zeta

iTrader: (1)

To say the least, it's a dam shame how you have to watch people nowadays.
Did the DNJ bearing, rod or crank surfaces present with any noticeable abnormal galling when you were there?

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Spark plugs weren't any different. I just dropped the oil pan to get access to the bearings. You have plenty of bearing options with a J32A2. I had to pick between DNJ and OEM since I used J37 rod bearings. Shouldn't have tried to cheap out.

All the bearings were in excellent shape except the spun bearing which was really badly thinned out and cracked. The bearing definitely did its job and took 99% of the damage, since the crank looked fine without any scratches that could catch my fingernail. I was almost at the end of my rope with up until that point, but the engine seems to be running great now. Hopefully she handles the upcoming boost without complaints.

Midnight Mystery

So basically stalling the car blew the engine?

If that did happen that way that is still very strange, that sucks.

keantoken

What are the chances I will find something unexpected with the plastigauge and have to order a new set of bearings? Or would that mean I should just get a new engine?

keantoken

I found the service manual, am I correct that I need to take off the oilpan first and look at the rod numbers to see which bearings I need to order?

The Mahle/Clevite set doesn't com individually so it almost seems like they expect you to install them without caring about clearances. Or if you happen to need 3 of the same size, you have to buy 3 whole sets of bearings???

keantoken

Well, today I took off the intake and cleaned everything out. I gained a new appreciation for how much better B12 is for removing EGR grout than seafoam. And it lasts much longer when instead of using the spray can you dump the fluid into a spray bottle. It works every bit as well as the spray can.

My intent was to get to the knock sensor to tell if it was working. I had the car running and hit it in various ways trying to trigger the knock sensor to no avail. In the end I didn't get further than the fuel rail because I already had my hands full cleaning the intake. I did take the front valve cover off though and everything looked fine, but again I was unprepared to test the valve lash. But this is easy enough I can do that another day.

After putting everything back together I ran the engine until the radiator fan turned on. I noticed a very slight knocking. It goes away at higher RPM. Using a vacuum hose stuck in my ear I discovered the knocking comes from the area right around the tensioner. The stethoscope fails to locate it which is why I didn't find this last time. The vacuum hose and stethoscope are two very different tools.

So how certain is it that the knocking under load is due to the tensioner and that I don't simply have both a bad tensioner and a rod knock? Low oil pressure could cause a reduced tensioner force, but I suppose you wouldn't see low oil pressure until the bearing was further in its destruction. I think I will look for metal pieces in the oil and filter.

This is actually kind of disappointing as replacing the tensioner will be much more expensive than changing the rod bearings.

keantoken

I should also note that when I looked at the intake, the carbon deposits abruptly stopped at the cylinder heads inside the intake tubes and the valves looked spotless, just a little dull in color. It's hard for me to believe that the small amount of carbon on the walls of the intake had any effect on performance. Maybe the stuff coating the IAT sensor and in the EGR passage. Someone before me made some tiny dings in the intake manifold gasket area right where it seals. It doesn't seem to leak, but I would like to fill in those dings somehow.

I changed the oil today. Tomorrow I will see what is visible in the oil debris. I didn't see anything larger than a few grains of sand that could be metallic. I am hopeful that there will be no indication of a rod bearing failure.

keantoken

I guess I should mention that when I changed the filter, a previous filter gasket was scrunched up inside the oil filter bracket! Removing that didn't fix any problems though.

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Aftermarket bearings don't come with color coded precise sizes. The bigger and smaller versions of aftermarket bearings are for those that had to bore out stuff. Just plastigauge the standard size to make sure it's within spec. The OEM bearings will expect you to match the number on the rod to the number on the crank.

Trust me, you'd rather have a bad tensioner as long as the valves didn't hit. Replacing a tensioner isn't bad at all. A spun rod bearing might need the crank to be replaced if it's bad. Simply replacing the rod bearings and polishing the surfaces would be a hack job in many people's eyes.

Put your stethoscope's pointy end directly on the back of the timing belt tensioner. If it's super obvious that's where the noise is coming from, it's probably loose. There's a video on youtube with a 3G TL that had a failed auto tensioner, and you can compare your noise to that.

keantoken

I looked at the oil debris. From the oil pan there were about 4 flakes up to 3mm large, and there were 7 flakes smaller than a grain of sand. There was nothing larger than these. All nonmagnetic. It's possible some of this came from the well-used oil drain crush washer.

I cut open the oil filter. There was magnetic debris about the size of sand grains. Some of it probably came from opening the oil filter. The filter paper had some black nonmagnetic debris. I didn't see anything I think could be aluminum. I still have the filter if you know a good way to wash away the oil so everything can be seen.

It seems to me there would be a lot more debris if there was a rod bearing failure, but then I've never done this before.

Midnight Mystery

IDK but I think any debris is not good debris.

keantoken

The car has been sitting for the last year or so, and it looks like it's been a while since the last oil change. I think it's too much to ask that there never be any debris ever in the oil pan or filter. After all, that is specifically why there is a filter in the first place.

It's not anything like this:

keantoken

The blend door is also bad, but I didn't figure out how to pull back the carpet to get to it. How do you do that?

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Oh, at first I thought that was your oil pain in the video lol. That's almost exactly what mine looked like.

keantoken

When I changed the oil I did a short B12 flush. The engine was vibrating more, probably due to the B12 fumes coming through the PCV system. It developed a misfire, so I revved it a bit and the misfire went away. So the B12 flush seemed to do something, though frankly I don't know what. From what I can see no negative effects after the oil change.

keantoken

I received the new tensioner today and it struck me that the tensioner has nothing to do with oil pressure as there are no oil ports. So it is a sealed hydraulic spring loaded damper, and the seal and grease has to last however many miles between timing belt changes. The known unreliable tensioner appears to use a sliding seal instead of a bellow seal and is built in such a way that condensation can collect right in the seal area. Clearly there was a cost proposition and that included the cost of the engineer making the cost proposition! The original tensioner was obviously designed the way it was because the failure modes were already known.

The transmission mount seen through the front left wheel well is collapsed. I also get vibration and a heavy clunk in reverse, but not a lot of vibration through the steering wheel. I think this probably means the front engine mount needs replaced.

keantoken

I took apart the console today and washed everything. It was filthy. Does anyone know where to get the foam strip used to seal the AC ducts?

whitetiger5

I recently did similar to my console and dash, most of the foam inside the car should be broken down by now.

I went to the home improvement store (take your pick) and bought foam weatherstripping. They make better quality foam that will last longer than you’ll more than likely keep the car.

keantoken

Well, I have a huge problem. I got a gates TCK286 timing belt and pulley kit from RockAuto. The pulleys inside are correct, but the belt is a T265. The tooth pitch is too large and it simply won't fit. It came in a Carquest box (Why does everything from RockAuto come in a Carquest box?). The box had been cut open and resealed with a new TCK286 label.

Luckily the local store has Gates TCK286 in stock, but now I am delayed by a day.

keantoken

I broke several 3/8" adapters and extensions on the crank bolt. Then I got a 1/2" drive socket, but I still broke a 1/2" extension. Finally I decided that doing this the standard way wasn't going to work. So I wedged the breaker bar under the box frame and hit the starter. I have to say I am pleased with the power of this starter, went through it like it was nothing, and I didn't even have to remove the spark plugs.

The old tensioner was the snubby type, the type that isn't supposed to fail. The boot had slipped out off of the pin. Maybe the boot expanded or the boot retainer spring isn't strong enough. I guess the available tensioners are just a gamble for this car.

Midnight Mystery

I did the "starter bump" trick on a bus a few years ago to get to the harmonic balancer. I wonder what would happen if you tried to "bump" the starter on a newer car with push or auto start. I guess you would have to use the starter fuse and hotwire it for 0.5 seconds. Not really about your post, but it occurs to me once and a while.

keantoken

Realistically, you have a few moments before there is any danger while the bolt is out (depending on where you have wedged the breaker bar). You could probably just stop it as soon as you are able.

I finally got the timing belt changed. There is no more pigeon cooing noise. However there is now a high pitched whine. I think the whine must be the new belt breaking in. The pigeon noise could have been one of the idler pulleys. The knock did not go away. It is definitely not coming from the tensioner, as confirmed by a stethoscope on the tensioner itself.

The noise comes from inside the engine right behind the tensioner. That is assuming the knock heard at idle and the knock heard on acceleration are the same thing. Given the absence of glitter in the oil, maybe I should get to the valve adjustment to see under the rear valve cover.

keantoken

I squeezed the oil filter pleats in a vise and only saw 2 tiny little flecks of aluminum smaller than what was in the oilpan. It is normal to see metal at 10x magnification and I have to be pretty close to see them. I think the stuff in the oilpan probably came from the drain washer.

I'm thinking maybe the knock at idle is from the rocker arms and the acceleration could be from an engine mount. Not sure how to proceed from this point.

keantoken

It's very hard to hear the engine in this car. It's eerily quiet. When other people drive it they think the engine dies when they shift into drive. So I have to find a quiet road and drive at midnight to hear the engine well. I don't think I've heard the knock yet but it may take a few tries.

181 ft-LB means 90ft-LB at the end of a 24" breaker bar. So to tighten the crank bolt I supported the head of the breaker bar, stood on the handle, and jumped up and down a few times. That should be good enough, right?

whitetiger5

I think the problem is that it was torqued to 180 ft-Lbs but without the crank pulley holder (something like $15-40 on amazon) the torque applied gets lost when the crankshaft begins to move. Others also try with impact, but without a proper socket (similar to what's used when removing the axle nut) it too requires a lot more work than needed and people go out and buy heavy duty impact when they just needed the right socket.

I've experienced both the hard way

keantoken

The belt side engine mount came apart in two pieces when I removed it. What do I need to avoid when replacing this engine mount?

I rented the crank pulley tool from a local auto store, otherwise I would have just been turning the crankshaft rather than breaking extensions. I made sure to use a 6 point socket, but the bolt head is still pretty chewed up after taking it off. I always wonder if there's something wrong with my sockets when the bolts come out looking so much worse than before. The dealers seem to have special sockets that don't chew up the bolt heads.

I think I will take off the oil filter bracket to see if there is any debris in the Vtec filter screen as I saw some bearing flakes end up there in a youtube video. It may be leaking but I think that is the rear valve cover.

keantoken

The Vtec filter screen is clear except for some tiny black carbon grains. The bolts came out pristine, so I think it hasn't been changed in a very long time.

I don't hear the knocking when I use a stethoscope against the oil pan. I hear it loudest at the top rear timing cover bolt and then at the valve cover bolts right next to it, but I don't hear anything with the stethoscope right on the tensioner.

keantoken

Is this car supposed to have a light for the coin tray? There is a twist socket for a light but I don't find the socket anywhere. Maybe I should look for it crushed behind the radio or climate controls by the last person who was in the console?

Nevermind, I found it on page 22-178 of the service manual which gives the location of all interior lights (not indicator lights). For some reason only the 02-03 models have it even though there is a place for it in my 99 console.

keantoken

oemacuraparts.com is taking an incredibly long time to send parts. Not a single update on order status. I hope it is just because they are waiting to receive the parts from Acura.

I managed to change the shifter light, console light, glovebox light, and a bad indicator light in the climate controls. I don't have a bulb for the indicator light in the dash brightness control.

I finally got to the blend door actuator. I cleaned the carbon tracks which tell the servo how far to move the blend door. It seems to work, but the middle vents still don't give me any air. So I discovered the mode control acutator which is much easier to get to. It had a stripped gear, but I was able to mount the contacts on the other side of the gear and turn it 180 degrees, so maybe it can work now. But still no air through the middle vents, although I didn't try running the engine. I hope I don't have a broken air door inside the AC ducts. Turning the mode control linkage manually, it binds a bit in the middle of travel.

I think I've done everything I needed the console apart for, so maybe I get to drive without a disassembled interior for once.

whitetiger5

Sometimes parts need to come all the way from Japan. Tim at oemacuraparts.com is pretty good with communicating why an order took longer than expected if you email through the contact page. I ordered that tiny plastic fastener (it probably cost about $1.79) that holds your trunk lining down and it held my order up over a week as it had to come overseas.

there is a thread in here that shows how you can swap dash bulbs with bulbs from mouser or digikey for much less. I highly recommend if you are looking at replacing a bunch of them.

keantoken

Thanks, electronics is my thing so I can definitely do Mouser. Assuming the bulbs are very conventional tungsten types and not tinted or frosted with something special.

keantoken

I am getting the catalyst inefficiency code, is this one of those cars that dumbs down when you get the P0420 code?

I have seen O2 extenders that have a tiny little catalyst in the tip to fool the sensor. No emissions requirements where I live.

EDIT: O2 extenders with mini cats to fool the sensor:

https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=mini+ca...ref=nb_sb_noss

keantoken

The power steering seems to be going in and out. Not like driving without it, but sometimes the steering wheel is harder to turn in both directions. Fluid is full, no leaks. PS pulley has a slight wobble. It does not whine.

keantoken

We took a 327 mile trip. Mostly 60-80MPH. MPG was about 26, using 93 octane from Valero. So at least at highway speeds the Ruthenium spark plugs seem to be doing okay.

I cleaned the PS belt with probably the wrong method (degreaser and thorough rinsing). I don't think there is any difference to the bipolar power steering. I saw the PS pump has a "flow control valve" and I immediately thought a sticky valve could be causing this issue, but that is just another crazy conspiracy theory. There is no PS noise while the turning is hard, so I am wondering if it could be a mechanical linkage issue.

The car seems to have less power when it warms up. After it's been running a while, I get zipper noise from the valves, so maybe a valve adjustment will help. I've been wondering about fuel pressure again. And of course I should check for vacuum leaks. And maybe there isn't even a problem and it's just in my head.

keantoken

I noticed that when the engine is thrown forward as in braking, the vibration gets worse but not when thrown backward. I can't figure out which mount needs replaced from that though.

After sitting for about a week, the car took several strokes to crank, but when it took off it was a perfect start. I think this is probably caused by a less than perfect anti-drainback valve on the Mobil 1 oil filter, Therefore it took some time to bring the oil pressure up so the ECM would enable ignition. I might see if different filters have better results. Or it was a cool and wet day, so maybe the ECM hadn't learnt that starting scenario yet.

Davius

Do you mean the Mobil 1 filter you have is specifically defective or Mobil 1 filters have design flaw? I use Mobil 1 filters and haven't had any problems. Mine does tend to need an extra moment to crank when it sits at airport for two weeks and on those especially cold San Diego mornings (40F) haha. Normal for me is engine cranks on second stroke of starter.

keantoken

I don't think it's defective, just something I pay attention to since I know that a bad anti-drainback valve affects starting in an obvious way. It's clearly doing it's job. I could assume that the oil galleys drain themselves normally over a week, but if I find a filter that works better I would have an interesting datapoint on oil filters. Also a recurring problem could indicate a leak in the oil filter adapter gasket/Vtec screen or something else, al;though that is unlikely since I just replaced it.

It usually takes a bit more than 2 strokes to start. I have always wondered how to get back that instant startup on a car.

Davius

That really would be something if you could get quantifiable data on oil filters in relation to startup. I did notice a huge difference on startup when I switched #1 coil back to OEM. There was also some improvement after cleaning EGR and upper intake. I rely on experience and research when it comes to auto-mechanical endeavors, so thank you for sharing. Can't wait to see/hear this baby in action! Good luck

keantoken

My downstream O2 sensor has a weird waveform. It is a sawtooth shape, climbing slowly and then dropping vertically.

Can you tell me whether the oil light goes off at the moment it starts? Or whether it stays on for a few moments afterward? Mine is starting on the 10th stroke or so and the oil light is on slightly after that.

When warm and just after turning off, it will take 2-3 strokes to start.

Davius

Oil light comes on during crank and maybe stays on for half a second once running when I start her cold. When I start her warm the oil light barely even flashes. Keep in mind, the temp here is between 80F/day and 60F/night. The oil light will light up every time when starting, even if it just barely flashes. Hope that helps!