need some info - Honda Forum / Acura Forum

hondash23 · 06-29-2008, 11:09 AM

i recently just put a new water pump on my 88 dx. i think i may have put the belt back on like 1 notch off and it was making a little spark knock noise and i just been driving it.tried to adjust dist cap as good as i could and it ran fine for a while but about a month now the rpm guage has been jumping aound up, down, up, down and it will cut off on me at random .last night on my way home from work it cut off and didnt want to start up as quickly and now it wont stay running ...any suggestions please help!!

oh yeah and i got 206,346mi on her

almostaclassic · 06-29-2008, 11:57 AM

Based on what you say the Haynes 84-89 Accord book says; it may be the distributor rotor carbon may be tracked, spark plugs could be fouled, INCORECT IGNITION TIMING, idle speed incorrect, distributor components damp or damaged or faulty spark plugs. Me personaly, would go with incorect ignition timing and then do a full tune up; plugs, distributor cap, rotor and wires. Acording to the book you are going to need to disconect the vacuum hoses and plug them, you are going to need a timing light and a distributor wrench. First detach the hoses from the distributor vacuum advance unit and plug the hoses. with the ignition off, connest the inductive pick-up lead of the timing light to the #1 spark plug (the one closest to the drive belt end of the engine). Connect the batery lead to the batery ( or according to the vehicles manifacturer's instructions).Remove the rubber plug in the belthousing below the distibutor and locate the timing marks and pointer inside. Then turn the car on and aim the light at the timing mark. If the timing is off losen the distibutor bolt and advance or retard the timing."To advance the timing turn the ignition upwards and to retard turn downward". Before doing any of these steps make sure you read the "vehicles emissions control" information on the (VECI) sticker on the inside of the hood and go through any preliminary instructions first then proceed to go through the steps I've given you. GOOD LUCK!!!

hondash23 · 06-30-2008, 05:27 AM

ill try that but one of my other honda guru friends said that even with one tooth off of the belt makes the timing off more than can be fixed with the distributor rotating it.but idk thats why im askin yall, ill give it a whirl but im just trying to avoid tearing all that down again i have a 2 year old and watch him during the day so my time is limited as of now and i work all night. when i took the belt off i didnt mark it bc my car never moved but as you know on hondas the belt is long from the crank up to the cam and the other side goes all around everything else. as far as i remember the belt on the longer part was a lil loose before removal when back on i put it one tooth off i guess and now its a lil tighter there. this sux jusst miss having my car!!!! and as old as my car is and with the milage over 200,000 i am proly due for a cap and rotor any way

drummingpariah · 06-30-2008, 09:23 AM

rent/buy an actual timing light. Don't mess with this using just guesswork.

hondash23 · 06-30-2008, 09:51 AM

idk what anyone else would say but knowing how the belt could be off a knotch is there still room to set timing back with just moving the cap around. if so what is easiest way?

hondash23 · 06-30-2008, 09:58 AM

also what are some good sites to find a decently and cheap complete swap. bc after on try on this timing shit fails its swap time but ive looked for a couple years now and i want something with power but not to much $ any suggestions for type of motor

hndacvcsi · 06-30-2008, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hondash23

also what are some good sites to find a decently and cheap complete swap. bc after on try on this timing shit fails its swap time but ive looked for a couple years now and i want something with power but not to much $ any suggestions for type of motor

Whoa whoa easy there buddy your setting yourself up for a big fall right now. if you want to know sites on swaps i can give you a million, just saying i wanna swap a motor for cheap is very vague. tell us what your budget is(5k
2k 10k), how much you can spend on a motor, what kind of power you want(200hp, 300hp, torque , and what type of driving you wanna do(stop light fun, auto x, backroad journies, and then we may be able to help further

drummingpariah · 06-30-2008, 03:22 PM

Get a d16a6. Cheap, easy swap, powerful enough for a CRX. Tell me what's wrong with Honda's engineering and I'll make a more specific suggestion.

hondash23 · 07-01-2008, 06:04 AM

ok guys so heres the deal, ive had this car for about 2 years now and i know it inside and out it ran great when i got it for about a year and a half. i took it to tennessee and after that it just werent runnin so strong but i dont think the drive there had anything to do with it. it all started when sometimes it just wouldnt start, just crank. i got nothing till about 3 tries then she would run like a deere. one of my buddies told me to change the module in the distributor cap.then it ran ok for a while. then the tach started to just bounce around and it would cut off on me at random but start right back up most of the times if not a couple tries. fuel is fine. its proly the timing bc when i got back from TN i had to change the water pump shortly after and i think i put the BELT back on like on tooth off which is more than the distributor can fix i was told and smart thing to do would be do it all over again but i dont want to go through all that again and niether would you if you had this car its not bad but damn i miss it! and about the swaps ill get back to ya.but thanks!

drummingpariah · 07-01-2008, 08:57 AM

So fix the damned belt. You should only fine-tune spark timing using the distributor. The belt controls the whole she-bang. If your valve timing is off, you aren't getting spark at the end of the compression stroke, which means your engine is straining against itself and not making the power it should be. Even if you adjusted spark perfectly, your valve timing is still off by something like 3 degrees (don't know how many teeth are in the belt, so it's hard to guesstimate). Sure, it may run like that, but you might as well keep your engine running in ideal conditions.

If you're not willing to put the work into keeping the engine running, get a bicycle and get used to riding trains for long distances. No, seriously. That's not any kind of insult, it's essentially where we're all heading.

hondash23 · 07-01-2008, 10:13 AM

i know but i never marked the belt, and i have a haynes manual does that tell me everything ill need to do it? i dont know if its retarded or advanced and i aint got the money to be buying a timing light. i dont need one if the book can tell me where TDC is and so forth. maybe even if i put the belt back on one tooth back like i thought it was to begin with it will fix itself you think? i appriciate you helping i know enough about cars i went to Nashville Auto-Diesel college and worked in a shop for a year , but ive always been facinated with hondas and its nice to just be able to communicate with someone that know a lil more about them than me!so thanks for forums...haha
"Its always a good feelin when the 4banger pulls away and makes you smile"

hndacvcsi · 07-01-2008, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hondash23

maybe even if i put the belt back on one tooth back like i thought it was to begin with it will fix itself you think?"

DO NOT and i repeat DO NOT just move the belt one tooth because you think it will fix itself. if you move it one tooth the same way you did then it will be even worse and upon starting it could eat a valve or fire backwards causing irreprable damage to your motor. the only solution is to either buy a timing light and do it the right way or take it to someone who has intimate knowledge on putting them in time. a simple fix would be to go to your local street races and source someone there that knows exactly how to do it. otherwise if you just guess and change it with out being sure you could severly fuck your motor and then your next thread will be "Blown motor-what do i need to do a swap". Not to be ignorant in any way i just dont wanna see another honda motor blown because of a simple problem. i love those little motors

hondash23 · 07-02-2008, 08:24 AM

ill just do it right but like i said i cant use a timing light bc its off too much ive already tried it besides hondas dont have very much play in the moving of the dist cap its not enough for being more than like 3 degrees. so ima just read up on it and get the right instructions and just take my time but i dont have much patience with this car only cause i know it and it has over 200K miles on it and i used to give it a lil hell. i seen a 92 hatch white lowered with 2001 si wheels and a B18C with a T3/T4 pushin like 14lbs for about $4,200. sounds ok but with cars like that you dont know how it was done or ran the piss out of. says he is selling it bc he had a kid. seems to know his shit. so ima go look at it.

drummingpariah · 07-02-2008, 09:19 AM

Any motor is worth putting time in for regular maintenance. Treat it well, and research what you can do with your own car. At least that way you'll know exactly what's been done and what hasn't.

hondash23 · 07-03-2008, 06:44 AM

why is my tach jumping, often when it jumps it feels like the car miss fired but other times the tach jumps the car will run fine through it. sounds like my whole ignition system is going to shit!