Hi guys,

I have a 91 Si, h22a swap. The car does not have the power it should, i can't even chirp the tires into second. Vtec still engages, but there is definitely something wrong. Car runs really bad when cold, sometimes dies on cold starts, and idles really poorly. Some of this may be due to a broken throttle body gasket and a vacuum leak which i just discovered and will hopefully fix tomorrow. When the car warms up, whitish smoke begins to come out of the exhaust, i have been told this increases with throttle input. The car does not have any overheating problems at all, otherwise i would think my head gasket was blown. The car also seems to use a lot of gas. I haven't checked my mileage yet, but im pretty sure it sucks. I had to add a quart of oil the other day, but i haven't had the car long enough to change the oil yet. Not sure if will continue to burn oil in the future. I pulled the codes a fews weeks ago and came up with 1 (o2 sensor), 13 (barometric pressure sensor), and 15 (ignition output signal). I reset the ecu and the only code it throws since then is 12, the egr code. If any one has any suggestions, I would love to hear them, I'm pretty stumped at the moment.

 

Little help here.

 

DO A COMPRESSION TEST WET AND DRY. AS WELL AS A LEAK DOWN TEST TO SEE WHERE THE MOTOR STANDS IS WHERE I WOULD START

 

Thanks, thats a great idea, but i don't have the equipment at hand. Hopefully when i go back to school next week i can get that done. Also hoping my instructor will be willing to help me out.

 

the o2 sensor and barometric pressure sensor can be the issue with the bad mileage

 

thats what i thought, but it doesn't throw those codes anymore.

 

Ok, I did a compression test today and it was 230 across the board. All my plugs looked good. I still have a really shitty idle, could a vacuum leak cause a loss in power this bad? It seems like it stumbles sometimes when i crack vtec. Is my us p13 not sufficient to run my jdm motor since it has slightly higher compression?

 

I really need a hand with this. The colder it gets the harder it is to start my car. I have to figure this out or i won't have any transportation.

 

Ok, i have good compression, i am getting about 20 mpg, and its not making power. I have blocked off my egr valve, and gone over my vacuum system. all n vacuum nipples are either hooked up to something or blocked off. the car stil idles like it has a vacuum leak and still has no power. I need some suggestions. Also what is the sensor in the head right behind the vtec solenoid? That sensor is not hooked up but i can't figure out what it is.

 

I need help.

 

Might be the ECT sensor or temp sensor. How many pins does it have,1 - 2 or more and what colour is the connector?

I'm not sure where you are referring to as behind the VTEC solenoid. To me behind the VTEC solenoid is the intake manifold/EGR valve lift sensor.. Do you have any pics?

 

Wouldn't a bad ect cause vtec not to engage though? As for the sensor im talking about, if you stand on the passenger side and look an the vtec solenoid, its right by it to the left. it has a round black housing and one prong coming out of the middle. the same sensor is on my b18a1 engine as well. Thanks for the input. On my way home tonight, I was going up hill and suddenly my engine seemed to be running at full power, but it lasted less than a minute. Also I checked my gas mileage again today and it was 29, I was wrong before.

 

white smoke from exhaust....your sucking coolant...headgasket issue.

 

But wouldn't i have overheating issues and wouldn't my compression have been off if my head gasket was leaking?

 

Nope, not always. It's similar to how head lifting only pushes past the HG when it reaches high enough cylinder pressure. It's uncommon though, as it tends to push a lot more air into the coolant system than it sucks coolant. That is noticable when it starts blowing coolant out the rad cap like a bomb when off in your radiator.

It could also be an issue with coolant leaking into the intake manifold. I've seen some Honda manifolds that had nearly unnoticable cracks around runner #4, which could also connect #4 to the coolant passage. As it warms up, the coolant system pressurizes up to 13 or 16psi. The coolant will keep pushing out at that point. It takes very little coolant to create a large cloud of smoke.

Take out your spark plugs and see if they all are a similar color. Post them up if they don't or just seen unusual.

 

Thanks a lot guys. My auto tech instructor looked at my plugs when i checked my compression and he said they looked good. they all looked the same. So do you think i should get one of those kits that test for the presence of exhaust gases in your coolant?

 

Remove your rad cap before you start up your car first thing in the AM. Start the car and give her a few revs. If you start to see air bubbles coming out of the radiator filler neck. Then you have external gasses getting into your coolant system.

Another thing you could try is a coolant system pressure test. That will show you if you have a leak. If the pressure drops all you have to do is find out where the coolant ended up.

 

he has white smoke coming out of the exhaust...the fix is plain and simple....pull the head and replace the headgasket....dont waste your time with anymore testing.

 

Nah, I would much rather run a few tests and be 100% sure than pull my damn head off to find out it was something else. I will try to do a coolant system pressure test at school tomorrow and let you guys know what happens.

 

Honestly, If your blowing white smoke 99.9% of the time it will be a head gasket! I just figured where you are in school and have access to a shop & teacher. It might be a good time to learn how to do a few tests.

 

Ok, the test was fine, it didn't show any leaks in my system. My instructor said the white smoke is probably just steam from condensation inside my exhaust system. I immediately thought head gasket when I saw the white smoke, but my compression test and normal operating temps made me think otherwise. I am definitely down for performing any tests, so should I check my injector wiring and timing next?

 

hello?

 

All i want for xmas is to fix my car.