Another thing with these v6’s, the cam synchronizer likes to go bad and cause random issues.
Worked at Autozone for a year. Don't assume a new thermostat is not defective.Wow that's a lot of replies.
@07GtS197 IAT's hover around 90 on a cold day, go up to 130 sitting in traffic. But I had moments where the car was totally fine with IAT's at 95, and moments where she felt like 50hp with IAT's around 90.
@ttocs Texas, so still 100F. I did change the thermostat in April, when I swapped to a manual. Did the water pump gasket too, and consequently changed the coolant. Wouldn't I see rising temps if it was clogged up though? She's sitting steady at 204 at cruise and 210-218 with the fan on in traffic. It was a little brown earlier when I checked it, so that was a little concerning.
@JAD67428 I was hoping that was not the case. Out of desperation I got baited and bought some extreme cleaner for catalytic converters, so I'll see if that does something. There's no CEL for it though and the O2's SEEM to read a working cat. I don't have a thermometer to check though. Would explain the heat thing though, I would assume they close up more with more heat.
@waynenorcross yeah no CEL.
For a moment I was thinking of running open headers to see if that solves it (then it would definetly be the cats), but that seems unwise as the O2's are on the Y-pipe...any other ideas on testing that without buying a new Y-pipe?
Worked at Autozone for a year. Don't assume a new thermostat is not defective.
The thermostat needs to stay closed sometime for the radiator to do its thing. Sounds backwards. If it opens too soon and just stays open, the coolant isn't getting cooled. Then if the engine gets too hot, it could be going into "limp home mode". I will tell people when in doubt to put the thermostat in a pan with a thermometer. If it is a 180 ( recommended) you see it open when the water temp increases to 180. Then coil the water. Also, make sure it isn't in upside down. Working at Autozone was fun because you never knew what issue would come in the door next. Like the guy who came in asking why he had no power after installing a 500 pound stereo in his 100HP Civic@cwgu3 I did not have access to an IR temp gauge, but I did remove the y pipe and checked the cats, the seem to flow fine. I also removed the rear O2 sensors (made a deliberate exhaust leak) to see if the rear cats are clogged, but it changed nothing on engine behavior. So I think I can rule out the cats at this point.
@lwarrior1016 damn. I have a code P1336. I had it for a while now but it started when I ran another strategy (fbgi0) on the quarterhorse, and decipha from efidynotuning.com said it was a hdr misfire initialization fault because it was configured for the v8 sensors, and also provided me with another bin that didn't show the code (which I stopped using for various other reasons). I haven't heard back from him about what specifically changed between the two bins he gave me, but I couldn't find anything. So there is a possibility it is the camshaft sensor that is acting up. Would certainly explain the irradical ignition behavior and all the other symptoms I am experiencing.
@waynenorcross I know, but wouldn't I see overheating then? Sensors read fine, and the temp pattern follows the regular behavior of a working thermostat. Also, wouldn't my motor have been seized up by now? I have ran her on the highway WOT for 10-15 minutes with this issue persisting (I know, not smart. But then again, tells me it's not a heat related issue).
@MyLittlePony I did clean it, yes, but I also have the direct MAF readings available from the quarterhorse. It reads correct for the driving condition and TPS value, comparing it to some logs from months ago, and what I experienced. So I am pretty sure the MAF is fine.
I also disconnected it for the heck of it, but the car struggled to idle really bad and I didn't run it for more than 10 seconds.
I'm feeling like lwarrior1016 might be on to something here. I'll go check out the wiring for that sensor later, maybe that has a nick in it. If not, I'll have to abandon this thread until I come back into the country in a couple months and have more time to throw parts at it/diagnose. I will post back once that happens. Thanks guys for all the help and suggestions so far!
Following this up for the archive:
Pulled car out of storage (changed oil and filter too), seems to run better than it did when I put it there. Still runs with lower power, but I'm not a major traffic hazard anymore.
Swapped IAC, got a little better and smoother.
Swapped cam synchro assembly and sensor (retarded the timing on the first two tries, but got it now - finding TDC is a pain) - little improvement, but still the same (or worse) sputter on acceleration. Had to turn the engine by hand a couple of times for alignment, it definitely has compression.
I can now press the gas slowly and she revvs all the way up, and she has more power now. When I press the gas too rapidly in neutral she sputters and stumbles, though it evens out a little when she starts to warm up. Does smell like excessive fuel now, and I burned through 1/4 tank in the 15 miles I have driven so far.
New injectors are in the mail now. I'll post back once they're installed, but if that doesn't fix it I need to get another car to go to school and save up for a new engine. Prob gonna do a v8 swap then. Go big or go home.
Thanks everybody for the advice. I hope I can conclude that thread in a couple of days.