Dry Cylinders--Honda Civic

I have a 98 Honda Civic with ~ 140K miles. This year, the oil has drained from
the cylinders three times, leading to the car not starting. I've taken it to a
local mechanic who discovered the dry cylinders by removing the spark plugs. He
poured transmission fluid into the cylinders to get the car to start. He does
not know what's causing this, said he's only seen it in cars that sit for
extended periods or that needed fuel injector adjustments. He said he ruled out
fuel injectors overspraying and washing the oil out because there was no gas in
the oil. Said no codes were present on the computer board. The car is driven
daily, so sitting isn't the problem.

One thing I've always done was change the oil every 5K miles. Have also had
serpentine belt, timing chain, and water pump replaced early this year.
Mechanic has double checked the timing and says it's good. Been doing research
on the valve train, since mechanic thought perhaps something was wrong with the
valves but doesn't do that kind of work.

I've also noticed that the car practically drinks gas now and the dry cylinder
problem seems to be happening at shorter intervals over time. Anybody know what
might be the problem?

 

Not sure where to start on this.... Dry cylinders? If no oil is reaching
the cylinders, then the engine wouldn't run at all, let alone start, and the
damage you would do to it in the mean time is mind boggling!

The only thing I can think of is a leaky fuel injector. This can be solved
on startup by pushing the gas pedal to the floor when you turn the key. Do
this for about 10-15 seconds and it should start. Don't let up off the gas
until it starts.

Once you get it running, run some good injection cleaner through it, Chevron
Techron is what everyone around here talks about. Run it every 3 months
through the fuel system, and you should avoid and stuck open injectors.

By the way, your car doesn't have a timing chain, it has a timing belt. Big
difference.

t

 

Interesting. My '86 Accord sat for nearly a year but started right up
(yeah, I know it's bad for the engine, but the car was totalled anyway).

 

Whaaaat? What kinda hootenanny assertion is that?

Oil is never *in* the cylinders to begin with! It get splashed/sprayed
UNDER the piston and drains away every time you shut the car off.

You need a new mechanic. This one doesn't seem to be approaching this in
a methodical manner.

Ah, finally a clue!

Please tell us the ***EXACT*** sequence of events that occurs when an
attempt is made to start the car and it does not. By "exact" I mean
EVERYTHING, including crank times, precise behavior when cranking, etc.

Any black smoke out the tailpipe? Any black deposits on the bumper on
the side the tailipe is on?

 

------------------------------------

Your mechanic is a whacko. Cylinders are supposed to be dry inside.

Your engine sounds like it's FLOODING, so read your owner's manual and
you'll be able to start it next time this happens (pedal all the way to
the floor). Meantime, run a can of Techron injector cleaner through the
gas tank.

This has always happened on a Monday morning, or at least after sitting
overnight, right???

'Curly'

 

How does it not start? At that milage, you could be having problems
with the starter solenoid getting stuck. A stuck solenoid causes
absolutely nothing to happen when you turn the key. A stuck engine
would smoke your starter in seconds.

What kind of oil filter are you using? Does the oil light turn off as
soon as the engine starts? Who is changing your oil? Is it clean
afterwards or just topped off?

So your mechanics suspects the valves? Why? That's a quick thing to
test on a Civic. Take the valve cover off and turn the engine slowly by
hand or by pushing the car in 5th gear. If they open and close, have
the right clearance, and compression is good then what's to suspect?

Oil takes a LONG time to drain from the cylinders. I've only seen it in
a lawnmower that wasn't used for 6 years. If you were leaking enough
gas to wash it away then your engine would chug, sputter, and spew
gasoline fumes like mad once it started.

 

transmission fluid? this is not a "mechanic", this is an idiot.

what a surprise. not.

gasoline injectors are not adjustable.

don't believe that unless he's done analysis. and i'll bet he hasn't.

that directly contradicts the "dry cylinder" problem.

no serpentine on your civic.

no timing chain on your civic - it's a belt.

not the valves.

yes, you have an injector stuck open. take this vehicle to a competent
repair shop and have them fix the problem - this other guy hasn't the
first clue and will probably cost you money because of their poor
"repairs" being faulty down the road.

in the future:
1. avoid the injector problem by using decent branded gasoline and using
injector cleaner periodically.
2. find a competent independent mechanic that knows what they're doing.
this person would shame any shade tree.

 

Thanks. I have a better idea of what's happening now.

 

Maybe the reason for not starting is bad compression on a cylinder?
Squirting oil into a plug hole is usually done as a temporary measure
when the rings are worn.

Remco

 

After re-reading your post, I noticed you mentioned he put ATF into
your cylinder head. Not sure why he tried that one:
That is an old trick to unstick rings and remove carbon deposits - one
would basically put some into a carborator. I guess that works the same
on a fuel injected car like yours.

If that made it work, it is most likely still ring related, imo.