mmcdo26

Hello everyone,

I have posted about this vehicle way too much for what it's worth, and am considering selling it and getting a new vehicle Monday. But I figured that I would post here and see if there were any suggestions on fixes or diagnosis before I went that route.

Yesterday, I was driving my Acura on the highway and had to give it some gas in order to merge over. When I merged and gave it gas, I smelt a faint burning smell. About 15 seconds later, I heard some knocking that originally sounded like a thrown rod, however upon further analysis later that night I don't believe that's the issue. The car seemed to have a loss of power, and was shaking horribly while driving and at idle. My check engine light was flashing at the time, along with my VSA and caution light being on as well. I got it towed home, and this morning when I started it the check engine light was off. I decided to drive it a bit, and about 10 yards down the road the check engine light came up, which informed me that Cylinders 1, 2, and 6 were misfiring, along with a random cylinder misfire. Codes P0301, P0302, P0306, and P0300. My exhaust sounds as if I'm running straight pipe (when I'm not), and the car is definitely a lot louder than usual. I've also been told there is a strong gas smell coming from the vehicle when it is on. I'm not exactly sure what this issue is, I was considering a catalytic converter or exhaust leak, but others have told me these are symptoms of a thrown piston rod. Any suggestions would be phenomenal, otherwise I will simply try and get something new on Monday.

Thanks in advance!

whitetiger5

I would definitely NOT let others make the call on giving up a car.

a few things you can check:

1. if you're not sure about starting the engine because you are afraid that it is indeed a thrown rod or similar..you can try manually cranking the engine over, observe for any binding and inspecting the timing belt to make sure it's still in good condition and hasn't jumped any teeth.
2. once that is done and looking good; may want to look into disconnecting the fuel pump and checking the compression on each cylinder; that will tell you the condition of the the engine.
3. if that engine is good: you've got timing and compression; time to check ignition BUT before doing that I would check the EGR system (intake manifold). why? because it was a whole bunch of misfiring in different place.

OR...you could check #3 first since that takes about 5-10 minutes and has been known to cause multiple misfires before. if it's that: it will probably cost about $20 in carb cleaner and elbow grease and you still have a car.

mmcdo26

The engine sounds strong, there's no ticking coming from the engine. The only thing I can hear is the backfire to my intake manifold, which is something I'm aware of. In park when revving the engine, on deceleration there is a slight hissing, which someone suggested changing out my PCV valve. I will be replacing the PCV valve tomorrow, I took the EGR valve off and cleaned it with some carb cleaner, but that did not help the issue.

whitetiger5

When you cleaned the EGR valve, did you get a chance to look in the intake manifold? That’s where the carbon deposits accumulate the most and create the largest impact on the engines performance

Check out this guys video explaining what was done:

mmcdo26

I have actually gotten to my EGR ports before and frankly did a half-ass job at cleaning the ports. Tomorrow after I replace my PCV valve I will go through and clean that area up. I remember underneath that plate there was a pool of oil, the whole area was caked with carbon. I'll get it as clean as I can and see if either of those fixes work. Also, stupid question, but I never heard the proper name for the gasket that goes under that metal plate - would you possibly know the name of that gasket? Thanks for all you help so far.

mmcdo26

Well, I found the issue and it was quite simple. The latch on the wiring harness going to Cylinder 1's coil pack had melted off and the harness was not fully attached. I did however clean the EGR ports as shown in the video whitetiger provided, cleaned my EGR valve and replaced my PVC valve. The car is running 10 years younger. Thank you so much for your help!