ondago42

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have a 1999 Acura TL 3.2L that has about 140k miles. I have tried to stay on top of everything to get as much life out of the car as possible. The car started acting funny a little while back so here is what I have done.

Original Symptoms…
Car idles rough occasionally (one of those times it died but normally a little gas after start would bring everything back to working order. Hot or Cold didn’t matter). I was also getting poor gas mileage.

So first thing I did was…
Replace spark plugs
Change alternator belt
Oil change
Cleaned battery cables
Ran fuel injector cleaner
Change air filter

The gas mileage improved for that tank but I was still having the intermittent problem. So this time I hooked it up to the computer. I didn’t get any codes coming up but noticed that the timing was erratic and that the valve might be a little tight.

Next step…
Valve adjustment (all new gaskets)
Clean and tested EGR Valve

This is when the real problem started. Vacuum on the car got better because valve were out of adjustment slightly so that was good. BUT, now the car idles really rough all the time and get worse when you rev it until you go past about 3k. After 2500 - 3k everything sooths out and car feel fine. I hooked it up to the computer and it reads misfire in cylinder 1 and 6 and timing is still all over the map. I checked all hoses to make sure they were hooked up correctly and for leaks, made sure the packs where connected, and double checked the EGR Valve. Got nothing. Any ideas?

VTEC11

So you are getting a code P0301 and P0306? Could be a bad ignition coil in cylinders 1 and/or 6.

01tl4tl

what exactly did you use for spark plugs?
If acdelco -bosch or similar cheapo,,thats the first thing to fix,
then find out if its a dead coil

USE ONLY NGK Iridium or NGK Platinum spark plugs, no cheap other plugs or problems appear soon after

the mult cyl code is a trick, not a diagnosis,,just clues
If you have the right plugs, ck all the coil connections
if good start removing one at a time and start engine- when idle doesnt drop with a wire removed- thats the dead coil

must reset the ECU after new coil or any fault code repairs- so the system runs a self test
remove the CLOCK fuse on passenger end of dash fuseblock for 1 minute and reinsert
thats the secret back power to the ecu

what did you use for fuel cleaner?

have you done the EGR cleaning procedure- remove intake manifold and clean egr port(s) and passages thru the manifold with carb cleaner,,1.5 hour DIY
clogs every 75kmiles on 00 and later, 99s only have 1 port, easily plugged every 50!!

Clean TB air plate and IACV on bottem of TB to make everything like new

01tl4tl

please leave the default type size- unless making a special point~

01tl4tl

how are the O2 sensors? at 140 and the running probs, low gas mileage,,at least the front is a suspect--maybe both
Run the electrical resistance test on them even if no code
iirc Denso is the OE supplier and the replacement part is plug and play- no wiring needed
do reset ECU after replacement!

also have a muffler shop ck the cat, if its clogged or fallen apart--causes more problems than I care to type..if needed, our sponsor Excelerate is a good place to shop

do you always run 91 octane?

ondago42

I forgot what I used for spark plugs. It was the best ones I could get from Kragen so they are probably not the best. I did go almost 10k before doing the valve job since that project was a little more time consuming and the car was working fine 99% of the time. I will try the suggestion and let you know how it goes. Thanks for the input, it is greatly appreciated.

01tl4tl

immedialty remove a spark plug and see what it is
the wrong plug will cause many of your problems
NGK Iridium,
NGK IRIDIUM IX
NGK Platinum
all about 8 dollars each,, are the right plug