'94 Teg DOHC

About two months ago had the timing belt snap on me while I was idling in neutral, got the car towed back and replaced it myself. I also did a valve adjustment in the process of doing so. The car runs, but it seems to have lost power. Especially starting out it is very boggy. I pulled off the valve cover oil cap with the engine running, and I could feel puffs of air coming out, kind of like at the exhaust pipe. Can anyone tell me what is causing this, and the best way to go about solving it? I've never done a timing belt or valve adjustment before, is it possible I just adjusted something improperly? Much appreciated.

 

Your going to have crank pressure coming up to the valve cover to vent to your pcv valve to your stock oil catch return. So yeah you will have some pressure coming out of the oil cap hole when removed, but its not going to be much at all but you will be able to feel it. I dont think you did anything wrong when you fixed it ,but somthing else could be wrong with it from the belt breaking. like bent valve or cracked valve or hole in piston.

 

Would that be causing the low power problem? The car never had much low end torque, but its never been boggy like this.

 

The first thing you should do is to a compression test in order to see where you stand.
If it is a cracked/bent valve, you will have a loss in compression or no compression at all in one or more cylinder. If you see the compression is lower than normal specs, do a leakdown test to see where the problem is coming from.

Once you find that out, and rule out some things, you can start looking at other possibilities.

 

Do a compression test first. Does everything sound right? Next do a leak down test... are you sure the timing is done properly? Did you mix up the intake/exhaust cams? over-adjusted the valve lash? 50 things can go wrong after a timing belt snaps. Mostly bent valves/smashed the pistons. Change the oil and see what it smells/looks like.

 

I'm positive the distributor plugs are in the correct sequence, and that everything was lined up at TDC. The belt was very very tight going on, but when rotated through it would eventually come to a point where it had slight slack. I assumed this was normal because I took it off and put it on three times, and same thing happened. I followed the manual word for word when tightening the tensioner.

I do notice a slight ticking sound that I can't remember hearing before, but I never paid much attention. It does seem like an awful lot of air is being forced out when I remove the valve cover oil cap while its running, but again I've never paid attention to this area before.

**My main concern is the sputtering, it sounds like its choking. I filled up the gas tank today and went to drive off, the car actually stalled and had trouble starting for a minute.**

The car seems to drive fine on the highway, but the most I've driven it at once is ~40 miles. I'm hesitant to drive further and risk damage.

I will have to see about renting a compression tester from an auto parts store. All four should be around ~150 psi from what I've read?

 

I plan on doing the compression test as everyone suggested, but I'm clueless as to what the problem might be. I filled up the tank today like I was saying in the above post, and stalled out leaving the gas station. Started back up after a couple tries and sputtered home.

I had a mandatory meeting at my recruiting station, so I decided to give the car another shot in the afternoon. Car was sputtering in 5th gear 60-70 mph at first, but after a little while it got better. Drive home two hours later, it drove fine. Fuel problem? I'm really lost on this one and I can't afford to take it to a dealership.

 

Compression Test. Tell us the numbers. Then we'll know if something is bent.

 

145/140/145/150. Seems about par for a 94, no?

Car runs fine on the high end (>3000rpm). If I throw it in a higher gear than it should be in, it bogs (as it should) but it also sputters, like its choking. I really am a novice but it feels like a fuel problem. I've never troubleshooted a fuel system before, and I'm not about to just start taking things apart. The last thing I want is a fuel leak. That being said I'm smarter than the average bear and if anyone can point me to a good walkthrough I'd be confident taking a crack at it.

 

valves are bent..

 

Did you warm up the car?

 

Yes, I warmed up the car. I forgot to hold the throttle open though (told you I'm a newb).

K24hatch, can you tell me why you think the valves are bent? From what I've read ~150psi is average for the B18B stock, especially one as old as mine.

Gonna do another test today with the throttle open as it should've been, also replacing fuel filter because I just realized it hasn't been done in a long *** time.

 

the last person you should trust with their "valves are bent" general comment is k24hatch. He posts nothing but useless crap all on certain threads with no proof or useful information to provide.

Valves most likely are not bent btw. If there is a hesitation/sputter/misfire, 90% of the time it is spark or fuel related. Where? I have no clue, but try checking the injectors, injector clips, sensors, etc. I had a similar problem, and it was a bad ground to the injectors, so maybe thats another thing to check for.

Any smoke while accelerating? Bent valves as mrk24 was saying, would cause severe blue smoke at acceleration and coasting. I know this, because i also had this problem in my last car. Also, with a bent valve, you would probably not be reading such high numbers in the compression test. One of the numbers or two would be severely low if that was the problem. Once more, check the grounds, plugs, clips, everything fuel related and let us know what you find.

 

220/218/216/220 when I actually remember to open the throttle .

Today I'm replacing fuel filter, dumping in some injector cleaner, checking vacuum lines, carb cleaner, etc. I'm an electrical guy, not mechanical, so I'm pretty much just following walkthroughs I've pulled off the internet.

No smoke, no leaks, no odd noises. Clean exhaust. Like I said the problem was much worse after filling gas tank and has improved in the last day or so, its gotta be a fuel problem. Here's hoping its not the injectors, they look like a pain in the *** not to mention >$60 each.

 

Good to hear. Im excited for your progress. if those turn out ok, try the fuel pump, fuel lines, and most importantly, sensors.

Well arent you glad you didnt listen to mrk24 and remove the entire head, disassemble it, and only to find out that "bent valves" were not the problem. I hate general statements, with no proof, thats one of my pet peeves. No educated guess based on solid information provided, just a weak hypothesis

 

did you check your spark plugs for anything abnormal?

 

bahahaha!!

that's all i'm gonna say to that comment

do not start throwing parts at it. isolate the problem as best you can first. it is the most cost and work efficient way.

-check for codes first. dunno why nobody ever utilizes this system. it is the easiest way to start troubleshooting and it is the first thing that should be done. especially on an obd1 equipped vehicle. if the car stalled, you probably will have set at least one code.

check for codes and report back

 

MIL light isn't on, or thats the first thing I would've checked!

I do appreciate all the help guys. I'm not throwing any money at this car, as much as I love it because I'm leaving for Basic Training in a few months and I'll be getting rid of it then anyway. This is just a way to keep busy and stay mobile. I don't mind replacing little things like filters because I plan on giving the car to my younger bro.

Spark plugs I replace regularly. I do notice they're always white, never black or rust-colored. I remember reading this means something but not sure what.

Also, the manual should really have a better warning about removing that fuel filter than "Place shop towel around fuel filter clamp." Even after relieving pressure it came gushing out.

 

you may not get a constant MIL, but the code will still be stored.
i believe a single code must be set 3 consecutive times before the MIL will remain lit.
keep in mind that if you've removed the battery terminal, you will have erased any codes stored in its memory and it will start storing the codes over again.

so yes, i'd still check for codes. there may be some stored. not to mention it's such an easy procedure (yay honda ). obd1 cars are so much better equipped in aiding troubleshooting than non-obd ones. it is extremely advantageous to utilize that system

 

From what I could remember from my mechanic, the white means they're leaning out.. running a bit lean, which causes detonation. More indications that you may have some fuel issues.

How long did you wait for the car to stay off before removing the filter? I think you were supposed to wait 5 minutes or so for the pressure to subside.

 

It was longer than 5 minutes. But after changing the fuel filter, running some fuel injector cleaner through, and cleaning out the carburetor I drove her like she was meant to be driven on the highway, and the problem has disappeared. I also tightened up the throttle cable which was a bit loose, didn't have anything to do with it but makes a difference in driving. No more choking when running in too high of a gear, and she even manages to accelerate nicely at the higher end of 5th gear (I could still accelerate at 90mph, didn't push it further considering she's red and NY troopers aren't friendly :D). Thanks again for the helpful hints, it was just coincidental that I recently changed the timing belt and being a first timer I jumped to conclusions.

 

carburetor?

 

my bad, throttle body. used carburetor cleaner so that's where my mind was.

 

Good work bro. im excited that you got it running right.