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Hello Eric. Thanks for the informational videos and everything you do to try and help people save money. I am hoping I can get this laid to rest because I have been dealing with this issue for years and have spent many dollars “throwing parts at the problem”. Some history first. The last several years (I believe since the timing belt was replaced) my car will not pass the emissions test (high HC at idle). I took it somewhere else this year but previous years I took it to the same shop, they would make a repair and it would pass (possibly using a different vehicle). So, this year it is not passing AGAIN. Last year the shop said the cat was bad so they replaced it. This year the cat was bad again so I had it warrantied. After replacing the cat the results were better but still too high for HC at idle. It seems to me that the engine is running rich and killing the catalytic converter. I have an oem o2 sensor on order which I am going to replace, but I believe the root issue may be ignition timing. The car runs great, but idle is slightly rough (but that may be a separate issue with alternator, haven’t tested it yet). When I check the timing with the gun at 0 degrees, the red mark lines up (as far as I can tell, paint has worn off). But when I check the timing with the gun set to 16 degrees, the white tdc mark is around 3/4″ off. I am not sure if this is normal. Here is a list of repairs that I have done, not necessarily related to the problem:
3 catalytic converters in the last 6 years, Timing belt (shop), distributor (shop), cap & rotor (self), oem wires, NGK plugs, pcv valve (self), valve adjustment (shop), battery, master/slave clutch cylinder (self), front/rear brake pads (self), radiator (self), fuel filter (self), checked all vacuum lines (self), thermostat (self). That’s about all I can think of. I’m also going to be testing the resistance and voltage on the coolant temp sensor as described in the service manual within the next few days. Will also be putting in new plugs just for good measure. If I can’t get it soon I will have to take it to the dealership which I don’t want to do because it always drains the bank account real quick. Thanks in advance for any suggestions, and STAY DIRTY!
1995 Acura Integra GSR – 136K miles
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I have read your comments and it seems like your timing was never dead on, it shouldnt be a bit off. With your timing light hooked to the #1 spark plug wire (closest to the pulleys) the white dot should line up perfectly with the timing mark.
check this website for some other ideas, not sure what else to tell ya
“When I pulled the valve cover I removed the spark plugs and turned the crank pulley counterclockwise until the marks on the middle of the cam gears lined up. I then looked at the crank pulley and the white tdc mark lined up with the needle on the timing belt cover.”
Doing that you checked the correct mechanical cam timing.
Checking with a timing light set at 16 BTDC involves running the engine with the SCS connector jumped and the white dot lining up with the timing mark. Moving the distributor counter clockwise will advance the timing and moving it clockwise will retard it.
[quote=”ridinred24″ post=44849]Doing that you checked the correct mechanical cam timing.
Checking with a timing light set at 16 BTDC involves running the engine with the SCS connector jumped and the white dot lining up with the timing mark. Moving the distributor counter clockwise will advance the timing and moving it clockwise will retard it.[/quote]
I was concerned about the ‘mechanical’ timing NOT the ignition timing which is why I asked hime to check it. I don’t think it has anything to do with ignition timing unless someone removed the distributor which was never mentioned.
That said thanks for checking that. Now that you know the mechanical timing is correct we can move on to the next thing. If you fail emissions again you might check the operation of the catalytic converter. It’s primary function is to clean up NOx emissions however it also cleans up HC and CO. If it’s not functioning properly then it may also contribute to high HC emissions. Here’s how to test to see if that’s at issue. BTW I wouldn’t even worry about this unless you fail again.
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