EP3 air con issue, Cam seal leak and o2 sensor issue - Has my car lost power?

[kreddie]

Hi all,

I have owned my ep3 ctr since October last year and all seemed fine but I am having some issues lately, I bought it with air con and was told as the summer was over the previous owner didn't bother getting it regassed so I thought nothing of it until I got it done at Kwik fit and it lasted a day, I know kwik fit aren't renowned for their air con expertise but is a faulty air con unit an issue on the ep3?

The previous owner had a new lambda sensor fitted due to the engine management light coming on but earlier this year the eml came back - the reciept for the lamda(o2) sensor was £30 and am wondering whether it is because it was a 'cheap' one it has failed so soon - can anyone advise on this? - I have had it scanned and it came back with a primary o2 sensor on bank one issue and also a catalytic threshold problem, first code was p0132 and 2nd p0420 so I am a little concerned by this so does anyone have some advice - do i need an o2 sensor or new catalytic converter?

The car had full service history and mot etc and all receipts for previous work and parts when I bought it and it did have 115k miles so I am starting to worry whether this could be a cause of some of my issues.

When I got my air con done and it failed I took it back to kwik fit who done a test and everything with the air con seemed fine apparently so they gave me an electrician number to call to check the air con system, whilst there I asked them to check an oil leak and they hoisted it up on the ramp and one said it was more than likely a cam seal issue which could cost £800 alone, is this true? I am wondering whether it is the head gasket seal or rocker cover seal and am unsure of the correct terminology sorry - I have noticed oil seems to be coming from where the red gasket cover meets the rest of the engine but on the previous service and MOT the oil filter was noted as leaking and was replaced with the service. I havent had it serviced in 9k and recently I noticed the oil leaking so could it be the filter again or a more serious issue?

Will any of the issues such as o2 sensor and oil leak effect the cars power, I have tested the car with a sat nav for 0 to 60 time and the best i could get was 8 seconds.


Thanks

 

[Chris.]

Wow, massive first post with a lot of questions.

Your O2 sensor is shagged, cheap ones are cheap for a reason, get an original Honda one, talk to Hendy Performance on here, they are a dealership and will post you parts.

Did your aircon leak at all? Or is it a case of the system is pressurised and it's still not blowing ice cold? Where in the country are you?

Are you certain that the car is leaking oil? How much does it go through per mile? If it's around 1 litre per 1000 miles ish (some are as low as 800 and less), then it's just the engine burning some off, this is normal, keep an eye on it.

Please don't take your car to Kwick Fit unless it's a basic job. Tell where you are in the country and we can advise you where to take it.

Welcome to the forum BTW.

 

[scruffy_]

Also, welcome to the forum. As a general rule, I wouldn't be doing 0-60 drags if my EML was on. Just sayin'.

 

[kreddie]

Thanks milanochris, I am from Liverpool and thanks for reading and replying to my post. The car does use about a litre of oil per 1000 miles or so but there is a small leak like the size of a ten or fifty pence piece left each morning, the kwik fit guy did say he thought it was the cam seal when he looked and also said it wasnt that bad but his cost to repair estimate threw me a little and he said if it does not get worse then I should not worry but I would rather have it fixed - I think it could be the part where the red gasket cover meets the exhaust manifold that could be leaking as this is where I can see what looks like a little fresh oil sorry if the description isn't correct.
I have just ordered an original o2/lambda sensor from a type r that is being broken so fingers crossed it will work (it has been tested and works according to the supplier). When I bought the car the detail was that the ecu had been mapped to hondata spec but I can't find evidence of this in the cars history so am wandering if it was a DIY job or a cheap ecu upgrade if these can be done but this concerns me as I understand from various articles that messing with the ecu can cause issues with the o2 also, am wandering if the ecu has been touched at all though to be honest as I am a complete novice in terms of any type of modifications and the only upgrade I can see is a cat back exhaust, the air filter etc is standard.
As for the air con, it did work straight after having it regassed but am sure I could here a hissing sound coming through the vents which is why I think I have an air con fault somewhere but the only way to check is to have it regassed with dye I suppose and this annoys me as I bought the car believing the air con worked.
Sorry for the long posts and thanks for the help and advice which I need to ensure my car runs how it should.
SCRUFFY- thanks for this advice, I think I won't be driving her hard at all until I get my issues sorted now.

 

[Chris.]

If you have KPro on it then VTEC will engage lower than the standard 5800 rpm. Look under the glove box, that's where the ECU is, if it's KPro it'll have a USB port, but if it's K100 I'm not sure you can tell unless there's a sticker on it. If it's a KPro/K100 then there's nothing to be worried about, it's a good upgrade.

Take it to TDI North and let them look at the car.

http://www.tdi-north.com/

 

[kreddie]

Thanks for the advice and I have heard great reviews about tdi so I will try an get my car booked in once I have had the o2 replaced.

 

[Shaenei]

Thanks for the advice and I have heard great reviews about tdi so I will try an get my car booked in once I have had the o2 replaced.

I dont think they're too busy at the moment, so paul should be able to fit you in rather quickly.

 

[kreddie]

Thanks all just am addition to the oil leak, I have attached a couple of images, one shows where I think the oil is originating from possibly in the leak if it is not the oil filter, I can't see oil seeping out of here though but as in the picture it seems to be wet with oil there and I have seen some guides about replacing this seal so want to know whether it is this seal that may be leaking. The second photo is under the car by the fly wheel where the drips of oil are coming from - any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks and what could I expect to pay if it is the 'gasket seal'?

 

[Lottie]

From the second pic thats exactly where mine was collecting with a leaky crank seal.

Dont leave it too long if it is coming from there as I ended up having to have a new clutch due to the damage it caused.

 

[kreddie]

Thanks Lottie, can you give me some idea how you got this fixed and the cost to have it done? Where is the crank seal too? Thanks

 

[Lottie]

Thanks Lottie, can you give me some idea how you got this fixed and the cost to have it done? Where is the crank seal too? Thanks

It was actually leaking in 2 places:

It was leaking from the crank seal (this is the replaced one though, no pics of the before)

Its not cheap im afraid, Richy at Performance Autoworks did a top job and its been perfect ever since.

Ill see if I can find the receipt to give you an idea of how much it will be, if it is that seal which has gone.

 

[Lottie]

I had a fair bit of work done as a bodge job previously needed to be rectified to unfortunately so hopefully yours would be cheaper (again if it is this seal which has gone) but with a new clutch parts were £387.47, with the labour, investigation work and a tweek of the geomatry £297.00. Total 684.47 ex VAT, with VAT £804.24 (@ 17.5%)

 

[kreddie]

Thanks for the info Lottie, I was hoping it wouldn't cost so much - the leak on mine seeps from a gap in the plate covering the flywheel and as I seen oil from the top gasket part I thought that maybe replacing this 'rocker/gasket' cover seal would be the best place to start.
I am looking at the best and possible cheapest way to sort this but i know some things need to be done properly.

 

[Chris.]

Just take it to Paul and his team at TDI North, they'll sort you out and won't rip you off.

 

[kreddie]

Thanks all and Milanochris for the replies and advice - i think a trip to tdi north is on the cards so have booked time off work and will get my car checked for the oil and a/c issue; I have replaced the o2/lambda with the new although 2nd hand official one and done 50 miles today and the difference is unbelievable - no more hesitation or loss of power etc when driving at a constant speed, also the unit was an all in one and the one I replaced had all kinds of issues with some sort of masking tape etc so fingers crossed an official part or one of quality will last more than two months the one I replaced did.
Thanks all and will update this thread when I have the other work done.

 

[Lottie]

Glad it looks like the O2 problem is fixed, fingers crossed for a simple fix on the oil leak and air con

 

[56TypeR]

Just for reference. This is what my car looked like when the crank seal went. On a 23k car. Seal should last the lifetime of car, oh well!

Posted on phone so hope image looks ok

 

[kreddie]

Update: Took the car to TDI North today for a check over and my oil leak was due to the oil filter being loose which they tightened. Have now booked the full service and minor rectifications (rocker cam, transmission seals and some other wear an tear issues) so very pleased.

Air con issue could be the filter so fingers crossed, may need a new re-gas with dye to test for leaks if it is not this.

Couple of body issues also getting rectified at a body shop so my little beauty should be back to its sparkly best.

Thanks all.

 

[Munki boi]

Did you find out what was wrong the your air-con? As I regased mine at kwikfit and lasted about a week. Kwikfit machine didn't detect any leaks.

 

[kreddie]

Hi Munki, sorry for the late reply, mine needs regassing but with dye to see if there is a leak, I still haven't got round to getting another garage to do it, need to find a decent one in Liverpool area.

Another garage told me Kwik fit are renowned for not putting the right weight/pressure of gas in certain cars therefore it doesn't last very long. I took my car back to kwik fit after this advice and they redone the gas but it lasted just a day again. They told me they couldn't detect a leak and everything seemed fine then gave me a card to get it checked at an air con 'specialist' which I haven't got round to do - might get it done this week. I did hear a hissing sound when the air con was done which makes me think it is a leak somewhere.

Did you get yours sorted out again?