VX getting lousy FE lately, what are the causes?

[add|ct]

^Ah, I see. I'll have it replaced when the clutch job is done next year when I can afford it, lol if you lived close enough I'd drive to your place and pay you!

This clutch feels like it has little/no resistance when depressing it at the pedal. Ugh!

I cleaned up the VTEC solenoid wire with some electric/sensor cleaner today, it appears I'm loosing 'some' oil there over time(perhaps more so when VTEC is engaged?). It appears to be coming out through the wire itself somehow, I suppose the best way to describe it is that it's 'leeching' out around the 'seal' where the wire comes from the solenoid itself...

My other concerns with oil leaking is above the oil filter, next to the breather chamber where the PCV valve seats...there is a plug on the back of the engine/beneath runners 2 & 3 if looking straight down over the rear to see the oil filter.

What is that sensor or electrical component there? It seems to have fresh oil and I verified it can't be coming from the weeping VCG bolt to that particular location.

My thoughts were 'crankshaft' sensor?

Thanks for explaining above, I see what you mean now regarding the PCV system allowing too much oil back into the intake(instead of just recycling fumes like it's supposed to).

I've cleaned my IM with Amsoil's "Power Foam" a couple of times now; before replacing the 'expensive' 5-wire 02 sensor that was throwing a CEL mind you lol,...and it helped a lot while spraying in while at full temp then allowing to soak prior to the 'expelling of the sun'.

I didn't even have to scrub at the throttle plate(which had 'possibly' gotten some grime on it when I installed the freshly oiled K&N air filter?...seemed to have a black oily residue both times I cleaned out the TB/IM, at the TB plate itself.

So, those foam spray top-end cleaners do work AT LEAST at cleaning out the IM/TB, let alone any de-carbonization that can be had for the combustion chamber and piston heads.

I've had my insols track up post use of an HDEO(Rotella T6 5w-40) and a mixture with Marvel Mystery Oil(MMO), so that helped with getting things 'suspend-able' into the oil again.

I'm tracking insols on my Used Oil Analysis for this engine to see if it trends down again(that's the hope, though that particular 'blend' included M1 0w-30, it felt rather thick, perhaps too thick, for the engine), eventually I may get a Particle Count to be able to read more into the insols than I am doing.

If you've made sure your breather chamber is clean/sealed/pcv valve functioning properly, take a stab at seeing if a product above would allow you to not have to pull an IM in the future for manual scrubbing. Just a suggestion. Of course, at most C.D.J. dealerships, you could buy some Mopar Combustion Chamber Cleaner if you didn't want to wait on Amsoil(but the Amsoil can is about 5 ounces more and IMO is a better product).

[pgfpro]

]^Ah, I see. I'll have it replaced when the clutch job is done next year when I can afford it, lol if you lived close enough I'd drive to your place and pay you!

If you lived closer I would do it for free. It would only take us about 2 hrs to do it.

This clutch feels like it has little/no resistance when depressing it at the pedal. Ugh!

Have you tried bleeding the system?

I cleaned up the VTEC solenoid wire with some electric/sensor cleaner today, it appears I'm loosing 'some' oil there over time(perhaps more so when VTEC is engaged?). It appears to be coming out through the wire itself somehow, I suppose the best way to describe it is that it's 'leeching' out around the 'seal' where the wire comes from the solenoid itself...

It might be a bad sensor thats leaking then?

My other concerns with oil leaking is above the oil filter, next to the breather chamber where the PCV valve seats...there is a plug on the back of the engine/beneath runners 2 & 3 if looking straight down over the rear to see the oil filter.

What is that sensor or electrical component there? It seems to have fresh oil and I verified it can't be coming from the weeping VCG bolt to that particular location.

My thoughts were 'crankshaft' sensor?

Thats your oil sending unit. They will start to leak after time. I would first try removing it and using sealing tape etc. If it still leaks replace it with a new unit they're very inexpensive.

I've cleaned my IM with Amsoil's "Power Foam" a couple of times now; before replacing the 'expensive' 5-wire 02 sensor that was throwing a CEL mind you lol,...and it helped a lot while spraying in while at full temp then allowing to soak prior to the 'expelling of the sun'.

I didn't even have to scrub at the throttle plate(which had 'possibly' gotten some grime on it when I installed the freshly oiled K&N air filter?...seemed to have a black oily residue both times I cleaned out the TB/IM, at the TB plate itself.

So, those foam spray top-end cleaners do work AT LEAST at cleaning out the IM/TB, let alone any de-carbonization that can be had for the combustion chamber and piston heads.

I've had my insols track up post use of an HDEO(Rotella T6 5w-40) and a mixture with Marvel Mystery Oil(MMO), so that helped with getting things 'suspend-able' into the oil again.

I'm tracking insols on my Used Oil Analysis for this engine to see if it trends down again(that's the hope, though that particular 'blend' included M1 0w-30, it felt rather thick, perhaps too thick, for the engine), eventually I may get a Particle Count to be able to read more into the insols than I am doing.

If you've made sure your breather chamber is clean/sealed/pcv valve functioning properly, take a stab at seeing if a product above would allow you to not have to pull an IM in the future for manual scrubbing. Just a suggestion. Of course, at most C.D.J. dealerships, you could buy some Mopar Combustion Chamber Cleaner if you didn't want to wait on Amsoil(but the Amsoil can is about 5 ounces more and IMO is a better product).[/

I will have to give this a try and see what happens? Thanks!

[add|ct]

^Tried bleeding the clutch once, perhaps it needs 'repeated' bleeding? I did pull the dust cap off last night and noticed what probably was brake fluid residue collected in the dust cap itself. Could this mean I didn't close off the bleeder valve at the slave cylinder when I bled it originally? Possibly. So, I'll probably bleed it again.

There is quite a lot of 'gunk' caked onto the transmission itself, but I think this was from years of leaky VCG and VTEC, but it just happens to be all down by the clutch slave cylinder and boot cover for the clutch fork.

Someone 'may' have gouged the boot during removal or installation of the previous radiator. The one on the car now has the bottom inlet/outlet holes for Civics equipped with an A/T.

Lastly, is an oil sending unit the same as an Oil Pressure Switch? I'll try removal, inspection during the next oil change.

Just made a short trip(2nd of the day), down to a local Autozone.

Upon restart, I backed the car up in Reverse and then it almost 'stalled'/died upon moving forward in 1st gear. I didn't high rev, in fact it just felt like it made power and I was simply trying to 'continue' forward once off of the clutch pedal. It's almost like it 'tricked' me into thinking it was okay to come off the clutch too soon?

PS: Yes, you would be appreciated with help on the clutch. I'm going with an Exedy standard replacement when it comes time to do this. I helped a stranded motorist from out of town recently and he said he'd try to help me with some friends he knows for helping him out(he totally volunteered), so we'll see. Only about a 2 hour drive to that place, so it'd be nice if he was able to come through.

My only concern is how easy or not it would be to replace the Input Shaft Bearing, since according to another poster here?, it was causing their issues on top of the clutch, with regard to initially moving while in 1st gear.

[add|ct]

Quick note:

Bled the clutch again tonight, I had my wife help me. She would depress the clutch pedal after I had opened the bleeder valve at the slave cylinder. I may have opened it too far initially, as when the pedal was depressed some brake fluid was escaping via the threads for the bleeder.

The process was done 3 times, each time the pedal wanted to just fall to the floor with the bleeder valve open as soon as my wife depressed the pedal. I just made sure she kept it at the floor afterward until I closed it off tight and then she had to pull the pedal up off of the floor manually.

Is that normal?

PS: While looking up for a Oil Pressure Switch or Oil Pressure Sending Unit replacement part, I found two possibilities. One labeled 'gauge' and another more like just related to the dummy/failure light. I don't have an actual oil pressure gauge on the instrument panel. I'll probably just pull the old one before buying a new one for comparison, and to make sure I can remove it. Will much oil(any?) come out if I pull that switch off before my next oil change, like tomorrow? Thanks.

[theholycow]

Non-expert opinions:

- Sounds about right with the clutch bleeder open that the pedal goes to the floor...there's nothing pushing back except maybe a tiny return spring in the clutch master cylinder.

- If the sender is placed low you will definitely lose oil. Don't know location on the VX but my friend's Thunderbird had it at the bottom and removing it would drain all the oil if you leave it out.

For clutch bleeding, another option if the line is not too convoluted is just to step on the clutch pedal 50-300 times. When I did my Buick project I went to great effort to avoid introducing air into the clutch hydraulic system, then accidentally let the plastic line melt against the exhaust manifold. After repairing the line I stepped on the pedal repeatedly and the air bubbles worked their way upwards, floating up naturally whenever there was movement in the fluid. I think I did it 75+ times but I think it was actually done after 25 and I just didn't know it. While I was at it I replaced most of the fluid.

[GasSavers_Erik]

The clutch pedal sticking to the floor is normal- the same thing happens to my wife's Nissan 240sx when we bleed it

You shouldn't lose much oil at all if you are removing any sensor that is above the oil pan (one that is screwed into the engine block). Some cars have an oil level sensor in the oil pan for a low oil level warning light- you'd lose a bunch of oil if you removed one of those.

If you have an oil pressure warning light (red dummy light) you'll just need to buy the switch type pressure sensor.

[add|ct]

Thanks for the replies and clearing up the thoughts of this clutch pedal doing something abnormal.

As regards the oil pressure switch/sending unit, it's mounted midway up the block in between cylinders 2 and 3, definitely a good foot above the oil pan. I think I'll change it out soon, if not today. I've read around and it appears Permatex "Ultra Grey" works well on the threads of the new part(if it doesn't come with any pre-coated).

So, I'll be removing it and then cleaning the wire that plugs into it with some electric cleaner, maybe some MAF Sensor cleaner I have on hand. I'll go ahead and disconnect the negative terminal at the battery to be safe during this as well.

The pressure light still seems to 'work', it turns on during a restart or with the key forward and then goes off once started, so if the leak doesn't appear 'internal' upon inspection I'll just re-coat with fresh sealant and try that first instead of buying the replacement. Either way I found a Beck/Arnley brand replacement for about $6-7 after discounts using the AAP codes.

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