2000CivicEXRVFD

About a month ago I got a little adventurous and decided to look into an intake
for my car. I had researched CAI's but working a $7.25 an hour job they didn't seem
too practical. So I opted for a spectre intake kit from autozone for about fifty
bucks instead. Well a little after I installed it I noticed a small amount of knocking
but since I was out with my girl I figured it could wait until I got home. Well on the
way to her house I noticed the knocking getting gradually worse and around 1/4 mile from
her house it turns to machine gun hammering type knocking and my engine makes a very
high pitched squeal and dies. I eventually got it to start only once again after about
thirty minutes and a million tries to be met with a very high pitched squealing and grinding
noise and shut it right back down. I had a buddy from my fire department tow it back to
my house. Now there it sits. I believe the damage in due to detonation from my air intake
leaning out my A/F ratio. When I go to start the car the engine struggles and throws a very
loud fit. What kind of damage am I looking at and would an engine rebuild kit be able to
get my engine running again? I'm not interested in swaps or what I should have or could
have done, just a simple and cheap (as possible) way to get my engine running again. Thanks.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

no there is no way an intake could cause lean conditions. they already run very rich, in fact after alot of boltons and even head work my car still ran rich! i think something else happened, did you plug all the sensors back in, maybe something got sucked into the engine? even if you run without an intake, the engine would be fine (aside from dust being sucked in). try simple things first like pull the spark plugs out, take off the intake and look in throttle body, etc. try to figure out what happened.

2000CivicEXRVFD

there were three lines coming from the tube of my stock air intake. the only one i did not plug into the SRI was the one that attatches to the valve cover, i left that one dangling for the time being as i planned to get a cone air breather for that one on my next trip to autozone because the stock hose wouldnt reach.

2000CivicEXRVFD

so i just got back from trying to check my spark plugs (dont have ratchet long enough) but the thought of an electrical problem came to mind. is it possible that the problem is my distributer? my battery has perfect power as its only a few months old. when i try to turn my car over it makes a click (i assume thats the starter) and then all my instruments go blank, when i move the from the cranking position back to the "on" position all my instuments (including my radio) blink for about three to five seconds while the car makes a small but noticable( in my silent gargae) humming noise then everything goes back to normal. is it possible the knocking was caused by the spark plugs incorrectly ignigting or failing to ignite the air fuel mixture due to a problem with the distributor and that my car wont start because it wont allow power to the spark plugs? just an alternate (and hopeful) thought as that would save me an *** load of money

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the pcv hose is important, but it will damage the engine gradually without vacuum. breather filter is not a good idea. but anyway, that wouldnt cause engine failure so soon. yeah its possible for distributor, it might just be coincidence. take off the cap and look inside where the rotor is. take the rotor off (usually pulls out or has a screw) and see if there are burn marks or melting. you may just need a new cap and rotor, and to retime the ignition. misfires would def cause alot of shaking and engine noise.

2000CivicEXRVFD

i just got back from taking the distributor cap off, once that slid off there was a plastic piece (which i assume you mean by blade) once i took that off all seemed normal. there was no melting of the plastic blade, the metal piece behind was even still shiny. i checked all the fuses for ignition and fuel management ect even tried disconnecting the negitive battery cable to reset the ecu and attemting to start it again. every time i was met by the same click, with nothing happening afterwords. im really trying to troubleshoot everything possible before i commit to buying a new engine. would it be possible that an handheld obd-2 code reader would tell me whats wrong?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

possibly. you can read codes with the car in ON position but not started. im assuming the engine light is on. so it might give you a clue. it could be a sensor gone bad thats important for running the engine, like the crank or cam position sensors. do you notice anything unusual in the engine bay? like a belt loose or broken, cable cut, anything out of the ordinary? when you turn car to ON position, do you hear the normal fuel pump buzzing for a few secs. on a working motor, you need spark fuel and air. if you have good fuel pressure and injectors that arent clogged, and a spark being made by the plugs, then it should at least turn over, assuming the cam timing is right. i think you need to take the plugs off and see whats going on there.

2000CivicEXRVFD

i checked the coolant and it was bone dry. nothing at all. there were no leaks in the tank. regardless ive been considering buying a new engine (somewhat of a direct replacement) but D16Y8's are fairly expensive. Ive seen D15's (96-00 with the three stage vetc) and ive also seen sohc zc 96-00 motors and both look exactly identical to my engine. im trying to find something that wll work with all my same parts off my engine and my same ecu. will either (or both) of these engines be able to use my stock ecu, and will the zc hook up to my existing transmission?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

you may want to try taking apart the motor if you can afford the down time without a car or if you have another way to get around. could just be something easier like change the headgasket and have the head tested and milled. but you need a service manual and if youve never done it, dont expect to get it all done in one day. if it doesnt work out, you can always have it towed to the shop for a new engine. check ebay and local junkyards.

2000CivicEXRVFD

i really cant spare the down time as my engine has already been down for a month and i havent been able to make calls with the fire dept, been riding my bike to work in freezing cold rain, and its been an overall PITA taking care of my mom and my grandma having to fnd them rides to appointments instead of taking them myself. id rather drop the money for the engine and get my car running then i can always disassemble that one at my pace and either build it up real good or sell it

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

might be cheaper to just buy another car? the labor for a swap is gonna be 1500+ and if you get lucky the engine another 500-1000.