Hi. I'm new to the forum and fixing cars.

Have a 07 Sport that over the last few months had some stuttering, mostly at highway speeds and the check engine light came on very sporadically. Had the check engine read at Autozone and had misfiring on three cylinders and a mystery one on the fourth, but probably a misfire. But over the last two months the engine light hasn't come on and the stuttering has happened very very infrequently.

Fast forward to yesterday, I finally had the time, tools etc to investigate the coil packs and plugs. After reading a lot on this forum, including this post https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...e-answers.html, I self diagnosed my problem as the coil packs. But before buying replacements I thought I would check them out.

So I unhooked the positive on the battery and then removed each coil pack individually and spark plug. The plugs looked good based on what I saw on websites. The coil packs did have a bit of build up inside and the plastic at the top of the harness was a bit warned, but seemed ok. I cleaned them up as the post said and put everything back exactly as I found it and hooked the battery back up.

It started fine and ran ok for about 5 minutes. THEN serious stuttering, misfiring, check engine light came on and it basically slowed to like 5 mph and wouldn't accelerate past that. I turned it off, waited two minutes then fired it back up and with stuttering got it back to the house like 30 sec. away.

WHAT DID I SCREW UP? Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks. Glenn.

 

I don't think you screwed anything up. Like humans, everything must come to an end. I'm assuming you have over 100,000 miles on the car or thereabout? The plugs and coil packs are a wearable item and do need to be replaced. Even following the advice on this website does not change the inevitable. Since you like "messing around," it sounds like it is time for you to engage in a threesome: new coil packs, spark plugs, and a valve adjustment. If you decide to mess around again, don't forget to wear protection: gloves and safety glasses. Name and address withheld.

 

Thanks BurntZ.

What I'm wondering does the car run so poorly after I took a the packs and it's out the. Reinstalled them?

Honestly it doesn't give me a ton of confidence moving forward replacing them both.

My major concerns are,

1. Investing $250 on new coil packs and spark plugs and it not fixing the problem.
2. What coil packs to get. I want to get the hitachi's but not sure if they are the updated ones.
3. I have no idea how to do a valve adjustment.
4. Screwing things up even more so that if/when I bring it to an actual mechanic it will cost me much more in the long run.

BurntZ or anyone else, if you have any thoughts or advice I'm all ears. Thanks.

Glenn

 

Don't worry, there are others much smarter than I who will chime in once they read your note. For me, I've already had my valves done by a Honda dealer. To not get ripped off, and to turn the tables, anytime I feel I want a Honda technician to do a repair rather than my usual mechanic, I send out 5 e-mails to the local Honda service departments asking them to bid for my business. The bids I got ranged from $165 to $380. I then took the lowest Honda bid over to my local Honda dealer and had them match the price. I did this at 96,000 miles. I have yet to have my plugs or coil packs replaced. I know it is expensive, and I too plan on getting the Hitachi packs, but it has to be done at some point. For some GD owners, these parts last up to 140,000 miles; for others, they get both switched out at about 75,000 miles. I'm hoping for a long run, but I do know that when the stuttering starts, and that my valves have already been taken care of, it is time for me to roll up my sleeves and change the plugs and coil packs.
Please post your mileage so others can help you better.

 

I'd suggest removing the coil packs and "clean" them using BrakeKleen (a CRC product that is not petroleum based) and then WD-40 (the WD stands for water displacement). Let them air dry, reinstall and report back on how it is running.

Also make certain that there isn't any fluid on the exposed spark plug end.

 

My mileage is 92k. I already cleaned them per the thread I posted below. Seems to have caused problems.

 

Well an update. I ordered the following from rock today.

HITACHIIGC0053Ignition Coil$ 51.79$ 0.004$ 207.16 NGK6774Spark Plug$ 9.67$ 0.004$ 38.68
And I'm thinking I'll grab a comp reader tomorrow at Autozone tomorrow and read the car tomorrow afternoon. Hoping it reads misfires on all cylinders. Then I can throw these in when the parts arrive and things will working smooth.

Then it will be tackling the water leak in the wheel well next, argh. If anyone has any more thoughts I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

 

Yep, I'll be buying those exact parts from Rock Auto when the time comes.


As for the water leak, we've solved that already. There is a small crack in the frame that allows water to seep down into the spare tire well. Do a internet search on fit-freak-hatch-leak, and I think your answers will all come up. Searching on this website is very hit or miss. As you look at your hatch, open it up. To the upper right where the rubber roof rail strip ends at your hatch is where the crack is. Simply unhook the snap under the end of the roof rail rubber piece by pulling on the end. The metal snap will release from the small metal post underneath. The crack should be right after that metal post and will run for an inch or two towards the top of your hatch. Clean out the trough on top of your roof. If you see the small crack, seal it with some silicon caulk. Here's the link to the discussion and photos. Radiolandog posted some excellent pictures near the middle of the page of this link:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-...k-trunk-2.html