Lost power while driving
 

I have a 1996 Honda Accord LX 2.2L automatic. While driving I heard a small pop and rpms dropped to zero. I lost power steering, brakes and had to be pushed off the road. Someone passing by said that it could be my starter relay. Is this possible? All my belts are intact. I just replaced timing belt and water pump recently. Starter is brand new. I have overheating problems and oil leakage and need to replace the valve cover gasket, distributer O ring and the radiator. But as far as the car shutting down, any thoughts from anyone where to begin?

You should remove distributor cap, turn engine over and confirm distributor rotor is turning. If starter will not turn engine over, then engine can be manually turned w/ a 19mm socket, 18" extension, and ratchet through the driver's side fender well w/ wheel turned to provide room for ratched.

It is possible timing belt broke or slipped causing engine to shut down. Hopefully not, but damage to engine is likely if it did.

The starter or starter relay did not cause engine to quit.

It is possible an electrical problem shut the engine down and disabled starter (you dont' say whether engine will turn over or not), but first confirm crankshaft and camshaft are connected by timing belt as suggested above.

good luck

Thanks TexasHonda. I went back to the car in the daytime with a friend. I couldn't tell the night that it broke down, it was dark. But the timing belt did break. At first I didn't think that was possible cuz I did the timing belt & water pump not that long ago...it shouldn't have broken and it was a decent brand. My friend was a mechanic until recently. He says I should get a new head. I will have to look for one online...

Just for our education a few questions.

What brand of timing belt? Did you replace tensioner parts?

Sorry for your troubles.

good luck

I can't remember which brand of belt it was and I am not sure if he replaced the tensioner parts or not. Does anyone know if when the timing belt breaks, is it just the head that needs replacing or do other parts of the engine get damaged as well? I just want to make sure before I purchase a rebuilt head that it will indeed fix the problem. I know it's tough to say without seeing the vehicle but if someone could tell me other possibilities of things that could be damaged due to a timing belt breaking that would be great. I just want to know what I am possibly getting myself into before I spend money on parts. My friend was a mechanic up until recently and now he works in an office and can only work on it on his days off, so he hasn't been able to get in there and see what's going on. Thanks for all the help!

Most times only the valves in the head are damaged. Since yours quit immediately, additional damage is less likely. Only way to know for sure is to inspect w/ boroscope or pull head. It is possible for pistons to be damaged by valve impact.


See Online Manuals links in DIY section for a download manual.


good luck

I now have a new issue. My mechanic friend advised me that a new head should probably take care of it and that I need to look for F22B2. I went onto ebay and ordered this head:


Rebuilt 2 2 Honda Accord SOHC Cylinder Head POB F22B2 F22B6 1994 1997 | eBay


But shortly after I did, I realized that the description didn't say whether this head fits a 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder car. I called the seller and he asked me for the casting number, because this particular head will only fit one with casting POB. He asked me to check my casting number and I wasn't sure where to look. I found a number down below where the intake is that says USA POA-15. But it seems kind of low to be the head. I don't know where the head ends and the bottom of the engine begins. I live 50 miles from where my friend is, and I am basically out in the woods...so he can't just run by to check for me. No shops nearby and the car is obviously not driveable. Can you give me a more explicit explanation of where I should be able to find the casting number? Or does the head need to come off first? My friend won't be coming here to do the work for me until I have all the parts ready to go. Are you able to help? Is there a way to post a picture or a diagram to point to where I can find the casting number? Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Sorry, I'm on the road and don't have my shop manuals w/ me to find the location of the head casting number.


good luck

No such a thing as a V6 with an F22B2 designation. As double confirmation; looking at the picture it is clearly for a 4-Cylinder engine.

Here are some pictures of a V6 head: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-ACCORD...caf733&vxp=mtr

The ebay seller was not stating that F22B2 is 6 cylinder. He was saying that the cylinder head that he has is F22B2 with casting number POB. He asked me what my cylinder head casting number is and I don't know where to look for it. He said there are a few versions for a 4 cylinder 1996 and he needed to make sure that what I have is POB. I just don't know where to look for this number. Does anyone know exactly where I need to look? Also, I am female, so you need to tell me in very simple terms, I have very limited knowledge of basic parts. I downloaded a manual for this car, and did a search of the document for casting number on cylinder head and there is nothing. I looked through the entire section for the cylinder head and I don't see anything about the casting number.

lost power while driving
 

I bought another head and head gasket set. I need to replace the timing belt and the tensioner parts. I don't think the tensioner parts were replaced last time, maybe that's why the belt broke. I want to make sure I don't break another timing belt. Any suggestions on which brand timing belt is best? Which tensioner parts should be replaced?

I bought another head and head gasket set. I need to replace the timing belt and the tensioner parts. I don't think the tensioner parts were replaced last time, maybe that's why the belt broke. I want to make sure I don't break another timing belt. Any suggestions on which brand timing belt is best? Which tensioner parts should be replaced?

Rockauto has good prices on timing belt component kits. I've used Gates and Bando belts, but don't really have any strong recommendation.

Suggest replacing both timing belt tensioner and balance shaft tensioner to replace both bearings.

See DIY forum post on engaging the timing belt tensioner eye hole onto the short stud on the oil pump cover behind the tensioner. If you get it wrong, problems arise.

good luck

Thank you for the tips TexasHonda!

Lost power while driving - new head installed
 

So here I am 9 months later... no car. My friend installed the new head, couldn't get a spark and gave up. Haven't been able to get him to come back and finish what he started. I don't have hundreds of dollars to get someone to come 50 miles out of town to the country to help me, so I need to try and get the car started myself.


My friend tried a new distributor but it wasn’t that. Iinstalled a new crankshaft position sensor because it was torn when the timingbelt broke. Installed new spark plugsand wires while he was here, but he didn’t check my installation. He said theyjust screw in and there’s no way to do it wrong… is that correct?


The alternator is not back in place yet, but he says thecar should start without it… is that correct?

I also see that the timing belt isn’t centered on thepulley, but he says it will right itself once the car starts running… is thatcorrect?

I would appreciate any suggestions on what to try firstto diagnose why the car doesn’t get a spark.

I took some photos:


https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...ine=1452968291

Lost power while driving - new head installed
 

I can't figure out how to get all my photos in one post... Help?


https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...ine=1452968660

Whoa, lot's of questions.

1) Is the timing belt very tight? It should be able to twist about 90 degrees w/ modest effort; ie not very tight. If belt is too tight this might contribute to mispositioning. Looser belt may be manually repositioned.

2) What happened to balance shaft belt? I would not run engine w/o.

3) Is there a washer beind the crankshaft timing belt sprocket. That might push the sprocket a bit further out and reduce "stick-out" of woodruff key. See attached graphic.

First check alignment of crankshaft and camshaft. see attached pics

Confirm fuel pump comes on, runs for 2-3 secs, and goes off when keyswitch is turned to On.

Confirm fuel injectors are firing; noid light or feel for vibration (clicking).

Confirm spark plug wires are correctly installed from distributor to spark plugs. see attached pic. #1 is closest to distributor.

good luck

I hope you're not trying to start it like that without the balancer belt.

When the balancer-belt sprocket is installed on the crankshaft, that will hold the cam-belt sprocket back in it's correct position, and hold the belt from walking off the front of it's sprocket. Just like the flange on the outside of the balance sprocket holds the balance-belt in place.

Thank you for the direction & the diagrams, TexasHonda. It will take me a bit to get to this. Glad I didn't pay in full for this "friend" to do the job for me. I also have a feeling that when he did my timing belt for me the first time, he didn't do it properly and might be why it broke again. Only this time it tore up the crankshaft position sensor wires and Lord knows what else got damaged besides that and the head.


And JimBlake, I didn't want to even try starting the car without sending pics and asking questions first. He said the balancer belt didn't have to be on... another reason I am not asking him to finish this job. Thanks!


Once I get a chance to tackle this I may have more questions. Thanks guys!

Depends on what he meant by that - you CAN run the engine without the balancer belt, but NOT LIKE THAT. Basically, you have to install the lower balance-belt sprocket so that it holds the cam-sprocket & belt in place. Of course, the external drive pulley has to be in place so the sprockets & the square key don't slide off the end of the crankshaft.