Hey, everybody. Sorry I've been out of the loop. Been a busy boy over the past two weeks, so I haven't been able to turn any wrenches on the ailing car. I'll have to remedy that over the next few days. I'm going to check the fuel system. I have a couple of questions for you.

Question 1: Can anybody give me insight into hooking up a fuel pressure guage to my car? I'm used to there just being a schrader valve that the guage hooks into. Can't seem to find one on my car. Do I have to buy a special fitting? If so, where can I get one?

Question 2: I want to test the "leaky injector" theory. What I'll probably do is pull the fuel rail off, re-attach the electrical connectors with the injectors out of the cylinders, and pressurize the system. Any advice on the best way to do this? If I turn the key on, will the fuel system automatically pressurize? If so, I should see any leaks at that time, right? I don't have to turn it over, do I?

Question 3: How in the heck do you check a fuel pressure regulator? I have no clue there, other than to disconnect the vacuum line to see if fuel leaks out, which would indicate a leaky diaphragm.

Okay, that's all I've got for now. Drop me a line and let me know what you guys think. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jon

 

1) Usually Honda has a funny extra small bolt on top of the banjo fitting at the fuel filter. That's where the gauge fits. Probably need some kind of adapter.

2) When you turn the key 'ON' the fuel pump will run for about a second & then stop. That may or may not be long enough to find a leak, depending whether it's a really small leak. I don't remember whether the injectors are clipped into the rail. Be careful the fuel pressure doesn't pop the injectors out during the test.

3) Like you said, checking for fuel in the vacuum line will only tell you if the diaphragm is ruptured. The TRUE test is to measure fuel pressure under different operating conditions & check whether it's in spec.

 

Sorry, but gotta agree with fireballer. Headgaskets are odd things when they go. I had a Datsun 280ZX that had a bad head gasket, car ran fine, no white smoke out the pipe. The only thing that gave it away was the overflow tank would boil over and coolant would spill out and then next time I went to start it it would say low coolant. Someone also said not to use seafoam it your car exceeds 150k miles due to it breaking down what is holding your gaskets together, not sure of your mileage though. Buy/borrower a pressure tester and check it out before you go over. I'm not sure what the cylinder pressure tester gauges runs for price but I wouldn't think that it would be too much.

 

Johnny, I happen to have the exact same problem as you do. If I was to post a video of my car starting, it would be almost identical.. the only difference I can tell is that my car is not responsive to the outside temperature (or atleast I haven't had a big enough change of temp to judge this on). In other words, the problem is the same in cooler weather and warmer weather.

The problem has gradually grown worse and worse, and last night I tried to start the car to no avail.. It wouldn't even crank at all, no sounds (except one, ill get to it in a sec). The car wouldn't start for about 1-2 minutes and then it did, so I thought nothing of it really. It happened again today, where the car just doesn't really do anything when I try to crank. The car wouldn't start for about 30 mins.

I had a friend who is much older and knows cars a LOT more than me come help me out. He figured it may have been the starter because of the way I described the problem, and when I tried to start he noticed the starter was clicking and sounding like it wasn't doing its job. After the 30 minutes the car started up the usual way with its hesitation to start. The strange thing is that the starter looks brand spankin new (I just bought the car), so theres a couple of questions about the whole deal with that.

Anyways, I have a friend of a friend whos a mechanic and offered to take a look so thats what I will probably be doing, but my *guess* would be replacing the starter and the starter solenoid. I'll post an update in a few days.

Oh and I really doubt the problem has to do with the battery.

 

Okay, guys... sorry that I haven't posted anything in a while. It's just that the hard start seems to have fixed itself. Well, kind of. I'm not having any problems with starting, but I think that's because summer is gone. I don't know what it is, but I'm now convinced that the problem is only present when it's hot out. I'm having no troubles starting right now, but about two weeks ago, it got up to 90 and I had a little bit of trouble that day. But, right now and ever since then, nothing. So, I guess I won't be writing anything until March or April, huh?!

I do have a cooling system question, though. Remember how I said that my cooling problem was back? Well, for the longest time, I couldn't find the leak. I pressurized the system, and nothing. Every once in a while, I'd see the temperature guage creep up and I'd have to put in more coolant. But, I drive it on the highways all the time, and it's a once-in-a-blue-moon type of deal. For the most part, nothing. Anyway, on Thursday, I decided to flush the cooling system. I wanted to get more coolant in before winter came. Well, I must've done something wrong, cuz on Friday, I was leaking coolant everywhere. Had to leave town for a wedding, so I couldn't inspect until today. I slid under the car and figured out where the coolant is coming from. There's a little hole on the back side of the motor right next to the timing cover. The coolant is seeping out of there. Is that a weep hole for the water pump? I'm guessing that it is and that I must've pissed off my water pump when I flushed the system. Anybody know anything about that task? Is it as big of a bitch as it appears. Gotta tear into that whole side of the motor to change it, timing belt and all, don't I?

All right, if you guys can give me some insight into my cooling woes, I'd greatly appreciate it. In the mean time, thanks for everything.

Jon

 

You're exactly right; that's a weep hole for the waterpump. The pump has 2 bearings, both sealed, & the weep hole is in-between. When it leaks thru the first seal, the weep hole lets it drain out without getting all over the timing belt.

Get your repair manual & read all about replacing the timing belt. Once the timing & balancer belts are off, the waterpump is right there. BTW, it would be kinda silly to put the old timing belts back on after doing all that work.

 

TW is the coolant temp sensor, this may cause hard stating but there are other things that will cause hard starting as well TPS sensor and Idle Control Valve. Also if the trottle body is not closed or in the wrong position, this will also cause the car to be hard starting.

How is fuel pressure?
is the Air filter clean?
plugs fouled?
internal coolant leak?

 

Okay, fellas... I'm about to embark on my first Honda water pump / timing belt change. I think I'm going to need a little help here. I've done the same type of job on Mitsubishi engines, and it doesn't look all that different. But, I've run across a few questions while perusing my manual, and I was wondering if you could lend me some insight.

The job itself seems relatively cut and dry. Tedious... but cut and dry no less. My major question is about the specialty Honda tools that my manual recommends. I only saw two while I was reading. One is the huge hex tool that holds the crankshaft pulley in place while you loosen the pulley bolt. Honda calls it the "Pulley Holder Attachment". The other is the tool that holds the balance shaft in place while you change the belt. This one is called the "Balance Shaft Lock Pin".

When I did the job on my Mitsubishi, I remember that specialty tools were recommended for both on that car as well. However, I remember that I was able to get by without the specialty tools on both accounts. For the balance shaft, if memory serves me correct, I think I just used a small philips screw driver. Can this be done on the Honda?

The crank pulley bolt was a little trickier. I used a rather unconventional method to break loose the one on my Mitsubishi. I wedged a breaker bar against the floor and put the socket on the pulley bolt. Then, I tapped the starter and let the engine break the bolt loose. Maybe not the smartest thing to do, but it worked. I wonder if I can do that on this one. I know the engine turns counter-clockwise. That means that the crank bolt would have to have reverse threads for this to work. Anybody know if that's the case?

So, I guess I'm wondering if you guys can give me a little insight on these. Right now, I do not have access to an air ratchet (which would make it much easier to bust the crank bolt loose). I'm going to have to use physics and mechanics to get it done. Any advice on the best way to go about it? Oh, and maybe include a little insight on the cam shaft bolt as well. That one might be a bitch too. Maybe not, though. I think if I put a breaker bar on the crank bolt, I think I can loosen the cam bolt, no problem.

All right... I thank you in advance for your help, and sorry I got so long-winded. Just not really wanting to buy a bunch of specialty tools from Honda that I'll only use once. I figure that you guys will know whether or not I need them.

Thanks for the help.
Jon

 

I think so. Or maybe an allen wrench, or some kind of drift pin. Also, assuming it's timed correctly now, you can mark the sprocket with a sharpie marker so you can get it back where it belongs with the new belt.

NO! That bolt has right-hand threads, so if you use the starter you'll be TIGHTENING it. But it's really on there tight. Many people use an air-impact wrench, but also some people find it's not enough. IMHO that's more about the capacity of their wrenches & compressors.

There's a place to buy a crank holding tool for not outrageous $$$, but I don't remember where.

I've taken mine to a local shop & had them break it loose. Then tighten it up just good enough to drive 1/2 mile back home. One time they didn't even let me pay them. Obviously that's not a good idea if you live 20 miles away...

Search around for some other creative ways. One guy welded a pipe onto a big nut (55mm hex) to make his tool. Some people take off the starter & use a crowbar to hold the flywheel. Just be careful that it doesn't slip & chip a tooth.

You don't need to remove the sprocket from the camshaft. Loosen the tensioner & work the belt off.

 

Okay, everyone... job complete!! First off, I wanted to thank everyone for all of their input. I ended up just taking the car to a shop and they charged me fifteen bucks to pop the crank bolt loose. Once I got back home, the whole job went much smoother than I'd anticipated. I've never done anything like this on a Honda. I believe in my abilities, so I was fairly confident going in. It was nice when I turned her over and she popped off right away. Great sense of accomplishment in the end.

I've got one question, though. I already know what most of you are going to say, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Tightening the crank bolt was just as interesting as loosening it. See, I still don't have the means and extremes to lock the engine in place. So, when I tried to torque it down, the engine tried to turn every time. In the manual, it recommended that I not use any sort of impact wrench. Well, I didn't really know what to do. My buddy manages a parts store and they've got an electric impact there. It's not heavy duty by any stretch of the imagination. So, I had him bring it over and I used that to tighten the bolt. I'm 100% positive that it didn't over-torque it or anything. Everything seems to be working fine. Do you guys think I'll be okay as it is, or do I really need to get off of my *** and find out whether the bolt is tight enough? Can't believe I'm even asking this question. Guess I'm just being cheap, lazy, or both!!

Okay, this thread will probably lie dormant for a while. Like I said, the hard-starting is on hiatus, so I have to wait until that problem rears it's ugly head before starting in again on that problem. Until then, wish me luck with all things car related!!

Thanks again for all of your help.
Jon