Since October I have been doing work to my '91 crx Si D16A6.
I broke a timing belt, so I decided to replace / upgrade a lot of items while I had an excuse.
I pulled the head, and replaced the HG with the D16Z6 metal one. I did a very mild port & polish. I cleaned the combustion chambers and the pistons, as well as the head and valves (the valves were not bent from the timing belt break). I replaced the valve seals, the various gaskets & o-rings on the head, the cam ends, the valve cover, and under the rocker arm assembly. I installed ARP headstuds. I cleaned up the castings on the IM, and cleaned the TB. I replaced the IM, TB, and EM gaskets with new ones. I replaced the timing belt, tensioner and spring, and water pump. I replaced all the various coolant hoses that run in and out of the head. I replaced the plug wires, cap, rotor, and plugs. I also got a used IACV off of ebay and installed it in the hopes of fixing a bad idle it had prior to the belt breaking.
The mating surfaces were incredibly clean. There was no scratches, or gasket residue on either surface.
I did all of the above with OEM Honda parts from Majestic Honda (Except the headstuds, and plugs, of course).
I finally got it all back together on Sunday, after over a month of it being open. (I did work as I could afford it, I didn't buy everything at once)
I nervously primed the fuel system, and found that fuel was leaking out of my injector / fuel rail junction.. so I fixed that and reprimed the system.. and everything held.
I turned the key and the vehicle started up - I was happy to hear it running after all of that work. It was idling better than it ever did before, except it was smoking. I assumed the smoke was coming from residue left in the motor from when I cleaned it.
When I took it for a ride, it felt like it had no power. I brought it back to my garage, and realized that my timing belt was 1 tooth off. I fixed that, and took it out again, and it kicked ass. It had tons of power, and idled and ran better than before - except the cloud of smoke.
Since I got it back together I have set the timing, and changed the oil, and coolant - which both were clear, they had no traces of contamination.
The smoke does not look like oil, or coolant, it doesn't smell like coolant. It just looks gray, and smells like gross exhaust.
I ran a leak down compression test, and it came up really good. There was no leakage detected past the rings, or past the HG. I pulled the plugs and they were covered with goo, not oil, not coolant, just black tar-y goo. So I replaced them again.
Occasionally I get a CEL and the ECU blinks 1 time - which is the O2 sensor. I assume it's getting clogged up due to all the smoke and crap coming past it. When I get the CEL, the engine misfires under load. I checked and rechecked the wiring, and it's connected perfectly. I will pull the o2 sensor - and I assume it wil be covered with the goo mentioned above.
Is it normal for a motor to smoke like this for a little bit after it's been open so long? I'm getting smoke slightly less than when someone seafoams their car.. it's a heck of a lot.
I probably only have 3 miles on the car since I got it back together. Should I just run it, and hope it clears up?
I did have a lot of solvents in and near the combustion chamber, and head. I imagine they could still be burning off.
ANY QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME. I just want to make sure my car is ok, and I'd like to get it running well again. My fiance is beginning to look at me funny, you got to help me here guys!
Sorry for the big post. I figured more information was better than less.
-Des!
I broke a timing belt, so I decided to replace / upgrade a lot of items while I had an excuse.
I pulled the head, and replaced the HG with the D16Z6 metal one. I did a very mild port & polish. I cleaned the combustion chambers and the pistons, as well as the head and valves (the valves were not bent from the timing belt break). I replaced the valve seals, the various gaskets & o-rings on the head, the cam ends, the valve cover, and under the rocker arm assembly. I installed ARP headstuds. I cleaned up the castings on the IM, and cleaned the TB. I replaced the IM, TB, and EM gaskets with new ones. I replaced the timing belt, tensioner and spring, and water pump. I replaced all the various coolant hoses that run in and out of the head. I replaced the plug wires, cap, rotor, and plugs. I also got a used IACV off of ebay and installed it in the hopes of fixing a bad idle it had prior to the belt breaking.
The mating surfaces were incredibly clean. There was no scratches, or gasket residue on either surface.
I did all of the above with OEM Honda parts from Majestic Honda (Except the headstuds, and plugs, of course).
I finally got it all back together on Sunday, after over a month of it being open. (I did work as I could afford it, I didn't buy everything at once)
I nervously primed the fuel system, and found that fuel was leaking out of my injector / fuel rail junction.. so I fixed that and reprimed the system.. and everything held.
I turned the key and the vehicle started up - I was happy to hear it running after all of that work. It was idling better than it ever did before, except it was smoking. I assumed the smoke was coming from residue left in the motor from when I cleaned it.
When I took it for a ride, it felt like it had no power. I brought it back to my garage, and realized that my timing belt was 1 tooth off. I fixed that, and took it out again, and it kicked ass. It had tons of power, and idled and ran better than before - except the cloud of smoke.
Since I got it back together I have set the timing, and changed the oil, and coolant - which both were clear, they had no traces of contamination.
The smoke does not look like oil, or coolant, it doesn't smell like coolant. It just looks gray, and smells like gross exhaust.
I ran a leak down compression test, and it came up really good. There was no leakage detected past the rings, or past the HG. I pulled the plugs and they were covered with goo, not oil, not coolant, just black tar-y goo. So I replaced them again.
Occasionally I get a CEL and the ECU blinks 1 time - which is the O2 sensor. I assume it's getting clogged up due to all the smoke and crap coming past it. When I get the CEL, the engine misfires under load. I checked and rechecked the wiring, and it's connected perfectly. I will pull the o2 sensor - and I assume it wil be covered with the goo mentioned above.
Is it normal for a motor to smoke like this for a little bit after it's been open so long? I'm getting smoke slightly less than when someone seafoams their car.. it's a heck of a lot.
I probably only have 3 miles on the car since I got it back together. Should I just run it, and hope it clears up?
I did have a lot of solvents in and near the combustion chamber, and head. I imagine they could still be burning off.
ANY QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME. I just want to make sure my car is ok, and I'd like to get it running well again. My fiance is beginning to look at me funny, you got to help me here guys!
Sorry for the big post. I figured more information was better than less.
-Des!