"Stuttering" around 6k....?

[Addict]

For some reason my car has started "stuttering" at about 6k on up. By that I mean it sounds like the fuel is getting cut off or maybe the clutch is slipping. Its wierd because its fine up until 6,000 RPMs. As soon as it hits that it starts. Sometimes it acts perfectly ok. I'm not getting any CELs either.

Here's my list of engine related mods:
AEM Cold Air Intake
MSD 6AL Ignition (8k Limiter)
MSD Blaster 3 Coil
MSD Pro-Cap Distributor Cap
NGK Spark Plug Wires

I have 51,000 miles on her. As far as I know the fuel filter hasn't been replaced (at least not by me anyhow; though I don't know what mileage it should be done at; too lazy to go get my book). The plugs were replaced about 6-8000 miles back. I haven't pulled them yet to look at them. Any thoughts?

[ebpda9]

hmm i would say it's something in the ignition. how is your alternator rated ? msd 6al needs 5amps till 5000k and beyound that needs 10amps. maybe it's a loose connection or something

[Addict]

Originally posted by hondaman-iac
hmm i would say it's something in the ignition. how is your alternator rated ? msd 6al needs 5amps till 5000k and beyound that needs 10amps. maybe it's a loose connection or something

Its been working up til this point. I dunno. I'll check out the wires & plugs tonight.

[Racing Rice]

This will sound a little dumb and may not be the case but maybe worth checking. Make sure you filter is on your tube proberly and you are getting good air flow through it, a friend of mine had a similar thing happen to him and come to find out it was the air filter wasnt seated properly..

[ebpda9]

yeah rr has a good point here. i gotta check mine too cause it's doing the same thing, and my filter is tied with tiewraps to the airbox (ghetto)

[Addict]

I went and bought some zMax today at lunch. I need to change my oil anyhow do I figure I'll toss this in too. Hey if its god enough for Carroll Shelby its good enough for me......
http://www.zmax.com/handler.cfm?zMAX...ts,powersystem

[ebpda9]

Originally posted by Civic_Addict
I went and bought some zMax today at lunch. I need to change my oil anyhow do I figure I'll toss this in too. Hey if its god enough for Carroll Shelby its good enough for me......
http://www.zmax.com/handler.cfm?zMAX...ts,powersystem

yeah i heard about it, but the thing that will keep the metal wet and penetrate it kind of throws me off.

[Addict]

Originally posted by hondaman-iac

yeah i heard about it, but the thing that will keep the metal wet and penetrate it kind of throws me off.

Well one of my friends used it in his 97 F-150. He just recently took it in to have some engine work done(bored out, cams, etc). Tey said his engine looked brand new and asked if he had anyone rebuild his engine recently. He even ran those nasty octane boosters in it.

[slowEJ6]

fuel filters should be replaced every 30k miles.... just so you know

[Addict]

Originally posted by hybrid3do0rcx
fuel filters should be replaced every 30k miles.... just so you know

Well I guess that's another thing to buy.

[ebpda9]

it's only $12, but it's well worth it. i gotta change mine too.

[Addict]

Originally posted by hondaman-iac
it's only $12, but it's well worth it. i gotta change mine too.

Might as well get the AEM version.... If i have to do it, might as well do it right. All $92 dollars right.

[Addict]

Well I checked my plugs. They're fine. The wires are all secure.
Ready for a twist?
I checked my oil. A quart low. WTF!? Well it didnt leak out. I park in the spot in the garage and there's no spots what so ever. So I filled it up & added the zMAX to it & the fuel. Ran around for about 20 minutes. It seemed to have helped the situation a bit (wonder why). I still get the occasional sputter, but now its at about 7200+.

I must be tossing oil out the exhaust. The tip(its chrome. came that way) get black crap on it pretty quickly. I just cleaned it yesterday and there's some on it already. Any ideas? I don't know where to go from here.

[ebpda9]

you know, maybe the valve cover gasket is leaking and it's trowing oil to the timimg belt. check that. mine used to do that, until i replaced the gasket

[Addict]

Well the fuel filter wasn't the problem. I replaced that (easier than I thought). It starts smoother. That's about it. No one had a fuel pressure gauge for my Honda. So since I can't check my fuel pressure, I'm moving onto the next item.

So next on the list (thanks to good ol' Helms) is the ignition system. I ran a probe on the coil wire. Seems like I'm getting good flow there. I'm going to check out the rotor (if I remember right, the rotors on Hondas are weak PoS's) & check the ignition unit wires.

Tomorrow morning I'll be getting up bright & early to change my oil/filter and add the zMAX too. Hopefully I'll get this figured out.

Thanks for the advice so far.......

[Addict]

Well I changed the oil. Not that I expected that to fix, just needed to be done.

I decided to crack open the distributor cap & have a look around. Well as I was trying to get the screw to line up (if you've ever taken the rotor off you know what I mean, you have to crank the engine in small increments so you can actually get to the screw) I notice that the edge of the rotor is bit black. Hmmm. So I take a look at the points in the cap. They're black too. Sounds like it was arcing to me.

So to sum it up I'm on the hunt for a more "durable" rotor. Though I'll probably end up just getting another OEM one.

Just thought I'd let you all know the status thus far. If this doesn't fix it, I think I might give up.

[ebpda9]

i think that is the problem. who makes some good rotors for cars ? i know oem ones are crappy

[Addict]

I was thinking abou going with Crane
http://www.hondastyle.com/forums/sho...&threadid=5605
Not sure though. I don't see many on the market.

[ebpda9]

at least you can find something for your car. on mine can't find anything except inatkes headers and exhaust.

[Addict]

Originally posted by hondaman-iac
at least you can find something for your car. on mine can't find anything except inatkes headers and exhaust.

Well if you want a new cap, rotor, etc I found one for you. Crane makes it. Goto www.summitracing.com . The partnumber is CRN-730-0694 .

may be o2 sensor. i have had the same prob and now after 2 months of trouble shooting i got a cel. the ecu gave a code 61 for primary o2 sensor. i will be changing it fri.

[Addict]

Originally posted by vtecmansi
may be o2 sensor. i have had the same prob and now after 2 months of trouble shooting i got a cel. the ecu gave a code 61 for primary o2 sensor. i will be changing it fri.

It was the rotor. I replaced it and fine sanded the contacts. It ran beautifully.

Unfortunately the engine is hydrolocked now.....

eww sorry to hear that. well hopefully the o2 sensor will fix mine. if not, i will start back at the rotor. good luck gettin' a new motor.

by the way was the rotor noticeably worn or how did you come to the conclusion it was the rotor?

[Addict]

Originally posted by vtecmansi
by the way was the rotor noticeably worn or how did you come to the conclusion it was the rotor?

If you take off the cap off and look at the rotor you will be bale to tell. They don't "wear" per say. They burn. The edges on mine were black.