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Don’t kill yourself over OEM, it is a 92 accord after all. Go pickup a set of silicone wires at NAPA, AZ, or Advance for $40. The bottom line is this: by plugging and unplugging constantly you essentially made the aging wires fail. You should have fixed the leak correctly from the get go. Do you currently get any oil in the spark plug tubes??
Second, I would venture to say your ignition system is weak to begin with.. I recommend replacing distributor rotor and cap. Make sure there is no oil on either of those when you take them apart (your comment on crud under distributor worries me). Install everything properly, use a little dielectric grease only on the ceramic portion of the spark plug, and make sure all the wires seat properly (don’t mix them up either).
Finally, if the car is still having a tremendous difficulty starting/staying on, your igniter might be worn out. I heard this part can get worn when there is high resistance in the spark delivery (i.e. Oil getting in between spark plug and wire boot). But then it could just be old as well. I had a similar issue with my honda, except it would run beautifully and suddenly die, and not want to restart. No pattern to the failure, just sometimes would not start/run. My diagnosis pointed to the igniter, but due to the high cost, it was more effective for me to replace the distributor as a unit. Car runs as it should now.
Good Luck
Don’t kill yourself over OEM, it is a 92 accord after all. Go pickup a set of silicone wires at NAPA, AZ, or Advance for $40. The bottom line is this: by plugging and unplugging constantly you essentially made the aging wires fail. You should have fixed the leak correctly from the get go. Do you currently get any oil in the spark plug tubes??
Second, I would venture to say your ignition system is weak to begin with.. I recommend replacing distributor rotor and cap. Make sure there is no oil on either of those when you take them apart (your comment on crud under distributor worries me). Install everything properly, use a little dielectric grease only on the ceramic portion of the spark plug, and make sure all the wires seat properly (don’t mix them up either).
Finally, if the car is still having a tremendous difficulty starting/staying on, your igniter might be worn out. I heard this part can get worn when there is high resistance in the spark delivery (i.e. Oil getting in between spark plug and wire boot). But then it could just be old as well. I had a similar issue with my honda, except it would run beautifully and suddenly die, and not want to restart. No pattern to the failure, just sometimes would not start/run. My diagnosis pointed to the igniter, but due to the high cost, it was more effective for me to replace the distributor as a unit. Car runs as it should now.
Good Luck
Yes, do a quick diagnosis. For an engine to run you will need: air, fuel, compression, spark.
Since you just put this together, I would start with compression. Pull the fuel pump fuse, pull the spark plugs, disconnect distributor and just spin the motor. Anything ejecting from the holes? (like oil or coolant). Then check compression on each cylinder. If all is well, proceed.
Check for spark. Connect distributor. Plug in all ignition cables, and plug spark plugs into them. Drop the cable boots with plugs into the plug holes (without screwing the plugs in obviously). One at a time, pull out a plug and carefully ground it with a tip (I prefer to use a wire with alligator clips so I don’t get a nasty jolt from the ignition system..). Have someone crank the engine a couple of times and look for a spark. Do this on each cylinder. Spark present on all four?
Fuel. Did you hear the fuel pump run for 2 to 3 seconds when the fuse was in? Have someone crank the engine and listen to each injector with a long screwdriver, each should click at a regular interval. Another trick is while the spark plugs are out, you can put the fuel pump fuse back in, prime the system (turn ignition to “ON”, wait 6 seconds, then “OFF”, and repeat two more times without cranking), and then crank and look for fuel mist ejecting from spark plug holes.
Air. Did you plug everything back in? (i.e. IACV) Is there vacuum in the intake when you crank?
Check those things and post back. Otherwise it will pretty much just be a shot in the dark as to why it’s not starting. Other things is confirm you’re in TDC by putting putting your hand tightly over the #1 spark hole and rotating the engine by hand. When you feel pressure building under your hand, stop and put a long straw into the hole and rotate the engine gently until its at the top of the stroke. You’re basically looking for a compression stroke of cyl.1, and then pop your distributor cover off and see if the rotor is pointing at #1.
Sorry for my backyard ways. They work really well when you make sense of the whole thing 😉
Good luck
Yes, do a quick diagnosis. For an engine to run you will need: air, fuel, compression, spark.
Since you just put this together, I would start with compression. Pull the fuel pump fuse, pull the spark plugs, disconnect distributor and just spin the motor. Anything ejecting from the holes? (like oil or coolant). Then check compression on each cylinder. If all is well, proceed.
Check for spark. Connect distributor. Plug in all ignition cables, and plug spark plugs into them. Drop the cable boots with plugs into the plug holes (without screwing the plugs in obviously). One at a time, pull out a plug and carefully ground it with a tip (I prefer to use a wire with alligator clips so I don’t get a nasty jolt from the ignition system..). Have someone crank the engine a couple of times and look for a spark. Do this on each cylinder. Spark present on all four?
Fuel. Did you hear the fuel pump run for 2 to 3 seconds when the fuse was in? Have someone crank the engine and listen to each injector with a long screwdriver, each should click at a regular interval. Another trick is while the spark plugs are out, you can put the fuel pump fuse back in, prime the system (turn ignition to “ON”, wait 6 seconds, then “OFF”, and repeat two more times without cranking), and then crank and look for fuel mist ejecting from spark plug holes.
Air. Did you plug everything back in? (i.e. IACV) Is there vacuum in the intake when you crank?
Check those things and post back. Otherwise it will pretty much just be a shot in the dark as to why it’s not starting. Other things is confirm you’re in TDC by putting putting your hand tightly over the #1 spark hole and rotating the engine by hand. When you feel pressure building under your hand, stop and put a long straw into the hole and rotate the engine gently until its at the top of the stroke. You’re basically looking for a compression stroke of cyl.1, and then pop your distributor cover off and see if the rotor is pointing at #1.
Sorry for my backyard ways. They work really well when you make sense of the whole thing 😉
Good luck
I agree with Eric that it’s likely to be a vacuum leak.. Did you use a new gasket on the EGR passage cover? Did you torque it down properly? Spray some starter fluid around the cover and watch for engine RPM increase (fire extinguisher on standby of course). If the RPM increases you do have a leak and will have to replace the gasket/tighten the cover bolts.
On the other hand, I don’t know if it could somehow be related here, but I too once had my HX get about 23 MPG. Adjusted the timing and was back at 36 B)
Good luck!
I agree with Eric that it’s likely to be a vacuum leak.. Did you use a new gasket on the EGR passage cover? Did you torque it down properly? Spray some starter fluid around the cover and watch for engine RPM increase (fire extinguisher on standby of course). If the RPM increases you do have a leak and will have to replace the gasket/tighten the cover bolts.
On the other hand, I don’t know if it could somehow be related here, but I too once had my HX get about 23 MPG. Adjusted the timing and was back at 36 B)
Good luck!
Grrrrrr.. I hate it when “mechanics” pour water into a hot engine. When an engine overheats and you determine it is low on coolant, you always want to let it cool sufficiently before dumping water in! You can cause more damage than the overheat initially caused in that instance! Heat up a glass bottle over a flame and then dump some water on it and see what happens!
Hopefully your block is still ok, and is just hydrolocked like wysetech pointed out.
Good luck!
Grrrrrr.. I hate it when “mechanics” pour water into a hot engine. When an engine overheats and you determine it is low on coolant, you always want to let it cool sufficiently before dumping water in! You can cause more damage than the overheat initially caused in that instance! Heat up a glass bottle over a flame and then dump some water on it and see what happens!
Hopefully your block is still ok, and is just hydrolocked like wysetech pointed out.
Good luck!
Looks like you have the problem by the horns but here are a few tips:
1) ALWAYS use OEM parts for any essential engine control system (thermostat, sensors, switches). An EVAP purge valve I may skimp out on, but not on my CPS.
2) I’m an engineer not a mechanic, so I would have to say the MLS headgaskets don’t really fail in the sense of the word… the more likely scenario I think is that the aluminum head warps beyond the gasket tolerances due to extreme (and uneven) temperatures. BTW, regarding covering the gasket in copper spray, folks are 50/50 on it.. I’ve done it with copper and it worked great. But it gets very tacky and can actually hold on to dirt, so you have to be very careful and clean! My own car, I would probably do the job extremely carefully and use a Honda gasket (which doesn’t cost $200 btw) and skip the copper.
3) As Eric pointed out, manifold cracks won’t cause an overheat. An overheat possibly could help create a crack in the manifold though; but the most likely cause is going through a nice puddle and splashing the water all over the exhaust. Sometimes cracks just don’t throw any codes, but the issue should still be addressed. No matter how you look at it, oxygen may be getting in, and causing the computer to enrich the mixture, etc..
4) Do the job right. Follow the manual to a tee. Torque the head in 5 increments, not 3. Same care should be taken when removing; I think a lot of folks “help” warp the head even further when popping off one bolt at a time not in pattern.
The reason this happened is because you allowed the car to overheat. Heat is an engine’s worst enemy. If I was a car manufacturer, I would put a HUGE warning light on the dash that would blink “ENGINE HOT!” to grab your attention… but then no one would ever come in for expensive engine service to the service department… Don’t let your car overheat. EVER. Get in the habit of checking coolant level, and glancing at temp gauge occasionally while driving.
Good luck!
Looks like you have the problem by the horns but here are a few tips:
1) ALWAYS use OEM parts for any essential engine control system (thermostat, sensors, switches). An EVAP purge valve I may skimp out on, but not on my CPS.
2) I’m an engineer not a mechanic, so I would have to say the MLS headgaskets don’t really fail in the sense of the word… the more likely scenario I think is that the aluminum head warps beyond the gasket tolerances due to extreme (and uneven) temperatures. BTW, regarding covering the gasket in copper spray, folks are 50/50 on it.. I’ve done it with copper and it worked great. But it gets very tacky and can actually hold on to dirt, so you have to be very careful and clean! My own car, I would probably do the job extremely carefully and use a Honda gasket (which doesn’t cost $200 btw) and skip the copper.
3) As Eric pointed out, manifold cracks won’t cause an overheat. An overheat possibly could help create a crack in the manifold though; but the most likely cause is going through a nice puddle and splashing the water all over the exhaust. Sometimes cracks just don’t throw any codes, but the issue should still be addressed. No matter how you look at it, oxygen may be getting in, and causing the computer to enrich the mixture, etc..
4) Do the job right. Follow the manual to a tee. Torque the head in 5 increments, not 3. Same care should be taken when removing; I think a lot of folks “help” warp the head even further when popping off one bolt at a time not in pattern.
The reason this happened is because you allowed the car to overheat. Heat is an engine’s worst enemy. If I was a car manufacturer, I would put a HUGE warning light on the dash that would blink “ENGINE HOT!” to grab your attention… but then no one would ever come in for expensive engine service to the service department… Don’t let your car overheat. EVER. Get in the habit of checking coolant level, and glancing at temp gauge occasionally while driving.
Good luck!
UPDATE: It looks like the problem was the old spark plugs. Interesting that the change interval is 105K and the car is 155K. I also cleaned the collector and throttle body while I was at it, and checked the injectors. Most cylinders were 175-188 PSI while one was 160, so the engine is not completely ruined yet (the electrode on the low cyl was round :ohmy: ).
Now I get the P0507, Idle RPM higher than normal code, thinking I just have to do the idle relearn, otherwise I’ve created an intake leak.
Never thought that someone could drive a car until it won’t even start because of worn plugs…I mean they must’ve gone through terrible performance phase, misfire phase, no? Or are these computer ignition systems that good to compensate for stupidity?
UPDATE: It looks like the problem was the old spark plugs. Interesting that the change interval is 105K and the car is 155K. I also cleaned the collector and throttle body while I was at it, and checked the injectors. Most cylinders were 175-188 PSI while one was 160, so the engine is not completely ruined yet (the electrode on the low cyl was round :ohmy: ).
Now I get the P0507, Idle RPM higher than normal code, thinking I just have to do the idle relearn, otherwise I’ve created an intake leak.
Never thought that someone could drive a car until it won’t even start because of worn plugs…I mean they must’ve gone through terrible performance phase, misfire phase, no? Or are these computer ignition systems that good to compensate for stupidity?
Before I started there were no codes and all the monitors were ready. Front sparks were wet with fuel, but by the time I reached the rear ones they were dry. The spark plugs were pretty fouled up however… Don’t think they’ve ever been replaced due to the design (and work involved).
I’ll check compression, replace sparks, and then reassemble everything and try what you suggested. Thanks!
Before I started there were no codes and all the monitors were ready. Front sparks were wet with fuel, but by the time I reached the rear ones they were dry. The spark plugs were pretty fouled up however… Don’t think they’ve ever been replaced due to the design (and work involved).
I’ll check compression, replace sparks, and then reassemble everything and try what you suggested. Thanks!
I think there might be…but it probably requires taking it off… All it does is allow small amounts of idle air into the manifold when the throttle is closed. Typically a plunger that opens when voltage is applied. When you take it off is usually when you will see oil and crud, so generally they just need cleaning.