I have a 1999 Civic EX coupe. I blew the original motor and ordered a replacement D16Y8 from LKQ in California through my friend's shop. It was newly re-manufactured and was much stronger than the original motor, which had 260k miles. Anyway, I drove the car less than 5,000 miles and one night while on the freeway, the car turned off at 70mph. I never drove the car hard, and I thought I blew the engine again. When I tried to start the car it would sound like a Subaru, except the car won't stay on. I can floor the gas pedal while it's starting and it would rev up to about 2500-3000rpm, with the motor shaking violently, and as soon as I let my foot off the pedal the motor shuts off.

This happened last Fall, and my car has been sitting in a storage facility ever since. When the new motor was installed, it was discovered that someone stole the O2 sensor that plugs into the exhaust header, near the cat. I didn't have the money to buy one at the time so I drove the car without that sensor, and yes the check engine light was on the whole time. The car drove fine so I planned to buy the sensor when the DMV sent me the smog notice. Now the car is registered as a non-op.

Asking around recently, someone said the timing belt could have slipped and the valves are bent. I turned to Google and revising my searches led me to believe it could be a very bad misfire. I hope I don't need a new head. I swear I never raced the car or drove it hard, and I'm very sad I spend $1600 installed for a new motor and had this problem only 5,000 miles into the new motor. If anyone can offer some tips, I would greatly appreciate it. Reading similar threads on this site, I'm tempted to buy a new distributor + wires just to troubleshoot, however, I noticed that most of the other threads discussing "D16Y8 sounds like Subaru" all describe motors that actually stay on. My engine will not stay on for more than a few seconds, and the "subaru" noise seems like there's a tremendous amount of resistance inside the engine that prevents the cylinders from moving freely.

HELP!

 

Compression and Leakdown tests.

You messed up when you didn't buy that O2 sensor and drove it.

 

Thank you for the fast reply. I will buy a compression test thingy and do that in the coming days. What does the O2 sensor do for the exhaust system? /=

 

is it making any hard knocking sounds?

 

Skip the compression test and just move onto the leakdown test. Check your mechanical and ignition timing. Check all of your plugs, wires, and injectors for spark, pulse, and spray. Plugs should give a bright white spark. Go ahead and replace your cap, rotor, and wires with OEM parts.

 

well compression test should be done first because if a valve is bent he wont have any compression

 

We already know something is seriously wrong with the motor. We don't need a compression test to confirm that. A leakdown test will tell us exactly what is wrong with the motor, assuming block damage.

 

No, the car is not making any knocking sounds. Other than the sound of a serious misfire, the engine seems like it wants to run properly. Does that make sense? hehehe.

No, no, can't skip the compression test! I will have the mechanical & ignition timing checked, as well as the other things you mentioned. I was thinking it was the distributor. I believe those were the original 1999 parts during the motor swap. The alternator was purchased new at the time of the swap.

Agreed. I hope I don't have to replace the head.


Thank you all for the quick replies. Since this thread has a little action, I'm motivated to get the car looked at. Since I'm a car noob, I'm arranging to have a licensed & certified mechanic come out to the storage facility and run all those tests for only $50! Seems like it costs less for a pro to run the test, opposed to buying the equipment. I'll also be purchasing a new O2 sensor. That was an error on my part.

Crossing my fingers, and I will update this thread promptly. Miss driving that car. )=


~ NeRD