Hello everyone,

Long time lurker who finally joined up here. Hoping to gain a bit of insight on a couple issues I have, and help others whenever possible.

I've got a 01 Acura EL, basically a civic... running D17A2 Engine.

bought it used in need of some repairs that were not out of my reach.

have completed:
Clutch kit
Timing Belt + H20 pump + tensioner ect.
Struts all around

here is where it gets interesting...

The car always had a slight wander at idle, but drove otherwise well and still managed 550kms/40L of gas (full tanks being like 45L). After driving awhile i noticed that it would nearly stall at idle. Suspecting a vacuum leak I got out my vac guage... engine ran steady 22 ''mg at idle.... if anything I thought maybe higher then expected? checked all lines, everything looked good... no CEL or codes..... got around to inspecting IACV.. seems to have air flowing through the port there despite the higher then normal idle..? so I started replacing parts... so far I have replaced:

-IACV
-MAP/ECT/O2's x 2/TPS Sensors
-Vac lines
-Injector O-rings
-injectors cleaned and inspected (normal)
-additional electrical grounding + various testing and trouble shooting


list goes on but I cant remember everything at this point.....

Anywho, then end of summer I decided to check for leaks again with the old can of cleaner trick...

I found a suspected area (lower left side of intake mani gasket) that would cause a stumble, but was un able to stall the car or pin point the exact spot.

So the car has been stored for winter thus far and I will be ordering up a intake mani gasket soon here..... I am clearly in need of some kind of guru help here.

My symptoms are:
-when coming to a stop the idle will stay at 1300 rpm for about 2 seconds, then plummet to 200 rpm near stall (fuel trimming?), then return to a slightly unstable 700 rpm.
-lacks power and economy somewhat
-no V-TEC engagement (hard to tell on VTEC-E?)
-When letting off pedal quick from acceleration there will be a slight jerk about 2 seconds after full disengaging pedal.

Could there just be a vac leak, yet have such high vac reading?
Are intake mani leak issues common on the D17's?
Does D17A2 have a actual VTEC kick like your normal d16z6 ect would?
Have i devoted to much time/money to this POS already? arguable.....

Additionally,
I have had issues with a grind in second gear... feels as tho linkage will not fully engage the gear but i fear a synchro issue... used GM synchromesh with some result... greased linkage at the trans no result... Do you believe greasing the link at the stick would help or be the issue?? No corrosion on the cables really evident..

 

i don't think intake manifold leaks are common but i wouldn't be surprised if it was one since the manifold is plastic.

as for grinding in second gear, does it happen regardless of temperature? second gear grinds seem to be common on hondas though.

 

The suspected leak is at the manifold gasket i would assume. If I find a crack on the manifold its self, I'll probably have to go to a d16y8 mani if I can find one.

The second gear issue is pretty sporadic.. doest seem to be temperature dependent. Usually more pronounced when gearing from 3 to 2. clutch in > stick to 2nd (but it doesnt fully engage)> clutch out (Crunch!). If You are slow and methodical with shifts there is no issue.. I would assume a synchro gearing issue would happen when attempting to shift gears with clutch pedal in? since thats when the synchro-ing of gears occurs and not just when load is reapplied to transaxel.