Honda CRV engine or transmission problem

[steven]

Hi,
I’m currently working on a project of the State Oil Company of Suriname.
The project is to evaluate if E15 fuel is suitable for the Surinamese market.
For this project 2 cars are made available for the people in need while their car if being serviced or lab tested.
One of those cars is a Honda CRV 2nd gen.
Last Friday it was the CRV’s turn to get a performance test run on the dyno, but it only reached 120hp. (factory it should be around 160hp).
After a few more runs it suddenly went down to 98hp.
During all runs the car wouldn’t shift into 4th gear, but the rev limiter just kicks in at 6500 rpm in 3rd gear.
1 week before the run the car was bought from a local second hand car dealer.
The very first day the car arrived I saw that there was a lot of sludge in the engine oil.
Since there is no transmission dipstick so I cant check now if the ATF is in good or bad shape.

Do you have any suggestion where to look?
note: technicians here don’t have much knowledge about VTEC, VTC and similar systems.

Topic

[college man]

if its a vtech engine and the engine is full of sludge
that could be one of your issues.try changing the
oil with the correct viscosity.for the transmission
try changing the fluid with Honda trans fluid only.
here are some videos to help you.Btw what year and
engine size is the car? 😉

[steven]

engine:
K24A1

Found in:
2002-2006 Honda CR-V
Displacement: 2,354 cc (143.6 cu in)
Bore and Stroke: 87 mm x 99 mm (3.43×3.90 inches)
Compression: 9.6:1
Power: 160 hp (120 kW) @ 6000 rpm
Torque: 162 lb·ft (220 N·m) @ 5200 rpm
Rev limit: 7000 rpm

Already changed the oil twice in 2 weeks but still there is some sludge left.
Since the car is not mine but part of the project i can’t work on it on my own.
So I can’t bring it home to drain the transmission.
Everything has to be done with permission from the project manager.
And finding Honda ATF here is going to be a pain in the ***.
I already know how VTEC, VTC, VVTI and stuff like that work.
But i have never taken apart an engine yet.

I do suspect it being a transmission problem since it feels like the transmission disconnects the wheels the moment it is about to shift into 4th

On the Dynocom we can see a rapid drop in power when it goes into “over rev”.

[EricTheCarGuy]

I also suspect a transmission problem. The transmission DOES have a dip stick. It’s hard to find but it’s located under the air cleaner assembly. A common problem with Honda transmissions is that people check them while the engine is running. This is wrong. The fluid level needs to be checked with the engine OFF and hot. Also, I know it’s a pain but you really should only use Honda fluid in that transmission. That said to me it sounds like the transmission may already be beyond repair. Check the fluid level first and see what you find. Also by the sound of it the rest of the vehicle wasn’t very well maintained so there could still be an issue with the engine. In a situation like yours you start with what you know and can find out and then go from there.

[Author]

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