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Hesitation/ dead miss when accelerating

1148 Views 7 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  07civicEXcoupe1.8L, 
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Hello all I hope this post isn't long winded and causes me to get no respons but I feel the backstory is critical to get some answers, car had blown the headgasket and ended up needing a new head , replaced that and then the oil pump broke from a horrible crank pulley install, anyway new head and gasket new oil pump new timing chain kit and water pump new spark plugs new coil packs serpentine belt and tensioner pulley and a new harmonic balancer , car is a little slow on the crank takes about 10-15 seconds especially if it's sat for a few days , worse if it's over a week please note this car sat over a year before the owner gave up and sold it to me so I never drove it before because it didn't run, I haven't drove it but a few times in my subdivision because it's not registered but upon driving it it has like a dead miss when accelerating like it doesn't want to go then it will slowly catch up but it still feels like it has definite power loss, and I thought I heard a spark knock one time, I haven't drove it enough to trigger a check engine light and the motor has a slight shake at idle but it idles perfectly and sounds great no strange noises no valve chatter they have been adjusted as well , if I uploaded live data can someone check it out ? The egr valve readings we're in the red zone when everything else read good, but when I stepped on it it went to the positive but had a slight hesitation. Is it possible the egr valve may be stuck? Or the cat converter is stopped up? Maybe im losing fuel pressure? That would explain the long crank times one more thing on initial startup it idles kind of crappy for about 5 seconds then levels out and purrs like a kitten . I know pinpointing this is a shot in the dark and I'll keep putting some miles on it to see if I can get a check engine light. Since I purchased it broken im not sure if this is related to the headgasket install or if it's a issue that the vehicle had prior or if it's related to it sitting


Long crank time ,
Idles rough for about 5 seconds
Struggles to accelerate then slowly takes off like something is plugged
If it's been driven and shuts off it starts right back up only have extended cranking after sitting 2 days or more
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ArcadeTechGW
Low performance like this seems to indicate the timing chain was installed without the dots on the upper and lower pulleys aligned properly. That will cause the symptoms you described with poor performance and lag off the line, and the EGR issues since the valve timing is not right. I'll bet your fuel consumption is up as well.

Did you look at the dot alignment when you did the timing chain? If not, you'll need to pull the cover and look at it. It's a pain in the rear, but important.
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ArcadeTechGW said:
Low performance like this seems to indicate the timing chain was installed without the dots on the upper and lower pulleys aligned properly. That will cause the symptoms you described with poor performance and lag off the line, and the EGR issues since the valve timing is not right. I'll bet your fuel consumption is up as well.

Did you look at the dot alignment when you did the timing chain? If not, you'll need to pull the cover and look at it. It's a pain in the rear, but important.
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Absolutely the marks are facing each other at 6 and 12 I tripped check that because of how difficult it is getting back inside there the 1.8 has easy timing marks just like my Jeep 😂
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Vincentmb615 said:
Absolutely the marks are facing each other at 6 and 12 I tripped check that because of how difficult it is getting back inside there the 1.8 has easy timing marks just like my Jeep 😂
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But now that I think about it I let a buddy of mine adjust the valves and he swears they are right being that there's no chatter is it possible they may be too tight causing these symptoms?
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ArcadeTechGW
Vincentmb615 said:
But now that I think about it I let a buddy of mine adjust the valves and he swears they are right being that there's no chatter is it possible they may be too tight causing these symptoms?
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You triple checked the dots before AND after the timing chain was installed, or just before? Please clarify.

Your friend adjusted the valves - uh oh. You might need to go to a Honda dealer to get this sorted, or a shop that knows what they are doing.
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ArcadeTechGW said:
You triple checked the dots before AND after the timing chain was installed, or just before? Please clarify.

Your friend adjusted the valves - uh oh. You might need to go to a Honda dealer to get this sorted, or a shop that knows what they are doing.
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Intake valves too tight couldn't even slide a 0.20 in them thanks for the help anyway and yes I adjusted them right with the motor not hot and in the right order
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ArcadeTechGW
Vincentmb615 said:
Intake valves too tight couldn't even slide a 0.20 in them thanks for the help anyway and yes I adjusted them right with the motor not hot and in the right order
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Has that resolved the issue?
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07civicEXcoupe1.8L
Vincentmb615 said:
Intake valves too tight couldn't even slide a 0.20 in them thanks for the help anyway and yes I adjusted them right with the motor not hot and in the right order
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Did that fix it? I'm having this exact same problem word for word.
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