Hey guys, I haven't posted in a while like I said I would but I have been really busy with my new job and all, anyways to cut to the chase. I was heading to work this morning and kinda sleepy/ not paying attention and had an 18 wheeler in front and to the right of me and I was coming up on the exit I needed to take, so I was cruising in 5th and instead of hopping down to 4th and taking off, I just eased into the pedal and had it to the floor in 5th, after about 5-7 seconds of it steadily climbing the RPMs, The car suddenly just lost power, it sounds weird, guessing its misfiring, and I hear a faint clicking noise as it revs now. I'm thinking perhaps the timing belt jumped time? Thats what my guess is. It runs extremely rough now, sometimes stalls out when idling and overall is just weak as hell now. I had to drive the rest of the way to work and home which is about a total of 50 miles, but during that time I never revved it up over 3k. Does anybody know what this could possibly be? I thought at first it was the plugs or wires that came loose, I checked them all, reseated them even pulled some good plugs out of my toolbox and replaced the ones in the car and still runs rough. It cranks over fine and runs, but its misfiring badly and I have a huge loss of power. I cant climb hills no matter how slight unless im in 1st or 2nd, before this happened I could floor it in 5th and still gain speed up a pretty steep hill, now I can forget about that lol. Anyways if anybody has any input on what this could be, it would be greatly appreciated. And if you are reading this Ghost Accord or anybody who has dealt with me on a personal level, I would love your input, you've always seemed to have all the right answers no matter my problem.

 

Look for anything new, oil leaks, vacuum hoses missing, displaced or broken/cracked, check the PCV system is working.
Spray throttle body cleaner around the intake joints, injectors, etc. Look for any vacuum leaks.
Pull the cam cover off and check the belt timing and belt condition as well as look for any broken or worn rockers or valve springs.
Put the crank on TDC and verify the camshaft is timed correctly, make sure the sprocket notches line up with the top of the head.
Too tight of a valve will cause a misfire, adjust and recheck.
Do a compression check.
Verify the mechanical side of the engine is fine, then move onto ignition, fuel and air systems.
Backprobe the TPS/Thermo/MAP/IAT/etc sensors and verify they are within spec.

 

This happened to me once in my f22a1.. I was coming up a hill on the freeway about 70mph when suddenly it was not really climbing anymore, pedal to the floor and all.
Strange I thought.. So I down shifted to 4th gear and it was trying to go up. But then it just completely lost power and I heard a bang and smoke came out under the hood.

Turns out I threw a rod right out the block. It would still fire up and misfire of course. This was after driving it for 12 hrs straight though so...

Can you explain your clicking noise more in detail? Is it constant? Faster at higher rpms? No cel?

Good luck bro I hope you get it worked out

 

Im not a mechanic nor do I have the tools to check all this stuff, I appreciate your detailed reply but thats way over my head lol.

 

I never heard a noise or anything, no popping, no smoking, it just started to misfire really bad. So I hope I didnt throw a rod. Sounds like a pain in the *** to replace. But the clicking is constant and gets louder as the RPM goes up so I'm thinking its possibly an interferance head because I'm seriously thinking the belt jumped time. Also no CEL light ever came on then or even now.

 

I also did run it really low on oil, to the point where the oil lamp flashed on a few times. I had no choice seeing as I had no money to buy oil up until yesterday when i got my paycheck.

 

Here is a short video for those of you who might be able to tell me whats going on.

 

I just rewatched the video and saw the oil lamp flash twice then go away, its never done that before. Any ideas?

 

How was your oil level ? Do you keep up on your oil changes ?

You need to check mechanical timing to se if it only jumped a tooth. If it's in time then you need to compression test to see if something is damaged internally.

 

Also I checked the oil level before I started the video and before I cranked it up, its near the full mark on the dipstick.

 

Is there a way to tell without having to take everything off as if I'm doing a timing belt replacement? Or is this gonna be an all day project?

 

And how would I do a compression test? Do I need any particular kind of tool?

 

There should be how-to's on youtube for checking mechanical timing and for doing a compression test. For the mechanical timing check you will set the flywheel to tdc by turning the crank bolt counterclockwise using a 19mm headed socket until the big line on the flywheel lines up with the two notches through the peek hole after removing the rubber plug. Then you will need to take off the valve cover and check to see that the cam is at tdc as well.

For the compression test you will need to buy a compression tester, remove all spark plugs, remove the 15a ecu fuse in the engine bay fuse assembly, hand thread the tester into each cylinder and then crank until the gauge stops going up. Do it for each cylinder while noting each cylinders psi.

 

Are compression testers expensive? Because Im not full of money here lol. But as far as checking mechanical timing, I know the cam is TDC with the belt cog attached to the head, unless it can somehow slip out of TDC? Pretty much I'm just gonna take off the TB covers both top and bottom and turn the crank bolt to TDC and make sure it matches up then check the balancing shaft too, I hope thats all it is and that it didnt royaly screw something up. How much damage do you think can happen while driving it on the highway at 70-80 MPH in 5 gear, max 3k RPM? Anything massive? Because whatever is wrong with it, I'll have to repair myself because I dont have the money to pay a mechanic to do it, its too damn expensive.

 

Is it not having a CEL a good or bad thing? Because I'm nervous as hell right now, its my only car and I cant be having it take a crap on me right now.

 

Depends on the kit, simply a gauge and hose can be picked up for $20, but you will need a gauge with an adapter for the deep spark plug well found on the F series engines.
Such as the wing nut metal adapter in this Bosch kit...


Those kits cost ~$50. Check with your local chain auto shops, They may have a free rental program, you leave a deposit for the part, use it, and get your money back upon return.

 

Ok and what am I looking for then? Low compression in 1 of the pistons? If there is low compression, where do I go from there? If not, then what?

 

If the compression varys greatly with one or more cylinders then you know there is a mechanical problem.
Retest again by adding a few drops of oil into the cylinder and see if it changes anything. If it goes up by a few lbs that is expected, but if there is a 30+lb difference on one then you know the rings are not properly sealing on that cylinder. If no change, then there is most likely a problem with the valves(adjustment or worn/burnt) or possibly a warped head/blown head gasket.

Normal compression is 180psi
Lowest compression is 135psi.
Not more than 30psi difference between cylinders.
Remember to pull the fuel pump fuse, engine should be warm, and the throttle should be wide open.
With a compression test you are looking for any major differences between cylinders. Ideally they will all be very close to each other, signifying the cylinders are wearing equally.

 

Im going to take it to my trusted mechanic, he said he would look and diagnose it for free and Ill go from there, so that will be tomorrow morning all. Lets hope and pray its nothing too serious.

 

When I threw a rod, the oil lamp also came on a few times.
These engines are everywhere and cheap tho man so I wouldn't worry too much, even if the engine is totaled.

 

Thats just the thing, I dont have any money saved back due to uncontrollable circumstances as well as I barely make 300 a week take home, With my bills and such Id have to find a way to work for about 2 months before i could afford to buy and put a new motor in. Either that or Im just gonna drive it the way it is now, baby it as much as i can until the thing completely gives out, then get a new motor. Was thinking of a JDM replacement in that case, Im wanting to restore this thing and make it a performance car.

 

Jdm parts are more expensive(import taxes, harder to get),
How long have you held your job? when I was younger, had a few occasions where I asked for an advance to make repairs and paid it back slowly like 50 bucks a check.
Pretty sure you could get the whole f22a1 engine $200-300

 

True but how much would it cost to get it installed? Thats the part that is going to cost me a buttload, I dont have any of the required tools or knowledge to replace a motor by myself.

 

You know what, I'm not really hearing rod knock, it could be as simple as you jumped teeth. You need to check mechanical timing.

 

I was told by my mechanic that if I had jumped time that the engine would stutter when I hit the gas, I can hit the gas and it doesnt really stutter, I bought a compression tester kit, about to go outside and test compression on each cylinder, whats the normal range for compression in the F22A1 motor?