[Jeffaome]

Double check the tensioner, make sure its not flopping around its slot

 

[danteisme]

The adjustable cam gear didnt slip on the exhaust side did it?

 

[atkinsonar]

Double check the tensioner, make sure its not flopping around its slot

I'll certainly take a closer look at this before I close everything up.

The adjustable cam gear didnt slip on the exhaust side did it?

Not from what I can tell. The whole gear was rotated, but doesn't look like the "adjustment for the gear" moved at all.

 

[blandsarcasm]

if you did get away with skipping several teeth and not bending any valves then you sir did in fact dodge a bullet!

 

[atkinsonar]

Got it buttoned back up...
Re-did valve lash, more of a sanity check than anything
New valve cover gasket set
Reset timing, got tensioner set

Compression tested fine, right at 190 psi across all cylinders with less than 5 psi variation (my gauge reads to 300 with 5 psi increments, hard to differentiate that small of a difference)

I've maybe put 40 miles on it since the scare, but it's running good, idling smooth, so far so good.

I have a mild drip at the oil drain plug, otherwise nothing that I can tell now. I'm planning on running it intermittently for a few weeks, and will change the oil with a new crush washer at the plug. Hopefully the issues are behind me now and I can enjoy it for a while.


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[atkinsonar]

I've had a nagging problem with the car since its been buttoned up, and I'm grabbing at straws. I deleted the FITV with a home made block off plate, as I had a really bad high and hunting / surging idle. On cold start up, it now purrs like a kitten, very smooth, somewhere around the 1000-1200rpm range. Once it warms up, it drops down to the 7-800 rpm range. That part I'm good with.

However, the car seems to have a hard time recovering from a loss of throttle. I can drive it, and feels fine. Once it warms up, nearly every time I approach a stop (foot off the gas, push the clutch in, hit the brakes), I'd say 8 / 10 times the engine dies. I can immediately turn the key, it'll restart, and resume idle right in the 7-800 rpm range again. When it doesn't die, it stumbles in the less than 500 rpm range for a few seconds, and eventually will resume itself near a normal idle.

To me, this doesn't seem like and idle adjustment. The IACV must be doing its job, as the cold versus warm idle seems to be ok. When it does die, I can immediately restart it, and it'll idle fine, without having to touch the gas pedal. Idle is smooth, engine is smooth up past 5k, so I don't think its a fuel / spark / distributor problem.

Anyone have any links worth investigating? I've not been able to isolate this on my own yet.

 

[tamboo]

tested tps?

The Official Honda TPS wiring and calibration thread - Honda-Tech

crappy richporter coil was stalling me out at stops with a/c on, replaced with world power brand and good to go.

Starting Problems

 

[atkinsonar]

I'll test the TPS this week, that's one thing I haven't done yet.

I read thru the Advanced Ignition troubleshooting guide, and the distributor checked out fine.

Appreciate the links, we'll see where that leads me.


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[atkinsonar]

Well, positive news I guess, just eliminated the TPS as a potential source of the issue. Its reading just fine, 5v in, ground is good, .5v - 4.5v, and seems to be smooth through the throttle position.'

I guess next course of action, I'm going to snag a timing light from a friend tonight, and see what that looks like.

 

[atkinsonar]

More positive news (I like positive news). Got the timing light, and got the timing set. I was off quite a bit, and seems to have been the cause of my stumbling idle.

At this point, I'm being cautiously optimistic. My plan is to drive it for the next few weeks, and keep a close eye on things. If all continues to go well, I'll proceed with shipping the ECU down to Pherable for a basemap, and upgrading the fuel pump per his suggestion.

My understanding, is I should be safe on this motor setup, off the stock P72 ECU, so long as I "stay out of it" (which I've been doing). I just wanted to make sure that mechanically I was sound, no leaks, and my baseline was acceptable before I introduce more variables to the equation.

 

[atkinsonar]

Cars been running solid. I tweaked the timing a hair more to get it better centered, and it's driving good. Will be ordering the fuel pump this week, and shipping the ECU down to Pherable soon for a chip and basemap.

Spent some time the last couple of days just poking around dealing with little things here and there... It's nice being down to doing the small things when I'm motivated and actually want to tinker.

...I got the headlights all polished up, new LEDs in the corners, removed the yellow fogs, and installed some white accent running lights. Front end looks a lot cleaner. I'll try to get pics up tomorrow.

...Got a new clamp in for my exhaust, and was able to fix a nagging exhaust leak that resulted from a two off experience on the Tail of the Dragon back in August. The joint of the axle-back took a beating and required some cussing to get it massaged back together properly.

...Fixed all of the minor issues with my alarm and remote start, which stemmed from the dash removal and reinstall

...Fixed / Adjusted the switch on the clutch pedal, which was keeping the cruise control from engaging. Glad to report I can cruise again with my foot of the gas.

...Looked for a noise in front passenger wheel, which I thought was just the dust shield rubbing. Anytime I was turning right I got a mild scratching noise from that side. Jacked it up to investigate and found the wheel bearing is beyond trashed. I'll deal with that soon, just not looking forward to taking the knuckle back off, again. It wasn't too terribly long ago I put new hubs and bearings on... Sigh




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[atkinsonar]

Maybe it's a sign I need to quit posting updates?

Went to drive to the airport this morning, everything was fine (aside from the bearing noise, but that's a separate issue). I come to a stop approaching a red light as I usually do, down shift to 4th, down shift to 3rd, then let the brakes do the rest of the work. I go to shift to 1st to take off, and the shifter out of no where is stiff as f**k. Managed to get started in 3rd, and was all I had to shift it into 4th.

I had to drive like this another 10 miles in stop and go morning rush hour traffic, only using 3rd and 4th... What a *****.

I couldn't seem to get it to kick sideways enough to enter 1 / 2 / 5. It's parked at the airport currently, and am not looking forward to trying to get it into R.

Clutch seems fine, was releasing fine, engaging fine. What the hell would cause this seemingly out of the blue, where my shifter is damn near seized? It takes serious effort to shift 3 <-> 4, to the point I'm pulling / pushing so hard I was nervous I was going to break something. It'll be the end of the week before I'm back, but this had me fuming this morning.

Thoughts?


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[dpaton]

Shift change assembly? Detent balls? Broken/fouled linkage? It's something in the trans. The clutch doesn't have anything to do with the side to side motion of the linkage. That only involves the shift change assembly, the linkage, and the detents.

 

[atkinsonar]

Shift change assembly? Detent balls? Broken/fouled linkage? It's something in the trans. The clutch doesn't have anything to do with the side to side motion of the linkage. That only involves the shift change assembly, the linkage, and the detents.

Exactly along the line of what I was thinking, just haven't had a chance to think about it rationally yet, much less look at it.

I used the transmission I got with the motor swap, which is probably where I screwed up. Stretched and stripped threads should have been my first clue. I admit shifting felt "notchy", but not terrible... it hit all of a sudden this morning with it being so damn stuff.

I'll probably end up pulling that one down, and swapping with the one that was originally in my car... This assumes nothing under the car jumps out and yells "Hey dumbass" when I get under it at the end of the week.

Sorry for the extra "color" in these posts, but the last 4-6 weeks with this car have been kicking my ass.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I am all ears.


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[dpaton]

I used the transmission I got with the motor swap, which is probably where I screwed up. Stretched and stripped threads should have been my first clue. I admit shifting felt "notchy", but not terrible... it hit all of a sudden this morning with it being so damn stuff.

I hate failures that aren't incremental. No way to plan for them or be ready. I know it's counter to my Boy Scout training, but part of being prepared is knowing what's coming.

I'll probably end up pulling that one down, and swapping with the one that was originally in my car... This assumes nothing under the car jumps out and yells "Hey dumbass" when I get under it at the end of the week.

I doubt it will. Just jack it up and play. If you pop the linkage off of the change rod, you should be able to stick a screwdriver in the ***** pin hole and shift by hand from underneath. If you can't, drop the trans and swap your old one back in, do not wait.

Sorry for the extra "color" in these posts, but the last 4-6 weeks with this car have been kicking my ass.

Color is fine. Sometimes these old beasts act squirrely on us. We have the right to ***** and moan when they do.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I am all ears.

Nope, just what's above. Good luck.

 

[atkinsonar]

So after thinking about this for a few days, here's my plan of attack...

Thursday, get the car home from the airport, one way or another.

Friday, order new fuel pump, and place order with Pherable.

Saturday, ship ECU off (may be able to do Friday, not sure yet).

Weather looks iffy over the weekend, so will be a good time to get the garage straightened back up (still a wreck from the last few months of car work).

Monday -> Friday of next week - remove passenger knuckle and deal with wheel bearing, and remove and replace transmission. Also plan on sneaking an oil change in here somewhere. I've gone roughly 400 miles since I threw it together. The block and head neither were "brand new machined", so wasn't as worried about a strict break in procedure. However, given the head gasket problem, leaks, and such, figure now is as good a time as any to reset the slate.

Transmission swap is 95+% likely at this point, I just don't have a good feeling about the one in there. Shifting felt a whole lot more "notchy" than what I was used to, and I know the old one never had a lick of issues, and I know its history. The original OEM clutch made it over 200k miles with the original owner, so the original transmission should be more than fine. The poor car probably only hit VTEC a handful of times before I took ownership. Also going to inspect the clutch while I'm there, it should be fine, just want to take a peek.

Timing wise, that timeline should have me buttoned back up by the time I get my ECU back, so hopefully I can get it on the ground, plugged in, and get ready to beat the absolute hell out of it. I'm just past the point of being done with dealing with "major things" on this car for a while.

 

[atkinsonar]

Alright, so what the f**k...

Get in car at airport, can't get it in reverse, so had to push it out of the spot, and leave in 3rd. Continue like this for 5-6 miles, stop and go using 3rd and 4th.

As I get within 3-4 miles of my house, I downshift to 3rd, and it miraculously shifted smooth, no force required.

I was tentative about messing with it until I got it home, but now can shift through all the gears, no issue. What would cause it to magically fix itself?

Nonetheless, after this episode, transmission is coming out, old one is going back. Just has me scratching my head.


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[atkinsonar]

On a much lighter note, been meaning to post these up. Got the headlights polished, fogs removed, LED accents in, and switchback bulbs in the corners. I wired the accents to the ignition, the switchbacks were a simple bulb replacement. Another thing that's hard to capture with a phone, but nonetheless...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RV417XM/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_FOykwb9Y6WPE2











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[danteisme]

Man, that is the worst when something that seems that major miraculously fixes itself. Makes it so hard to pin point what is going on.


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[atkinsonar]

So, I'm not going to pretend to be a transmission expert. I've put roughly 400 miles on since I dropped everything in. I filled the transmission with Pennzoil Synchromesh.

I really do not think my magnetic plug should have collected this much that quick.

Letting the transmission drain, and working on getting things ready. I should have the passenger knuckle removed (for wheel bearing problem), and transmission yanked tonight.

Got the ECU pulled out, and am waiting on further instruction from Pherable.Net to ship it out.

Freshly Pulled Plug from transmission


Wiped Off


The collected sludge