Nik_Macintosh

2005 7
UA6 6MT w/ navi

Was driving, clutch in, car would die, I could pull over and start it back up or just bump starts it and I managed to limp it home by just not stopping at all, engine ran fine while moving but when I’d go neutral or clutch in revs would go down as usual but instead of staying at 800 it’d just die. no low oil light and no engine light, I have no idea what the issue is. Car has 280,000 engine has 110,000. I am the third or fourth owner I belive, I fixed many things and maintained the car very well, used synthetic 5w-20 only and premium fuel only.

Checked car next morning and it was back to normal and it idled fine, oil was barely touching bottom of dipstick so I filled it before I started it, then next day I did a oil change, old oil looked fine, also alternator gives strong 14.4 v and even tho my battery is good I replaced it anyway as it was getting old. I have no idea what could’ve caused this. Did I starve the engine of oil and damage something? If so why didn’t my low oil light come on, I do notice when I put the car into ign on without engine started I can see all other lights but I don’t see low oil level light. I’m starting to think it got starved and since the light doesn’t work I had no idea.

-coolant still green as grass
-no smoke from exhaust
​​​​​​-slight oil burning smell (like 2 stroke)
- no low oil light
-no engine light
-car runs and sounds fine


I’m gonna buy a compression test kit and check all 6, also give me a good chance to check spark plugs, will keep thread updated

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

perhaps a vacuum leak?

TheSauceBoss

I don't think you have an issue with your motor, it sounds like you have an issue with your clutch slave or master cylinder. There might be air in the lines, or it might be leaking. I personally don't have a 6 speed, so hopefully someone else can chime in with input on inspecting it.

(this is just a guess and I would still inspect for a vacuum leak)

056mt

That's what I was thinking as well, then I did a double take and saw he said it still does it when in neutral, so I'd think that would rule out it being a clutch related issue.

Nik_Macintosh

It could be, I’ve been meaning to get my transmission checked because when shifting into first I need to clutch in and wait like 5 seconds to go in or else it makes like a audible clank/crash noise, if I wanna get into first quick I clutch in, go to second, then slide it straight to first, works fine every time, I also can’t get into first unless I’m basically stopped or else it makes a grind, other then that when in first and shifting with my ghetto 2-1 method it works and sounds fine. If it was the clutch why did it also die when in neutral with clutch depressed. It’s hard to troubleshoot since the car isn’t doing it anymore, like it legitimately runs fine, I got a compression test kit so when I get some time tomorrow or Friday I will send the results

Nik_Macintosh

Any tips on where/what to check for vaccum leaks on these j series, also there’s no leaks from this car, when i got it one of my power steering metal hoses had a leak but once I replaced that and cleaned the mess it had made along with the broken axel boot spraying grease everywhere I kept a close eye for leaks and I couldn’t spot a thing when I was changing the oil.

619rcr

vacuum leak on a map car makes it idle higher or surge. inspect the throttle body.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

thats why i used the word perhaps...
if it indeed was a vacuum leak, it would idle high or surge...

OP is having the opposite where it dies...
just thinking out loud here

619rcr

yep, i was suggesting an opposite possibility of not enough air. on a traditional throttle by cable setup the thottle plate closes all the way at idle and small orifices allow just enough air to keep the car running. a common symptom of dirty throttle body orifices is stalling when coming to a stop. being the car is dbw, its not really the same. the plate should stay open a bit. but you wouldnt be able to manipulate the throttle from the engine bay. thus, it would be hard to isolate without a known good substitute.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

but only happens when clutching in....very strange!

619rcr

clutch in, off gas i would imagine. maybe op will come back and add more detail.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

nice, i was concentrating on the clutching in....didnt even think about lifting off the gas pedal. you might be on to something

Nik_Macintosh

it always idles fine and still does, I checked air filter and looked at throttle body everything looks pretty clean

Nik_Macintosh

it’d happen in neutral too, basically if car wasn’t moving and keeping the engine moving or if I wasn’t on the gas it would die, that’s why I’m so confused, it doesn’t seem clutch related and it also doesn’t seem like the motor is damaged, I’m stumped

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

right, 619rcr was trying to get at, it's not clutch related at all.
I was focused on the clutching in as you are too.

619rcr is trying to see if the throttle body orifices are clogged.
the best analogy I can come up with is my lawn mower.. when the carb gets clogged it'll die or stall out.

Nik_Macintosh

Maybe I’ll pull off the intake manifold and have a look, only thing I don’t understand is if it was “clogged” why did the car work fine the next morning, I even took it around the block, it’s been parked since.

Also while limping it back car ran fine when accelerating or decelerating, I basically stayed in second and tossed on my hazards since I was 2 mins from my house anyway. If throttle was the issue would I have maybe noticed it while decelerating?

zeta

iTrader: (1)

My 34 year old Ariens 12hp rear engine rider had the same problem. I made sure to utilize ethanol free petrol and have been using a generous spray of DeepCreep in the tank, upon every use, and the problem has resolved.

peter6

EGR was stuck open?

I don't know how dirty would throttle body need to be in order to actually physically get stuck.

TheSauceBoss

While all of us are playing guessing games, I figure I'll add more fuel to the fire.

There were a lot of people that complained of this exact issue with earlier generations of manual trans civics, and it ended up being issues with worn crank thrust bearings in the engine.

You said the engine wasn't original to the body. Did you swap it with a new engine? A used or rebuilt engine? Perhaps during the engine swap something was not installed properly (maybe like your connection from crank to flywheel, when you engage the clutch) and caused excessive wear on your crank thrust bearings over time. This is a total guess and I'm simply going off information on google. But it's food for thought.

619rcr

now we're getting way off course
there is no need to remove a manifold or plenum to examine the throttle body, it can be viewed with the rubber intake pipe removed. the tb plate tilts in relation to pedal input. i was just suggesting the dbw mechanism might be worn out and acting erratic. similar to a worn blend door actuator. where it gets stuck and then returns to normal later. i would suggest pulling a sml vacuum line. such as for front engine mount and seeing if that keeps the car from stalling

Nik_Macintosh

it was done by a shop, previous owner showed paperwork and it’s on my carfax report, it was defo a used engine since I can see the KMs written on my intake manifold in orange marker so it’s probably from a junkyard, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case. On the off chance it is that, think I should suck it up and try and fix it or just cut my losses and find a new “used” motor

Nik_Macintosh

okay I’ll do it tomorrow when I’m doing the compression testing

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

hey, it could be worse... my car has been on jack stands for a week. battling ABS issues.
the ABS modulator part that I ordered came in today!!!!!

except, the brake line fittings didn't fit in it... GRRR. shipping it back and ordered a new one, hopefully the correct one this time..... looks like I'll be carless for another week lol

if persistent, you can find the error and fix your car!!! just be patient!
I totally thought about buying a quick cash car to get around in.....but then i'm like....i'm just gonna spend monies to fix that up....lol might as well keep chugging away at my TL.

Nik_Macintosh

Yea it’s just my “project car” anyway, my daily is a 2008 Acura MDX and a 2010 Civic so I’m fine for getting around but I just wanna figure out what the cause could be before I drive it again. Hopefully my compression test shows a happy motor lol