[AcuraFeature DRIVEABILITY DIAGNOSTICS

By Bob Dowie, Import Specialist Contributor

T
his month, we’ll be looking at a
2006 Acura MDX that belongs
to one of our long-time
customers. This well-maintained,
high-mileage vehicle has treated
its owner well over the years,
but it was getting older and with
150,000 miles on the odometer,
it was causing some concern.
Following a typical scenario, a
new vehicle was acquired for the
wife and kids, and the MDX was
handed down to the husband to
use as his commuter car to get to
work, replacing the previous hand-
me-down. When they asked our
opinion about this plan, we were
quick to encourage it, knowing
the MDX still had some good
miles left in it.

36 April 2016 | Import-Car.com

 DRIVEABILITY DIAGNOSTICS
All was going well for the
first few months until the cold
weather set in and the MDX
started stalling when cold. When
the customer brought the car
in, we’d get mysterious misfire
codes with no reports of the
expected poor-run complaint. The
cold-start issue went like this: The
car would start and stall a couple
of times, then it would run well.
The family was nervous since
they didn’t want to make a big
investment in the MDX, but, at
the same time, didn’t want to buy
another new car.
Normally when faced with a
misfire code, your first thought
would be an ignition coil failure,
and many times you would be
on the right track. Most of the
time when you get a P0300 series
code on a Honda/Acura, it will
be a solid misfire with a cylinder
identified. While not the most
high-tech approach, we usually
swap the coil from the offending
AcuraFeature]
cylinder to another and confirm
the misfire follows the change.
DIGGING IN
With the case at hand, we
couldn’t confirm the misfire or
the stalling condition, so we had
some detective work ahead of
us. If you have read any of the
other articles I’ve written over the
years, you know I like to work
with the new guys coming into
the business, especially to review
diagnostic strategies. This has
paid dividends to the shop in
improving the performance of
these techs while letting the more
experienced techs better evaluate
their own level of knowledge/
training.
The check engine light was
illuminated when the MDX was
dropped off. Without being able
to duplicate the complaint, that
stored data was very important
in our decision-making process.
I’m always reminding these
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[AcuraFeature DRIVEABILITY DIAGNOSTICS
young techs that the freeze-frame
data is as important as the code
information, so on this job, I
made sure we would get it.
When reviewing the data, we
confirmed that both the intake air
and engine coolant temperature
were similar at 18° F, and RPM
38 April 2016 | Import-Car.com
was around 800 with no vehicle
speed, so we knew the misfire
codes were set at idle on cold
startup. Combine that with our
cold-stalling complaint, and we
had the basis for our diagnosis.
Using this information, I talked
with the young tech who was
on the job about what could be
the problem and how we would
tackle the repair.
DIAGNOSTIC BASICS
The first part of the discussion
took us down the path of a
sticking idle air control valve.
My tech was thinking that it
might be a cam or crank sensor
that was being affected by the
cold weather. We were able to
confirm the operation of the idle
valve with the scanner, and there
was no indication of a problem
since there was smooth operation
of the valve and we saw the
expected response in engine
RPM.
We also dismissed the idea
of the sensors based on our
experience with these vehicles
and never encountering an
intermittent problem in the past,
or a faulty sensor that didn’t set
a code.
At this point, we brought
the discussion back to what
would cause a misfire and stall
condition when cold. I asked
him to think about the basics and
what was needed to produce
good combustion. After some
discussion, he zeroed in. He
learned the valuable lesson
that once you look past all the
electronic controls, the basics
needed for combustion — air/
fuel (draw), compression
(squeeze), ignition (bang) and
exhaust (push) — still exist.
As the conversation continued,
we talked about which of those
things were most likely to be
affected by really cold, ambient
temperatures. I asked him if
he thought it was possible that
tight valve lash could be the
problem. He looked at me and
[AcuraFeature
DRIVEABILITY DIAGNOSTICS

Valve Adjustment: Check clearance between

the screw and the valve stem.

asked, “Why only when cold?” At that point, we

talked about the different expansion rates of the
components involved, and he agreed that the
aluminum head would expand relatively quickly,
moving the valvetrain away from the valve and
creating clearance that wasn’t there when cold.
With a plan in hand, the tech pulled the intake
and valve covers while I wrote an estimate and
called the customer, who was a little hesitant
given the situation. I was willing to adjust the
valves on my gamble that it would take care of
the problem.

VALVE ADJUSTMENT
I was pleasantly surprised to see that Honda/
Acura had the foresight to include markings on
the front camshaft pulley for proper cylinder
location when making a valve adjustment; there is
even an access hole in the cover. Knowing that the
rear cylinders are 1-3 and the front are 4-6 makes
it easy to get the engine where it needs to be.
But, there are a few things to keep in mind
as you perform the service. Be sure to turn the
engine only in the proper direction of rotation
(clockwise). Of course, the engine should be cold
enough to touch.
The specs for this engine are 0.20-0.24 mm
(0.008-0.009 in.) for the intakes and 0.28-0.32
mm (0.011-0.013 in.) for the exhaust. Be careful,
as most spec sheets list the metric number first
(you wouldn’t be first guy to mix them up).
Identifying the intake and exhaust valves should
be no problem with the intake toward the intake
 DRIVEABILITY DIAGNOSTICS
Timing belt cylinder location
positioning marks.
manifold and the exhaust on the
outside.
Making the adjustment is
straightforward. First, slide
the feeler gauge between the
AcuraFeature]
adjustment screw and valve
stem. If an adjustment is needed,
loosen the lock nut and turn the
screw as required. Before moving
on, be sure the clearance didn’t
change when tightening the nut.
When dealing with an engine
where the valves tightened up,
I go with the widest clearance
specified to provide some
cushion.
On our MDX, we found all the
exhaust valves were tight, with
a couple being so tight that we
couldn’t get a 0.002 gauge in
there. I’m pleased to report that
the valve adjustment took care
of all the issues with a good end
result for all involved.
Having used this particular
vehicle as a learning experience
for the young tech, it
was a little different
than some of the other
cars we have seen with
tight valves. While our
MDX ran better when
warm than it did when
we started, it was never
very rough at idle and it
did not exhibit any other
symptoms when warm.
HONDA ELEMENT
EXAMPLE
On the other hand,
we recently had a
Honda Element job that
presented itself with a
rough idle and a general
poor-run condition
at low RPM with no
additional problems
when cold. It did have
a P0300 random misfire
code, as well as codes
for all the cylinders that
set when the engine
was cold. In this case,
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[AcuraFeature DRIVEABILITY DIAGNOSTICS
we had a consistent poor idle to diagnose. The first
step with any poor-idle condition is to hook up a
vacuum gauge to see where things stand. In our
case, we were down around 11 in. and not very
steady; that alone had us thinking about a valve
issue.
Continuing with our low-tech diagnosis, we first
checked for a sticking EGR valve by checking the
temperature of the valve with our hand. (Be careful if
there is exhaust flowing; it will be too hot to touch.)
Next, we checked for a leaking intake manifold or
other vacuum leak, but found none. From there, we
figured it was an engine that couldn’t produce the
expected vacuum rather than a leak.
I won’t go through all of the nuts and bolts
of the job, as it is similar to the MDX except for
crankshaft location. With a four-cylinder Honda,
bring the No. 1 cylinder to TDC with all valves
closed and with the timing dots on the cam gears
straight up, and then adjust all the valves on the
42 April 2016 | Import-Car.com
No. 1 cylinder. Following the fire order, bring No.
3 to TDC (piston up, cam timing marks at the three
o’clock position), and then continue with cylinder
No. 4 and No. 2.
We were lucky with both of these jobs that there
was no valve damage as a result of the tight lash.
What both of these engines have in common is that
the valve covers don’t come off for any routine
maintenance, which is when the valves would be
adjusted. So, we make it a habit to check valve lash
any time a cover is removed.
That leads to the question: Should we be
recommending valve adjustments as part of a
90,000-mile service on these engines? Honda
recommends adjustment only when the valves are
noisy, but we know it is more harmful if they are
quiet and tight. Currently, we aren’t recommending
routine valve adjustments, but we are not hesitating
to do so when faced with any symptoms that may
point us in that direction. IC