Help !!! NEED INPUT ON HOW TO FIX THIS

[daeym]

ok here goes..... i'm fixing a honda crx 88 ....... (the reason why it's broken) coolant was leakin in the engine.... fixed dat wid a new gasket........ now another problem came about........ the catalytic converter is flamin up , burnin and i can smell gas at the exaust.... (this what i have done) changed the carburator...... the whole thing........ changed the distributor and everything inside it......... but it's still the same... the catalytic converter is still flaming up....... ( i took it off ) then let it run...... now it's backfiring............... gimme some input on what else to do? tomorrow i'm gonna adjust the firing order of da pistons i think it's TDC or sumthin....... if dat doesnt work...... i dunno anymore... sooo helppppp

[daeym]

oh yeah the engine runs..... but it's like the idle is jumping low...... or bouncing.... i dunno how to describe it.......

[illeagle]

It's probably a bunch of bad things. o2 sensor? ECU? Maybe try fine tuning your carb. And timing..

[hendosa]

carb running really rich?:dunno:

[daeym]

changed the o2 sensor...... tuned the carb...... and the ecu is working fine....... juss checked the ecu yesterday.... what else???
is it the catalytic? do i need to replace that?

[illeagle]

how's the timing? I don't see why a bad cat would make your car run rich, and backfire.. try tuning, through your distributer, instructions are in the shop manual..

[daeym]

how do i tune a distributor??? i changed the coil in the distributor and the igniter too.......

[knucklebuster]

You are probably dumping raw fuel (running rich) and it is heating up your cat. Your cat will go bad, if it didn't already, if you don't fix the problem soon. Backfiring is caused by poor timing. I would start there.

[daeym]

thanks will try dat today.......

[DonJuan]

check the cat it may be clogged causing hesitation, mad milage, running rich, or even catching fire.

[BigBearWest]

are you sure you have a 88? they chankged to DPFI and MPFI in 88. you may wanna cvheck your timing

[daeym]

the cat is catchin fire... but i'm having trouble adjusting the timing.......... can somebody give me directions...... i dunno if i'm doin it rite....... i'm juss following what the book says.

[lancer_evo_7]

It really helps to have a timing light, but if you listen closely, you can do it without. Find the distributor, then find the bolt that holds it from turning. Now loosen that bolt (with honda, its usually 3 bolts around the base of the distributor) Once loose, turn it carefully, one direction, and you will hear the engine start to go slower, or stall (thats timing retard) The other direction will speed it up (timing advance). Basically just turn it where you need it to be for the engine to run well. Its possible that your timing belt jumped a cog, or sheared a tooth off. So check your belt. If your cat is that hot, it sounds like its hooped. Take it to an exhaust shop and get it cut out, and replaced with a straight pipe. Hope that helps:D

[daeym]

i got an info that i have to do a tdc or sumthin..... ( top dead center ) on my piston..... would that help? i'll check the timing belt to have jumped a cog.......... and oh yeah about that distributor? i did dat already but the engine stayed the same i mean the rhythm .... it doesn't go faster or slower...... and after a while of it being turned on..... the idle screws up and starts to go up and down ( i mean the engines humm... ) more help pls.

btw. thanks for the infos u can give........

[lancer_evo_7]

Hmm, my 86 prelude used to idle up and down just for fun sometimes LOL. Ok. to get tdc, which stands for Top Dead Center, you need to put a LONG screwdriver in the hole for #1 cylinder, your manual should tell you which is #1. Then you use a wrench to rotate the engine by hand, (use the underdrive pulley to rotate it) and move it till the screwdriver goes up as far as its gonna go, then a bit more till it starts going down, the go back, so that the screwdriver is between going up and down. That means that the piston inside is as high as its going to get, but just on the verge of going back down. Thats tdc. Then, you want to take your timing belt cover off, there should be a mark on the cog, and a mark on the head under the cog somewhere, if the marks dont line up, your timing is out.
Good luck

[rice_eater]

TDC is just when your piston is at the very top of it's stroke. Put the first cylinder at TDC, then allign the cam and crank with the mark on the timing belt cover. that's all there is to setting your timing right

[daeym]

nice will do dat..........

[DonJuan]

wait... your catalytic converter is catching fire??? dude your cat most definatley plugged. pull it off an see if it works better, ableit louder