91 prelude rpm issue

Third Generation Honda Prelude topics

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nathanielete
Prelude Enthusiast
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2014 5:56 pm

91 prelude rpm issue

Post by nathanielete »

Hello group. I'm a long time prelude driver but a first timer with the diy fixes, so also a first time poster. My car is a 91 2.0 4WS with 205K miles on the original motor. I just finished the timing belt and water pump replacement using your video. What a great tool that was! thank you. Anyway, before I finished the job the car had been sitting in my garage for a year. Before I parked it it was running great except for the main pulley had come apart (yes, the center broke out). So when I finally got around to replacing the pulley and the belts I decided to use your video to do the timing belt. Now it's running again but pretty rough. Of course I changed the spark plugs (wires and distributor had been replaced before parking it) and let it sit running and smoking. After several minutes of getting the temp up I tried revving it and it would rev to about 3000 but wouldn't go any higher. if I pushed it higher it would start to stall out so i'd have to coax the gas pedal back down to keep it running. I repeated this a couple times and sometimes it would stall, but start right up again. I got bold and decided to take it around the block. in 1st gear it would only get to about 3000rpms before it started sputtering. when I shifted to 2nd it would go to about 3500 then sputter. I didn't get it to 3rd. I had some oil on my spark plugs and in the wells so I plan to change the tube seals next (should have done this when I had everything apart, but I didn't get the seals with my cylinder head gasket - like I said, first timer). Prior to parking it the engine was known to use a bit of oil. Should I just let it run and run until I burn off oil that may have accumulated over the year of sitting idle? Could year old gas be causing the stammering? Is there anything else that might be causing the stammering in the rpms? Maybe the fuel injectors got gummed up over the year? What's the best way to clean those out?

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spiffyguido
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Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2005 2:55 am
Prelude Model: 1991 SE-SR
Location: Alberta, Canada
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Re: 91 prelude rpm issue

Post by spiffyguido »

Double check your timing. If you've followed the video, you may have already done this.

Fix those gaskets for sure, and get some fresh gas into your tank.

Also, do a compression test. You mention the head gasket. Did you just change that as well?

nathanielete
Prelude Enthusiast
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2014 5:56 pm

Re: 91 prelude rpm issue

Post by nathanielete »

thanks for the quick reply. I believe my noobness shone through when I said it replaced the cylinder head gasket. I actually only replaced the valve cover gasket. i'm a little afraid to go any deeper into the engine at this point. Anyway, i'll be rechecking the timing this weekend. A question about that: on my first attempt at setting everything at TDC it felt like I had to hold a wrench on the intake cam shaft to keep it in place while the other side stayed pretty stable throughout. in fact as I turned the intake cam shaft to get the marks to line up it felt like it was pushing a little on the valves. shouldn't TDC feel like the cam is resting on the valves but not pushing them at all? it almost felt like I was opening them a little bit in order to get the marks lined up. maybe I should just let the cam gear lie where they feel like they're not pushing on anything? Once again, sorry if this sounds ignorant. thanks for your help so far spiffyguido.

nathanielete
Prelude Enthusiast
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2014 5:56 pm

Re: 91 prelude rpm issue

Post by nathanielete »

okay, so I double checked my TDC positions and that's what was causing my rpm issue. the cam gears were right, but the flywheel was way off! I got everything realigned on Saturday and my black beauty fired right up. I immediately took it for a drive disregarding my expired plates and it runs like a champ again. it still has some pretty expansive seal leaks on the back and lower (oil pan?) parts of the engine so I might be back with more questions as I try to tackle those. this site has been so helpful. I encourage anyone else who has used the knowledge found here to do as I've done and make a donation.

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spiffyguido
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Posts: 2196
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2005 2:55 am
Prelude Model: 1991 SE-SR
Location: Alberta, Canada
Contact:

Re: 91 prelude rpm issue

Post by spiffyguido »

Really glad to hear that you got it all working again. If you really want to get the car dialed in, get a timing light and fine tune the timing. This is detailed in the timing belt videos.

The oil pan may be the source of your leak on the back of the engine. If so, they're not too hard to replace. Before embarking on a major project, sometimes it's best to clean the engine and then try to really pinpoint where the leak is. No point changing the oil pan gasket if its actually the oil filter that is leaking.



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