I have a 2001 Honda Civic, automatic trans. About 3 months ago it began to idle funny when going slow or at a stop and then died on me 3 times, all while making left hand turns in warmer weather. The kind of thing where I would slow before the turn, then when trying to accelerate out of it it would die. It then wouldn't start for awhile, but after a couple minutes would start up and drive fine. The service engine light would go away after a day or two. I took it in and he told me he couldn't really diagnose it without reading the codes, which was expensive for me at the time so I passed. Since then it hasn't died, but then again I've been powering through turns and not letting it get to that point where it starts to idle funny.

Jump to a month ago- I started to hear a grinding noise (not brakes). It would happen when slowing down or at a stop. I stopped driving it till I had time to take it in, about a week later. On the way in I stopped at the car wash (car had been sitting under a tree all week) and had to stop and restart the car- when I did it started rough and gave me the engine service code light. Got it to the shop and the mechanic said the shield over the catalytic converter was loose which was making the noise but that wouldn't cause the code, which makes sense. So I had him check those, and he told me two things; O2 sensor and Electronic Load Detector. He said the O2 sensor (2nd one after the cat converter) had been worn due to the loose shield. He also said the ELD malfunction may explain the car dying 3 months ago. All this made sense, and he said none of the work needed to be done now unless I needed to pass emissions.

So I had him fix the shield, passed on the rest and took the car. Ran some errands and took the freeway home, close to the off ramp and the car looses power- doesn't die but goes to maybe half power and the light comes on. Initially I thought the car died but when I realized it didn't I put it into neutral. When I did it seemed like the shifter went up two clicks rather than one, implying I had been driving in D3. I pull to the side trying to make it to the off ramp, but then it starts running really rough so I just pull over and shut it down. Pop the hood and didn't notice anything, no smells, temp gauge was reading normal. So I wait a bit and try and restart, and it either won't catch or if it does rides really rough. So I wait a bit longer, restart and it's running a bit smoother but still at half power, so I get off the freeway and pull over on a city street. Pop the hood again and notice that the inside (well the backside, hard to explain) of the exhaust manifold is glowing red, where the pre catalytic converter meets the manifold. It stays like that a minute or two then returns to normal. So I wait 20 minutes or so, start up the car and it starts and runs fine. By the time I get to my house (maybe 5 minutes) the light is gone.

The mechanic tells me to bring it in (drives fine on the way), calls me back and tells me it's coding P1361 and P1362. Tells me about the service bulletin:

2001 Honda Civic EX MIL Is On With DTC P1361 or P1362 | Motobild | Auto Repair

and says it's either the camshaft sensor or excessive end play in the cam shaft. Next step is to measure the end play, which he does, and it's .06" (maximum allowance is .02") and so the cylinder head needs to be replaced.

That's where I'm at now. I found a mechanic who's sourced a refurbed head (with the revised part number) and will install for around $1000. I know I have the excessive end play issue and that most likely caused the car to go into safe mode, but would that cause the exhaust manifold to glow red? How about driving in D3 at highway speeds? What I'm worried about is having another issue besides the camshaft. New mechanic said most likely the camshaft issue threw off the timing, which leads to the fuel mixture being off and burning into the exhaust, which makes sense. Says I may have damaged the cat but won't know till the other repair is done. But I talked to someone else about the car dying earlier in the summer, and he said the ELD wouldn't do that but a clogged cat could (clogged cat would also cause a red hot exhaust manifold). I'm at the point where I could cover one costly repair, but not two. Any help is appreciated.

 

I would recommend change out the TDC sensor first.

 

Thanks for the reply. Like I said the tech already measured the end play and its 3x the maximum allowable, don't think a new sensor is going to help.