1995 Honda Prelude Distributor problem

Tiny
TRAVELER218
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 HONDA PRELUDE
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • MANUAL
  • 130,000 MILES
Recently my sons Honda Prelude started running rough and cutting out while idling. Removing the distributor cap showed that the screw holding the rotor on had broken off flush with the shaft and the rotor was loose. I drilled the screw and used an "easy-out" to remove it. When we replace the distributor cap and rotor (with new ones) and started the car, the engine would barely run and was making loud knocking noises. I have removed the valve covers to check the rockers, valve adjustment and timing belt, and all seems well. I also removed the distributor, but could not see any evidence of a problem. Can you give me some idea of what to check for next? Could the distributor be bad? Is there any what to check it?
Saturday, December 8th, 2007 AT 5:43 PM

6 Replies

Tiny
BLACKOP555
  • MECHANIC
  • 10,386 POSTS
Put the #1 cylinder in TDC and then take off the distributor cap and make sure the rotor is pointing at the #1 spark plug wire, if not the vehicle jumped time, and the distributor should be lined up wiht the #1 spark plug.
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Saturday, December 8th, 2007 AT 5:53 PM
Tiny
TRAVELER218
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
That was the first thing that I did. I lined up the marks on the crankshaft pulley's and check to make sure the #1 piston was top dead center. I then checked the position of the distributor to verify the rotor was pointing to the #1 position. All looked well.
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Saturday, December 8th, 2007 AT 6:20 PM
Tiny
BLACKOP555
  • MECHANIC
  • 10,386 POSTS
Did you check the ignition timing, and make sure that the rotor is spinning freely and not moving up and down.
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Saturday, December 8th, 2007 AT 7:08 PM
Tiny
TRAVELER218
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  • 5 POSTS
I guess I should have completed the statement with: even though the timing seems to be correct, I still have the same problem. There is something else causing the problem, but I don't know what to check next. Any suggestions?
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Saturday, December 8th, 2007 AT 7:14 PM
Tiny
TRAVELER218
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Yes, I did check to see if the distributor was spinning freely. It appeared to be, I didn't see any "Up-down" movement at the time. I will reinstall the distributor and check again.
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Sunday, December 9th, 2007 AT 9:51 AM
Tiny
TRAVELER218
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Well, I can't say that I know exactly what fixed the problem; but, I re-assembled everything, put new plugs in and started 'er up. The knocking noise was gone and it seemed to be running smooth. The idle speed was a bit low, causing it to cut out, but once that was adjusted, everything was great.

Thanks for the suggestions.
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Sunday, December 9th, 2007 AT 9:05 PM

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