Surging when starting off

[1990whitepreluded]

Hey all,

I am new to this message board, but all I can say is wow. This is phenomenal...the help that you guys are providing is great.

Now to my question....I just bought a 1990 SI and have tons of questions, but to start off the car will surge when accelerating, and it is worse the lower the gear and the lower the speed. As you go through the gear box the surging will get less, but is still there. Any ideas would be great....my first inclination is fuel (filter and stainer)but I have yet to replace them. Honda says they don't list the strainer for this car, but there it sits under the hood near the speedo ctrl.

Second small easy question is how do I know what engine code my lude has??? Is it included in the VIN someplace?

Third small easy question is my car is leaking oil...it doesn't appear to be the valve cover. Where would be a good first place to start on these.....and wow what an ugly honda engine compartment....hee hee

Also I own 3 Hondas, a 2003 Pilot, a 2000 accord, and now the 1990 Prelude SI. If only everyone knew how great these cars are we would all live in a nation of Honda only cars.

Thanks in advance for all your help,
C_C

[spiffyguido]

Hi 1990whitepreluded.

Welcome to the forums, and sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you. Been a busy week.

I'd like you to describe the surging you are encountering a little bit more. There are lots of potential areas that might cause something like that to happen, so we need to be sure of what is happening. Does it only happen under acceleration? Does the surging stop if you accelerate really hard? Can you prevent the surging by being gentle on the pedal? Does it only happen at certain engine speeds? Does it happen at idle when you're not driving around? Does your idle surge up and down when the car is warming up? Please try to describe it as best you can, or post up a video even if you can.

You can find out what engine your Prelude has by looking at the stamp on the engine. The stamp is located on a flat section of the engine block about 1.5 inches square. The stamp is on the front of the engine, below the upper rad hose about 10 inches or so, right where the tranny casing meets the engine block. It is near the flywheel timing hole. It will probably tell you that your engine is a B20A5, and then below that, in smaller numbers, will be your engines serial number.

How bad is your oil leak? If it's not the valve cover, could it be the head gasket? Or is it starting lower on the engine than that? One thing you can do is get a bottle of engine cleaner and try to clean your engine up as best you can. This might make it easier to pinpoint the leak is you won't be confused by oil and grease that has already built up on your engine.

[1990whitepreluded]

guido you are awesome...Yeah I went ahead and swapped the fuel filter and that fixed the surging issue. Funny you should mention to clean the engine to find the oil leak...that's what I did. Also the engine is a b21a1...is that good/bad???? Of course as soon as I get everything else figured out the alternator goes out so I have that torn apart waiting on Honda to get the new adjusting bolt back to me....What a heck of a job....hardest alternator by far I have ever replaced. Honda must have been up against the wall for space when they built this one because otherwise alot of this stuff under the hood makes no sense. I am sure you all can relate. Hey any ideas on things to make the alternator swap easier would be GREAT!!!!!

[1990whitepreluded]

OH btw....the fuel flter on my 1990 was under the hood on the firewall to the left of the engine....the service manual said it was in the rear....yeah big waste tearing the whole left rear down....lol......well live and learn....still having a blast working on this thing.

[spiffyguido]

Glad to hear you got it all fixed. Sounds like you're not afraid at all to get your hands dirty.

The B21A1 engine is a great engine. A lot of people complain about them burning oil, but this is only due to the exceptionally strong cylinder walls Honda put in them made out of a material called FRM. I can point you to a topic where this is described in more detail if you're interested.

It's true, the alternator swap is a bit of a pain. Remember that the 3rd generation preludes had the lowest bonnet line of any similar car, and this is in part due to the tight packaging that honda pulled off together with the wicked lean that the engine sits at in the engine bay. The plus side of all this is that you, the driver, get to enjoy visibility that is unrivaled in any other car. Enjoy it.

[1990whitepreluded]

thanks guido,

Hey love your car....I am looking at a set of wheels exactly like yours for $150...I suppose that is a good deal...any suggestions on that??? Tires??? I know I am stretching this thread out. Thanks for all the Great Info!!!!!

[spiffyguido]

That's a good price for the rims.

As for the tires, it really depends on how you are going to use them. I don't drive my car in the winter, so I have a set of Toyo touring tires on my car. High quality, great ride. They're not performance tires, but are perfect for assaulting city streets and the odd run down the highway.

If you are going to be driving your car in the winter, I would highly suggest planning on running two sets of rims. A winter set with winter tires (yes, more money, but can save your life) and a summer set with a good summer tire. Always spend the money to get quality tires from a reputable brand. I have personally owned Toyos, BF Goodrich, Michelins and Goodyears. I did not like the Goodyears at all, in fact I liked them so little that I took them off well before they were worn out. Michelins were okay. BF Goodrichs were great. Toyos have been my favorite. These are just what I've had though, and you really have to figure out what will work for you. Sites like TireRack.com are a great source of information because they have long lists of customer reviews on each tire. Spend the money on a good set with solid backing from customer reviews and you can't go wrong.