Guys, I need your help. I'm getting sick of troubleshooting problems with this car.
Here's what I have:

02 TL-S with 75K miles. Bought last August. In October while I was home from Iraq, I replaced many things; this is a list in chronological order that I did:

Had a tranny fluid flush done at an Acura repair shop (bad idea, I know, I know...)

Motor mounts replaced

New NGK iridium IX plugs

Headlights

1200 miles of road trips averaging 26-28 mpg and no problems

Seafoam treatment (after spark plugs, but a visual check shows that they're still clean)

Oil change

EGR port cleaning ( I took off the IM cover to clean them, not the entire manifold)

3 new coil packs on cylinders that threw codes

When I did the seafoam treatment, I had the seafoam sucked into the vacuum lines, then shut the car off and did an oil change. This took about 40 min because I was teaching my girlfriend how to do it. I noticed a clear fluid leaking from somewhere, but didn't track down the leak. I assume it was seafoam leaking out, but I don't know. I started the car up, and all was well. Then a few days later, the engine started chugging on initial start up for the day, and only did it when completely cold. I had a cylinder misfire code pop up occasionally, and replaced coilpacks as they continued to pop up.

My girlfriend is driving this car now that I'm back in Iraq. She drove it from Tucson to Phoenix yesterday, which is the first real long distance trip since these symptoms started. Near Casa Grande, the car (according to her) started violently shaking when under moderate acceleration. She said it would only happen between 45-60 mph. I could HEAR her voice shaking when I was talking to her on the phone, so I know it's BAD! She took it to a parts store which had a former Honda tech on hand and he took a look. He couldn't figure it out, but he tried a few different things. He unplugged the TPS, and it smoothed out a bit while the car was parked. He also mentioned something about the IACV, but didn't elaborate.
She ended up driving it home by keeping it between 70-80 mph and it was fine. The check engine light was flashing the whole way home though, showing a 1399 code.

The car still needs a timing belt replacement, and has the original transmission. While I was back, the tranny was shifting perfectly, and the fluid looked great as it was brand new Honda ATF.

I don't know what the hell is going on with this car. I'm tempted to replace the rest of the coil packs, but I'm not convinced that will work. The Honda tech also mentioned that there is an EGR valve that I wasn't able to reach since I just removed the cover to do the cleaning. He did however, disconnect the egr valve, but it did nothing to improve the situation. I'm at a loss. Any ideas???

 

you neglected to clean the barrel of you rifle!!
thats basically what happens when you dont clean the EGR pathways thru the manifold,
and remove the actual egr valve- clean and lube its arm, and clean the iacv system on bottem side of TB

no codes this time?

on seafoam you let engine cool too much to do any good- 10-15 minutes and start the driving,,not 40 so it gets cold and hardens back up!
Dont know what liquid was leaking--no reason for anything but ac condensor drips

 

Actually, I scrubbed the hell out of the pathways in the manifold, and cleaned the holes on the top of the runners. They were nasty. Buuut, I didn't touch the area where the egr gases enter the manifold where it gets really hot.

The GF said the CEL is flashing with a 1399 code. Not sure about that, though, I may need to have her re-check it.

Also, I did the seafoam into the vac lines twice. The FIRST time I drove it right away, then re-read the instructions, then attempted the second time which was the above story. The first time, a lot of smoke came out, second time, not so much.

01tl4tl, you're awesome and I really appreciate all of you help!

 

lets clarify
seafoam vac line--master vac port at TB used--the one with a metal nipple coming from the engine?
Smoke and seafoam is oils reacting to heat in exchaust--not a direct indication of seafoams ability~

EGR ports- not sure what you didnt clean- but if there was a place- thats likely where new crud would cause a blockage--thats a best guess on my part
You ran a wire rod of some type like a hanger- thru the egr port(s) in the intake manifold?

chasing failed coils based on a multi misfire code a pain,
possible they were damaged during plug change- it happens pretty easy when you set them down

 

Since I'm stuck it Iraq, the girlfriend is stuck with taking it to the mechanic. The culprit is a bad #6 fuel injector, sticking open and closed at times. How does $625 for that job sound???

 

sounds like the total hosing given to a girl who brings boyfriends car into shop

`very rare` would be the most injector failures I have even heard of!!
More likely since it sits so much, the fuel has gelled and is clogging fuel injector parts

my suggestion is drive it with 1 can seafoam in just under half tank gas- do that twice and bet it solves the problem ..better than guessing at 650 dollars!!

 

I've had 2 fail on a Nissan. First time I pd. approx. $250 to have it done. Next time I did it. Best I remember the injector was about $65. Acuraoemparts lists them for $52. That sounds high to me- was that a dealer? Try an independent shop.

 

It's an independent shop and the car is driven constantly.

Seriously, 52 for an injector??

 

bet they want to replace all 6 for good measure~
or its a total hosing as I said (as a former industry insider)

the odds of sludge and gel in the fuel from sitting unused for several months
is pretty high, vs the odds of a failed fuel injector

seafoam diy via gas tank as I said before- or let the shop rip you for 100 to do a similar cleaning by hooking into the fuel injector line and adding cleaner to the system

Ziner Help Request
Anyone in Phoenix area able to take a look at this car.. help out a ziner serving overseas?
maybe clean the egr correctly, pull #6 plug, seafoam it etc
Take it for a blaster drive and hope that takes care of it

 

Yep, go to the website & look it up. + shipping of course. May need a few orings and/or gaskets. Is that price for replacing 6??

 

I had similar problem, after checking plugs, coils, power to coils. Intermitant misfires. Turned out to be a bad connection to an injector. fixed the bad connection inside the clip to the injector and works like a charm. Hopefully you have a similar problem

 

awesome find steeze!! thanks for sharing

good idea to go thru every connector and clean with CRC spray, then protect with connector grease

When doing egr port cleaning job or valve adjust, all that is exposed and easy to do.
Crud buildup in funky places will really mess with you~

 

im having the same issue with the whole shakeing but after i press the gas it goes away and it rarley happiens once in a blue moon i have 169.xxx miles i just bought ngk sprak plugs and alt belt and put one can of seafoam i plan on doing the vacum lines and oil just to clean up all the gunk,see if that helps are you getting any codes im getting po420 and p1456 could these codes have anything to do with the shakeing,