Issues With 1990 Integra LS Auto 145K

[johnnynuge]

Hey Tim,

I originally posted this a couple days ago at the 2nd Generation forum, and would love your expert advice. Thanks.



Hello.

I am the 3rd owner of the car, purchased in Jan 02 with 96k. I live in the LA area. I'll just make a list of everything thats wrong with my Integra.

- Since I've owned the car, I've always had a problem with the car shaking violently when I'm stopped while in drive with the brakes applied. Putting it into neutral relieves it just a bit sometimes. Mechanic did something (timing?) to change the idle, which helped at first but eventually the shaking returned (to a bit lesser extent).

- About 2 years ago, I was having problems in the morning (winter) when my car was not warmed up. My transmission wouldn't shift from 2nd to 3rd gear unless I drove for a while. If I had to come to a stop before I was able to shift, the engine would just die. I wouldn't be able to start it for a few minutes. I got it fixed (see above) and didn't have the problem for well over a year.

- Still have issues with the transmission shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear when not warmed up (but engine didn't die anymore). Slipping between gears has been a persistent problem since the shifting issues started occurring.

- Since I can remember owning the car, I had rare occurrences of it sputtering and dying when I started the car. Sometimes it would die the instant I started driving/backing up. It would start up again right away no problem. Over the last 2 years, this problem has happened far more frequently.

- Over the last year and a half, I've had problems with the car not starting if it was parked in direct sunlight. Car would start again normally when it's cooled down. Huge problem in hot SoCal summer. I always try to park in the shade now and leave the windows open a crack. From research, I know it's probably the main relay. Can I just get the connections re-soldered or do I have to get it replaced?

- It was 50 degrees last night when I was leaving to go out. I hadn't driven the car in 2 days. The first time I tried to start the car it died instantly. Started fine the second time. I drove about a mile and had already shifted from 2nd to 3rd. When I stopped at a light, my car just died. This had never happened at night before. Took a few minutes before I was able to start it again. I drove another mile and tried to park. As soon as I tried to reverse to parallel park it died again. It happened again twice last night when I tried to go in reverse.

- The most troubling problem I've had with the car happened once about 8 or 9 months ago, and then again 2 weeks ago. The first time I was on the freeway going around 70mph, when the engine suddenly and without warning lost power. The check engine light came on, my RPMs dropped and I was only able to drive about 25mph max. Luckily I was very close to home. Car drove normally the next day onwards, but I never got it checked out. I avoided the freeway for months. When I did get back on the freeway, I was able to drive normally with no incident. Until 2 weeks ago. I was driving around 70mph when I suddenly lost power. Check engine light came on. I drifted for about 30 seconds (seemed like an eternity) with my foot on the gas the whole time. Full power came back and car drove normally (with check engine light on). Exact same thing happened on my way home. I've avoided the freeway ever since.

The incident 2 weeks ago and last night have put me in panic mode. I can't afford to not have my car work and can't really afford to get it fixed. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to give as many details as possible. I'm not a DIYer, and will have to rely on a mechanic to repair. Money is very tight right now, so I need to be sure the problems are fixed correctly in the cheapest manner possible. Pretty much every mechanic that's ever taken a look at it has said the engine is in really good shape. I'd love to get a couple more years out of this car without sinking too much money into repairs. Is that realistic?

Please advise.

Thank you in advance.

[hondacuraworld]

Let me do my best to address the concerns one at a time.....the following answers assume that there is no check engine light on.

- Since I've owned the car, I've always had a problem with the car shaking violently when I'm stopped while in drive with the brakes applied. Putting it into neutral relieves it just a bit sometimes. Mechanic did something (timing?) to change the idle, which helped at first but eventually the shaking returned (to a bit lesser extent).

If the shaking is only through the steering wheel, and it just seems like a hard shaking, that's the way they were.

- About 2 years ago, I was having problems in the morning (winter) when my car was not warmed up. My transmission wouldn't shift from 2nd to 3rd gear unless I drove for a while. If I had to come to a stop before I was able to shift, the engine would just die. I wouldn't be able to start it for a few minutes. I got it fixed (see above) and didn't have the problem for well over a year.

- Still have issues with the transmission shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear when not warmed up (but engine didn't die anymore). Slipping between gears has been a persistent problem since the shifting issues started occurring.

Another common replacement item on these cars was the transmission shift and lockup solenoids, which could surely cause this issue.

- Since I can remember owning the car, I had rare occurrences of it sputtering and dying when I started the car. Sometimes it would die the instant I started driving/backing up. It would start up again right away no problem. Over the last 2 years, this problem has happened far more frequently.

- Over the last year and a half, I've had problems with the car not starting if it was parked in direct sunlight. Car would start again normally when it's cooled down. Huge problem in hot SoCal summer. I always try to park in the shade now and leave the windows open a crack. From research, I know it's probably the main relay. Can I just get the connections re-soldered or do I have to get it replaced?

- It was 50 degrees last night when I was leaving to go out. I hadn't driven the car in 2 days. The first time I tried to start the car it died instantly. Started fine the second time. I drove about a mile and had already shifted from 2nd to 3rd. When I stopped at a light, my car just died. This had never happened at night before. Took a few minutes before I was able to start it again. I drove another mile and tried to park. As soon as I tried to reverse to parallel park it died again. It happened again twice last night when I tried to go in reverse.

- The most troubling problem I've had with the car happened once about 8 or 9 months ago, and then again 2 weeks ago. The first time I was on the freeway going around 70mph, when the engine suddenly and without warning lost power. The check engine light came on, my RPMs dropped and I was only able to drive about 25mph max. Luckily I was very close to home. Car drove normally the next day onwards, but I never got it checked out. I avoided the freeway for months. When I did get back on the freeway, I was able to drive normally with no incident. Until 2 weeks ago. I was driving around 70mph when I suddenly lost power. Check engine light came on. I drifted for about 30 seconds (seemed like an eternity) with my foot on the gas the whole time. Full power came back and car drove normally (with check engine light on). Exact same thing happened on my way home. I've avoided the freeway ever since.

The incident 2 weeks ago and last night have put me in panic mode. I can't afford to not have my car work and can't really afford to get it fixed. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to give as many details as possible. I'm not a DIYer, and will have to rely on a mechanic to repair. Money is very tight right now, so I need to be sure the problems are fixed correctly in the cheapest manner possible. Pretty much every mechanic that's ever taken a look at it has said the engine is in really good shape. I'd love to get a couple more years out of this car without sinking too much money into repairs. Is that realistic?

I think honestly that all of the problems you describe above can be traced to a bad main PGM-FI relay. The difference in temperature is a sure sign of this going bad. It's about a $50 part, and is located high up under the far left hand side of the dash.

[shawnhu]

Johnny,
The Acura Vigor Car Club knows too well of the problems that you've described. Tim's on the ball when he speaks of the PGM-FI(aka Main Relay) failing at hot temps. Bake the car under the sun, no start, cool breezy night, starts like a champ. Always cranks, not always catches. Relay can be repaired if you're good with solder.

Your shifting and shaking issues all ties in with the transmission starting to show it's wear. I've seen too many Acura's with these same symptoms. More often than not, simply draining and flushing the old fluid out and replacing with Honda Z1 ATF has fixed the problem. Gear slippage, shaking at the stop light, and harsh/late shifting all went away after the flush. Your mileage may vary.

Finally, seems like you also have an ignition switch problem. Engine losing power during a drive is indication that power is not routed to the ECU to keep the engine firing. You can easily test the ignition switch by starting the engine, and then wiggling the key just a little. If the engine stalls, then you've confirmed the bad ignition swtich.

In your case, it's best to start with the most expensive problems first, which is the transmission. If the Honda ATF works for you, then getting the other 2 items fixed is a no-brainer.

Shawn

[sfiller]

90 Integra shaking engine - with mine, it was motor mounts and/or the mechanic loosens the motor mounts and with the brakes on rocks the engine by shifting from forward to reverse, however they do it, and seats the engine on the good mounts, eliminating most of the vibration.

90 Integra 1-4 mile delay before get a normal AT 2-3 upshift - This problem started a year ago at around 90K and has got worse.

I have changed the fluid numerous times and lately added butyl cellosolve, which may kill it. Writers say "debris in modulator valve." Other writers say, give it up.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY, ONCE IT SHIFTS NORMALLY, THE DEBRIS IS NOT SUSPENDED AND DOES NOT COME OUT WITH THE FLUID.

If I believed cleaning or replacing A and B solenoids would work, I would do it - could not get it from above and wonder whether I would need to remove the fender.

Why do the solenoids work fine after 1 mile, now after 4 miles? What is it that loosens up? Does anyone know?

Noisy power steering pump - DO NOT REPLACE UNTIL YOU HAVE SUBSTITUTED HONDA PS FLUID - pull upper hose off reservoir, attach drain hose, run engine, drain, and add Honda fluid.

EGR valve assembly - integral egr valve lift sensor was sending a bad signal - used, cost about $30 - first got bad dealer diagnosis of a bad solenoid on the firewall and wasted $100.

Stuart sfiller@ameriteche.net