hey guys Im a bit confused on what may be wrong with my car or i could be overthinking it

cars a 90 dx with d16a6 swapped in due to blowing the b2 it had


swap was done october and cars been runnig so so since i had it orginally timed after i droped the engine in as i dont have the tools for it


so when i down shift it backfires like crazy also going up hills i have to down shift to first as it doesnt accelerate fast enough also my fuel mileage is not the best im getting about 420 kms a tank also replaced 02 sensor due to code

i had oil on my plugs but i replaced both upper and lower tube seals and valve cover and replaced my plugs thinking that the oil was the issue, oils gone butstill not better


question is how can i tell if its the timing without at timing gun or could it be something else


ive searched and thats why i think it might be the timing but would love to hear other ideas so i can try and fix it thanks guys

 

Turn the crank pulley until the mark lines up with the lower timing cover mark. Then take off the upper timing cover and see if the mark points straight up.

 

check the belt like he said /\/\/\ youll most likely need a light to check ign timing though. could a dizzy

 

Hey guys just a quick update i know my threads small but i figured id let people know so if they have issues

WALL OF TEXT
I ran the car for a little bit then as i found oil on the plugs replaced both upper and lower plug seals eventually had to take it back in as shop did not do it right

however it didnt fix the issue one day while crossing the border my car started smoking really bad after filling it up with gas, I revved it off thinking i could burn it off, well it keep smoking and then would go away after i was going at highway speed , but i was also losing fluid, then eventually my head gasket blew.

lucky though i had bought full gasket set for back up so i decided to it my self, i ordered oem headbolts to it right (would do arp if was tubroed but i run stock)

after taking the head of the gasket was broke in one place and one piston was shiny

after cleaning off the old gasket and determing that the head was good and didnt need a mill job put the head on torqued the firt bolt good the second would not click took it out put it in torqued wouldnt click then it snapped!! OMFG felt like an idiot decided to try to tap it couldnt and since i didnt want to break the block as the bolt snapped inside the block i took it to a shop and they drilled it out (ended uo being oil under the whole) so if your doing it your self check the wholes that nothing fell in.

I then dropped my car off at a high performance honda/acura shop called reggies in st catharines ontario (would recommend to anyone)


i went on vacation told them my budget and that i needed it back the day i come back and they went to work


they checked the valves made any adjustments they thought they needed

recleaned the head and block

made sure the blocks mechanical timing was set at TDC

ordered another headbolt for me

put it back together

(reggie was away on the friday and the other guy finished it)

i called to check and the other mechanic asked if i had hit the dizzy as i had taken the head of complete with intake and dizzy all attached
i said no but he thought their was a timing issue as it was running rough


i said i call in teus and have reggie look at it


he ended up cleaning up a bunch of electrical terminals and then it ran like a dream

know no back sputtering as i down shift i have lots of power in it now and am very pleased

i will need a new rad as my old is slight y leaking


summary

was back sputtering then smokin hten head gasket went

thought it was timing before causing the sputtering ended up being the head gasket

so if your sputter on downshifting or loosing power going up a hill it might be your head gasket

the head gasket job cost me 480 including a throttle body cleaning

 

sputtering and power loss at uphill/high RPM is a compression issue.
your engine(not the ECU) was in limp mode, so to say, your compression was leaking out somewhere just so happen, in your case, it was the HG. I had the same problem right after I did a HG and i forgot to torque my head bolts and had the same issue.

and for future reference, what i do when I do anything dealing with taking off a head, i always put the head studs all the way down in each hole to clear the oil out from inside the threads and then clean around it. you could also blow compressed air or brake cleaner or something into the holes to clear it out, just make sure you have something so you dont get a face full of oil.

 

sounds about right too bad the ecu didnt flash anything for the limp mode after the guy drilled it out he blew out all the wholes for me but the idea of putting them back in never crossed my mind


thanks for idea for the future!