Question:  1996 Honda Civic mileage: 107,000.  I recently had a valve job done on my car.  Now the car is emitting smelly smoke while I warm it up.  What does this mean?  What can I do to reduce this heavy, stink smelling smoke?  I told the Mechanic and he claims that because I ran it on 3 cylinders for so long that there is a carbon build-up on the Catalytic Converter.  By the way, my car is carbureted.

Answer:    Your mechanic may be right that the problem may be caused by the catalytic converter.  However, if you are still loosing coolant, you may have a cracked cylinder head or the new head gasket may be leaking.

Question:  2000 Honda mileage: 85,000.  This morning as I went to work my car just died at the stop sign.  The car was warm; I just got off the highway.  About two blocks later it died.  It would crank but not start.  Strong cranking.  The car was tuned up recently.  I do all the work myself.  After looking for loose wire etc., got back in car and it started then stalled, then cranked several times.   It started and got me to work about two blocks later.  Then at lunch, it started several times then did not any more.  I had the ICM changed 8 months ago with almost the same symptom.  Probably is the ICM but I do not know how to test this.  A mechanic repaired it last time and it cost 300.00, too much for a simple fix.  Can you tell me how to trouble shoot the ignition control module (ICM)?

 Answer:   Two things to check when your car is stalled, you can test the ignition control module by checking for spark at the spark plugs.  If no spark, there is an excellent chance that the control module has failed.  If you have spark, you may want to check the fuel pump, which may be the culprit.

Question:  2001 Honda Civic DX mileage: 118,500.  When I'm driving down the highway WITH the AC on, the car feels like it jerks.  And when I take the car out of gear and put it into neutral (it's a manual transmission) the car stalls (and this happens WITH the AC on).  On the contrary, when I drive on the highway or put it into neutral WITHOUT the AC it runs smoothly and none of those things happen.  I tend to think it is the compressor.  Do you have any idea what it is?  Thanks a lot for your help.

Answer:   It sounds like the air-conditioning compressor is failing as you suspected.

Question:  1997 Honda Civic  mileage: 140,000.   I am the original owner and have kept the car in good shape with fairly regular oil changes, standard maintenance, etc.  The car was running great and I was about to get into what I like to think of as the "gravy years"  (i.e. those last 2-3 years where you might be sick to death of the car but it still runs great, is cheap to insure, and has long ago been paid off).  Running great... until last Tuesday.  It was zero degrees here in bucolic Northampton, MA and the car had been sitting all day while I was at work.  That evening in the parking lot the car started fine and I had been revving the motor for maybe five seconds to try to warm it up more quickly (not a good practice you say!) when I heard "clink" and the motor shut down.  I tried to start it again - the battery cranked the motor fine but it never fired and sounded different while cranking than it usually does.  Jump forward to Friday when it has been towed to my mechanic and I have been told the timing belt snapped and the "clink" I heard was the pistons creaming into the valves because the Honda motor is an "interference" design.  Ughhhh.  My mechanic, who I feel is very trustworthy and does good work, has said that the valve job would be $700-$800 but he doesn't want to do it because with this much mileage a valve job almost always results in the motor burning lots of oil (1qt. per 400 miles) because the rings are now taking more compression due to the new, tighter top end.  He's done it in the past, very occasionally with good non-oil burning results, but when it ends up with the motor burning oil after having paid $700 for an engine repair the client is pissed off.  He would rather explain the situation and turn away the job but keep the client and his reputation.   The quote for a motor replacement is about $3k (4 yr., 60k warranty), which I am not willing to do for a car I only want to drive 2 more years.  Given that, I am thinking that my best option might be to take a chance on the comparatively cheap valve job (either taking it somewhere else or begging my mechanic to do the job with the clear understanding that most likely that the car will start eating oil) if it results in a motor which I could run for 2 more years without having then to do a ring job.  My question is what would you recommend and how can I best assess the likely outcome of the valve job before the fact (i.e. the valve cover hasn't been taken off yet to assess the actual damage so maybe it's not so bad ("dream on" you say!) and I would think some kind of compression test could indicate the actual condition of the rings and forecast how they would react to the extra compression, no?   Also, would it be possible to do the top end in a "less tight" way so that the resulting compression would more closely match the compression of the original worn valves?  ).  Thanks very much.

Answer:  After reading and digesting your question, you are right, you have a very trustworthy skilled mechanic.  He is right, after doing a valve job your car may use more oil than before.  With the present condition of your engine (bent valves) a compression check cannot be done.  What we would suggest at this time is to talk with your mechanic to see if you can come to an understanding about the oil consumption and have him do the valve job.

Question:  2000 Honda Civic mileage: 135,000.  This morning the car's starter was reluctant to turn over.  This has happened once or twice before.  The thing is, in every case, the starter HAS finally turned over - at which point the engine promptly fires.  What might cause the starter to occasionally fail to turn over?  I doubt that the starter motor itself is bad because when it finally goes - after Dan gives the ignition switch a rest - it really goes and gives the engine plenty of revs with which to fire.  Thanks for the help.

Answer:   Here are some things to check.  Load test the battery.  Check that the battery cable connections are clean.  Check for 12 volts to starter solenoid with the key in the start position.   These things should be checked first then the ignition switch, starter and starter solenoid.  One of these may be faulty.

Question:  2002 Honda Civic mileage: 71,000.  Bob and Ken, It has been suggested that we replace both CV boots for our car.  Should we not drive the car until this is done?  What if we keep driving the car?

Answer:   If the CV boots are torn and throwing grease, then they definitely should be replaced.  If you do not replace the boots and they are torn and you continue driving, it will eventually cause the CV joints to fail.

Question:  1985 Honda Civic 4WD Wagon 1.5L _mileage: 151,016.  Having just taken the car through an emissions inspection, I found my Hydrocarbon outputs a bit too close to the limits, so I felt a tune up was in order.  I have replaced the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, both fuel and air filters, some leaking fuel lines that I found in the process, PCV valve, and I changed the oil.  Now, the car will not start.  I have verified that I have spark from each of the spark plug wires, (By holding a connected spark plug against the valve cover with pliers and cranking the engine.) and the firing order is the same as when the old components were removed.  (I made a diagram.)  I do have fuel getting to the carburetor and all vacuum lines are connected where they should be.  Compression should not be an issue, because the car ran before I did the tune up.  I have checked everything that my Haynes manual has recommended me to try.  The PCV valve fits into a socket on the block and a tube leads from a nipple on the PCV valve to the intake manifold.  The old valve was dangling from the tube, and not fitted into the socket.  I put the new one in correctly, however this should not affect the starting of the engine.  I walked to a Honda Dealership and asked a mechanic if there were any other things I should check.  (I do have fairly good mechanical knowledge and experience, but it's always good to ask the experts.)  I have also tried replacing all the old parts that I removed, including the leaking fuel hoses.  There is no way I could have installed the distributor cap or rotor 180 Degrees out of phase, as I have purposely tried to install it wrong.  Ether starting spray will not work, nor will cranking with the throttle to the floor, with or without the choke propped open.  I have let it sit for a few hours with the plugs out to allow any excess gas to evaporate.  I am all out of ideas, as is my father, and several mechanic friends. 

Answer:  Three things you need for an engine to run, compression, spark at the right time, and the proper amount of fuel.  Start with checking the compression and verify that the timing is right. 

Follow-up:  I found the problem shortly after e-mailing you guys.  I retried all the old ignition components again and it started, must have done something wrong when I tried the old parts the first time.  Anyway, I ended up replacing parts one by one, and ended up finding out that my new spark plug wires were bad.  A clerk at the auto parts store had given me numerous parts for a fuel-injected model, but I had returned the distributor cap and rotor because they were visually wrong.  The wires however looked the same on the outside.  Inside, however they had interference suppressing resistors, which made the spark weak, and hence, no ignition.  Returning the wires in exchange for the correct ones solved my problem.

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