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Hey Guys,
I’m at a loss and need to be pointed in the right direction. Since you seem to be the Honda Gurus who’d be better than you. I’ve got a 2000 Honda civic DX (non variable timing sohc engine) similar to the 1998 in the ETCG videos minus the v-tec. It idles very ruff. It feels like I’m taking off in second gear but seems to feel normal at higher rpms. It gets horrible mpg went from 30 to 15 or less. The check engine light blinks (which I think means its misfiring). With the engine idling I can remove the number 4 cylinder spark wire and nothing changes. I believe the wire is sending spark thou. I also unplugged the power to that injector with the same result (nothing changing while at idle) But when I drive with it unplugged I notice a big drop in power. That leads me to believe that’s it is just idling on 3 cylinders and the 4th starts working at a higher rpm. I have recently replaced plugs, wires, cap, dist., fuel filter and ignitor and cleaned the TB. It does drip/burn a bit of oil. Seems to drip somewhere between the engine and the automatic transmission. And when the check engine 1st came on auto zone said it was low vacuum pressure and they said it was probably my gas cap… lol I think I’ve remembered everything that could be relevant. If you have any suggestions or tests i’d try anything at this point. Thanks again for taking your time to even read this. Oh…. and these problems all started when I missed an oil change a few changes ago. Deep down I feel like its something major like a head gasket. Like for example at low rpm it has no compression because its leaking out and it works at higher rpms because the compression doesn’t have time to leak out thru a seal or gasket… Car has 164,000 miles.
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Eric the car guy will reply to you in few days. He explained this on many last video. He is busy but he try to do It as possible.
It’s should be a fail head gasket. Oil unchanged after It’s time/max kilometer produce acid. This acid wear out your engine.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zEBI1QndPo[/video]
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEJ51BJ23yk[/video]
By the way, buy and download a Honda civic repair manual
http://www.tradebit.com/filesharing.php/search/0/honda+civic+2000I know there’s a lot of civic idle threads and answers. But I posted mine because there are some symptoms that are inconsistent with most. I should also add that I dont think I’m losing coolant and it doesn’t smoke like I’ve seen other blown head gaskets do. One time I got a good puff of smoke out the back but no smoke lately. It is my daily driver and i drive about 100 miles+ a day so its crappy gas mileage is killing my pocket. Thanks for any advice in advance. And if there is anything I could do or check to help with a diagnosis feel free to ask. Im a pizza delivery driver making minimum wage so I can’t exactly bring it to a shop because I would probably go homeless trying to pay the repair bill.
I forgot to mention that the rough idle can be just the air filter that you need to change every oil change ( 1000 miles). If not, you will have this symptoms and a greater gallon / mile.
It’s seem just a tiny leak in you head gasket and a dirty injector. So hopefully you can buy Lucas Engine Oil Stop Leak and add Lucas Oil Deep Clean Fuel System Cleaner. You will stop this small engine leak and also whit the cleaner clean you injector that might not give enough gas because is clogged. And use this Lucas upper cylinder and injector cleaner only after you empty the gas tank whit the Lucas Oil Deep Clean Fuel System Cleaner. You need to do the math first before adding fuel additive. Example. If I have a 8 Gallons tank and the treatment bottle can treat 85 gallon for a 5.25 oz. 5.25 oz / 85 gallon = ? / 8 onces. So 5.25 x 8 = 42. 42 / 85 = 0.49 onces. You can also use the percentage : 8 gallon / 85 gallon = 0,094 ( 9.4 /100 = 9.4%). 0,094 x 5.25 = 0,49 onces
Fact behind the product I choose. Dirty injectors inject fuel like a hose and not in spray. So you have combustion problem by the gas dispersion and percentage that cause performance issue. Upper cylinder lubrication whit injector cleaner help to lubricate all your gas line and when It’s burn lubricate and clean the exhaust valve and clean the catalyst from the gunk. As well oil leak stop if fact will stop gaskets leaks. It’s a 45 us $ well spent.
You need to find if you have a vacuum leak = low vacumm pressure ( gas leak some time ) in the engine rubber hoses. Rubber hose and clam are cheap and can save you money. See the video how to find a vacuum leak. But whit the air duster, the engine will reduce It’s combustion if the CO2 can enter in a gas hose and intake system.
You can use also Computer air dust cleaner to do the test (It’s safer)
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CPqbaSgcok[/video]The way to diagnose issues (A must see)
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsGTeWayqIU[/video][video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAKwCzUE_9M[/video]
I would search for vacuum leaks. You kinda did a power
balance test.Have you every done the timing belt?I don’t believe the belt has ever been changed. If the timing belt stretched do you think that could cause some of my symptoms?
A timing belt inside a car It,s can last for 130 000 kilometer max. The timing bel will strech but will ultimately snap and scrap your motor head.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uukgcyTemEI[/video]
I agree with checking the timing belt, if it jumped a tooth it can do that. also a compression test, I have seen 2 common valve problems with them, chunk of carbon breaks loose and slightly bend a valve and another common one at about that mileage is a broken valve spring. That said, a timing belt is still first thing I think of.
I suggest first to put conditioner in his car to clean all the interior engine to see any difference. Then he can buy tools to inspect his car. You know he got only a pizza delivery job. So He cannot repair his car during his job week. For a new person that try to change a timing belt I expect he will take 2 days or 12 yours. But It’s need to do that before It’s too late. The belt was never changed.
A couple of things come to mind. The first is a vacuum leak similar to what’s been described. Here’s a video where I ran into something similar.
The second thing that comes to mind is a burned exhaust valve. You can confirm that with a leak down test. Here are some videos that can help with that.
Leak down testing
Finding TDC
Keep us posted on what you find.
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