Bogging, Hesitation, Oil Smell

[doylna]

My 90 cb7 sat for about 4 weeks during the winter, (until Friday night) and at points had about 3 feet of snow on it over the course of the time it sat. I drove about 100 miles on Friday night on the highway, and the car drove fine. I drove about 100 miles on Saturday afternoon on the highway, and the car was great. I had about 1/4th of a tank when I got where I was going on Saturday.

When I started the car this evening to drive another 100 miles, and the car hesitated and bogged as I drove it towards the highway. The car seems to bog, then drive fine for a while, and then bogs again, and slows down, but keeps driving. There's a slight loss of power when the car bogs down, but ultimately drives ok.

I ended up driving the 100 miles home this evening, on the highway. I stopped for gas along the way and filled up, and added one bottle of STP Fuel Injector cleaner, and one bottle of STP fuel additive (which was supposed to remove water from the fuel), which didn't make much difference.

The car really seems to bog in low gears (it's a manual), and at low RPMs, and the muffler sounds very very farty (as if there was a big hole in the muffler), but not a pipe. The exhaust smells like burned oil.

I need the car to be back in running shape by Friday. I plan to check the PCV and oil level tomorrow morning before work. The air filter and fuel filter are relatively new (6 months and 36 months old). What are the things I could check my self before I take it to a mechanic?

Thanks

[JohnD1079]

any CEL's? could be bad plugs.

[ExplodingCake]

any CEL's? could be bad plugs.

x2


Also check your wires closely for possible cracks.

[JohnD1079]

could also be oil in the plugs.

Im almost 100% sure its ignition related.

[1990Ex]

check your dizzy,plugs an wires

[doylna]

There are no CELs.

[doylna]

could also be oil in the plugs.

Im almost 100% sure its ignition related.

Why ignition? The car starts fine.

[JohnD1079]

Starting has nothing to do with the ignition. (well it does a little, but not in this case).

My car did this when i had bad plugs.

It could be your sparkplug wires, or timing could be off on your dizzy, but i dount that since you say you didnt touch you dizzy, plus you said this happened after a while of driving around.

you could also need a new cap and rotor.

[doylna]

Thanks for the explanation. I'll take a look tonight, and see if anything seems out of the ordinary, and if not, I'll unfortunately have to take it to a mechanic, as I need the car by Friday.

[HondaFan81]

If it's running rich/bad gas mileage, there is bogging and hesitation in stop & go/city driving I suspect oxygen sensor.

However, I agree to check your ignition system out to ensure things are okay and your fuel system. I realize you replaced your fuel filter. I just mean make sure your fuel pump is working appropriately and all your injectors are working.

Is it mis-firing at all?

It could be the oil in spark plug tubes as well, as someone said. Remove your spark plugs and check for oil saturation.

[benji]

Sounds like bad gas/bad fuel delivery. I'd try the fuel filter.

You might have some corrosion on the terminals in your dizzy. You could try taking it off and if there is, just take some sand paper and scuff them up a little bit. Fingernail boards also work well, if you don't have any sand paper.

[doylna]

If it's running rich/bad gas mileage, there is bogging and hesitation in stop & go/city driving I suspect oxygen sensor.

However, I agree to check your ignition system out to ensure things are okay and your fuel system. I realize you replaced your fuel filter. I just mean make sure your fuel pump is working appropriately and all your injectors are working.

Is it mis-firing at all?

It could be the oil in spark plug tubes as well, as someone said. Remove your spark plugs and check for oil saturation.

My first thought was oxygen sensor as well, but I've been told that there's a slight oil leak near the distributor, so I'm guessing that's the issue. I'm not sure I'm competent enough to remove, inspect and replace the distributor, without messing up the timing though, so I'm leaning towards just taking it to a mechanic.

Anyone have ballpark costs for materials and labor for the following:
1) new spark plugs and seals,
2) clean/replace distributor if ruined/saturated with oil, and
3) r/r oxygen sensor.

Thanks!

[doylna]

Diagnosis:

Oil in the plugs, and distributor. The valve cover gasket leaked, and oil got into the plugs. Wires, plugs, cap and rotor, r/r, and tune-up. Good thing I took it to the mechanic - the radiator hose was about the burst, and I hadn't noticed. The replaced that too.

Mechanic told me that after the tune-up, that my car was the best running Cb he'd worked on in a long while, and I could easily expect another 100K...(300K would be pretty strong).