Honda Accord Help!

[bowtieguy]

ok you honda guys and shop owners...

bought a 97 honda accord AT(2.2 4cyl NON Vtech). i've been having some hesitation issues all of a sudden. so, i popped the hood to see that the spark plug wires were coming undone(one of them completely).

i was able to refasten all but the one, and realized that oil had made its way into the spark tubes. so i need a new valve cover gasket set right? more questions...

may i leave in the spark plugs during the procedure?
anything else i should know?

BTW, the plugs and wires are new, so do i REALLY need to replace them?

[theholycow]

Your link doesn't work. It probably requires your cookies.

[jmf]

mmmmm. cookies.

[jmf]

I have a 97 accord and just had to clean the EGR.
cleaning EGR
It was completly pluged with some pretty nasty stuff, but only took 30 minutes to clean.

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by theholycow

Your link doesn't work. It probably requires your cookies.

well, there were 2 sets of valve cover gaskets. one had 4 extra circular gaskets and was $10 more. every search i've made seems to show the valve cover gasket, 4 bolt gaskets, and 4 plug gaskets. so i was wondering what these 4 extras were for.

[GasSavers_Erik]

Yes- you need to replace the round spark plug rubber rings too.


I had to do the valve cover gasket for my 94 Accord (same engine as yours). I got my valve cover gasket set at Autozone and it had the spark plug rings included. My engine has 253K on it and it is still running great.



I left the plugs in when I replaced mine.

If the oil is still pooled down there around the plug, you can try to stick a rag down beside the plug to soak it up (while the valve cover is off), and then you may need to pull the plug out and let the rest drain into the cylinder.

If the plug is nearly submerged in oil, and you the oil let it drain into the cylinder, you may want to crank the engine without that plug in place and let the engine blow the oil out the plug hole rather than risk hydrolocking it and bending a rod. It may be an unrealistic fear due to the small volume of oil, but I'd hate to find out the hard way.

The only weak spot that I have read about for these engines is that the cam and crank oil seals can harden and leak quite a bit as they get old, and there is a balance shaft seal that can actually pop out and you can end up with a massive oil leak.

http://bernardsblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/honda-balance-shaft-seal-pop-out.html

There is a fork shaped metal seal retainer that was made after the problem came up, which solves the issue (it holds the seal in so it can't ever pop out). There is a good chance that this fix has already been done to your car if the balance shaft belt has been replaced.

[bowtieguy]

thanks Erik. i was concerned about getting debris in the cylinders, so i thought about, but did not use a rag. instead i used vacuum by placing and removing a plug socket(w/out taking out the plug) several times, wiping off the oil each time until there was little or none left to retrieve. then i removed and wiped both ends of each plug before reinstalling.

i did replace the plug and bolt gaskets, but there were 4 extra very thin gaskets in the set as well. as i torqued back down the cover, i realized it may not have been fastened down enough to begin with. this would make my purchase and time wasted. oh well, perhaps i'll never know for sure, but it's done and it's something i'll won't have to worry about...hopefully for a while.

[GasSavers_Erik]

Hmm- if they were the same size as the rings that go around the plug holes, maybe they work as shims in case the outer valve cover bolts are tight but oil was still leaking into the spark plug wells. Just a guess...

[bowtieguy]

i thought about that as well. i even placed one directly on the head, over the spark hole, but decided against it because i didn't want to put silicone there to hold them in place.

i also replaced the pcv valve, which didn't rattle, just in case that was a contributor. besides it's a quick/cheap fix.

[GasSavers_TomO]

Looks like you have a good start on fixing the problem:
New grommets, new plugs, new plug wires, and get your EGR passages cleaned.

It'll feel like a new car once that is all done.