d16z6 "missing" issues

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Forty04

New Member
Alright, I'm basically pounding my head off the wall right now trying to figure this out.

Setup - Stock d16z6, running a y8 crank pulley. Its in a 99 Civic EX with chipped p28 (stock z6 map), converted to OBD1

Problem - Engine misses a tad at idle, runs okay up to about 3500rpms, then misfires and stutters after that. Also, in order to get it running as smooth as I've got it now, I've got the dizzy moved almost all the way towards the firewall. Any other position makes it misfire throughout rpms

I originally put the y8 pulley on because I'm running a y8 alternator and power steering, and though the z6 pulley wouldn't line up correctly. I've recently been informed that that is not the case, and that I CAN run the z6 pulley. But will that even change anything??
 
As far as I know, the crank pulleys are the same.

Have you checked your timing with a light yet?

They are not the same. The y8 pulley has a 6.503" diameter, where as the z6 is appx 6 1/32", damn near a half inch difference.

Yes, I have timed with a light. It doesn't matter though, because with the markings on the y8 pulley being different than that of the z6 pulley, it's off anyway.

I'm picking up an impact wrench today, swapping the pulleys, and seeing where that gets me. I have a feeling that the timing belt is off a tooth.

Does anyone have an accurate picture of the cam timing mark's proper position when set to TDC? It just says "up." Wtf, does that mean striaght up? Parrallel with the motor up?
 
Impact worked like a charm, bitch bolt was out in a few seconds.


Now, I figured out why the "z6 pulley" that came with the motor never looked right to me.. This motor was last sitting in a CRX with no power steering, so, it is in fact the wrong pulley. Dude that sold me the motor is going to dig up the correct pulley for me and I should be back in business by tomorrow.

I think, however, that the timing belt is in fact off a tooth. I need to pull the rest of the timing belt cover off today and make sure, but that seems to be the issue from what I've seen so far
 
Alright so heres the scoop. I have a z6 pulley on its way to my house. Turns out the one that came with my motor was out of a crx with no PS. Long story short, oem 94 ex z6 crank pulley will be here mon or tues..
Here is what I'm seeing. Can someone confirm whether or not my timing belt is off a tooth. Crank is at TDC but the cam gear timing marks seem to be a bit off. Let me know, thanks!!

DSC00618.jpg

DSC00617.jpg

DSC00615.jpg

DSC00614.jpg

DSC00613.jpg
 
I had the same problem, got a new dizzy and found out it was my lines
 
I had the same problem, got a new dizzy and found out it was my lines

You mean my plug wires? They're not NGK's, which could have something to do with it. However, changing those isn't going to change the fact that my dizzy is turned almost all the way retarded.

I'm thinking it might be the dizzy itself... It's a remanufactured unit, and my only guess is that it was just not put together correctly. I'm trying to find someone local to let me try out a dizzy and/or a virgin ecu. However the local Honda guys don't seem to be willing to lend a hand..
 
When I said "the same" I meant the timing marks. There are several different snout sizes, sometimes for two for the same engine depending on year. But, whatever you say.

The white line is TDC and the red line is for use with an adjustable timing light.

They don't have the same timing marks either man. z6 is tdc and 14,16,18 degrees btdc. y8 has tdc, and 10,12,14 degress btdc. They're definitely different.

I know what the lines mean. I'm not trying to be a dick but I'm far from a newb to this stuff. I understand that you're just trying to cover the basics but I would think with the info I've put in this thread so far, that it should be apparent I at least half assed know what I'm doing.

If anyone has any further suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.
 
ooooh I appologize o holy one!!!


It's early in the morning, gimme a fucking break, I dont have my head on straight yet. I didn't read what you said about the two lines correctly, MY BAD. I've been messing with this god damned motor for months now. I've got a million things on my mind, and on top of that I'm at work dealing with that shit. As for the timing marks, I got some shitty information from someone else and regurgitated it, again, my bad.


What do YOU think is the problem
 
You know a dyno machine should be able to isolate the problem, i found out my leads were suspect that way, i suggest hooking ya car up to one and checking the read outs to what is actually occurring when, it will give you more of an idea.

advice... sometimes the hardest issue is the simplist fix and we overlook things to try and complicated it because WE think "it must be harder". start at the beginning and go through the stages B4 things start to play up..

I.e Ignition >> so forth
 
You know a dyno machine should be able to isolate the problem, i found out my leads were suspect that way, i suggest hooking ya car up to one and checking the read outs to what is actually occurring when, it will give you more of an idea.

advice... sometimes the hardest issue is the simplist fix and we overlook things to try and complicated it because WE think "it must be harder". start at the beginning and go through the stages B4 things start to play up..

I.e Ignition >> so forth

Like I said I've been at this for months and already tried weeding throught the basics. I gave it new plugs, wires, full dizzy (reman'd), I checked compression, I checked fuel pressure, all seems to be golden.

Anything outside of what I mentioned above that I should be looking at?

Like I said before, I'm still on a hunt for someone to let me test their ecu/dizzy, but not having any luck..
 
dodgy battery? a faulty connection... get a multimetre and measure the current from the battery to the dizzy and so forth, see if theres a change at any stage...

u can do this with a car hoist... having the engine running

otherwise maybe the ECU doesnt like what uve done... call honda as say

"can this ecu handle this dizzy?"
 
It's a chipped p28, with a z6 distributor, the two should work fine in conjuction with each other.

Bad connections at wires, sensors, grounds have been checked. Thing is, even if it was a bad ground, the Dizzy shouldn't have to be all the way retarded for the car to run.

I want to find out why the dizzy must be all the way retarded for it to fire at the correct time.
 
First, I don't ask for anyone to kiss my ass. Please just show me some respect. I'm not always correct but I am more often than not. It's entirely possible that the keyway on the Y8 pulley is in a different location than the Z6...that's the only difference in the cam gears.

It's kind of hard to tell in the pictures but it does look like you're off by a tooth. If you have to turn your distributor all the way in either direction, your cam timing is almost certainly off. The two horizontal marks on the cam gear should be lining up with the head instead of at 9 and 3 o'clock. So, pop the timing belt off, line the crank pulley up, line the cam gear up, and put the timing belt back on. That should solve the problem.

Thank you.

See, this is a HUGE problem I'm running into by asking these questions on different boards. Some say that the "lines level with the head" isn't how you tell with a z6, but rather that you're supposed to line up the line at the 7-oclocl position with the arrow in the timing cover.

Are you absolutely certain that I need to have the horizontal lines level with the head? And, are they to be level with the head, or pointing at the arrows inside the timing cover?
 
have u got any mates with a spare dizzy laying around? or maybe a wrecker u can test it on, unplug yours and plug in the same one...

see what occurrs....
the Ecu chip maybe faulty

dizzy's are pretty much standard, very hard to wire wrongly, they dont exactly have chips in them. *sarcasm*

id be looking at wiring or the ecu...

sucks to have issues
 
have u got any mates with a spare dizzy laying around? or maybe a wrecker u can test it on, unplug yours and plug in the same one...

see what occurrs....
the Ecu chip maybe faulty

dizzy's are pretty much standard, very hard to wire wrongly, they dont exactly have chips in them. *sarcasm*

id be looking at wiring or the ecu...

sucks to have issues

I believe that the wiring inside the dizzy is correct, its the mechanical internals that I believe to be off. Or, maybe they built the mounting point/flange wrong, I dunno...

I don't really have any Honda mates. I'm not really sure what the deal is, but the local guys never seem willing to lend a hand, unless of course you've been part of their little click for the last 10 years...it's pretty "high school" if you ask me, but whatever..

I'm trying like crazy to get a virgin ECU to try....it's really too bad the Honda scene here is so shitty.
 
where are you? try ebay lol
i hate when people dont want to lend a hand, cant you offer something in return?
 
I've offered to take em out for beers, toss 'em a few bucks, etc... I'm located in Grand Rapids, MI

Like I said before, I'm not just going to buy a new ecu or dizzy. It's just way too costly for a "hope this fixes it" thing..
 
hmm, ive run out of suggestions, you could always ask one of the other forums, maybe UK? they might have had similar issues.
 
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