Daughter driving back from college on interstate highway, starts flashing check engine light, vehicle then loses power and starts bucking when trying to maintain speed. She pulled off at an exit and called me for help. I arrived & started the engine to see if it could be moved in what I assumed to be limp mode. I drove (very low power, missing badly, stalled once at a red light) a few miles to the shop & read the codes (Blue Driver). P0401 (EGR System leak detected) P2646 (‘A’ Rocker Arm Actuator System performance/Stuck off bank 1) P0301, P0302, P0300, P0304 Cylinders misfiring (no P0303).

Compression Tests: #1 (no compression), #2) 147 psi, #3) 113 psi , #4) 71 psi

Removed VVT, fair amount of silver glitter (aluminum) in the screen.

Next will remove valve cover & take a look.

Anybody have any idea what may have happened? What else to test or look for?

2006 Accord Ex-L 236,900 mi. 2.4L K24A8 Owned since new, very good shape & well cared for. Always Mobil1 5w-20. History: timing chain failure, head professionally rebuilt new valves & seals. Engine started burning (no leaking) oil ~1 qt per 400 mi at around 100k miles. I do all the maintenance & use Honda OEM parts.

06 Accord VVT Screen - Aluminum Glitter

 

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I believe only a teardown (at least head removal) will reveal what happened, but if you want speculation of what you might find. Your compression check and the fact that the problem occurred suddenly give you all the information you really need; a catastrophic failure of something critical like a valve stem break. Not likely something simple like a head gasket failure because of the metal filings you found. Still think the teardown will make it obvious, and if it were me, with the mileage already on that engine, I would not invest in "repair". Find a lower mileage direct replacement used engine and swap out (assuming the rest of the car is in good shape). Good luck.

 

Hey thank you for the sympathy. I really appreciate the insight & input as well. I agree with you on not repairing this motor. I found a 57k mi. motor at DMVJDM Motors for $799. Likely a bit of a crap shoot. You know anything about sourcing motor? I've never pulled a transaxle engine, just GM V8. Have any advice on swapping a 4 cylinder Accord engine? Thanks Again.

 

Your catalytic converter disintegrated and plugged your exhaust. Shake (by hand) the whole length of the exhaust system and listen for rubble from the failure rattling around. If you confirm this is what happened, you'll need a new cat and will have to open up the pipes somehow and clear the debris. The debris may be localized or it may be the entire system downstream from the cat. You may be able to replace the cat and clear the debris at the same time. This malfunction may be intermittent. You may start the car tomorrow and it may run fine. But the problem will recur until it is taken care of.