my honda sputters

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civicsir90

New Member
hi guys iam new here and i got referred here but the guys at autozone. iam wondering whats wrong with my motor. i bought it off of some kid and found out that the engine sputters( like when driving in any gear the engine will tend to sputter) feels like its not getting any fuel in.. i dont know and i dont know much about cars.. oh the kid said the he did a motor swap into it and he said its a d15b vtec and claims it to be strong. the kid said that he did changes the spark plugs and wires and changed the fuel filter and the oil so what am i supposed to do now??? umm iam stuck, help!!!!
 
the fuel line could have air in it, theres a bleeder valve(10mm bolt) on the fuel filter, turn the key on and crack the valve.. if air comes out then thats your problem. it happened in my crx after i replaced the filter
 
That air will purge itself. That isn't a bleeder valve, that is a pressure relief screw so you don't get sprayed when changing the filter.


Do a full tune up. Check the timing. Toss in a new fuel filter. Make sure there are no vacuum leaks and that all sensors and connectors are plugged in tight. Is the cel/ecm spitting out any codes?
 
hmm.. thats usefull info man, btw my friends eg has the same problem it sputters/cuts out really bad, he has tried alot of stuff to no avail
 
hmm.. thats usefull info man, btw my friends eg has the same problem it sputters/cuts out really bad, he has tried alot of stuff to no avail


hey since my car is a 90 with the 92 to 95 motor should i buy like parts for the 92 to 95 parts of should i just stick with the 90 parts?

i need to buy a new radiator which year should i buy??? the 92-95 or stick with the 90??? and if yes to the 92 -95 would it fit my car???
 
if he did do a swap there may have been some re wiring done as there usually is! so i would check over all the wiring including at the ECU if all the splices are not soldered theres a good chance your sputtering could be from that. also definitely check the ground wire on the thermostat housing to make sure its good and tight. that can cause all kinds of problems and most of the time it gets overlooked and should be check first anytime there is any kind of running problem. and is your check engine light on? this would help us a lot to know that.

as for the rad get it for the year of the car.
 
yea the check light engine is on. umm do you think its the radiator?? the fans are not running? could that be a problem too? when i step on the gas and going up a hill the engine temp goes up like crazy, then down hill it goes down?? could it be the fans?
 
yea the check light engine is on. umm do you think its the radiator?? the fans are not running? could that be a problem too? when i step on the gas and going up a hill the engine temp goes up like crazy, then down hill it goes down?? could it be the fans?

That sounds like a blown head gasket to me... Are you consuming coolant or smoking/steaming out the exhaust?
 
That sounds like a blown head gasket to me... Are you consuming coolant or smoking/steaming out the exhaust?

yea but when its gets too hot i stop and pop open the radiator cap it spits out steam, i mean hot steam and spits out coonlant too but more steam... you sure its the gasket??? or is it just the fan thats not working?
 
if he did do a swap there may have been some re wiring done as there usually is! so i would check over all the wiring including at the ECU if all the splices are not soldered theres a good chance your sputtering could be from that. also definitely check the ground wire on the thermostat housing to make sure its good and tight. that can cause all kinds of problems and most of the time it gets overlooked and should be check first anytime there is any kind of running problem. and is your check engine light on? this would help us a lot to know that.

as for the rad get it for the year of the car.


sorry man iam a noob, i dont even know where that is?? is that the thing on the driver side by the light? on the bottem ( for the ef civic?)
 
its under the intake manifold in a small areasorry to tell you but i think your head gasket is blown and if you cant do it yourself then it is an expensive fix
 
I would definitely check that ground first though. I pulled a big stupid not too long ago fxing my car. Instead of actually doing a full thorough check ofall my grounds and everything, I just started throwing money at it. I totally regret it now. I spent upwards of $1500 in new parts, and one trip for a diagnosis (which didn't help either). The whole time it was that thermostat ground. My symptoms were sputtering and a kind of bucking under load (giving it power).

To find it, go in between your distributor and your intake manifold, look down and look for a hose going out. It should be pretty close to that hose, underneath and a little to the right. I don't believe you can see it from the top, at least I couldn't see mine.
Here's a pic for the general area. Your going to have to really get in there and look below things, reach your hand down there and see if anything is loose.

dm4ide.jpg
 
yea but when its gets too hot i stop and pop open the radiator cap it spits out steam, i mean hot steam and spits out coonlant too but more steam... you sure its the gasket??? or is it just the fan thats not working?

If I had any money in my pocket I would bet it all on a blown head gasket. If you have time and access to good tools and a shop manual you should be able to fix it your self. Go get a service manual and read through it at least twice. If you don't feel comfortable after that than take it to someone who knows what they are doing. Good luck.
 
man my civic had the same problem i changed everything tryin to ind out wat it was. new dizzy new plugs new wires new fuel filter and come to find out it was my tps sensor had went bad. try unplugging the tps and see how it runs. thats prolly it. if it runs good with it unplugged just get a new one. u can run it with it unplugged until u cna get a new one. just when u first start it up after a while it will idle really low and seem like it wants to die. but let it warm up and u will b fine. the bewst thing to do is just replace it with a new one. but yeah try the tps sensor
 
I'd check the firing order 1 3 4 2. (sounds like they may be switched around)
Check timing. Check Valve timing marks for TDC top dead center.
Check for water/coolant in oil, milky brown/grey black. (if so, stop there and start searching "head gasket" or call some shops for quotes.. If not,--Check thermostat, drill 1/8" holes around neck, reinstall
Crack your coolant bleeder by the distributor, fill with water until water spits out the bleeder (you can keep it open while running, it's not going to hurt, just keep filling)

Just my .02 E
 
I'd check the firing order 1 3 4 2. (sounds like they may be switched around)
Check timing. Check Valve timing marks for TDC top dead center.
Check for water/coolant in oil, milky brown/grey black. (if so, stop there and start searching "head gasket" or call some shops for quotes.. If not,--Check thermostat, drill 1/8" holes around neck, reinstall
Crack your coolant bleeder by the distributor, fill with water until water spits out the bleeder (you can keep it open while running, it's not going to hurt, just keep filling)

Just my .02 E


i bet they did, hahah bad thing is that i dont know how man i feel so dumb!!! is there anything website where i can get info on how to do this stuff(pics will be best) hahah iam a dumb guy when i come to cars!!!
 
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