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Symptom(s):
- The symptom was simple enough, the customer reported that when driving, the car would momentarily loose power, whether the accelerator was depressed or held steady made no difference. The problem was that it was very intermittent.
Problem: Headlights go out and work sometimes, bulbs are fine, fuses are fine. No power to headlights or from the fuse box for the 20A fuses.
Cause:
Loose connection under the fuse box.
-get 10mm socket and remove the three bolts holding the fuse box down and pull the box towards the front ofr the car an angle. Check for loose connections or damaged wires
-SCREW BACK ON SECURELY!
-Car would stumble for the first 10-30 seconds, violently shaking the entire front end, like engine was misfiring or something. Did this Hot or Cold....worse when cold.
-coolant would mysteriously disappear from overflow bottle and would also have to periodically fill radiator every 2-3 weeks
Cause:
Turned out it was a blown head gasket. Coolant was leaking into cylinders 2 &3 in combustion chamber, and whenever it sat for any amount of time, coolant would leak on top of the pistons, so when car was started, it would stumble until all coolant in the combustion chamber was burnt off.
Price:
-$300 for 3 Angle Valve Job, pressure test, valve seals, resurfacing head. I figured I might as well since car had 173K on there. Usually only need a resurface for $45 though if on budget. Took Machine shop 3 days to do all this.
-$135 for new ARP head stud kit, (optional) but would recommend
-$75 shipped for OEM Honda Head Gasket from Majestic Honda online
-$57 Bisimoto heat shielding IM gasket, can buy OEM for 15 but since it was reusable and reduces intake temps, opted for this instead.
-$15 New Exhaust manifold gasket
-$15 2.5 gal of distilled water and coolant
-$8 new Fuel injector O-rings
-$7 camshaft seal, since mine was leaking
-$3 engine assembly lube from autozone
------TOTAL-------$607------ for Head Gasket job done by myself for the very first time. Shops were quoting me anywhere from $1300-$1400, and this is just doing a head gasket and resurfacing head, w/o replacing head studs, w/o doing a cyl. head rebuild, and w/o a pressure test like I had done. IF they were to do all that....you'd be looking at $2000+ I'd imagine
Estimated down time for first timer
-start to finish, it took me a little over a week since I went slow and labeled everything by placing parts I took off in plastic bags (highly recommended in order not to mix up screws).
Tools needed
-inch-lbs torque wrench
-ft-lbs torque wrench
-1/4 in. swivel socket
-Basic 96 piece Craftsman tool kit
-Various extensions 3/8" and 1/4"
-Breaker bar....at least 24" preferred for Head studs which can be tough
-Another helper to lift cyl. head and intake manifold out...combined weighs around 120lbs in an odd angle so the stronger the better
-8 in. needle nose pliers for stubborn/tight hose clamps
-general 6 inch pliers
-very fine/precise flathead screwdrivers for injectors/orings/injector plugs
-coolant/oil catch at least 5qt. capacity
member's ride thread
93' EX Coupe H22A w/ P2T4 Sir 5spd 191whp 155 wtq
99' Lexus LS400 157k VVTi V8 gets up & goes...new DD
91 Accord SE 176k
97' Honda Odyssey 199k miles...$485 spare van for my parents
So I have been having troubles lately with the car. A few weeks ago my sport light would flash on and off even while driving. Sometimes the car wouldnt even shift out of first gear, seems like it was always stuck in a gear and wouldnt shift. Other times while driving, the car would just jerk and you could see the needle on the RPM gauge go up and down on its own.
I thought it was tranny problems, took it to a few shops, they told me I had a bad tranny and needed to fix it sooner or later. Most quoted me over a grand to rebuild. The transmission fluid was fine though, clean and didnt smell burnt or anything.
Did my research on the forum, a lot of people said to check the codes when the sport mode light was having problems. The sport light had been staying on permanently. I checked and got nothing.
Finally I opened up the TCU (located under the passenger front carpet next to the ECU) as many have said we had shit ass ones (90-91 auto) and BAM, had two blown resistors and a leaking capacitor.
Cause(s):
Two of the resistors and one of he capacitors in the TCU/TCM (transmission control unit/module) were burnt out. There looked like two capacitors so I replaced both of them just in case. IT WAS NOT A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM! It was a simple electrical problem.
Price(s):
Ordered the parts from www.mouser.com (Mouser Electronics). I ordered like 3 of everything and came out to be like $10. Shipping was $7 and parts were like .25 cents?! if that? Labor free.
Removed the resistors and capacitors and put new ones in. Plugged in the TCU and problem fixed! She runs like a champ once again.
***So before you look into buying a new TCU or getting a transmission checked, you can try doing this at your own risk! What was supposed to cost me over $1000 for transmission, or $100+ for TCU, I spent $10 and fixed the car.***
Prior to ignition coil completely going bad, car needed more cranks to get the motor running, but started consistently. Then, after 1 week of sitting in a driveway with absolutely no motor starts, the motor not fire. The fuel pump primed, fuel pressure gauge read normal pressure, battery tested good at Sears, starter tested good at Murray's Discount auto and motor did crank over consistently, but just would not fire up. I tested for spark at one of the spark plug wires and it did fire consistently, but the spark looked weak.
Cause:
Since there was consistent spark out of one of the plug wires, igniter unit works. Therefore, I replaced the ignition coil with a "known good" unit and the motor fired up. Keep in mind that the first fire up of the motor after many previous attempts/cranks of the motor, you may have flooded the motor with fuel. As a result, first crank may fire up and stutter, but will smooth out as it burns the excess fuel. From there on out, all is good.
My little sister was driving 45 mph in city just taking off from a light, engine shut off and she coasted into a parking lot. Car would not restart, had power to inside lights, etc. and would crank over, fuel pump primed, but no firing up of engine after cranking.
Cause:
Ignition coil went bad while driving. Replaced, car starts up and drives fine.
Price:
~ $85 aftermarket (Niehoff brand) ignition coil. Did not have time for OEM unit order, sister stranded in parking lot.
Some times the starter would not engage and only make a clicking sound. Re-trying the igniton a few times and it would start without a problem. Then a couple of time the starter would engage and stay engaged at though I never relesed the key from "Start". Finally after a few months of these intermittent problems, the starter stays engaged and continues to crank the engine even with the transmission in gear, clutch in or out and the key out of the ignition. The only way to stop it is to disconnedt the battery. Even with the cable from the ignition to the fuse box disconnected, it still cranks.
Cause
After troubleshooting the switch by checking the continutiy at each position, I realised it was a bad starter. Removed starter, tested it at the auto parts store and it did the same thing. Replaced it with a remanufactred one and it works fine.
Price
~ $70. Could have found one a bit cheaper on EBay but didn't want to wait for shipping.
Tools needed
14mm and 17 mm sockets
Torque wrench
Very easy to remove the starter compared to my Mustang or my buddy's Saab.
Symptom(s):
While coasting, engine sputters, kicks, bucks, jerks the whole car around.
NO ECU CODES!
At WOT the engine stops bucking. It is only during light to medium throttle that it bucks like hell under WOT it behaves.
Cause(s):
The problem is a faulty O2 sensor. NOTE...there were NO codes. I drove it home (30min drive) and tried to get it to throw a code and it never did.
I knew what the problem was as it happend 5 years ago. This O2 sensor is a Bosch, it lasted 5 years, Honda's lasted 11 and I'm pretty sure I messed the original one up. Don't waste your $50 on crap, get the real deal.
Price:
I bought a new sensor from the dealership, the EX sensor is cheaper, and since I still have the LX ecu, exhaust and intake manifolds I kept with the LX sensor.
LX O2 sensor part number 36351-pt3-a12
price $254.60 (with texas sales tax) and I can't return it
Majestic's price is 155.03, without tax or shipping...still prolly cheaper.
Don't get the EX sensor unless you have the ex exhaust manifold
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