cornfed

I'm hoping somebody out there might be able to help me. I've owned my '98 2.3 CL for a couple months now and I'm ready to drive it off a cliff.

First my car was overheating, I had the radiator flushed, it was fine for a while then later it totally died. I was told it was a head gasket so I got that replaced along with a new timing belt and water pump. That was about 1.5 months ago and since then I've brought it back to the mechanic about 10 times because my car continually dies.

The RPMs will be kinda high when I start it and as it warms up, they will go down to 1000, but once I've started driving it, it dies almost every time I come to a stop. Sometimes when it dies, the RPMs will get super low, the car will shake a bit, and then it will die. Other times it just casually and quietly clicks off. The battery light comes on everytime it dies but my mechanic says it's not the battery. As long as I keep my foot on the gas it won't die, but as soon as my foot is off the gas pedal, it dies. The car starts again with no problem every time (knock on wood). I've already tried the gas cleaning stuff and the fuel injection cleaning stuff. Neither has seemed to work. Oh, and I'm not sure if it matters but it is a manual with 97,000miles on it.

In addition to that, I've noticed that when I drive my car for more than 30 mins at a time (which I've only done about 3 times in the last month) it starts to overheat again. But it seems to be fine for quick trips across town.

Any input, especially on the dying issue would be very very much appreciated. I'm about to go nuts!

sumdumguy

my friend has that prob. I'll ask tomorrow and see what he says.

Tat2edChik

I'm no mechanic, but when i had my old camry, it did the same thing you're describing except the overheating part. Of course, i could never drive it long enough for it to overheat. My brother put a new temp sensor on it and it never did that again. Maybe take it to a parts store and have them run diagnostics on it. Hope this helps.

DrDre1443

my mom's taurus would shut off all the time and overheat when driven a long time. Two things corrected the problem....

1. Replace the thermostat

2. Reverse flush the coolant system. Sometimes, when there is lots of "gunk" in the coolant system, it gets stuck at the bottom of the system and if you ask a shop to flush it from the bottom it will clear out all the shit. And by shit, I mean shit. It gets dirty down there.

wilp99

sounds like u got two different problems.

the dying: is eather a vaccume leak, or a fuel pump/filter problem. (if u dont have a check engine light while its running)

the overheating: prolly the thermostat. take it in and have it back flushed. which is different then a regular flush. and also have them change the thermostat.

vietxplicitz

well i'm having the same problem with my car.. but the only difference is that my car won't even start again.. it completely die..... the first time.. my fuckin mechanic.. said it was the distributor control module... then i got it back for 1.5 day... it died again.. now he said it something electronic.. i think i'm gettin played by this autoshop... but like when it shut off.. it shake a bit.. and when I am idling.. my rpm is lower than 1000... .. and the Hot n Cold... meter.. since i bought the car.. it's never at the middle.. always below.. I have soo much problem with this car.. the alternator went out twice.. and the I had to replace the ECU... like two months ago.. now.. the transmission seem like it about to go too.. I'm pissed off.. im juz gonna get it fix.. and trade it it..

racersky

Do you leave it in gear when you come to stop? Or do you put the car back into neutral?

wilp99

ususlly on auto's the rpm at idle is bout 700-800rpm. 1000rpm is way too high. on stick shifts its usually round 600-700rpm.

hey vietxplicitz, does it try to start at all. or just turn over.

cl_jay

my dad's ford explorer does the same thing, there is a lot of construction going on in the expressway and there is no shoulder, so it is nerve wrecking when it shuts off on him on the expressway.

the mechanic has done a lot of shit to it already. it doesnt overheat though. although it does have 298,000 miles on it. i am still going to tell him about the vaccume leak. maybe thats the problem

sumdumguy

that's exactly what my buddy said his problem was.

Grimnebulin

On the car dying issue, I had the exact same problem (upon start, especially after driving long distances in hot weather) with my 97 3.0 CL (132K miles at the time)for about two months. Took it to the Acura dealer for diagnosis - they had no idea. Also had all the TSBs done (including ignition) and changed all fuel and air filters.

Finally after two months the car wouldn't start one day - the starter died. Replaced the starter only, and the problem went completely away - it hasn't come back once after 5K miles now. My father-in-law and his friend are both long time car restorers/mechanics and couldn't figure it out either. They said starters can go bad as early as 60K miles and that perhaps it wasn't properly drawing current at start-up and that the heat of a long drive likely exacerbated the problem.

My best guess is that it's your starter. At least it was for me and my problem was nearly the same as yours. Good luck.

Grimnebulin

Definitely wasn't a fuel filter problem for mine - changed mine - no difference. IMHO - I doubt a vacuum problem is the issue either and neither did either of the two guys (Acura + family mech) that looked at my car.

wilp99

make sure the ground is good. from the battery and the one near the starter (this one controlls the ground for all the sensors and fuel injectors. ur car will run with a bad positive connection since it draws positive current from the alternator but as soon as u remove negative or have a poor negative connection everything dies. follow the negative cable from the battery to the chassy, and then find the bundle of negative wires that are on one loom and make sure they are not all corroded. has anyone checked ur fuel pressure? maybee its a bad fuel pump. or pump relay.

sylthecru

hey cornfed you said (The battery light comes on everytime it dies)
did you check out the altenator or battery? just a thought. i had a protege and it did that when the altenator went bad on my.

cornfed

Wow--thanks for all the input. What a generous group of people. I took it back to the mechanic since I posted, and *this time* he said he fixed a crack in the vacuum line and an intake modulator gasket (?). I might have the lingo wrong--I'm obviously no car guru. Anyhow, it's only died once this past week, but now the warmer it gets, the higher my RPMs get. They will be around 1500 while it's idling, but only when I've been driving for at least 20 mins. And the temp gauge is still getting almost 3/4 the way up after driving at least 30 mins. How high is too high?

Racersky--to answer your question, I usually put it in neutral when I come to a stop. Sometimes I'll leave it in gear though. Des that make a difference?

Sylthecru--any suggestions on how to check the alternator?

I do think I'll try the reverse flush and see how that works out. I did have the thermostat replaced back when my head gasket blew, so I'm guessing that's not the problem.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I'll definitely put them all to use and hopefully I'll figure something out!

Palayah8ta

Stop wasting your time with mom n pop garage mechanics. if u had gone to an acura dealership, u woulda spent a lot more money, but it wouldve been fixed right the 1st time.
Wilp99 made a great suggestion, check the ground wire, my old 90 civic hatch did that, new ground wire fixed it all.

legendaryCL98

i believe... if the needle is at half point.. its too much.. haha.. so if yours is 3/4

thats extreme heat...

i agree.. take it to the dealership. they wouldve fixed all your problems in less then a week.. (it might've costed more though... but they offer payment plans)

plus! they lend u one of their rental cars..

i drove the RSX once! SOOOoo fun.. i was flooring that thing everywhere.. probably trained that motor RREEAALLL good..

legendaryCL98

i believe... if the needle is at half point.. its too much.. haha.. so if yours is 3/4

thats extreme heat...

i agree.. take it to the dealership. they wouldve fixed all your problems in less then a week.. (it might've costed more though... but they offer payment plans)

plus! they lend u one of their loaner cars..

i drove the RSX once! SOOOoo fun.. i was flooring that thing everywhere.. probably trained that motor RREEAALLL good..

Jamz

if you got it from Jordan, I'd just take it back to them and make them give you a loaner till it's fixed

Sidewayz

I know im pulling this thread out of its grave, but yesterday my car started doing this almost exact thing. IF i start the car, it idles fine. WIll run for as long as i let it. When i take it for a drive, after coming to a stop it either idles horribly, or dies. Idle air control valve went bad less then 6 mo's ago, i replaced it, and car ran fine after that. Yesterday i pulled the iac valve, and trottle body off, and cleaned them really good with carb cleaner. This had no affect on it, even though the throttle body was pretty dirty. I read somewhere it could be a drivetrain problem, but what sensor would need to be replaced. Trans was rebuilt around 100k, car now has 127 on it. Car is an auto 98 acura 2.3 cl.


Ps, on a side note your overheating is because of the radiator. Replace it. Half way on these cars is to warm for my liking. Also think about how hot it is making your tranny fluid, because of the trans cooler. Trans fluid is probably all burnt. Radiator is like 120 bucks at autozone.