jumping RPM issue/timing belt jump?

[Honda_Lady]

i am reposting some of the same info that i had posted before the site went down (which is now gone forever)

driving down the road at a steady speed the rpm jumps up and down about 200-300rpms. it also boggs on acceleration. oil is leaking into my distributor all over the ignitor and have oil in two spark plug holes(FIXED). O2 sensor is unplugged. any and every suggestion would be helpful. thank you all in advance.

^info i had posted before

now YES i fixed the oil in the spark plug holes. i replaced the lower spark plug tube seals and of course all other seals AND spark plugs. (borrowed a torque wrench) the Distributor however has not been replaced. i have yet to find a NEW or REMANED dizzy for less then $100 and i just can't afford it right now. i pray everyday that she will keep going till i can afford one.

now i have video of what the RPM's do going down the road with the cruise control set if anyone wants to see them.

my NEW question is: is there a way (with the way the RPM's jump and how she boggs down) that the timing belt can jump and cause even more damage? thank you all in advance for any input you have.

[agol]

clean your idle air control valve and go from there.

['93CB7Ex]

post the video.

otherwise why not rebuild your dizzy? theres a diy on here how to do the seals and usually you can buy an ignitor from honda for not that much. as long as the other sensors are in working order, it might not need anything but basic maintenance.

[Honda_Lady]

clean your idle air control valve and go from there.

Thank you Agol, i have already done that. issue only got worse after that. TPS is new, cleaned IACV and EGR as well. replaced ALL valve cover seals. it got a little better after i cleaned the inside of the dizzy with all the oil that was in there but didn't take long before it was flowing through there again.

[cloudasc]

Bouncing RPM Needle is usually the classic sign an igniter is going out, if its independant of actual engine rpm. Replace it before it goes out and leaves you stranded.

[Honda_Lady]

post the video.

otherwise why not rebuild your dizzy? theres a diy on here how to do the seals and usually you can buy an ignitor from honda for not that much. as long as the other sensors are in working order, it might not need anything but basic maintenance.

i actually took 3 videos. the first two did piratically the same thing, the third was kinda opposite. so i'll post two videos. (it won't let me embed them, i'll just have to post links)
http://youtu.be/zSmkHQTN0GY
http://youtu.be/xRmadeaQg9E


also i have got mixed responses about rebuilding my dizzy. someone on a different forum that i go on said "Repairing the distributor is not worth the effort when you consider that it is easy to damage the seal and wind up w/ worse leak." another guy on that same forum said "Oil inside the distributor means that the grommet in the distributor is bad. That part can be replaced, but it is a bit of work. It would be easier to replace the distributor or distributor housing." so with what those two said, is it as hard to rebuilt it and as easy to cause more damage to the seal as these two told me? if it is i would rather do it with an additional USED dizzy so if i cause more damage atleast mine will still work and won't leak as bad as the one that i fucked up the seal on trying to replace it.

['93CB7Ex]

yea that almost does look like an ignitor.

theres a diy on here on how to replace the inner seal.

[Honda_Lady]

Bouncing RPM Needle is usually the classic sign an igniter is going out, if its independant of actual engine rpm. Replace it before it goes out and leaves you stranded.

it is not independent of actual engine RPM


also the question i asked this time has not yet been addressed:
will it cause the timing belt to jump?

[deevergote]

The timing belt won't jump unless it was installed incorrectly, or it's damaged/worn.

If the engine itself is revving, then it's likely NOT an ignitor issue (that would be an erratic tach without corresponding engine activity.) My first thought is that you have a vacuum leak, though I'm not knowledgeable enough about the vacuum system to guess where. I've never had this issue myself, so I can't say from experience.

Still, the dizzy is the most likely culprit... especially if cleaning it brought some positive results. Keep on the lookout for a new one, or post up in the classifieds looking for a good used one. There are people that have parted out cars, done swaps, etc... that have spares that are known to be working.

[BurninCB7]

I had the same issue in my 1991 EX. My CEL threw a code for TPS and something else in the dizzy.

Symptoms were the same; erratic RPM - usually only while cruising at a steady speed.

So I threw on another distributor I had laying around: She is fixed!

I'm sure the oil in your distributor has caused sensors to go bad. Gotta save up for a replacement!
Be sure to check your timing as well.

Good Luck, let us know how you fix it so others can see.

[Honda_Lady]

Thank you both for the info (and i will most definitely update this with the solution to my problem)

[ZeRoCooLCB7R]

TPS could be the problem if installed correctly. It may need some adjustment done. Also to check for vacuum leaks get some brake cleaner and lightly spray around the IM area while car is running. If engine surges you got a leak at the location of contact from brake cleaner. Could be a bad gasket or vacuum hose. From experience with rpm bouncing i easily found out it was from air in the coolant system. Here is a link to a good tool to burp out most of the air.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUpXgAJ1gjU

[cloudasc]

I watched the videos, since you have an auto... what about the torque converter lock-up? That would cause the rpms to fluxuate that way too, especially if it was locking/unlocking sporadicly, which first thing that comes to mind could be the tcu, maybe someone else might be able to elaborate more on this. As a test if you could maybe find another known good tcu to swap in temporarily and see if the issue goes away.

[Honda_Lady]

TPS could be the problem if installed correctly. It may need some adjustment done. Also to check for vacuum leaks get some brake cleaner and lightly spray around the IM area while car is running. If engine surges you got a leak at the location of contact from brake cleaner. Could be a bad gasket or vacuum hose. From experience with rpm bouncing i easily found out it was from air in the coolant system. Here is a link to a good tool to burp out most of the air.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUpXgAJ1gjU

thanks for the tips. i'll look into adjusting my TPS (i didn't try to adjust it when i put it on) also would throttle body cleaner do the same thing? because i have a ton of that right now. also thanks for the link to the youtube video

I watched the videos, since you have an auto... what about the torque converter lock-up? That would cause the rpms to fluxuate that way too, especially if it was locking/unlocking sporadicly, which first thing that comes to mind could be the tcu, maybe someone else might be able to elaborate more on this. As a test if you could maybe find another known good tcu to swap in temporarily and see if the issue goes away.

i just recently opened my TCU and didn't see any damage to it all. would it still be bad with no damage? how do i check the torque converter lock-up?

[PR CB7]

If yo can make it to autotechniques in orange park I wouldnt mind takin a look at the car, I ha tons of CB parts laying around lmk