New Coupe

['A20A3']

Well I finally bought the coupe today. $800 cash money. I'll have the title by Friday and all I'll have to do is take it to the MVA and get a new one printed up with my name on it. My test pipe, intake, and catback will be installed this week as well, and it'll be delivered to my house before Friday too.

I've never bought a car before(my first 3G was a gift)and it's actually quite invigorating. I'm so freaking happy I don't know what to do! I know what I'll do...I'll get some pics so you guys can see this car.

[TEXANHATCH]

CONGRATULATIONS. That is a good price so you can spend some money in maintenance for a daily beater.

[FatDave]

lol, i find it a hassle when i buy a new car...or trade for one, im 21 and have owned 12 cars since i was old enough to drive, (not all of them were titled...correctly...) i find calling the insurance Agency, geting inspections, dealing with the bitchy old women at the DMV and paying god awful amounts for taxes,plate fees, inspection fees, at the moment i own 2 plated and legal cars and in december i have to worry about getting the hatch emissions tested, that means reinstalling the cat, fixing a torn flex pipe, this sh!t gets me all stressed but i have to admit the first time i bought a car and got it legal i was on a natural high for a week, and everytime i by a new car i wake up in the middle of the night, make sure its there and take a drive in it, even if its a pile

['A20A3']

Word. I have that natural high myself right now. This is the first car I've ever bought too. It's not really a beater, as I plan to DUMP alot of money into it for performance, but the engine that's currently in there sucks so I have to swap it with engine from my old car.

['A20A3']

Well today I put my test pipe and catback on and it sounds MEAN. Tomorrow I get the title and hopefully it'll be delivered at my house, otherwise it will be here on Wednesday. Time to gather the detailing materials. :D

['A20A3']

Well I got the coupe, it's at my house and I have the title. I live on private property, so even though I have no tags I can drive the car around back here. I am fucking pissed! I thought the clutch was good, it starts slipping BAD after 5K with the pedal to the floor. Now not only do I have to swap my engine, I have to buy a new clutch. :burn: Might as well throw a lightweight flywheel while I'm at it...

Well at least I got the nippondenso compressor and my A/C still works! :D

['A20A3']

Well this engine is more fucked than I thought. Having no cat really shows me just how rich it does run. After it warms up it has small wisps of whiteish smoke from the exhaust. I smelled them...straight gas. It's not burning fuel properly...I should probably change the plugs and wires...

Another thing, the head gasket is on the VERY EARLY beginings of going out. However my current problem is the fact that it has an inappropriate amount of blowby from the valvecover and the PCV. I cleaned out the PCV valve with heavy duty cleaner at school, and that helped my idle but it still doesn't idle right. Also the inside of the intake manifold is pretty covered with oil. I put my short ram intake on 2 days ago and already the cone is starting to get oil dripping from it. This car only has 144K miles on it! I'm fucking pissed! I need help guys!


:help: :burn: :help:

['A20A3']

Bump.

I could really use some help with this... :sadwave:

[accordlxi2.0]

oh man, this shit sucks for you. here you are getting hyped up because you got what you wanted but all these problems come with it.
are you sure the headgasket is on it's way out??
144k (don't know what it is in mile's but it sounds less)
is kinda too early for a honda to go through those things, on a ford/chrysler it's normal

['A20A3']

Sometimes it has tiny wisps of white smoke from the exhaust and they're sweet smelling...and when it's nice and warm you can see very tiny bubbles coming up in the radiator. It still has probably another 6 months left on it before it goes, maybe more, but considering I don't drive like a grandma probably not. I just wanna see if I can get to the bottom of this blowby problem because from what I know the A20 piston rings are really good...and shouldn't be on there way out. If at the very most I just have to change some seals and replace the headgasket I'd be happy because I'd rather do that than have to pull the motor and drop the one from my sedan in.

[accordlxi2.0]

how's the oil?....
i know this may sound stupid but how can you tell about the blow by??
umm nevermind, it could be the pcv valve . . . .

['A20A3']

The oil is very clean and is at the top hole on the dipstick...it must have been changed fairly recently before I bought the car. I don't think it's the PCV valve though because it has blowby there too...I just don't get it... :dunno:

[accordlxi2.0]

what about the black box, under the intake manafold??
that could be one of the reasons . . . .

['A20A3']

I've heard about the black box but I know absolutely nothing about it or it's function. Enlighten me please...

[johndej]

damn, well, this is going to be a learning experience i guess. where did you get it from?

[accordlxi2.0]

well it was said to prevent oil from getting into intake, so the valve will only suck up the vapors....
plus thier is another one where it could be valve cover, it has a baffle with holes at the top, which prevents the manafold from sucking in the oil, that could be clogged too . . . .

['A20A3']

Is this 'black box' on carb, EFI, or both? I definetly need to construct a oil catch can...

I bought this car from a guidance counselor at a high school a couple towns over...

Cosmetically it was very well maintained, but mechanically... :burn:

[accordlxi2.0]

just follow where the pcv valve is and it's right under there.
and like they say never judge a book by its cover.....

['A20A3']

I just went out there in the pitch black with a flashlight and pulled the PCV valve off again. Damn it's cold out there! The valve is clogged again! :mad:

I heard that it's possible for it to be a crank seal. Is this true? I need to do a compression test... :help:

lets' pretend that this is my engine: :pc:

Now I feel a little better...

[accordlxi2.0]

lol, oh man take it easy.
i'm not for sure on the crank seals.
yea it's best to do a compression test.....
it's clogged again...hmmm is the oil on the vacuum side or the pcv side?
i say take off that valve cover and take a look at it . . . .

['A20A3']

I'll take off that valve cover tomorrow and have a look in there.

Thanks for your help man, I'll keep you posted.

[accordlxi2.0]

no problem i hope it's very simple . . .

['A20A3']

Me too...I really, really hope it's not the rings.

It would be unbelievable...at only 144K miles...

['A20A3']

Found this awesome DIY oil catch can on cb7tuner.com.

I knew this would come in handy. :D

DIY oil catch can (http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11009)

[accordlxi2.0]

that one seems like a good idea......

['A20A3']

Wait a second...if my rings were bad, wouldn't I be burning oil? I have no blue smoke and it never smells like I'm burning any...

[FatDave]

if the rings were bad you would be burning oil pretty bad, pull out a the plugs and look at them, if they are covered in oil its a pretty good sign that the rings are cashed

['A20A3']

So if the rings are good what could be causing the blow-by in both the cranckcase and valve cover? Is it possible that the head gasket is the problem?

[SteveDX89]

Wisps of sweet smelling white smoke is coolant. If this is coming from your exhaust, you're burning coolant. Burning coolant is a sign of a blown or leaking head gasket.

['A20A3']

Correct however it only does it sometimes. I know the head gasket is on it's way out but I was just curious if this is what was causing the blow-by problem.

[accordlxi2.0]

that smoke though possibly are not from the car..
about 2 days ago it was about 60-70 degrees out, and the exhuast on my car was a bit white, but nothing was wrong with it.

how does it drive??
i mean if coolant was getting in the cumbustion chamber it would'nt drive so well.......

['A20A3']

It seemingly runs fine. On warm up sometimes it idles high and then drops and then idles high and then drops a few times, sometimes it has sweet smelling white exhaust smoke(only TINY wisps, only SOMETIMES)and it doesn't consume any oil from the blow-by, which makes me think it's not the rings because I'm not burning any. This car has really low miles and I'm just plain fucking stumped.

['A20A3']

Things I know need to be replaced:
Clutch
Plugs & Wires
Head Gasket
MT Oil
PCV valve
Engine Flush
Transmission Flush

[accordlxi2.0]

your stumped, we're in the same boat.
hmmm when you said during warm up it idles up and down,thats the fast idle valve more than likely....
but it drives good, no problems hmmm.
then your saying it's not burning any oil, so the valve cover baffle was clean??
hey also did you shake the pcv valve???
they say if it rattles the pcv is good.
plus i would apply vacuum to the valve see if it opens easily.

[FatDave]

are you sure its not condensation in the pipe being vaporized by the exhaust heat?

['A20A3']

I'm pretty sure Dave, it's sweet smelling and there's VERY tiny bubbles that come up in the radiator....

[FatDave]

damn man that sucks, thats probably why the person you bought it from wanted to get rid of it

[accordlxi2.0]

but still has oil in the intake.
not doubting your skills , homey, but you don't think a vacuum line got mixed up or something?...

['A20A3']

It's possible, I haven't done anything to this car that has caused it to run like this. When I first started working on it in school when it came in there it was like this. The only reason I bought this car is for $800 it's a steal. Paint is glossy, MINIMAL rust, MINIMAL body damage, all power accesories work, no staining or fading of the interior, and the A/C still works!

I Have another engine that runs perfectly, and that's another reason I bought this Coupe. However, I'd rather get to the bottom of all these problems and only have to pull the head at the most because this motor has less miles and I'd rather run this one. I will swap the motors if I must, but only as a last resort. I gotta figure this thing out...

[danronian]

Sounds to me like a poorly maintained engine. If an engine isn't maintained and hasn't had its oil and coolant changed regularly, this is what will happen by 144k mi.
It could be just the head gasket, but the massive amount of blow-by points to worn rings, and the oil in the intake pipe (pre-intake manifold), points to blow by in the valve cover gasket due to valve sealing problems. It sounds to me like the engine needs an entire rebuild. Doing a compression test should reveal very little compression in at least one cylinder, which will tell you for sure about the headgasket being blow. The bubbles in the coolant also point to the same thing though. You can also check the coolant with a freeze tester to see if the coolant has any freeze resistance at all. Usually after coolant is exposed to combustion it turns into the equivalent of water. Also check for discoloration in the oil and coolant, this isn't always a good sign though b/c sometimes with no discoloration there is still a head gasket leak.
First you should replace the headgasket, if you still want to salvage this engine, and they from there I would look at the oil problems. Good luck!

[accordlxi2.0]

that is a steal, so you have a cai on it or a sri??
i sorta remember you saying you got some stuff for it....

['A20A3']

Thanks for the input danronian, I agree. Yeah it definetly was a steal that's why I got it. I have short-ram intake. And my filter is fucked now...

[accordlxi2.0]

because it has oil on it, okay and the tube thats connected to the pcv valve has oil in it?.
did you shake the pcv valve or apply vacuum , like i suggested?

['A20A3']

Yeah the PCV is done. All clogged up. I cleaned it out in school with some heavy duty cleaner about 2 weeks ago and the car has been ran minimally and it has aready clogged it up again. Even after I had cleaned it and reinstalled it I still had blow-by, but it wasn't as bad as it was before or like how it is now, so I guess it helped some. I think that 'black box' you were talking about may be the cause of it, but that doesn't really solve the valve cover blowby problem...

[accordlxi2.0]

umm i know this may sound stupid. but i basically thought that blow-by was oil getting in the manafold and was burning alot of oil....
but since we concluded that the black box under the pcv, is one of the problems, how do you know your getting blow by, i'm sorry if it sounds stupid.......

['A20A3']

Here this should help you understand:

In an engine, there are two areas of air pockets in which the air is not directly related to combustion. Within these two areas, oil and air are separated from the combustion chambers and coolant jackets for the purpose of lubrication of the engine. The upper air and oil pocket is constrained by the valve cover at the top, and the valve seals at the lower end. The bottom air and oil pocket is constrained by the piston rings at the top and the oil pan in the bottom.
In a perfect world, these two lubrication areas would not pressurize. However, in real life compression leaks by valve seals and piston rings in what is called blow-by. Blow by introduces pressure into the two pockets of air and oil (the head and the crankcase). In addition, heat caused as a byproduct of combustion causes air molecules to expand which also causes the pressure to increase in these lubrication areas. If no ventilation system was employed to release this pressure, it would find the point of least resistance to escape, which could be oil seals...or worse.
To relieve this pressure, a system called Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV for short) is used. It is a closed system that takes the pressurized air and oil vapor from these two lubrication areas and introduces it back into the combustion chamber, by way of vacuum caused by the intake charge.

[accordlxi2.0]

okay....
what about a compression test?
i mean these cars do run perfectly, but it could be a compression problem.

['A20A3']

I just got a compression gauge set from my Auto Tech teacher today. I'll be performing one shortly and I'll post the results on here so I can get some feedback.

['A20A3']

I just finished my compression test.

Very surprising results.

CYLINDER 1 = 100-125 PSI
CYLINDER 2 = 50 PSI
CYLINDER 3 = 25-35 PSI
CYLINDER 4 = 30 PSI

HOWEVER - I have not tried adding a small amount of oil to each cylinder to see if my rings were bad. ALSO - All 4 of my spark plugs showed NO sign of oil in the cylinder; they were all carbon fouled, which is very understandable considering my car runs extremely rich.

Discuss please.

[buds302]

where do you go to school? maybe theycan help

[SteveDX89]

I just finished my compression test.

Very surprising results.

CYLINDER 1 = 100-125 PSI
CYLINDER 2 = 50 PSI
CYLINDER 3 = 25-35 PSI
CYLINDER 4 = 30 PSI

HOWEVER - I have not tried adding a small amount of oil to each cylinder to see if my rings were bad. ALSO - All 4 of my spark plugs showed NO sign of oil in the cylinder; they were all carbon fouled, which is very understandable considering my car runs extremely rich.

Discuss please.

Rings, valve seals are insanely FUBAR, or head gasket. That mofo must have no power to it at all.

['A20A3']

It does have next to no power, idles like shit half the time, and doesn't like to start when it's cold. I don't think it's the rings, no oil on the spark plugs, and it doesn't burn any. The head gasket is on it's way out I know that for sure. It also has excessive blowby. When I replace the head gasket I will be swapping the head from my other A20A3 onto this one to see if it cures the blowby problem.

['A20A3']

Any other opinions or ideas? :dunno:

[accordlxi2.0]

oh man....
those are some bad results, when you said surprising i was thinking 180 or 200 psi or something.
ummm, you best bet is to take care of the easiest job, but in your case it seems no of em are......
but i say take care of the h/g, first...
just for the hell of it do what you said...
swap the head from your other a20a3 that will more than likely take care of the problem.
i mean the whole thing, from the t/b valve cover and so on.
i doubt your rings are gone.
i mean the previous owner (a counsoler) i'm sure he does'nt drive like i do.....

['A20A3']

I talked to my mechanic and my auto tech teacher and they both said I must have done something wrong because with that kind of compression the engine wouldn't/shouldn't even run...

The previous owner was a woman...however her son(who was around my age:17)drove the car for a few months, which is probably why it's so clean...and so FUCKED.

[accordlxi2.0]

well thats good!
i mean what your tech and mechanic said, something was probably wrong with the fitting, or something.
so are you gonna replace the head???

['A20A3']

Yeah definitely. I got the exhaust manifold and EGR off the sedan engine today, and next week I'll have the head pulled and all cleaned up and ready to go on the coupe.

[accordlxi2.0]

and trust me it'll be better , plus you get credits for working on the car at the tech school right??

['A20A3']

Word.

['A20A3']

I'm really surprised I haven't gotten more replies to this dilemma... :stick:

[accordlxi2.0]

well, i'm trying my best to help you.....
be sure to keep this updated.....

['A20A3']

Well to hell with trying to figure the whole thing out. By the end of this week, I'll have the intake manifold with all the sensors and whatnot, pulled off my sedan engine, along with the head, and I'll be clean both up real nice and put them onto my coupe engine within the next two weeks, along with all new hoses, head gasket, distributor O-ring, cam seal, valve cover gasket, and fuel filters. Then all that's left is my Centerforce II clutch and I'm in business. If that doesn't fix my problems, I have no clue what the hell will.

['A20A3']

Question:

When the cam gear's "UP" lettering is pointing directly up, is the engine at TDC??

Thanks in advance.

[accordlxi2.0]

actully it means that cyl. 1 is at tdc... but make sure its positioned with that dot or line on the valve cover....
good luck and i'm sure this'll take care of your problem...

['A20A3']

actully it means that cyl. 1 is at tdc... but make sure its positioned with that dot or line on the valve cover....
good luck and i'm sure this'll take care of your problem...

That's what I meant. I just really don't want to have to deal with timing issues. I believe that all this blowby I have is from sticking valves, so I'm considering just adding an engine flush and then changing my oil to see if that solves the problem, then I won't have to swap heads when I do the head gasket.

[accordlxi2.0]

hey that'll help too.
this guy had a lumina that ranned a bit rough, due to him driving around ALOT.
so we used this oil flush stuff, ran it for five-ten minutes it seemed to run alot smoother during the process, we drained the oil, add the new oil and filter, it ranned pretty smooth....

['A20A3']

Well I brought home the intake manifold off of the sedan engine and I have it completely dismantled and I'm going to clean it up, and bore out the throttle body and the manifold. Also, I'm taking the sedan cylinder head to a machine shop and having them port and polish the head as far as possible. I just ran the coupe with the A/C on to help preserve the precious Nippondenso compressor. Everything is going good right now and I'll keep you guys posted on the coupe as things progress.

I'm niced up right now. :alc: :thumbup:

[accordlxi2.0]

hey whats up with the coupe....