01cpe

I have another thread (D17A2 kaput, 2001 honda civic ex coupe 5 speed) where it was pretty much confirmed that the headgasket is leaking in the typical fashion (combustion gases in radiator forcing overflow in overflow tank). I may or may not repair the car, still debating that issue.

However, this weekend I took another long trip to the shore which usually causes an overheating/coolant loss problem after 2 hrs of driving.

I'm running straight antifreeze at the moment haven't had time to run distilled water in it. My EGR valve hasn't worked (tried 3 new valves/extensive cleaning to no avail, check engine light comes on after 2-4 restarts, bucks/shudders at 30mph and 50mph cruise) but for this trip I decided to clean it and hook it up (it has been disconnected for several months).

In typical fashion the check engine light came on after the 3rd restart (ran errands before leaving) and the bucking was there the entire trip but was tolerable. There was more "stop and go driving" with redlights and 55mph speed limits in some parts, the last trip was all highway (65mph min) where I started having a problem after 2 hrs of driving. The car did not try to overheat and the A/C was on the whole trip, but I did not bother to check the coolant when I got there.

I did not bother to check the coolant before I left to go home because since it didn't try to overheat so I thought it was ok. I started driving home and noticed decreased performance but once at highway speeds the car started running terribly. It would violently buck anytime you touched the gas and performance was non-existant. Then it would take 10 seconds or longer to respond to you touching the gas at 55mph in 5th gear. Shortly thereafter, it stopped responding to me pressing the gas in 5th gear and I would have to constantly downshift to 4th to keep it going at speed. When I slowed down (30mph) and tried to accelerate, it bucked/shuddered terribly while barely accelerating or would backfire several times through the intake?

I pulled over, disconnected the egr valve, and the car started running normal again. When I pulled over, I discovered the overflow cap was gone (might have blew off from the pressure, it was overfilled) but I said screw it and left it alone. The car did not overheat for the additional 1hr ride home either. What I don't understand is why is the egr system so messed up or why it would cause so many issues? The egr chamber and valve just had carbon dust on them and didn't appear clogged? The reason why I'm concerned is because I don't know if I should just replace the entire engine or cylinder head because of the egr issues. The temp oddly never changed and stayed right in the middle as well.

02civicsi02

STOP DRIVING YOUR CAR or your gonna mess your car up even more. I would say you would need a new head anyway cause have probably warped it from the excessive overheating and now you keep driving it other problems are poppin up cause of it.

01cpe

If you saw the other thread I already explained the situation to why I'm still driving the car, its a long saga. This car has had EGR issues since I bought it, ranging from intermittently working until fairly recently when it stopped altogether. It only had one incident where the temp was fluctuating but it never actually overheated. The car runs well without the EGR valve connected so it hasn't really been an issue until the one incident (2hr long trip). I just wanted to know how the egr system worked on this car (ecm management, location of egr passages/tubing, etc). There is little info on the egr system on this website besides cleaning or replacing the actual egr valve.

Doesn't really matter anyway, I talked with a mechanic that was helping a co-worker with a car that would not start in my work's parking lot while I was outside on break. He took a look and said the rings are probably shot in the engine. Compression test would have to confirm but he said based on the visible signs of the engine oiling, symptoms when egr valve is connected, and it lost a quart of oil in less than 400 miles of driving. After 168,000 miles of hwy/city driving, I'm not too surprised.



I'm probably just going to trade it in on a newer car with less issues soon unless I find the deal of a lifetime on an engine swap. Not a big deal anyway, I can limp the car until the inspection runs out in November and I bought the car on the extremely cheap anyway from a friend who helped me out when I needed a car immediately for work.

7genmarathon

iTrader: (1)

Yeah I would have just taken it to a mechanic at the start and save you from stressin.