Hello,

I am about to begin working on my brother's 1991 Accord EX, and am hoping to obtain a little help from you good folks here, who possess more knowledge of Hondas than I.

Here is the problem: The transmission control unit failed on my brother's accord (it wouldn't shift past 2nd) and since it was his only car, he continued to drive it (at a constant 4000+ RPM). He replaced the Transmission control unit, and that fixed the shifting problem, but now it blows allot of smoke -as well as Gasoline- out of the tail pipe, all the while getting about 10 mpg. He did check the codes, it is giving code 16.

My first thought was that he might, possibly, have fried his piston rings, by driving around for a prolonged period at such high RPM's.

Any advice from those with experience, would be greatly appreciate.

Thanks!

 

If smoke is bright white, he may have a failed head gasket. This will cause missing, poor performance, hard starting.

Code 16 (Check Engine LIght code?) is a fuel injector fault indicating electrical problem. Suggest downloading a manual from Online Manuals post in DIY forum and perform the checks for code 16.

Check all fuses carefully.

good luck

 

Thanks for the response. Do you think that the burnt piston rings idea holds any water?

 

Less likely than other possibilities. FI problem should probably be addressed first.

good luck

 

Okay great!

I just spoke with him, he says that the smoke from the tail pipe was indeed
white.

I'll probably pull the engine, and while it's out, replace the head gasket and timing/balance shaft belts. Are there any other things that you recommend I replace while I have the engine out on a stand?

Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

smoke in general in the exhaust is ur piston rings... as for the poor mppg.. it could be a # of things. but considering you got a fuel injector code it could just be as simple as the timing is off and injecting fuel when not needed, or perhaps 1 of ur injects are clogged. if clogged u can try seafoam or a similar brand you can put in ur fuel lines.

 

Agree w/ Phantom that more diagnosis is indicated before pulling engine for head gasket repair. Suggest either a cold pressure leak test or coolant chemical test to confirm head gasket.

As I said earlier, fix FI problem before anything else.

Oil smoke is a blue-gray smoke and coolant leak smoke is bright white (steam).

good luck

 

"Agree w/ Phantom that more diagnosis is indicated before pulling engine for head gasket repair."

Absolutely, I intend to thoroughly inspect his car before I go any further.

But just in general, are there any things with these engines that I should replace if/when I pull it?

 

You might consider leaving the engine in the car. Taking the engine out is a lot more work and, really, neither the head gasket nor timing belt is bad job with the engine in the car. Figure a full eight hours with no lift or air tools.

Rings get coked up/worn out on abused engines. It would be a shame to replace the head gasket and end up with an engine that gulps a quart of oil every 500 miles.

 

Are replacing the piston rings as simple as just installing a new set, or is there some type of machining necessary?