valve cover to eyeball when the pistons are at TDC.

When #1 is at TDC, check your dizzy rotor to make sure it's firing at #1. If it's not lined up, your t-belt may have jumped.

 

FTW=for the win.
Having a long extension really helps.
The exhaust leak sound was the hole in one of my #4 exhaust valves, which is what caused the compression loss.
Sounds to me like your head is coming off either way.
At this point you should not be ordering parts, you should be ripping that head off to see what happened. If its a valve your going to be taking that head to a machine shop where they can break it down and tell you what parts you will need. Otherwise you may be getting new pistons/rings, really hard to say just yet. I would hold off ordering anything until the head is off.
Batoutahell has good advice too, check the timing.

 

It is also possible that the screw worked it's way out a while ago and you never noticed, and these problems are unrelated.

 

taking the head off should take about 45 mins....just do that first bro and go from there. We could sit here for hours with ideas that mighta gone wrong. Lets just pray its the head and not the block....repairing a head is MUCH cheaper

 

Youre positive youre doing the compression test right?

 

walker111, yes. I'm positive. I even did it again and got ~250 psi for #2, #3, and #4. #1 has 0 psi.

Results of the leakdown test:
#1, 100% leak at TDC and during the entire cycle (I rotated the crank a full cycle)
#2, Could not get a good reading because the piston kept on shooting down. Best I saw was 25% leak
#3, 25% leak
#4, 37% leak

I looked down all the spark plug tubes and the top of the pistons are black.

I was trying to see if I could hear where the leak is coming from in #1, but I couldn't make it out very well. The compressor was making a lot of noise.
I took off my AEM intake pipe and put my ear near the throttle body. Could not hear any air coming through.
When I put my ear near the exhaust valves, I could not hear any air leaking. When I moved my ear near the spark plug tube, I could hear the air leaking through. Near the intake valves, I can hear a little bit, but not much.


Timing: The rotor was spot on when I put #1 at TDC.

The intake looks like a PITA to remove because where the nuts are. Can't I just leave it on there and unbolt it from the bracket ?

Totsie, I'm going to remove the head. Hopefully I can do it this Saturday. And Hopefully it'll only take 45 minutes like you said. I'll take lots of pictures.
The helms doesn't say anything about draining the coolant. Will I get a ton of coolant on the ground if I don't drain it ?

 

I would drain the coolant (good time to flush).
You can leave the intake manifold on, but you might as well remove the intake arm.
Took me about 2 hours with a friend helping to remove the head first time.
I think we could easily do it in less than an hour now!
Good luck!

 

I am having this problem as well, but with my 2002 WRX. Same symptoms as your ITR (misfire) and ran on 3 cylinders driving 60mph.

My compression results were

1- 0psi
2- 140 psi
3- 140 psi
4- 140 psi

Lots of ticking noise at idle.

Did a leak down test and had a 80% leak in cylinder one. The air could be heard from the exhaust (obviously exhaust valves are damaged).

Well, I brought my car to the dealership and currently waiting for them to call back.

 

It's not unusual that the tops of your pistons are black.

Did you rotate each piston to TDC to perform the leakdown test? What do you mean when you say that piston #2 kept shooting down? Did you hear any air from the dipstick tube? That's the dead giveaway for piston/ring problems.

Yes you can remove the head with the intake manifold attached. Just remove the 2 bolts that connect the manifold to the bracket.

 

hmm..

how the hell did this all happen all of the sudden man?

 

Yep. I rotated each piston to TDC. I had all the spark plugs out when I did the leakdown test. When I got to #2 and added the air, the air pressure would push the piston for the downstroke. I did it about 3 times and each time, the piston would get pushed down into the cylinder because of the air pressure.

It didn't occur to me to listen for air in the dipstick tube. I did look for bubbles in the coolant in the radiator, but there were no bubbles and no oil in the coolant (good thing!)

I'm hoping its just top end problems.

airek. Actually. This didn't really happen all of a sudden. I've been having problems shooting smoke out of my tailpipe when it hits vtec for at least 3 months . Also, at the same time I've had major problems with oil loss. (2 quarts for every 290 miles travelled). I think the retainer screw problem was coincidental and didn't help any. Also when I did my leakdown test a few days ago, I noticed that my spark plug in #1 looked different from all the rest. I think it was caked with white stuff. I just sanded it off and put it back.

99FBPsi. I hope you get your WRX fixed up soon. Let me know what the dealer finds..

 

Ok.. It took me 5 times as long as you guys, but I finally got the head off!
I got stuck on the stupid stuff, like taking off bolts,etc.. How the heck do you get everything off in 45 mins ? Do you have help?

I don't understand you anyone can each the lower intake manifold nuts.. I had to prop the head up to get a wrench underneath there. What's the trick to getting those out properly ?

Ok.. and finally.. Here's the verdict... The bottom end (pistons) look perfectly fine.
Alot of oil got into the coolant passageways around the cylinders when I had the head propped up..
How do I flush it out ? Wait until I put the head back on ? and flush it out with filtered water from a hose ?
Or since water and oil don't mix, should I dump coolant with the head off until the oil overflows and spills out ?

The reason I had no compression in cylinder 1 is because one of the intake valves cracked. There's a huge hole on the valve. If you look into the intake passage, you can see that the valve stem is corroded.

So.. Since I have the head off, should I bring it to a shop and have all the valves changed and the head cleaned up ? Or should I bring it to the dealer ?
What's the course of action ? I don't trust my skills at changing and seating valves.

(Pics coming soon...)

 

The trick is to get a long extension for your ratchet and do it from underneath.

The way we do it (when I have help...) is one of us breaks things loose, the other comes back with power tools and removes. Honda loves some excessively long bolts...

Call your Acura dealer and ask them who they use for machine work, cylinder head type stuff. Call that place and tell them you want a valve job.
My local shop charges 125$ for the labor, or 175$ if you get new valve guides.
They tore down the head and just told me what I needed to buy.