d15z1 runs horribly... please help

D15, D16, D17 and Mini-Me swaps
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d15z1 runs horribly... please help

By Mxwllms
- Sat Jul 09, 2011 5:21 pm #262957 ok... while my car is driving it stutters (loses power or bogs down for just a second or so at a time) the throttle response is also poor at random times. at idle it does the same thing. it will randomly just bog down and nearly die... also if i turn on my lights while its at idle or i even push on my brake lights it will lose power and die.

Now to what ive done to fix it. first i had a broken purge controll valve so i fixed that and then i got new plugs and wires and coil and distributer cap.... then i gave up and took it to Honda. $1000 later they had no idea what was wrong with my car. so i took it to another mechanic that specializes in honda. they found that if i disconected the o2 sensor it still idles rough but it will not lose power while driving. Now we are even more confused because i spent my $265 on the propper sensor and it still has the same problems. does anyone know what the problem could be?.
Thank you
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By rtegra92
- Sat Jul 09, 2011 7:48 pm #262963 i would put a metal plate between the egr valve and engine just to eliminate that system and see if it changes, if its stuck open it can cause similar problems to the ones you are describing,

By Mxwllms
- Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:51 am #263027 No check engine light... but i will try messing with that valve tomorow. i will be checking in here tomorow to let you know how that goes... thanks for the quick replies
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By Eg6H2D
- Sun Jul 10, 2011 7:43 am #263041 Timing? what's the engine code? what kind of car do you have?.

By Mxwllms
- Mon Jul 11, 2011 2:03 am #263108 well i cleaned the egr valve and the throttle body just in case... both had alot of build up but neither helped the problem. Any other ideas? I just cant figure out why it would run better with no o2 sensor?? secondly does anyone know why my cars idle would drop to near dying levels when i turn on my headlights? alternator perhaps? idk... thanks guys

By Mxwllms
- Mon Jul 11, 2011 2:23 am #263113 sorry im fairly new to working on cars and im not too sure what most of the lingo is... i thought d15z1 was the engine code? and its a 1992 civic vx. i will have to make some calls tomorow to see about the timing... but if its not having problems when the o2 sensor is disconected does that outrule a timing problem?

By Mxwllms
- Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:17 am #263241 well i tried a piece of metal between the egr and engine... didnt help unfortunately. thanks for walking me through that. shoot i may be losing the battle with my civic but at least im learning about the damned thing. :D

By Mxwllms
- Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:04 am #263256 alright, i have been looking around on the internet searching for what the problem may be... i think the only two things left to try are a valve adjustment(i saw the "how to" above so hopefully i dont ruin anything) and the other thing might be stupid but i saw my friends VX has the o2sensor screwed right into the header and mine is below the engine right before the catalytic converter... could the location cause a problem? because it looks like the wires to mine are all blacktaped up and maybe like they have been extended to reach that different spot... if thats a dumb question please be nice lol thanks everyone
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By RWMIII
- Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:32 am #263264
Mxwllms wrote:alright, i have been looking around on the internet searching for what the problem may be... i think the only two things left to try are a valve adjustment(i saw the "how to" above so hopefully i dont ruin anything) and the other thing might be stupid but i saw my friends VX has the o2sensor screwed right into the header and mine is below the engine right before the catalytic converter... could the location cause a problem? because it looks like the wires to mine are all blacktaped up and maybe like they have been extended to reach that different spot... if thats a dumb question please be nice lol thanks everyone


I would double check those connections. Are they soldered? Are any of the wires touching each other? That location shouldnt really matter.
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By suspendedHatch
- Wed Jul 13, 2011 3:47 am #263397 No, O2 placement doesn't matter. Apparently you have the wrong exhaust on your car though. The VX and CX came with the cat converter bolted right to the primaries and the O2 sensor in it. All others have the cat beneath the car.

The VX is run right to the bleeding edge of lean burn technology, so any tiny little issue makes the car run horribly bad. You could have something as simple as a small vacuum leak. I had a small vacuum leak on my VX and the car bucked like mad and stalled out all the time. Was a 2 second fix to replace the fpr vacuum hose.

Having the wrong exhaust troubles me. What is the history of this car? What modifications have been performed?

By Mxwllms
- Wed Jul 13, 2011 6:56 pm #263480 well i knew nothing about cars when i bought it but it looks good so i just handed the guy money and took the car without really looking into it... altho i do know he worked at a car shop and he had a really nice turboed ek in his driveway and a couple engines sitting in his garage so it could have had a different engine for a time.... should i try the valve adjustment thing? and i will look up how to check for vaccume leaks. thanks

By Mxwllms
- Thu Jul 14, 2011 1:41 am #263508 well i guess i will just swap in a new engine in a month or so. im thinking a b18b cuz there cheap with tranny and warranty... im not wasting any more money on this old thing lol thanks everyone
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