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Another quick update... Was able to successfully install the timing belt and also put new sparkplugs and coils in. I did a test drive and the car ran fine. I also did not notice any leaks where there was one previously (top of the water pump assembly). I only tested it with water for now as I did not want to waste coolant in case it was still leaking. Tomorrow I will flush the radiator and put the coolant in. I also noticed that now I have the check engine on light again so I will scan the car and see what codes are showing... I also see that the cabin fan is on all the time. Even when I shut the system off the fan continues to blow what appears to be max speed. I'm guessing it's a relay but I'm not sure...
I also see that the cabin fan is on all the time. Even when I shut the system off the fan continues to blow what appears to be max speed. I'm guessing it's a relay but I'm not sure...
You were right Zeta. It was the resistor. I was able to get one for $5 from a a car someone was junking and parting out. Now the fan works as expected! Thank you for a great advice and a cheap way to fixing it!
I thought that I would update this thread to kind of close it off. So it turned out that the head gasket was blown and the coolant was bubbling and boiling over. I ended up replacing the head gasket myself. I tried to resurface the heads myself because they were warped beyond the installation limit but ended up sanding way too much and it was not possible to reuse them again! Lesson learned, just take it to a machine shop and have them do it for you. Well worth the time and money and endless frustration. Anyway, I ended up getting used heads which I was able to pull from another vehicle that someone else was parting out. Here comes another sub story with that. My car is 2003 with J32A1 engine and I pulled the heads from 99 Acura but also with J32A1 engine. They are not the same. The intake manifold is slightly different and the valves (both intake and exhaust are smaller in diameter). Otherwise the heads fit exactly the same and all other pieces that go around the heads fit exactly the same. Anyway, I swapped the heads and after installing everything and putting it back together, the car runs great. At this point I basically rebuilt most of the engine from upper half up giving it a new water pump, timing belt, new gaskets and seals on all the pieces that I touched during removal. I also put in new sparkplugs, coils and cleaned the injectors. I installed the water pump better than it was before (it was slightly loose) and added more steering fluid. With all this work, I think the car is ready for another 60k miles without any major maintenance required other than the usual of brakes, oil, etc.
Overall it was fun and I learned a ton on how to do this kind of work. Also, it goes without saying that I saved several thousand dollars worth of labor that it would have cost to do this.
After fixing my car recently I now realized that the car has a weird starting issue. I'm attaching a video for those of you who might figure this out by listening to what is happening.
Here are the symptoms. I turn the key over and the car clicks but no start. I do that random amount of times and eventually the car starts right up. I took care of the usual suspect such as I put in a new battery and I also tried a different (brand new) power relay. I really don't know what it might be because after a few tries the car always starts. Also, there are times that it just starts on the first try, actually that happens quite often. I know it is not a fuel pump or the starter themselves as like I said, the car always ends up starting. One more thing that I noticed is when I turn the key when the car does not start you can kind of hear like a whining noise but I'm guessing that is a fuel pump running.
Anyway, I'm really dumbfounded here, I don't know where to look to see where the culprit might be... Hope someone can shed some light on this...
Well, I thought I was attaching the video but it did not work It looks like I'm unable to do that for whatever reason as the upload button is greyed out...
Thanks for linking my two threads @thoiboi I guess I did not realize that this would create confusion. My fixing the car and this are two different issues but I guess if it makes it easier to show them as related then it's cool!
Anyway, as advised, I've created a YouTube video to my issue. There are two starting attempts. In the first one the car starts on the third try and in the second attempt the car starts on the second try. Please check it out....
Well, it's still hard to tell from your video but the "clunk" does sounds fairly loud so that might be the solenoid clicking on.
Make sure the connections at the starter are solid. You can easily get to the solenoid. You'll see the big cable from the battery (under the cap and a small wire that comes from the ignition switch. If you use a jumper from the battery + to the small wire, the starter should crank over. If you get the same behavior, that points to the starter/solenoid being bad. If you have a voltmeter (DC) or a 12v test light, you can connect it to the small wire (not the big wire) and ground. When you turn the key to START you should consistently read 12v (or light).
The ignition wire is the one in red. The battery cable is in yellow.
Quick update... So I did do the jump wire between the ignition switch and the battery positive terminal. I got the same behavior. It would crank sometimes and sometimes it would not at all. When it wouldn't crank, you would hear the fairly noticeable clunk like noise. That sounds like it is the started so I'm gonna have to replace it. One note of caution. Make sure to remove the 15amp breaker for the fuel pump. Otherwise when you do the starting test, you start the engine. With the breaker removed, you will only get the cranking but the engine will not actually start. Anyway, I will report back once I get the started replaced...
03-02-2024, 08:09 PM
It looks like I'm unable to do that for whatever reason as the upload button is greyed out...
