I picked up a 1998 Accord EX 5-speed a couple weeks ago. I bought it from a guy that was a mechanic. He had the top end rebuilt last year mainly for burnt valves. He says that it was cleaned, valve seats and guides were replaced and, a new timing belt, head gasket, etc. He gave me reciepts of the parts.
The engine and tranny leak no oil. Very clean. It has had a few quirks, most of which I can work out or live with.
The biggest irritation to me that I can't figure out is that acceleration seem terrible after 3000rpm. When merging onto the freeway, I can be in 3rd or 4th gear at 40-50mph and flooring it and i will eventually get up to speed after some time. (quite a few seconds). It doent seem like clutch slippage because the engine isn't revving and rpms aren't shooting up. Speed slowly increases. People merging behind me usually pass me up.
I had a '04 Mazda 6 w/ 2.3 liter 4cy auto and I could pass anyone one the freeway without any trouble at all. (I know, differ mfg, engine, etc, but still somewhat comparable)
I believe have performed some due dilligence by searching but I don't recall seeing something exactly like what this.
I have no CEL.
Spark Plugs (NGK Iridium), wires, cap and rotor are new as of DEC 2013 per previous owner reciepts. I checked and cap/rotor are clean.
I did find the Spark plugs were covered in a solid, bright white crust.. almost like they'd been dipped in flour. I cleaned them up. I did some searches on spark plug conditions here and on the web and the two answers that were most common regarding white tips were "thats normal wear" or "lean condition, check fuel system".
In the past week I have replaced:
- Air filter
- 1 Leaky fuel injector replaced yesterday, cleaned out other injectors and fuel rail.
- Drive belts
- Front motor mount (I know.. likely not related to acceleration issue.)
- ignition switch (first day with this car on my 35 mile morning commute to work, the car stalled at 70mph, but since its a manual tranny, it fired back up immediately being it was in gear, freaked me out until I learned of the ignition switch issue, which I wasted no time in replacing. Haven't had the problem return)
When searched here for poor acceleration or sluggish performance, the typical result was due to needing tuneup or clogged cat.
My cat is aftermarket and is welded in. How can I rule out cat without a sawzall.
I suspected fuel delivery. I found fuel PSI specs (static and under-load) in my Haynes, but I need a fuel pressure guage. I saw a fuel pressure kit at Harbor Fright for ~$20.00, but wasnt sure if this was a worthy purchase to make from HF or if I'd need something a little more reliable.
So, in a nutshell, has anyone else had any issue with terrible acceleration at higher RPM's (>3k rpm)?
This is a VTEC F23A1. I once had a '97 Prelude with H22A, I know, SOHC vs DOHC, but that Prelude had a certain pull in acceleration between 3k-4krpm that was really pretty nice. I have read the VTEC engagement isn't quite as aggressive on F23A1's as they are on H22's, but I mean, I have squat at this point. This Accord sure leaves something to be desired in the acceleration arena.
In addition, I have had intermittent instances with short distances (20-50mph) stop/go travel where I will feel a noticeable bog on the engine and power, then will snap out of it seconds later (aside from the >3krpm slow acceleration). Not A/C, and not cooling fan from what I can tell.
Any ideas would sure be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
The engine and tranny leak no oil. Very clean. It has had a few quirks, most of which I can work out or live with.
The biggest irritation to me that I can't figure out is that acceleration seem terrible after 3000rpm. When merging onto the freeway, I can be in 3rd or 4th gear at 40-50mph and flooring it and i will eventually get up to speed after some time. (quite a few seconds). It doent seem like clutch slippage because the engine isn't revving and rpms aren't shooting up. Speed slowly increases. People merging behind me usually pass me up.
I had a '04 Mazda 6 w/ 2.3 liter 4cy auto and I could pass anyone one the freeway without any trouble at all. (I know, differ mfg, engine, etc, but still somewhat comparable)
I believe have performed some due dilligence by searching but I don't recall seeing something exactly like what this.
I have no CEL.
Spark Plugs (NGK Iridium), wires, cap and rotor are new as of DEC 2013 per previous owner reciepts. I checked and cap/rotor are clean.
I did find the Spark plugs were covered in a solid, bright white crust.. almost like they'd been dipped in flour. I cleaned them up. I did some searches on spark plug conditions here and on the web and the two answers that were most common regarding white tips were "thats normal wear" or "lean condition, check fuel system".
In the past week I have replaced:
- Air filter
- 1 Leaky fuel injector replaced yesterday, cleaned out other injectors and fuel rail.
- Drive belts
- Front motor mount (I know.. likely not related to acceleration issue.)
- ignition switch (first day with this car on my 35 mile morning commute to work, the car stalled at 70mph, but since its a manual tranny, it fired back up immediately being it was in gear, freaked me out until I learned of the ignition switch issue, which I wasted no time in replacing. Haven't had the problem return)
When searched here for poor acceleration or sluggish performance, the typical result was due to needing tuneup or clogged cat.
My cat is aftermarket and is welded in. How can I rule out cat without a sawzall.
I suspected fuel delivery. I found fuel PSI specs (static and under-load) in my Haynes, but I need a fuel pressure guage. I saw a fuel pressure kit at Harbor Fright for ~$20.00, but wasnt sure if this was a worthy purchase to make from HF or if I'd need something a little more reliable.
So, in a nutshell, has anyone else had any issue with terrible acceleration at higher RPM's (>3k rpm)?
This is a VTEC F23A1. I once had a '97 Prelude with H22A, I know, SOHC vs DOHC, but that Prelude had a certain pull in acceleration between 3k-4krpm that was really pretty nice. I have read the VTEC engagement isn't quite as aggressive on F23A1's as they are on H22's, but I mean, I have squat at this point. This Accord sure leaves something to be desired in the acceleration arena.
In addition, I have had intermittent instances with short distances (20-50mph) stop/go travel where I will feel a noticeable bog on the engine and power, then will snap out of it seconds later (aside from the >3krpm slow acceleration). Not A/C, and not cooling fan from what I can tell.
Any ideas would sure be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Last edited:
