01tl4tl

because the egr Exhaust Gas Recirculation ports open to the intake of each cylinder, and because you want to clean buildup from inside all the intake runners and main plenums (remove side covers)

if you read the acura method: they use a solvent tank and run cleaner thru the manifold throat with it at top and thru each passageway,,then flip manifold throat down and go back thru every passage with the pressure sprayer- flip again--back thru throat and all passages,,rinse out and compressed air dry

the `rinse out` for most DIYers -using carb cleaner and not a solvent tank-
requires water,, and many flips and turns of the manifold to facilitate egress of the moisture--lots of places for it to get trapped

you do not want water in the manifold when done--verrrrrrry bad for the engine to get a big gulp of H2O like that~

The TB throttle Body assembly does not like to be jostled around- and needs to be removed from the manifold for cleaning method described above.
In addition it needs the full iacv removed and cleaned for proper maitenance and best results-

sidenote: the acura '99 egr port recall method shown in the diy is the shortcut method for time saving to acura- only do the specific job- not a maitenance service.
they leave TB in the car with cables and all attached

It can be a pita to remove one of the bolts with it in the car,,so pulling everything as a unit- then doing a cable lube- spring lube, and iacv service just makes good sense--if you want your car to purr for a long time to come

rcb2000

REAL hard to manually open up the TB to spray air. solvent, your foot what ever you want down the thing and you don't need to replace the gasket if you don't remove it. Some like to work harder than smarter.

totaledTL

Re: the gasket- It would be good to have one on hand in case the old one tore, esp. if the dealers don't typically stock it. Then your car wouldn't be down additional time waiting for the gasket to arrive. Being prepared = smart.

03c0upe

do you have a diagram posted up somewhere? cant find it.

once i remove the iacv, how to i clean the port on the engine, seems if i start scrubbing it or spray it with cleaner everything will fall down the port into engine?

01tl4tl

go read the diy again please--the thermoblock install /egr port cleaning

ignore the part where you change to longer bolts- those are for the spcer install only

assume a critical gasket like TB/manifold will get torn after its been in place 7 years~
Or wait 3 days while it gets ordered
for the few dollars I will get one in advance

01tl4tl

its the manifold you are cleaning the ports on- while its removed from the engine

03c0upe

ok so the problem isnt resolved yet. these are the things i have done.

egr port cleaning per diy
spark plugs
cleaned our the iacv (it wasnt dirty) kept sensor on
replaced tb gasket and iacv rubber gasket

I just put a bottle of seafoam in this morning.

What else could be the problem? my car starts and stalls.

01tl4tl

fuel pump relay, ignition module, ignition relay, ignition switch-

99s had a recall on ign switch---the rest of us may still experience failure of the power side of the switch--
symptoms: shuts off while driving and comes back on by itself,,but may cut off and stay off when really bad

01tl4tl

you used ngk Iridium spark plugs?

03c0upe

i already had the ignition switch replaced a few years ago, im still running autolites because the problem was still there when i had the ngks, they were the correct part # too. Could it be from a bad egr valve or iacv?

As for the fuel pump relay, is there a way to test that? I googled it and it says it can turn off while im driving the car, that hasn't happened to me.

could it be the fuel filter or o2 sensor?

totaledTL

Replcmt. switch could be bad.

01tl4tl

I agree- the ig switch is prone to repeated failures,,3 dealer parts in a cars lifetime would be normal on a TL..if it goes once--they keep going,, until you buy aftermarket~

get rid of the autolites! they are part of the problem,, but not all of it
NGK is the correct plug then we can work the rest of the problem

relays- ck fuse box power- to relay- then power at relay
12 volt `multi meter` is needed, 3 bucks at harbor freight or free with certain coupons!
www.harborfreight.com

the IACV may be dirty and carbon loaded- will the car run with a little throttle so iacv is not in play?

EGR is closed at idle and full throttle: but over 75kmiles its ready to remove intake manifold to clean entire egr system
Clean and lube its operating arm on the valve itself, that can be an issue

We dont have a fuel filter- just a sock on the tank pickup,,
1 can Seafoam in just under half tank will keep it clean
Most newer cars have plastic gas tanks, so less rust and crud issues than older cars- thats why no seperate fuel filter on them

O2 sensor not likely to make it die, but you can ck the voltage and resistance to it while installed,, with that multimeter!!

you could undo the fuel line near manifold and ck fuel flow- there is a spec amount it should fill a container in 60 seconds (picking a number) 1 qt in 1 minute `as example`

03c0upe

I decided to take it to the mechanic, he said he cant diagnosis anything until the check engine light comes on. Next day it comes on. I get 7 codes as follow:
1)P0301 cylinder 1 misfire
2)P0302 Cylinder 2 misfire
3)P0304 cylinder 4 misfire
4)p0305 cylinder 5 misfire
5) p1457 evap emission control system leak detected (control canister system)
6)p0300 random misfire detected
7)p1457 evap emission control system leak detected (control canister system) (got this code twice?)

the cylinder misfire code came after i changed my plugs and got a timing belt change done. The evap code use to come on and go away for a few months. Im going to put in ngk plugs tomorrow.

Weird thing is the "check engine" light disappeared on its own, its not on anymore. Why is that?

03c0upe

could it be a misfire problem all along? codes didnt show up till last week. I did check the coils to see if the spark plugs produce a spark and they all did. Or is that not a good way to check bad coils?

01tl4tl

not a good way to test hi energy coils!!!!!
multi cyl misfire is often just 1 bad coil- they sometimes die slowly and give intermittant problems
Can also damage coil during spark plug change

Are you on the correct NGK Iridium IX spark plugs now?
wrong plugs cause lots of problems
(I know it came with ngk platinum- these are the upgrade material)
Note treat the coils like Grandmas fine china- fragile !!!

for fun after plug change: try a ECU reset by pulling the CLOCK fuse on passenger end of dash for 1 minute to clear all codes
test drive and ck codes- may take a few days or a few miles if a coil is really bad/dieing
If codes and bad running still exist- buy 1 coil

03c0upe

ngk irdium going in this weekend. i will try buying coiling a checking that way, but how will i know its not more than 1 coil that is damaged? Also how bad is it to be driving with cylinder misfire code?

01tl4tl

well the engine is misfiring- a cyl is not combusting correctly - loading fuel thru the exhaust,,lets say its not good

get the cyl misfire codes and try the new coil one each one listed- reset ecu via clock fuse each time and test drive
when it runs better you found the bad one!!

Can also try unplugging coil one at a time and cking rpm drop
cyl numbering: pass to driver firewall side 123
front 456
can try swapping a listed suspect coil with a good one and see if code follows it

01tl4tl

if one coil fixes part of the codes and still says more--then you may have another bad coil
cant tell you how rare that is reported on here

remember treat them like fine china- set on towel on workbench-gently

totaledTL

Can't check them w/ an ohm meter instead of doing all that swapping? Or is that not accurate?

01tl4tl

I remember someone posting the coil specs for testing--somewhere

guessing that most who need coil diagnostic type help also dont own a multimeter,
so buying a replacement part and going for it... is their only choice

03c0upe

should i test the coil starting from cylinder 1? or start from what im getting off my code reader? the codes were posted a few posts earlier.

01tl4tl

1 2 4 5 are the listed ones, so its likely one of them, car is just not sure which one

123 are rear
456 front
may as well test the fronts first since they are easy to reach

reset ecu via clock fuse on passenger end of dash after each move
Note the rpm at idle with each -to confirm your find

totaledTL

It's not the only choice-meters are cheap now.... available at a lot of places, even Wally World....

03c0upe

thanks man i will try that.

03c0upe

thanks man i will try that.i should go for a acura coil, or an aftermarket one such as beck/arnley

01tl4tl

whatever the parts store has, if its cheaper than acuras price

someone have a honda part # thats the same coil for less cost?

03c0upe

thinking of going with a beck/arnley for $38 shipped. thats the cheapest i found it. Acura is 60$ shipped

01tl4tl

I would go local parts store and have the car fixed today~