Strange issue with '95 Integra LS - Stalling, etc.

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Highly likely it will be the distributor. I am sorry to say but Honda kept on using distributors long after all other manufacturers had gone with the coil on plugs.

The Honda distributors of earlier years had used bushings instead of bearing on the shaft. Once it wears out, you have wobble in the distributor shaft, you have misfires and annoying screeching sound from the engine and jumping the tachometer. They had two different type of distributors, Tec or Hitachi and at least Honda had made a kit available for some distributors with new top plate which used bearing instead of bushing.

If you see any red dust around the distributor, then that is your problem.
 
I didn't see any red dust around it anywhere when I took the cap off. The distributor I'm using was put on the car in 2007, but was aftermarket. I do have the original alternator still, which was functioning properly when I had it replaced as a preventative measure. 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. It used to do that back when I first had the car back in 2007, but it stopped doing it after a few months, so I assumed it was related to something else I repaired at the time...

Is there any easy way to test a distributor for those of us that aren't very mechanically inclined?
 
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 re-read the whole saga again.

You keep on saying "but I replaced that part only few years ago".

From this point on, assume that any part you have replaced in the past may have gone bad. For example, may be the plugs have gone bad again. Obviously, there would some other issue causing the plugs to die but if replacing the plug fixes the car for few thousand miles, do that.

Your after market distributor could have gone bad. Since you have the original one, you can swap it out. Make sure there is absolutely no play in the shaft.

You have yet to clean the IACV or FITV; although I am with you that the symptoms don't indicate that to be your problem.

Is your main relay OEM? How old is it? Your symptoms behave as if you have occasionally inadequate fuel reaching the cylinders. A bad solder on the main relay can cut off the fuel pump leading to engine choking or stalling.

Given that you have replaced the distributor (by yourself) you are eminently capable of doing most of the suggestions that have been made here. You ARE mechanically inclined, probably better than I am!

When the car is behaving badly, would you have access to basic tools at that instant? For example, DMM, timing light, trouble light etc? You can then start ruling out if coil is firing the plugs or not easily with an inductive pickup timing light. If you see erratic light, you then know it is either the coil or the distributor.
 
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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.
 
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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.
Very carefully and gingerly touch each wheel at that point. One of them would be very hot! That is the one which has sticking caliper or wheel cylinder.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Quote:
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.
Very carefully and gingerly touch each wheel at that point. One of them would be very hot! That is the one which has sticking caliper or wheel cylinder.


Thanks, I didn't even think of that. I'll give that a try next time I drive it.
 
I just wanted to post an update that for some reason the car hasn't given me any misfire issues at all in the past few months. No clue why it magically cleared itself back up again, but I'm not complaining. I did end up getting another car to use though, and I plan on just using the Integra mainly for winter driving and maybe on longer trips once I get a few things done to it.
 
Another update...

I had the car misfire on me again, so I had the valves adjusted and had the distributor cap/rotor replaced. I also replaced the spark plug wires with new NGK blues. I've driven it quite a bit since then, and it hasn't completely misfired/backfired on me, but the idle still feels rough and sort of like it's on the verge of stalling when hot. They told me that the valves were quite out of spec, so I don't know if by me neglecting getting them adjusted it caused one (or more) of them to get bent or burnt, so I'm going to be bringing it in again to have it looked at further to see if I can finally narrow down what it is. I'm going to specify to have the timing checked, as I had one other mechanic try to adjust it before to try to fix the original stalling issue and maybe he messed it up. I also want to have the IACV/FITV thoroughly checked/cleaned/replaced (if necessary). I'll keep this thread updated for those that may have had this issue.
 
Update for the new year, I haven't had any more problems with the car aside from a brake light issue. It's still driving fine. I still do get an occasional rough spot when idling, but as long as it keeps running I'm calling it "good enough" for now.
laugh.gif
 
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