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I have a 2004 Honda Civic LX D17a2, non vtec, automatic, with 270,000 miles on it. This all started when the car lost heat. The engine temp was normal, however the car would blow ice cold air when at idle and only heat when driving. I drove it like this for a few days then picked up some antifreeze assuming that there was some air trapped in the heater core. I started the car up parked it on a hill, topped off the radiator and went to start it again and it wouldnt start. Not once had the car overheated while driving it and it had made absolutely no noise of any kind out of the ordinary indicating that something was wrong. When I attempt to start the car, the engine spins freely. You can see the valves moving inside the valve cover. There is electric going to the plugs and the plugs themselves are fine. There is no coolant in the oil. Its not milky, however it does smell like gas which im assuming is because i flooded it turning the car over so many times trying to get it to start (drained the battery). So im going to assume that gas is getting to the engine. I pulled the timing cover off and the belt is intact, however there is a good amount of worn belt material inside of the cover that had piled up. I do not know if it jumped time, but the belt is tight fitting and appears to be good. Any ideas on why then engine might be spinning freely and not starting?
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Replies
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You may have a flooded engine. This link will help further.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/no-start-faq/solving-automotive-no-start-problems
With 270,000 miles it’s very possible that you have more than one problem so the heat and no start may not be related as I’m sure you already guessed.
A blown head gasket can sometimes cause a no heat condition because it can force combustion gases into the cooling system creating an air pocket. The water pump will not be able to move coolant if there’s an air pocket around the impeller. A blown head gasket can sometimes cause a no start. So in this case the two would be related. A head gasket test kit isn’t too expensive but it requires the engine to be running. A better option may be to buy or rent a coolant pressure tester to figure out if you have a major leak somewhere, especially around the head gasket area.
With any no start you have to go through every factor systematically, using the FASTEC method is helpful.
Fuel
Air
Spark
Timing
Exhaust
CompressionYou have to verify each one of these. You mentioned a couple of them, but remember you have to increase the quality of your testing until you actually find the problem. For example, you checked the timing belt with a visual inspection and you can tell that the injectors are working because of fuel in the gas. But if you can’t find the problem with a surface level visual inspection you have to dig deeper. This could involve actually verifying the timing and doing an injector balance test etc etc.
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