FARGIN HONDAS! Halp me DG, you is my only hope!

[Thumpin455]

If the ECM were bad then it wouldnt be firing the injectors, which it is. The fuel pump runs, I can hear it when its cranking and I put my stethoscope on an injector or the fuel rail. It has fuel in the filter, but I have no way of knowing if it has enough pressure. That is the only other thing I know of that could cause this crap.

Definitely the last time I am messing with an import. I have better things to do with my time than chase bullshit that requires special tools and tiny hands.

[dieselgeek]

I thought of one other possibility. Make sure your power steering pump or AC compressor aren't locked up keeping the engine from starting. That was how I bought mine, "won't start" but it was because the bearing on the AC compressor was seized up. I cut the belt with a pocket knife and drove her home.

[milner351]

I bought a car once that had a plugged catalytic converter - it would crank, spark, inject fuel, but not start because the exhaust was so plugged.

One thing to try Todd - pull the close coupled cat off the exhaust manifold - put on a pair of ear muffs - and see if she fires.

[dieselgeek]

Milner, that's another great suggestion! My cat plugged up on the previous owner and I removed it myself. I made my own DIY O2 foolers to keep the ECU happy.

[Thumpin455]

I thought of one other possibility. Make sure your power steering pump or AC compressor aren't locked up keeping the engine from starting. That was how I bought mine, "won't start" but it was because the bearing on the AC compressor was seized up. I cut the belt with a pocket knife and drove her home.

All that stuff is fine and moves no problem. Just waiting for the belt to get here now. If the belt doesnt do it, I will pull the exhaust and see what that does. Hearing protection for open headers? yeah right... You havent heard my toys.

Any suggestions on holding the engine to pull the balancer bolt? I am thinking the rope trick will do it, and it sucks not having an impact to pull it. My impact died over the winter, cant get it working again, and the compressor is down right now as well, so that is completely out. All I have is a breaker bar and lots of upper body strength.

[milner351]

I built a tool out of black pipe parts - there is a female hex on the balancer - I think it was either a 1 1/2" jor 2" NPT pipe bushing that fit the hex, thread that into the next larger bushing which you can hold with a big pipe wrench. As you know - you have to be careful to make sure the cam doesn't spin when the belt tension is off it.


Do yourself a favor please - before you tear into the front of the engine - pull the exhaust and try it - if the exhaust is the problem - you'll save yourself a whole heap of work.

[dieselgeek]

Compression in each cylinder tells me this isn't a timing belt problem.

Meanwhile, on the B20Z engine something that's NOT in the Haynes or Chiltons manuals is that there are holes drilled into the cam shafts that line up with holes in the bearing caps, you stick a drift punch in those holes and it locks both cams in place. It's a piece of cake to do the TB using these.


Re: Balancer Bolt, I always use an impact. I think you can pull a small cover off and get to the flywheel, jam whatever up there to stop it from moving...

[Russell]

Put it in gear (or park) tires on the ground should hold it while you loosen the balancer bolt (if not use the parking brake and get someone to hold the brakes), or something will break and you can then scrap it Thats how I do it (not saying its the correct way)

[TheSilverBuick]

Park on an automatic transmission doesn't hold the engine. I do put my car in 4th gear to break loose or tighten the crank bolt, but that's a manual transmission.

I've used a 2x4 jammed into the bellhousing on my automatic cars. For right or wrong it's worked every time. The teeth dig into the wood and drag the wood along until it jams.

[STINEY]

A friend with a crowbar works too.

[Thumpin455]

I am done with this piece of shit. Never going to work on another honda, even if someone pays me a crazy amount of money to figure out why one doesnt start, I wont touch it. Exhaust isnt plugged, it would come back through the intake if it were. It has fuel, air, spark, all at the right times, and the damn thing still wont run. The timing marks were spot on, but it still wont run.

I am not an idiot. I am very experienced in building and fixing all sorts of cars, everything on them is in my realm of knowledge. The problem arises when I cant talk to the damn thing, and it has an issue that isnt readily apparent and defies diagnosis. I even went so far as to drain the gas tank and refill it with fresh fuel. It wont flash any codes, it wont talk to my computers, and it wont run. The string of expletives I have describing my disdain and pure hatred for honda would get me banned from most of the internet.

hondas are as if a chrysler engineer was having a very bad day and just wanted to do things in such a way that it will piss off most people who work on them. Hold the flexplate to loosen or tighten the balancer bolt like you do on any engine, sounds easy right? Well they put the trans drain through the plate that covers the flexplate. So you pull the plate, you drain the trans, or at least make a mess. WHAT THE @(&*$#? The first one of these pieces of shit I had to deal with was an early 80s Civic, and the carb took me a week to rebuild because it screwed up and had to go back together just a special way.

Never again, not for any reason.

[dieselgeek]

I feel for you, but I totally disagree about how hard it is to figure out a honda. It's a four cylinder engine with a distributor ignition. Bottom line is, you're missing something and I'm sure if you did figure it out it would be an "aha" moment. I'm a shitty mechanic and I've kept multiple hondas running beyond 300,000 miles...

Maybe have them take it to a shop?

[milner351]

Bummer - man have I been there.... I wonder what a honda speak code scanner would show. My scanner won't read hondas either.

[dieselgeek]

Bummer - man have I been there.... I wonder what a honda speak code scanner would show. My scanner won't read hondas either.

I have a dirt cheap Actron scanner from Sears, and an even cheaper no-name brand one from Harbor Freight. Both of them talk to my Honda. It's an OBD-II, there's no CAN bus so the basic serial ones work.

This makes me think that maybe there's an electronic problem, although there is no reason for an engine not to start if it's got spark at the right time, fuel, and compression...?

He said it wouldn't run on ether or e85, no fire at all. I'd at least expect some farting or spitting or something if there's spark, fuel and compression though? this is definitely a weird one! And we know Todd is no dummy either.

[Thumpin455]

All it does is intermittent popping when cranking, it acts just like the timing belt is off a tooth, but it isnt. I am going to run the valves later, if it ever stops raining here, and see if that helps. They would have to be way out there to not run, but inside the cylinders is filled with carbon, so there has to be some wear somewhere.