A few days ago I was driving at around 30 mph when the car suddenly stalled. At first I thought the car was dragging something underneath, before I saw all the lights on the dash came on. After many attempts, the car won't start...still will not start.
After some research, I'm thinking maybe one of the following parts could be the culprit:
1. Main Relay (MR)
2. Igniter
3. Ignition Switch (I believe it was just replaced a couple of years ago dued to recall)
4. Fuel pump
The car seemed to want to start but can't. Every time I cranked, I heard a weird noise that's not like the car that won't turnover. I don't know how to describe it. My 93 Legend had issue like this before when it cranked and won't turnover. But this Prelude sounds different during cranking.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please include part # and price if possible in your suggestion.
If the engine sounds different while it is cranking over but will not start I will bet you broke a timming belt or the auto tensioner went up. Either way... Get ready to pull the head.
pull the valve cover and check the cam gear position with the crank at TDC.
I was afraid of that. In the back of my mind, I thought it might be it since I just replaced the timing belt in September 2011, without replacing the auto-tensioner belt (adjuster?). It was such a pain just to replace the TB that I took my chance and skip over the A-t belt since, as you may know, that requires messing around with the Crankshaft pulley bolt.
I'll check the T belt....*finger crossed*...hope it's not broken.
I was afraid of that. In the back of my mind, I thought it might be it since I just replaced the timing belt in September 2011, without replacing the auto-tensioner belt (adjuster?). It was such a pain just to replace the TB that I took my chance and skip over the A-t belt since, as you may know, that requires messing around with the Crankshaft pulley bolt.
I'll check the T belt....*finger crossed*...hope it's not broken.
Thank you for your input.
You're saying that you didn't replace the balance belt? Or are you saying that you didn't replace the auto tensioner itself? Sorry just a little confused by this because changing the timing belt requires pulling the crank pully off.
You're saying that you didn't replace the balance belt? Or are you saying that you didn't replace the auto tensioner itself? Sorry just a little confused by this because changing the timing belt requires pulling the crank pully off.
I wish I had realize that possibility of destroying the valves. It didn't occur to me that what may have happened. The impulse or hope that the car might be able to fire right up was so strong that I overlooked this possibility. I sure hope that's not the case....finger-crossed. If it is so, it'll be my biggest, stupid mistake thus far.
It is mistakes like this that will spurn you on to learning and eventually relying on your own skill, rather than others. Expect the worst, hope for the best and wioth any luck your lude will fire up. Hell you never know. Its only nuts and bolts so dont let it get you down as if it can be broken it can be fixed.
Timing belt snapped for me in the past. Luckily it was only at idle speed. I pulled the head and the valves, measured everything and I got lucky and threw her back together with a new timing belt and everything worked perfectly.
Hopefully you are just as lucky. When you do the timing belt its also a great idea to switch to a manual tensioner. (You can find threads on this forum) This will help prevent future failure because the auto tensioner is prone to failing.
It is mistakes like this that will spurn you on to learning and eventually relying on your own skill, rather than others. Expect the worst, hope for the best and wioth any luck your lude will fire up. Hell you never know. Its only nuts and bolts so dont let it get you down as if it can be broken it can be fixed.
Thank you for the encouragement. It's hard to face a defeat. But, like you said, I'll have learned a lot more going through it.
If the engine sounds different while it is cranking over but will not start I will bet you broke a timming belt or the auto tensioner went up. Either way... Get ready to pull the head.
pull the valve cover and check the cam gear position with the crank at TDC.
Re'
Yep, you got it right on... the belt broke. Darn A-t design.
Timing belt snapped for me in the past. Luckily it was only at idle speed. I pulled the head and the valves, measured everything and I got lucky and threw her back together with a new timing belt and everything worked perfectly.
Hopefully you are just as lucky. When you do the timing belt its also a great idea to switch to a manual tensioner. (You can find threads on this forum) This will help prevent future failure because the auto tensioner is prone to failing.
I opened the side cover of the timing belt. I pushed the belt with a screwdriver. I managed to push the belt against the cam gear easily without any resistance. From this test, I can confidently conclude that my timing belt is broken.
One guy I spoke with said that this 1998 Prelude may had been built with a zero-clearance, which means that valves and pistons may not have made contact while the car was moving when the belt broke. If it doesn't have that zero-clearance, the damage may have already been done to the valves once the belt broke while the car was moving or rolling. I hope he is right on that.
I'll search for that article on how to make auto-tension a manual one. I wonder why Honda didn't do something about this flaw.
I opened the side cover of the timing belt. I pushed the belt with a screwdriver. I managed to push the belt against the cam gear easily without any resistance. From this test, I can confidently conclude that my timing belt is broken.
One guy I spoke with said that this 1998 Prelude may had been built with a zero-clearance, which means that valves and pistons may not have made contact while the car was moving when the belt broke. If it doesn't have that zero-clearance, the damage may have already been done to the valves once the belt broke while the car was moving or rolling. I hope he is right on that.
I'll search for that article on how to make auto-tension a manual one. I wonder why Honda didn't do something about this flaw.
Thanks again for your input and tip.
When I called to order my timing belt kit from Honda of Lemon Grove(back in sep of 2011), I explained my intentions of switching to a manual tensioner but the service rep told me Honda has updated the Auto tensioner and so there should be no need. Any truth to this?? I finally got my timing belt done at a Honda dealer a couple of days ago using said auto tensioner. Now your post is making me nervous...
Here's the link to converting auto to manual tensioner. Be aware that timing belt will stretch. What will you do then and how often to deal with that problem.
When I called to order my timing belt kit from Honda of Lemon Grove(back in sep of 2011), I explained my intentions of switching to a manual tensioner but the service rep told me Honda has updated the Auto tensioner and so there should be no need. Any truth to this?? I finally got my timing belt done at a Honda dealer a couple of days ago using said auto tensioner. Now your post is making me nervous...
Sorry if I made you nervous. I hope your TB won't end up like mine. My mechanic gave me a list of parts to fix and , hopefully, prevent TB from prematurely broken again:
I'm leaning toward replacing TB along with the above parts installed since the manual method might require more maintenance in the long run. Hope I made the right choice.
Just got the car back from the shop. Passed the compression test. All is well so far. Whewwweee!!! The cost of labor is around $430.00, including replacing Water Pump. Parts ( not counting Water Pump and Lock-up Solenoid ) and Labor come to about 1K.
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If you're not comfortable messing around with Crankshaft pulley, let your mechanic replace that Timing Belt AND Auto-tensioners and Pulleys for you. No matter which way you choose, you'll likely end up paying more in the long run if you choose to skip over replacing parts listed above.
* Hope to put replace Lock-up Solenoid over the weekend to take care of the not-so-smooth shifting.*
i had the same issue, A/T died, same noise, thought my exhaust fell off, idled funny for a split second and died.
valves were also fine on mine. when the auto tensioner fails, it causes the car to skip timing around two - three teeth, because timing changes slowly as the belt loosens up, and it falls out of spec and stalls before it bends anything. however every time you crank it, you cut your chances in half. because if the belt slips enough to go the next couple teeth (5+ is about the point you start bending valves) you cut your chances of saving the engine in half.
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