Originally Posted By: satinsilver
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
I'm still wondering if there's any merit to the dealership's claim that it's the IACV and/or FITV. Usually when I research the symptoms of a faulty IACV, it talks about an erratic idle where it revs from 1,000-2,000 back and forth, but mine isn't doing that.
Can you or a good indy shop clean the IACV real well to see if that makes a difference?
I am not sure that cleaning it will help as they told me it is leaking coolant. I haven't verified this myself, but it's what I was told.
I also noticed that my car is leaking a considerable amount of oil around the top of the engine. I am not sure if it is from the cam plug, the distributor o-ring, or the valve cover gasket.
I am leaning towards Vikas' suggestion that maybe the aftermarket distributor is having issues. Whether it's with the o-ring, rotor, or coil, I am not sure. It could very well be a combination of the distributor and the IACV. Ironically I have been driving the car a lot lately and trying to replicate the issue of it misfiring and I haven't been able to do it again. I took it on a few longer stints on the highway and managed to eke out around 29 mpg, which is a lot better than the 20-22 I have been getting. I guess my shorter commute to work may be what's taking the larger toll on the gas mileage. I just had my brakes and calipers replaced because they were sticking and wearing the pads prematurely last summer, but I notice a strong brake smell when I get out of the car after getting home or when I park outside anywhere after driving it. It makes me wonder if one of the calipers are still sticking.
The main relay was replaced a couple of years ago because I used to have a problem with starting the car and it would stall instantly. It was replaced with an OEM Honda one.
I had a shadetree mechanic replace the distributor, it wasn't me that installed it. It doesn't look all that tough to do, though. The only tough part looks to be making sure it lines up exactly with where the old one used to be. I do indeed still have the old one that was already on the car, along with the spark plug wires that were originally on it.
Maybe somewhat related, but the amplifier in the stereo keeps shorting out, seemingly random. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It makes me wonder if there's a faulty ground or a short in the wire. I'm not sure how much this would affect the rest of the performance of the vehicle.