Sudden power lost? CRX Si '91

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ssl2k

Senior Member
I just recently replaced my transmission which was slowly dying after 180k miles. I have a CRX Si 1991(1.6L d16a6). The tranny that i put in was from a '90 civic ex. it was bolt on without any major problems. I put a new oem clutch in and had it running fine and all for about a week. Now I am noticing a few things.

1) In the last 2 days, i've lost a lot of power. Most noticable in 1/2/3 gear. It just doesn't have its jump that it use to.

2) There is oil burning. I will have blue smoke once in a while coming out the tail pipe. I've drove it for over a week without any oil lost it has stayed at the same level, but Friday night took it for a longer drive ( drove for about 3 hours constantly) and then this morning I needed to add a quart of oil to it.

- We did a compression test on the engine after the new tranny was on before we took it out of the shop and it was 145psi, 145psi, 145psi, 150psi across the cylinders.

3) I am having a knock from my cv joint. When I had my axles out, i noticed that my boot was torn. instead of replacing it at that time i just decided to put it back on because 1) i was flat broke. 2) they couldn't order the outer-cv-rubber-boot and that i'd need to buy the axle.

So my question is...what can my power lost be caused from? Maybe the bad axle? Some people have been saying it is my rings. In which case i'll feel like shootin myself.


Any suggestions/help would be great

thanks
nathan
 
The only thing i can think of is your rear main seal. Only because it is under your flywheel. Did you or who ever, take the flywheel of and replace the seal? That could leak oil like a bitch.
 
I did all the work myself...

I didn't touch the main seal or replace anything. The oil pan gasket was kinda starting to go so i have one of them but i have yet to replace it, which i am going to do here soon(this week). Would the main seal explain the power lost ?
 
Is your clutch slipping? Is it adjusted accordingly? Did the shafts seal to the tranny? The power loss could be from low tranny fluid. And check your grounds on the tranny.
 
fluid was just a bit low...

going to take it for a drive nwo to find out if that fixed it which i doubt it will...

clutch cable is adjusted correctly...is there any way i can check to see if the clutch is slippin.. or is it just a feel thing? it is a brand new clutch as of last week..
 
to check for slippy clutch:

when going on a flat road, or uphill (nothing too steep, just a normal hill) put the car in a higher gear than what you would normally be in. Lets say you normally shoot up said hill in 3rd, put the car in 5th. you want low RPM's, high engine load (foot to the floor). if your clutch clips, you will feel the car kinda lurch and bog, it'll actually feel alot like something is slipping (once youve felt it before, its very obvious). hope this is a good enough description for ya.

EDIT: if its a brand new clutch (missed that part) as long as its the right clutch and is installed correct, it should not be slipping. did you resurface the flywheel?

-Chris
 
i resurfaced the flywheel..i costed me $45 to have it done too =/ stupid step-up flywheel.


i will go and try to see if the clutch slips
 
I tried the flat road thing...
started going, went from 2nd to 5th gear (roll on from 25mph) and it bogged a bit but pulled the same all the way up to when it got up to 60mph.

tried it 3 times, same reaction.

if i didn't explain that good enough ask me specific question about how the car reacted, i don't know if i explained it good enough..


and earlier today i added some fluid to it, it was only a bit low...i could feel fluid if i stuck my finger deep in the hole so i added it until it was coming out of it. that seemed to give a little bit better throttle response. im planning on doing a compression test tomorrow to check for the rings.
 
yeah, i didnt think it was clutch related.

well, before i get to my real thought, have you done all the tune up? fuel filter etc etc etc.

Is there any smoking or oil consumption?

The only other thing i can think of is possibly your head gasket went bad. check your coolant for oil, and oil for coolant.

-Chris
 
i have not done a full tune up yet...that was what i was thinkin about doing last night after i got done with the clutch test...

btw, i did a compression test today and the results were:
145psi,145psi,150psi,150psi

d16a6 (crx si 1991) is set to have 156psi stock.

It smells of oil if i put the car into the high rpm range (4k-6k)...and after down shifting. and i did lose about a quart of oil the other night after driving for several hours.

I also noticed that the spark plugs were white on the tips...

before i put the cold air intake on, there was only 1 plug that seemed to be white...

I think i should invest in some new plugs and maybe check my fuel filter becuase it seems to be running too hot/lean.... or what should i do about this(the plugs runnign lean?)
 
Also...here is the list that I have came up with to do a 'full-tune-up'

new fuel filters
new spark plugs
test/possibly new spark plug wires
change brake fluid (will go into more later)
tire pressure/balance
adjust valveS?
check idle speed
check ingntion timing

my back passenger side wheel's brakes dont work.

If i have the hand brake applied, i can still spin the tire when it is on the lift. and whne i press the foot brake, it does the same thing. the back dirvers side wheel will stop under both.

I bled the line today and it seemed to be fine.

the rotor is also rusted from not being used. I am thinking thtat it is a frozen brake caliper...any suggestions on how to fix that? or will i need to bu y a new one?
 
Originally posted by ssl2k@Mar 29 2004, 08:14 PM
Also...here is the list that I have came up with to do a 'full-tune-up'

new fuel filters
new spark plugs
test/possibly new spark plug wires
change brake fluid (will go into more later)
tire pressure/balance
adjust valves?
check idle speed
check ingntion timing

my back passenger side wheel's brakes dont work.

If i have the hand brake applied, i can still spin the tire when it is on the lift. and whne i press the foot brake, it does the same thing. the back dirvers side wheel will stop under both.

I bled the line today and it seemed to be fine.

the rotor is also rusted from not being used. I am thinking thtat it is a frozen brake caliper...any suggestions on how to fix that? or will i need to bu y a new one?

if you have plugs that are white, that could be a sign of water in the cylinder (head gasket).

a full tune up for me would include:
Plugs
Wires
Cap
Rotor
Fuel Filter
PCV if applicable
Adj Valves if necessary

In your case, checking the timing wouldnt be a bad idea just to be sure, but it normally wont change unless something catastrophic happens.

It sounds like your caliper is frozen. they are easy to replace.
Remove wheel
remove old caliper (dont need to take off bridge bolts, just the caliper bolts)
have the new caliper ready, they usually come loaded (with pads) but if not, have the new pads in.
Remove brake line from old caliper
Put old caliper someplace where it can drain (away from paint)
Put the brake line on the new caliper (use the new washers if the line looks good, or the old ones if the line is pretty shitty looking)
Reinstall the caliper
When done, do a brake flush if possible, if not, be sure to bleed the brakes.

repeat for the other side (thats right, its best to change calipers in pairs) and head out for a test drive.

I would worry about the caliper after you get your engine woes sorted out.

-Chris
 
yeah im not worried about the caliper yet...

just the tips of the plugs are white...as if it was running lean. getting water into the cyl was a worry of mine when i put the cool air intake on. but yeah i dont know...
 
loaded calipers arent that expensive. maybe 150 each or something like that. im not the best person to ask prices about. i get all my parts at cost (perk of workin in the trade) so my prices are alot less then everyone else.

if possible, use a bore scope to try and look down the spark plug hole (plug out ofcourse) if everything looks shiny, like its been washed, thats a good sign that there is water, i.e. coolant, in your combustion chamber (bad). if thats not possible, try a leak down test.

i dont think your CAI has anything to do with this. unless the size of the piping is that of a straw, and the filter came pre clogged ;)

-Chris
 
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