Civic hx help

[Jakins]

Ok. So my Car is feeling really week at low rpm's and the CEL comes on if I cruise below 1500 rpm. Before I registered on this site I had now clue what lean burn was. Now after researching it for several hours I am severely confused lol. One of my questions is, how do I know if I'm in lean burn mode?

This is my problem though. Bogging and poor mpg. 5 years ago I turbo charged the car and took it off, it never ran the same sense. The problem was it would idle super low and die intermittently. My dad used the idle set screw to just make it high but that was a quick fix. The motor eventually died. I swapped it out with a d16y7 (using the d16y5 distributer and ecu) and strangely it presente the exact problem. But than I replaced the head with my rebuilt d16y5 head and it still did the same thing. I tried everything. One day I cleaned out the ports and egr valve (not sure if I did the valve right because it was closed. Tips?) and I cleaned my o2 sensors with carb cleaner. I also replaced the plugs wires rotor and distributer cap. Made a minor difference. Next I swapped out the fuel pressure regulator and fuel filter. That kept it from ever dieting again but it still fluctuates and flies up to like 1500-2000 rpm some times. Last night I checked the fuel pp and found the sock to be clean. Havnt checked the fuel pressure yet. I tested my ignition coil and it was fine. In a couple hours I'll be checking my ICM. Also my timing was at like 20 lol. My fault. I moved it down to like 12 btdc witch helped a tiny bit.

What else could it be?!?!??????!!

Should I do a valve adjustment? The cel is not on. The only thing it ever throws is miss fire codes if I drive it at real low rpm's idk what else to look at.

[Jakins]

After reading this http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=12962 I think I may have done my timing wrong? Who knows how to do timing properly on the hx motor?

[IndyFetch]

Does it have the correct O2 sensor? I know that the VX had to have a wideband 5-wire O2 sensor. Most parts stores try to sell a "universal" 4-wire O2 sensor for the Civic VX and HX, not knowing the difference. If the car was turbocharged at one time, the catalytic converter and O2 sensor could have been switched out. If I am right, the catalytic converter and primary O2 sensor are right at the exhaust manifold. If the turbo kit was installed at the manifold and not downstream, it would be easy to goof up the smog gear when the turbo was removed.

[Jakins]

It is indeed a 5 wire wideband o2. and it had a different manifold/cat on it during the turbocharging. i am bigining to think the bogging i am noticing is my lean burn working lol. sense ive always had the check engine light on it has never worked i guess. but i still have screwy idle problems. i tried bleading my coolent system today and got no air out. i also swapped my IACV back to the old one. (i switched it out before thinking that was the problem, but i read today that they are specific to their cars.) and ecu. ill give it a try tomorrow.

this right here is what id asume to be an overly clogged cat. aggree? i took this today too with my cell phone.








ALSO what would be the best way to hook an air fuel gague up to my car?

[Jakins]

and i checked my timing also. it is set at 14 btdc and i measured it at the tdc mark. idk if that is what i should use for this motor ? but it is my best guess.

[Jakins]

Come on dudes! I need help here. I pulled out my distributor rotor the other day and it was messed up, it was loose and not making a good connection so I took it bAck to the part store and they gave me a new one. I think it helped a little but I'm still getting not as good of milage as I should have. I can't finds for the life o me what the timing is supposed to be on the hx and I'd Also like to know what you guys think about that cat.

Also this happened yesterday

[theholycow]

I might be able to dig up the timing spec. What year is it?

[benfrogg]

You can test your cat for clogging by disconnecting the 02 after warm (engine off). Install a pressure gauge in the hole the 02 came out of. If there's any pressure above say 2 psi, your cat is clogged. The photo looks like it might be, but there's really no way of knowing without a pressure test.

14 btdc is what the VX uses. I'm sure you're in the right ballpark now, but I don't know the real spec.

I'd be looking for leaks on the intake side of the motor. Anywhere a tiny leak might exist and cause fluctuation in idle.

The low power at low rpms sure sounds like lean burn working. Lean burn would not have worked if the CEL was on. As far as I know, there can't be any codes for it to work.

B

[add|ct]

Originally Posted by benfrogg

You can test your cat for clogging by disconnecting the 02 after warm (engine off). Install a pressure gauge in the hole the 02 came out of. If there's any pressure above say 2 psi, your cat is clogged. The photo looks like it might be, but there's really no way of knowing without a pressure test.

14 btdc is what the VX uses. I'm sure you're in the right ballpark now, but I don't know the real spec.

I'd be looking for leaks on the intake side of the motor. Anywhere a tiny leak might exist and cause fluctuation in idle.

The low power at low rpms sure sounds like lean burn working. Lean burn would not have worked if the CEL was on. As far as I know, there can't be any codes for it to work.

B

^This.

[msweatherhead]

Originally Posted by Jakins

After reading this http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=12962 I think I may have done my timing wrong? Who knows how to do timing properly on the hx motor?

timming is as follows set the timming belt drive pully(crankshaft) so that the No.1 piston is at top dead center. Align the groove on the timming belt drive pully to the pointer on the oil pump. Next set the camshaft pully to top dead center . Align the TDC marks on the camshaft (two notches, one on each side) to the cylinder head surface and the "UP" letter is at top. I have a 97 hx 5sp 380,400miles i do all maint on it. Don't worry about egr valve as long as you got the ports clean on the intake manifold it should be good.Mike