basically ive got a 98 integra with a built b18a block and a built p75 head. i just finished rebuilding the bottom end and put it in the car (forged pistons, eagle rods, eagle crank, and acl bearings...i had the machine shop align hone and set my ring gap and bearing clearance so all i had to do was put the pistons and crank in). everything seemed to run smooth for the first day, but now i seem to be having some trouble holding idle after ive put a load on the engine. So this is whats goin on... when i crank it up everything is perfect...idles at 800 rpms and everything is kosher. then i drive 1 block down the street and at my first stop the rpms will drop down to 400 and come back up to 800 and then the engine shuts off. it will crank right back up and be fine until i come to the next stop and the same thing happens. so it seems like after a load is placed on the engine im getting this problem, because it wont do it until i start driving. while im driving i have no problems though - no misfires, no overheating, knock, or anything abnormal going on until i come to a stop. i dont believe this is a vacuum leak because my crank up idle is normal...so im leaning towards the headgasket? i did re use my head gasket because i had just replaced it (oem honda) about a month before i rebuilt the bottom end and ive heard of people re using them before...if this is incorrect let me know but from my understanding its ok...anyways any help will be appreciated. thanks

 

bump

 

did you have the machine shop deck the block and head like a good boy when you did the head? also you were unclear on the head gasket. you did use a new one with the motor right? some people reuse MLS gaskets but never ever never do you reuse a standard head gasket.

 

yes i had the machine shop deck the block when they installed the block guard. i had my buddy at a cylinder head shop resurface it as well. about the head gasket i RE used my oem honda that i put on about a few months ago.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hollums2k &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yes i had the machine shop deck the block when they installed the block guard. i had my buddy at a cylinder head shop resurface it as well. about the head gasket i RE used my oem honda that i put on about a few months ago. </TD></TR></TABLE>

most likely your problem. only MLS gaskets can be reused and even that is something i wouldn't do. the gasket warps to the imperfections in your head if it's a standard gasket. once you resurface everything a new gasket is always used. pull it apart and use a new honda or felpro gasket and it should fix your problem.

 

agreed, why save $50 when your most likely going to have to redo the labor.

 

honda head gaskets are about a hundred bucks and the funds got low...this seems more like a vacuum leak to me though i just cant find it..

 

fel pro is making the GSR-type R gasket. as in the gasket you buy at the dealer in the honda package is made by fel-pro to honda's requirements. i'm not sure if they are the others as well. you might check rock auto for the felpro b18b gasket. they cost less and are built to honda spec. i paid 52 for a b18c MLS gasket. those are always more expensive than the composite gaskets. i wouldn't be surprised if you get one for 50 shipped from rockauto

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hollums2k &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">honda head gaskets are about a hundred bucks and the funds got low...this seems more like a vacuum leak to me though i just cant find it..</TD></TR></TABLE>

it could be. do the leakdown and compression tests on the motor. then watch your coolant level. vac leaks often cause hunting idles and weird throttle response. head gaskets have you down on compression or loosing coolant or both.

 

you never re use a head gasket a buddy of mine built his motor bought a new head gasket and ran the motor once something wasnt right so he took of his head and checked everything fixed the problem and re used that head gasket and the next time he drove his car his block got a hole the size of his fist in it

 

i guess nobody is going to say this so i will. is there oil in your coolant or coolant in your oil and is there white smoke coming from the exhaust at anytime. if not i whould step away from the idea that its the head gasket and look more toward the iacv. thats just what i whould do. somebody correct me if im wrong.

 

thank you. i have no symptoms of a bad head gasket. no white smoke, no milky **** comming out of the oil drain plug. i thought the iacv could be something but i doubt it because when your iacv is malfunctioning your idle will be sporadic bouncing all over the place - mine is not. like that at all...when you come to a stop it just idle downs to 400 rpms and then the engine shuts off...

 

yesterday i checked all of my grounds and vacuum hoses...found nothing..however i noticed oil pooling on the right side of the oil pan - so i traced it and took off my lower timing belt cover, crank pulley, ect. and noticed my main seal on the oil pump is not doing its job...so this is my conclusion. if the seal is leaking out oil im guessing its leaking out air too, and this is interfering with my pcv system? lets give some input on that, what do you guys think

 

mine did the same thing and it was my iacv. just check it, it takes 15 minutes.

 

oddly enough i just fired up my new motor and am having a similar hunting idle issue. changing the seal on the iac and looking for vac leaks.

 

Just to clear it up. I have a OEM Honda HG on my car. It actually holds up better than most aftermarket ones. The issue with them leaking is that most people do not torque the studs past OEM specs (meaning you will need ARP head studs.)

 

im using arp studs...i torqued in 3 equal sequences to 80 ft/lbs using arp moly lube..i highly doubt my iacv is messed up because i didnt ever even remove the IM from the head...much less anything off of the manifold itself. all you can really do to clean them is spray tb cleaner in there. heres another thing im wondering - im using a b18A1 block with a p75 head: i plugged the pcv box on the back of the block so i could use my newer valve cover (where the pcv valve is located). i also plugged the nipple where the old hose leading to the pcv valve/pcv box is. my question IS: should i run a hose from there (which is on the block) to my valve cover (pcv valve) instead of running it from the intake manifold where i have it ran right now. This seems to be a problem with the PCV system as it is only occuring after more pressure has been added to the crankcase. Let me know what you think

 

had the same thought and am going down to play with the pvc hoses right now. i'm sure both of us will figure this out before long.

 

let me know what you come up with and ill keep posting.

 

we need to set the idle for our new motors. the haynes says get the car up to temp. shut it off, pull the plug on the idle sensor, it's the top sensor on our TB. then fire the car and turn the screw next to it till we are at 550 rpm plus or minus 50 rpm. i'm gonna try it tomorrow and see what happens. i replaced a few seals and lines. car runs great, pulls up to 8500rpm and is pretty peppy. does yours also run fine other than the idle?&gt;

 

yeah it runs good other than when i come to a red light ive got a 50% chance that its going to idle down and shut off. i havent really gotten on it yet, im going to give it another 1000 miles and another oil change first. i doubt ill be making anymore power though since i didnt change anything but the bore and durability of everything. my TPS sensor is calibrated to my old set up so maybe it is off...ill check it out and see where its at. if you have an afc controller you can check it. should be at .5

 

i hooked up the scan tool and watched what was going on in the ecu. everything looks good but the idle would hunt. that procedure that haynes spoke of didn't work so well. i just kept moving the screw 'till the idle was better. drive it, see what it does, opps, it dropped, off goes the car and 1/4 turn more out. after doing that a few times i found a happy medium. timing this car is fun too since my mark broke off the crank pully. i have to watch the timing on the scan tool and get it between 14 and 16 deg around 800rpm. i'm very happy that i spent the money on a good one that does live data feed.

 

figured my situation out 100%. it's the blox manifold and GSR TB. the cable is hitting the hood causing this condition. this explains why i can tune to car to idle perfectly with the hood open. close it, bounce around the road and weird idles happen. the TB cable changes when you press on it. i can cause a weird idle when i jiggle the housing the hood hits. already have an ITR cable and stop. how the heck can or do we convert the GSR TB plate? an LS TB would also be nice but it looks like this plate unbolts. i need to search around on if we can convert our GSR TB's. common sense says it's possible.

 

i have an LS so this isnt my problem. when i got my skunk2 intake mani and throttle body i had to put a TYPE R bracket on the intake manifold for the throttle cable. should fix your problem. dealer can get you one for like 20 bucks

 

found the problem. headers cracked at the weld and split open. dc sports sucks