• Registered users are encouraged to enable MFA/2FA to add an aditional layer of security to their account. More information can be found here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/top-tips-for-staying-secure-online/activate-2-step-verification-on-your-email

new member. 1st honda. loud vtec no power

2

2837dave lynch

Messages
6
Hi folks, just joined the forum and hoping to get a bit of advice about my troublesome honda so i'll start from the beginning.
Bought my first honda about 6 weeks ago. Its an 05 ep3 type R. After being to look at countless ep3's I finally found this one. It had 130k, full years mot, brand new coilovers, 4 brand new tyres, wheels refurbed, mint bodywork good engine, box, new catback exhaust, long arm aem etc etc etc...

Or so I thought haha

First couple of days of owning it I loved it, lot of my mates said they were overrated and stuff but I really liked driving it, it went really well.
Then all of the sudden in the 3rd day I noticed the car very quiet compared to how it was the first couple of days and vtec would engage and seem louder than it did before but the car would hold back and stop pulling then. Eml light came on and Car also wouldnt rev out to the rev limiter.

So I was chattin to a boy who knows a bit about them not far from me and he said it could be vtec solenoid or cam sensor related and the he had ones there. So I went to see him and he tried them in it but made no difference. Also changed the sensor that screws into the timing side of the engine (cant mind the name)

So after that I got it plugged into a computer but because we had changed sensors it just came up a shopping list so decided to clear the faults and drive the car to see if the eml came back on again. But it didnt.

After talking to countless people who had ep3's and mechanics and nearly every post I could find on the internet, everything pointed to a timing issue. Either stretched chain or jumped a tooth.

So, bit the bullet and bought a new genuine honda timing chain guides and tensioner kit along with oil and filter, got them fitted and car still done the same thing. My mechanic did say the timing was slightly off.

The cars now in a different garage that supposedly specialises in honda but I have a feeling they might not be able to sort it out either.

Has anyone ever had this issue and sorted it out?
Alot of threads I did find on the problem didnt really give a definite fix.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated lads.

Anyway, some pics of the headache honda.










 
Having read all that I'd guess at something in the exhaust if the note has changed. Probably would have been better to have the codes read first before replacing random parts though. I'm guessing none of the codes have come back since they were cleared?
 
Krzys said:
Having read all that I'd guess at something in the exhaust if the note has changed. Probably would have been better to have the codes read first before replacing random parts though. I'm guessing none of the codes have come back since they were cleared?
Click to expand...

Its kind of looking that way now mate, clogged cat was the first thing I thought of but everyone I mentioned it to who had ep3's or worked on them reckoned it was timing related.

The first boy I took it to rebuilds engines and gearboxes for them and he was pretty sure it was the vtec solenoid and if not that he would try a couple different sensors as he had a couple engines there for spares. But I agree with you there I should have got the codes read first before doing anything.

Yes since we cleared the faults nothing has come up since. Seems to me it could be something mechanical rather than electrical?
 
Bit of an update on this but still no solution. I ended up having to take the car back off the crowd it was in with as they had it for 4 weeks and hadnt even looked at it.

Got the car back off them anyway and now its worse than it ever was. It used to run ok down the revs and only hold back when it was on the vtec. Now it starts to hold back if you put the foot down at all. I barely made it back from the garage. I noticed a noise the more I revved but its hard to explain. It wasnt a knocking noise or anything bad like that though.

The way the car is going reminds me of an old carina I had with a blown Head gasket, driving fine down the revs but any sort of power and it would hold back and lose power completely.

I noticed inside the oil cap on the honda a bit creamy too but I dont know if that was down to condensation with it lying up for a few weeks.

The car isnt overheating or using any water and there plenty of heat coming through the blowers into the car aswell.

think the car could be on its last legs lol. Anybody any ideas, would be greatly appreciated
 
Coilpack breaking down under load maybe.
If you know someone local with an ep3 then see if you can borrow there packs just to find out if one of yours is playing up.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
Your reasoning for the head gasket seems quite plausible... if it started off in VTEC, when more air is being forced into the cylinder and has slowly progressed down the rev range... By the same logic could also be damaged piston ring(s). Have you had the intake/exhaust checked?

I'd get a compression test done and also try the coil packs if you can find someone else with an EP3 (can the ECU detect bad coils?). Little bit of milky/creamy oil is fine as far as I know, especially after short trips. but if theres a lot of it I'd consider it a symptom.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top