Problem:
-car stutters and pretty much lacks any pull until about 3500rpm
-idles at 1200rpm when cold
-idles at 600 when warm
-randomly will stumble when idling
-Throws an O2 sensor after driving the car for awhile and once that happens the engine will shut off when i shift into neutral when coming to a stop. If i shut the car off and turn it back on the cel is gone and sometimes will come back on and sometimes wont
-if u hold the throttle below 3500 u can hear the engine misfiring


What does this sound like to u guys? I think theres something in the O2 sensor wiring thats messed but i think its 2 problems compounded together?

 

does this sound like an IM crack or IM gasket leak?

 

Anyone?

 

any advice ?

 

time to replace old parts for new.

 

like what though?

ive changed:
plugs, fuel filter, IACV's, tightened the FITV, swapped ignitor coils, swapped plug wires (tested resistance within spec), swapped caps, swapped O2 sensors etc etc.

in the back of my mind im thinking of changing spark plug wires but thats like $100CDN and if it doesnt fix it im gonna be pissed.

 

then you can try some simple tuning. adjust timing, valve clearances maybe, or perhaps get fuel injector cleaner fluid fed thru your system. my thoughts are just look from intake thru exhaust, let your engine breathe clean. no broken gaskets either. leakage retards your flow.

 

ignition timing im not sure where its at right now but the timing on the crank is dead on. Ive ran seafoam through the gas tank and through the IM and it didnt really make a difference.

The only thing i can think of that would cause the problems is i removed the IM to paint it flat black and i didnt clean the surfaces or replace the gasket when i put it back on i just torqued it to spec and left it like that. I have tried to tighten the bolts i can access and that didnt make a difference but it could be the ones that are hard to get to thats causing the problem?

I am gonna try and get a heatshield IM gasket and have that installed aswell as the valves adusted and see what happens.

Such a frustrating problem to deal with.

 

Yes, clean off you IM gasket contact area and use a new gasket.
Also double check all your connectors and vacuum lines and make sure their all in the right place.

 

well the vacuum lines for the most part didnt need to be messed with as most just connect between the engine parts, im sure all the lines are proper.

I guess ill get a thermal gasket and have it swapped and hope that helps. I really wish it just went smoothly and worked perfect.

 

any other ideas?

 

if its throwing a o2 sensor code occasionally you might want to look into replacing it. a bad o2 sensor can cause some really messed up driveability issues.

try this quick test. unplug the o2 sensor and take it for a quick drive and see if the problem goes away......if it does then you know 100% that the o2 sensor is no good.

also if you can check your fuel pressure if you have a gauge.........

hope this helps

 

so if i unplug the O2 sensor should i notice any differences in the way the engine runs? I have swapped 02 sensors with ones i know are good and it made no difference so im thinking/hoping its a wiring issue.

IF i was running rich it would smell like gas and it could also cause my rough idle and the O2 sensor code could it not?

 

thats weird.......you changed o2 sensors and you still get a CEL for them?

any modifications to the car?

 

yeah basically it had the o2 sensor that was on the header collector from when it was in my eg hatch running mint. And i swapped that with one of my o2's from my EK (what i put the motor into) that i know were working on the D16y7 and it made no change, still got a code.

The engine is 100% stock exhaust the short ram intake.

The whole setup came out of my eg hatch and was running perfect, i took off the IM to paint it flat black aswell i painted the engine flat black. I hardwired the wiring harness to OBD1 and double and triple checked my wiring before i installed it (all soldered connections).

So confused about what could be causing this and i dont wanna take it to honda and get raped.

 

sounds weird......dont know what to tell you.....its either fuel or ignition related.........

if your plugs/cap/rotor/fuel filter are all new you covered all the maintnence stuff. those should be fine.

if your ECU wiring is all good then that should be OK but i would re-check the wires form the ECU to the o2 sensor since it keeps setting a code. dont just check the signal wire check the ground and o2 heater wires as well.

also maybe you should check or swap out the distributor, ignition coil, ignitor etc.....

hope you figure it out....

p.s. good luck trying to get the dealer to check it out for you......one look at a honda with a engine swap and they will kick you out the door so fast.....

 

yeah i dunno, some people say its either fuel or ignition and others say its for sure a IM leak because of the lack of power before 3500.

on the engine, the plugs, fuel filter are brand new....the cap and rotor are under 15000km old and dont show much sign of wear etc. The only thing i havent replaced with new or almost new stuff as far as that stuff is the plug wires which i switched between the oens on the engine and another set i have and it made no difference. I also swapped in the ignitor from my D series which i know was good when i took the engine out days before.

Yeah im gonna do what i can and prolly remove all the wiring harness from the car and just go over all my connections again and make sure its all in good condition etc.

I may also try and swap ecu's and see if that helps at all because it coulda got messed up somehow during hte removal, or something.

yeah some dealers are ok but ill just take it to my mechanic who used to work at honda.

 

???

 

TTT for help.

I just drove about 140km's straight with no cel's but the engien still idles roughly, what could it be?

 

what would cause the engine to have a lopy idle when warm and hesitation when accelerating below 3500rpm?

 

TTT