Really Very Big Problem?

[89HondaLegend]

1988 Honda Accord
2.0L Carburettor
Sedan - Automatic

Hey guys,
I have had a constant idle problem with our Accord for a long time but I have never been too worried about it. Anyway I changed the oil two days ango and tuned it up and it was running the best since we bought it. However halfway on my way to work I noticed that it lost some poewr and there was this miss occurring. Upon arriving at work the car was only running on three cylinders. So when I got home I tried changing the spark plug and nothing changed, I changed the lead and nothing changed. Cylinders 1, 2, 3 are all firing and running fine, however if I remove #4 wire from the spark plug the idle doesn't change, it keeps on missing with the lead on or off.
So here is the tricky part, if the spark plug is firing which it is and the lead is fine which it is because I tested it on other cylinders... what the heck can be the problem? I really need help, my mechanic will charge me an arm and a leg and I can't take my Legend to work because it gets fuel economy around par with a Multi combination Mack truck.
Thanks for any help.

Kind Regards,
Steve

[russiankid]

Could be that your distributor cap is worn. I would check that. Maybe one of the pins on the cap or broken off, which is responsible for cylinder #4.

[Vanilla Sky]

steve, what's your location? i'd be willing to stop by to help if you were local to me.

your problem does indeed sound like a bad distributor cap. if it's not a bad distributor cap, then i'd get a compression tester and check my compression. you may very well have a dead cylinder.

[89HondaLegend]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.
I had a look at the distributor cap and it looks a little bit coroded, only a little bit. But it doesn't look like it would stop spark on only #4 cylinder, ofcourse I could be wrong and I will replace it to see what happens anyway.

I will get a compression test done on Monday to see what happens.
The strange thing is it happened as I said on the highway half way to work. It has me beat anyway.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, my location is Albury, New South Wales, Australia

[Vanilla Sky]

your spark plug could be bad. how are you testing for spark? plugs are cheap enough that i don't even bother putting old plugs back in, even if they've only been in for a month or so. it's less than $8 for a full set of plugs for our cars.

[88Accord-DX]

If your going to replace the cap, might as well get a rotor too. A compression tester will run about 20 bucks at local parts store. Hopefully your valve isn't burned or not seating good from carbon buildup.

[89HondaLegend]

The car was running lean (white stuff on the spark plugs) which may have burnt out a valve. I was going to get new plugs, but I need the money for other things :P

I will let you know how it goes and what happens. Hopefully not a burnt valve

[Oldblueaccord]

You can swap the plug with one of the other cylinders thats running ok.

Next thing like said is check the compression of the cylinder and see if its dead.


wp

[89HondaLegend]

Hey guys, sorry about the HUGE delay. I finally got a compression test done. Results can best be describred with smileys lol

The 4th sylinder has 40psi. I think it is meant to be about 140-150? Anyway it is a valve. So it looks like I am going to have to remove the head. Never taken the head of an overhead cam motor but I am sure I will have fun...

I will search around for any tips on removing hte head and replacing the timing belt, any other tips or links would greatly be appreciated.

[shepherd79]

download shop manual and you should be fine. just take your time.

[MessyHonda]

you can always get a head from the junkyard or get the one you have redone.

[88Accord-DX]

When you go to pull the head off, pull it off with the exhaust manifold & intake attached. There is a bracket under neath the intake, it's a pain to remove them two bolts. Put the engine at TDC on #1 compression stroke. Put a new timing belt on, consider getting a new water pump while you tackeling this job. Spin the tensioner to see if it seems to have dry bearings. Label all your vacuum lines & wires if you can't remember where they go. Good luck & here is a link.

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...3d800cf706.jsp

[MessyHonda]

When you go to pull the head off, pull it off with the exhaust manifold & intake attached. There is a bracket under neath the intake, it's a pain to remove them two bolts. Put the engine at TDC on #1 compression stroke. Put a new timing belt on, consider getting a new water pump while you tackeling this job. Spin the tensioner to see if it seems to have dry bearings. Label all your vacuum lines & wires if you can't remember where they go. Good luck & here is a link.

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...3d800cf706.jsp

that does help thats how i did it on my dx. you will need 2 people to pick it up(im kinda weak)...lol and to set it back down... best way to do it IMO

[89HondaLegend]

Thanks so much guys, I will have to price some parts before I get started. I will have to adjust the air/fuel ratio while I am at it because I am pretty sure it is running lean, most likely the cause of the burnt out valve.

So:
New timing belt
Head gasket
Valve
Water pump - depending on cost
Tensioner

Might make a DIY of it, assuming one hasn't already been done.

[88Accord-DX]

Don't to much worry about the water pump, it's the oil pump that is in there. It's not critical unless your worried about oil pressure. One last thing you need to add to the list is a new valve cover gasket. Also, set you valve lash after your done.

[89HondaLegend]

Well I don't think oil pressure is much of a problem, I get oil spraying all over the place when it idles and after I last changed the oil there was so much oil under the rocker cover that when you opened the oil cap it was coming out the top. (I know this is no way to certify good oil pressure but I am just saying )

We will probably ned up selling it after I replace the valve. Wouldn't mind replacing it with a Prelude or just about anything manual :P

I won't bother replacing hte valve cover gasket either, I am taking hte "She'll be right attitude" towards this task.

[Ichiban]

Woah dude. Oil piling up on the head is way bad, infact it is a sign that your compression is leaking to the crankcase, not out a valve. When my toy ate a ring, there was so much blowby that the oil on the head was being couldn't get back down to the crankcase because of the exhaust rushing up via the drainback holes. I'm guessing that your piston might have a hole burnt in it, or you have a few broken rings. Either of these are the result of detonation, which can be caused by an excessively lean mixture. I'm not saying that this is absolutely the case, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was....

[89HondaLegend]

LOL
It just keeps getting better and better

Seriosusly though, I will tkae the head off, inspect what is damaged, if it is the valve then I shall replace it and all is good. If the rings are worn and blowby is occuring then I don't care, as I said we want to sell it anyway.
The oil up the top is not excessive, but there is quite a bit spurting around, it has been the same for as long as we have owned it.

Thanks for pointing that out though, it never even ocurred to me.

[Ichiban]

Well, hopefully that's not the case. With my toy, the oil just kept piling up in the head until it dumped into the air cleaner via the PVC breather line. Before you pull the head, you might want to determine whether the compression is going out the valves or the rings, with a wet/dry compression test. there is a how to on that here somewhere.