Matt.powell3002

ok I have a 2000 civic sir. b16a2 all stock other then aem v2 cold air intake which has been on the car since I bought it last year and 4 to 1 headers I just put on 3 weeks ago to replace the old cracked manifold. yesterday it was driving fine, started rolling after a red light and got up to 3rd gear when suddenly it bogged right down and stalled. I wasn't accelerating aggressively, probably shifting around 4 or 5000rpm. I pulled over and tried to start it again and it would idle fine but when I pressed the gas down it would bog and stall. I got it towed home and pulled all the spark plugs and the distributor cap to check them and now it wont start at all. replaced the plugs, distributor cap and rotor and no change. I was throwing engine codes saying I need both o2 sensors which are suppose to arrive tomorrow and another code for intake manifold performance, I was actually driving to a friends house to replace the intake manifold gasket when this happened. fuel pump is still working. I did a compression test and unless I did it wrong I got these readings. cylinder 1 - 165 psi, cylinder 2 psi - 110, 3 - 145 psi, 4 - 40 psi... yes 40psi... im assuming the low compression is my problem. what can I do? I have no experience working inside the engine other then changing the oil pan.. which is nothing.. this is my daily driver and I want it back

antrmo

ouch 40psi? did your timing go off and bend a valve? unplug the o2 sensors and try this will take there inputs to the ecu out of the equation, the ecu will resort to stock program.

Matt.powell3002

ok I unplugged both o2 sensors but it still wont start... sounds like air is coming back out of my intake when I turn it off.. don't think that's normal is it? if so ive never noticed it before. I have no idea how to check if I bent a valve... I don't know what changed since thismorning.. it would start and idle fine but after I checked the spark plugs and distributor cap it wont start at all...

ol Dusty

iTrader: (2)

Hard to say why changing the cap/rotor etc has caused it to not start anymore, unless it's just a co-incidence. Just to be certain, when you do a comp test, have a charger or booster etc to keep your battery good, pull the dizzy harness or fuel pump fuse so you don't flood the motor and skew the results either. Then do the test, get the numbers like you did, and for the low psi one, first thing I'd do is put about a spoon full of oil down the plug and try it again. If the PSI comes back up, it's the rings, stays low its the valve.

Also in your particular case, take the valve cover off and upper timing cover, then turn the crank counter clockwise till the timing marks are lined up on the cams/head. then look at the crank pulley to see if it's lined up with the marks on the lower cover. If not then your belt slipped. Tho I'd guess that would have changed the PSI equally across all cylinders. But all the numbers you posted are a bit low, and maybe you only damaged one valve (out of VTEC the valves open one more then the other) That you won't really know till after you redo the comp test and even then you won't be 100% till you remove the head as to which is bent and which is really bent.

I hate to say it, but it doesn't look good. You may wanna look into finding another motor. Tho I'm a realist not an optimist, when the glass if half empty, it's cause I'm drinking it, half full, I'm still pouring. What I mean here is like ones view of whether the glass is half full, it's all in perspective. You need a a working car and fast, it's your daily, the down time to just swap in another motor, might be less then repairing your current one.

Here's the opportunity part, you could just find a B16, out, in done go to work. Or maybe even find a good deal on a complete swap and sell off anything you don't need. Maybe you have a classic 3rd gear grind, swap the new trans in to and rebuild/sell/toss the old one, just giving options. You could even just toss in a B18/B20, they're cheap, use a LS teg ecu or something to get it running decent and without VTEC codes etc. Then dismantle your B16. sell/scrap the block, rebuild the head and collect the parts needed for an LS/CR VTEC build and gain some real nice bottom end. All the while minimizing down time and doing more of the work at a time convenient to you, not now when your car decides to break down.

antrmo

well guess its not the o2, how many km,s? when did you do the timing belt last?...

Matt.powell3002

ya I had already been considering doing a swap... was just hoping I could do it later in the summer at my leisure... kind of pain in the *** at the moment. thanks for the input

Matt.powell3002

340k on it. timing belt was done about a year ago (25k or so)

ol Dusty

iTrader: (2)

regardless of when the belt was done, it may have slipped, the tensioner may have slipped, until you open it up and take a look, you're just making assumptions. I've seen belts go out a tooth on one cam only and show almost no sign of it.

Only suggesting a swap as a sorta last resort plan, I'd do whatever it takes really to find out what the problem is first anyway. But dropping in another motor may be cheaper then pulling the head off, replacing damaged valves/springs/guides and changing all the valve seals, machining the head, gasket and all after paying to have the head checked to see if it's still good. Then the rest, t-belt/pump/tensioner, IM gasket etc would still need to be done (tho Non VTEC t-belts/pumps are cheaper for some reason) The cost of a used ECU to go with what ever motor you run, would be less then rebuilding the head, and then you still may have kissed the piston(s) with the valves and don't forget when doing your comp test your numbers were low even on the better cylinders. How much do they improve with a little oil dropped into the combustion chamber? If it's a significant amount, the rings are toast too. Don't get me wrong, I know money doesn't grow on trees (at least not now that our bills are plastic) but you may have to find some either way to get your car on the road, down time vs cost might sway your decision as to when to do the swap, and what swap you do.

Adair

Good advice. Depending on the circumstances, it's wise to consider what's more important...the time spent without your vehicle and time it takes to do repairs...or the cost to replace, but at least being able to drive the car. It's a loss either way, time or money (and sometimes 'time is money')--hope you figure out what will be the best thing for your situation.

Matt.powell3002

thanks for the advice guys!

ya I decided im gonna swap it out for another b16. I had already considered it over the winter and ended up getting new mounts, clutch and flywheel, and cv axels but decided to stick with the one I have for a while to save money. gonna have to leave it parked for a few weeks now till I can afford to do it. can you not get a jdm b16a2 that's obd2? I swore when I was pricing out a replacement in November/December that you could get them but now I cant find an obd2 one anywhere. torontojdm, tigerjapanese etc all only have obd1 b16's now...

if I do have to go with an obd1 and change the ecu and everything is this going to mess with my e-test results? it will have to be a tailpipe test now, and are the o2 sensors the same? i just received both o2 sensors today and i would like to think i didn't waste my money if i need different ones with an obd1 b16

antrmo

not sure but i think obd 1 has a 2 wire plug and obd2 has 4? maybe, could be wrong.

Matt.powell3002

ok I just double checked and went through every gta jdm importer I could find and no obd2 b16a2... I can find b16b's but I don't think I can justify spending what they are going for at this time... the e-test thing may be a stupid question but this is going to be my first time doing a swap, I love my car and hope to have it for a while, which means e-tests are inevitable. im not due for one till February but I would like to know of any surprises I may come across. sorry this may be a topic for a new thread but you guys have had quite a bit of input for me. thanks again

Matt.powell3002

ok so I spoke to somebody at jdmtigerjapanese.com and they told me I can get an obd2 b16a2 for $1650 plus $150 for the ecu. assuming I did my math right that's going to be $2030 with taxes... gonna be a tight month, thank god I have 5 paychecks this month. think im going to start the tear down this weekend (weather permitting) so its all ready to go in 3 weeks when I can get the motor. also gives me some time to order anything I come across that I need to replace... I hear the shift linkage is notorious for not coming apart at the tranny...

just curious, I used to have a 96 civic si (d16y8) and I have a few new parts I picked up for it before I got my current car and never ended up using them... just wondering if they will work, steering rack and pinion, and a rad. doubt the rad is any good to me but worth asking.

ol Dusty

iTrader: (2)

the rad and the steering rack are the same I think. Same chassis basically, look at Hondapartsnow.com check part numbers for each car there and compare.

As for the ECU Your car is a 99/00 SiR? your current one should work

The shift linkage will come apart, just some people don't know what they're doing when dealing with the bi*ch pin. I have a centre punch I've ground down to have a thin long point that goes into the pin to help hold the punch in the right spot, then a ridge to be the surface that actually is what strikes the pin. Do yourself a favor, get the car up on jack stands/hoist whatever and pull the rubber cover back and spray it with a good penetrant occasionally while you work on getting other things apart, then it won't be such a pain.