Hey i hope somone can help, i have a d16y8 in a 97 EK coupe i just swapped it because the last engine smoked & had similar problems to what im having now. From time to time the car would sputter also when you have on the a/c the rev fluctuates, when driving it sputters like it wont rev out properly kinda like cylinder misfire, With this replacement engine one problem is solved which is the smoking, the car is very sluggish moving of from a stop & struggles to go up 5000rpm before you hit vtec which is annoying, also a fowl scent is coming from tailpipe from time to time sometimes you smell it inside vehicle, and the rev count fluctuates at times, i had D15b head which had a double salenoid 3rd stage vtec on the old engine and what my friend did was hook up one of the salenoid to the ignition so it had current all the time to keep it open so it kinda eliminated that sluggish feeling when moving off with the older engine but it burned very rich. 1. the new engine is sluggish until it hits vtec. 2.burns rich 3.fowl scent from exhaust from time to time 4. The rev count fluctuates from time to time when idle or when a/c is on

 

Does the CEL work and is it ON?

1) The foul exhaust smell may indicate a bad/clogged catalytic converter, which can cause loss of power.

2) Burning rich may be due to a bad primary O2 sensor.

3) The misfiring has multiple potential causes, for example bad plugs, wires, distributor cap, and rotor.

 

Ok thanks i will try and do checks on each of these items, first visit it to the muffler shop to check on the catalyst.

 

Fix the "running rich" and misfiring problems first because otherwise you will destroy a new catalytic converter.

 

hmm so what u reccommend buying a new O2 sensor & hope it works or their might be other stuff i could check which dosent cost money before i actually buy the sensor, and the CEl has not been on since i swapped the engine, my friend usually clear the light when it came on but what use to happen you could actually smell the fuel inside the vehicle at times coming even through the a/c vents when it is in use, when im driving hard the CEL comes on, so far with this engine it hasnt been on, but i think it was givin a fuel reading and one of my cylinder had traces of oil in it also and my plugs where fowled up, I had in hot zfr1 plugs in i think.

 

Pull the CEL codes as detailed here:

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread/1901557

Afterwards, clear the codes to determine which codes return. Repeated CEL codes are worth troubleshooting.

 

Let me ask you one stupid question,, is it possible to have problems occuring even though the CEL light isnt on and you can still get codes from the ECU?

 

Yes, can retrieve a code from the ECU even if the light still isn't ON.