I've got a 1989 honda crx si type r. I just swapped out the old brake caliper for a new one cause the old one had a leak and so my uncle and I bled the system for several minutes. We bled it about 3 times. Seemed okay after wards. We usually get lucky with bleeding our brakes and our brakes being on point afterwards bleeding it 3 times anyway. I put it all back together and test drove it. I took my time, started off slow, pedal went down to the floor. I thought, it's gotta build up more pressure. So I continued driving for several minutes. I noticed as I came up to a light. My C.E.L came on pretty quick. Then came home after that. What's should I check first? I don't have OBD1 Im positive I have OBDO on the car..

Do you now how to pull the codes? You may need to pull a small vacuum on the brakes, start at the rear right then to the left rear then to the right front, then to the left front. Harbour freight has a cheap bleeder tool, other wise you may still have a small leak or need to bench bleed the master too. If doing the manual bleed method to as above on where to start and finish at. Its pump, pump, pump, Full pedal pumps (brake pedal) 3-4 times and hold then someone else turns the bleeder and quickly shuts it and says its shut then you release the brake pedal and repeat on that bleeder until only brake fluid comes out with no air, then move to next closer to master cylinder bleeder and repeat until your done with all 4. Keep adding brake fluid and do not let it go down to a low level.

I don't know how to pull codes. Or translate Morse code. This is my first Honda I've bought.

The ECU is under the carpet on the passenger side front floor. Pull the carpet down & look through a hole in a metal cover. There will be a red led. With key off then turned on, 1 blink means the ECU works, count the blinks after that for trouble codes.

What do the long blinks and short blinks stand for?

the LED light flashes in sequence to show dtc's (diagnostic trouble codes), count the #of flashes and that is the # of the code. Every 3 second pause indicates the start of next code. Count the flashes. It will start over after all codes flashed out.

Long represents the first number, the short represents the second number.

Or better said long represents the number above single number codes. 1 long blink is code 10 the number of short blinks is the number above 10 so if it then after the 1 long blink it has 2 short blinks this 2 so the code is 12. 2 long blinks is 20 and so on.

For example, 2 flashes, pause, 3 flashes would mean code 23. Codes are displayed in ascending order. 3 second pause either repeats code if only one code or starts the next code if more than one.

How many long blinks are in the dtc's for a car like mine? Like 20,30?

92 total, On obd0 I think it just blinks pause then blinks if more than 10. 9 blinks pause then 2 blinks pause longer to start over is code 92. How many blinks in succession are you counting then pause how many blinks, let me know.

I'm gonna have to do it in the morning. It's 8:10 here on the west coast

OBD1 the light is on the dash and blinks long & short but on OBD0 it may seem long & short but is not really that way like on OBD1 but means the similar, the first set is first number if there is any higher then code 9 then it pauses for a second and flashes the second number.

Understand.

It has 92 as highest code number but it skips some numbers along the way so there is not 92 codes but the highest code number is 92.

Hey enginecreator, I've got a clip I want to show you. Maybe you could tell me what's wrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZCd-5hXemw

Hate to get you to re-do the video but at the begining I can not tell when the ignition switch was turned on and the blinking starts and at that very moment the video gets shaky I just keep trying to count but can not tell when it pauses and starts over on the code, when I think I got it I count again and loose count, I do not know if you can get the video without moving or not but try to give some time at begining before turning the key on so I can see the ECU power working blink and start to count thanks.

Lookat this clip its blinking one long for ecu good and one long then 4 short for 14, then it blinks 2 long ans 2 short for 22. then repeats itself, if you can get a close up like this and start the clip well before turning on the key I think we can figure it out. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwMZKuYnVTc

Do see any pauses or fast blinks they all look the same speed to me with no pauses if that is the case the only code is a 1 which is primary oxygen sensor defective or unplugged, some of those looks like 9 blinks with maybe a pause not sure but if it is a code 9 that is a sensor in the distributor and none of the sensors in distributor are serviceable which means if it is a code 9 the distributor has to be replaced. If you can get a close up of started just before key turned on and let it role for a bit, maybe I can figure it out. I do not see any fast blinks maybe there is but if not it has to be a single digit code.

Unless the connection is bad for that sensor in distributor if that was even a code 9.

I had the car running, If I had turned it off the CEL would have disappeared. I'll upload another clip.

I slowed that first clip down and count in between blink and they appear to be the same with no pause which I think is a code 1 primary o2, or your upstream o2 (the first one from engine),

It's got a slight hesitation when I get on the gas, from 1st to second. When I hit second I really get on the pedal a little more to give it a bit more get up and go so it doesn't sputter. Your probably right, It could be my o2 sensors, If it is, I'll do both 02's and just knock them out.

As far as my distributor cap goes, it's a pro cap series with a stage 2 MSD ignition

Yea, I would too, I just went threw the clip again on the slowest speed setting and counting between blinks I do not see variation, no fast or pauses to start over on a new code so I think its code 1 Primary o2.

Like I said, I'll do both 02's better to be safe then sorry that way it get's a more accurate Oxygenated Reading.

If that hesitation does not go away but cel light does after O2's changed may need to check/adjust timing: Url below may help but your type r may have a different crank pulley(marks): http://crxcommunity.com/viewtopic.php?t=16915

It's zc swapped I should have mentioned this earlier. I thought may have been pointless to bring it up before hand. It's basically just a stock factory motor from another country made for the same year make and model car..

Ok yea I have been threw the timing belt issue and know about having to move the timing by one tooth or it runs with idle up and down if it cranks at all but using the later model prelude timing belt work better.

Does using the timing belt from a prelude really work that well?

Moving the cams by one tooth may be the issue or basically line the up as the timing marks look right but actually need rotated one tooth I just tried both ways, one way it did not crank up, the other way ran perfect but looking at marks it looks off, that was about 1996 so its been a while I do not remember which way I moved it that was better but main thing is getting cams line up and the hesitation is fixed.

I could do that then swing over to Autozone and hit it with a timing gun to double check the work.

If you have the original Japan made timing belt for the ZC then if its good then your ok but if need a replacement and if there is not ZC belt here by (which may can get it now) now then the Prelude belt is the next best thing.

We had to go threw belts on the shelf and see which was closest and try them out. I had a 1984 crx 50/50 1.3l stock, a 1985 crx Japanese base model it had a 1.6l stock (instead of 1.5l usa model) and a 1989 CRX DX 16v 1.5l Stock. A lot of my friends had Honda's then too and we did do a 1.8 prelude 1986 to 85 crx swap which is not a direct plug & play as the entire front end needs swapped, axle's, trans and brakes ect, the whole deal a'arms.

May be worth a shot.

I went out a little while ago to buy the 02 sensor, I'll do the o2 swap when it's day light out.

Hopefully that clears that up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMyAszklOR4 hopefully that'll help you out more than It did me. I had a flash light on it. Still couldn't get a solid angle on the light. I had to lean over awkwardly.

When moving timing, I like to use a paint pen to mark where everything is before moving. Comes in handy.

I will check video out.

I've got white out, that should work too

Still do not see any pause or any other variation in blink timing, it just blinks the same timing from one end to the other end never starts another code I think it must be 1 again still O2 primary.

Your one hundred percent sure it's an 02? You haven't been wrong before. You've gotta be right

We all have been wrong before. It is suppose to blink one long one for ecu then pause then start the code if any. The only thing I am not 100% on is if the swap makes the codes come out different or mean another sensor. Should be the same.

More than likely just an 02 sensor.

Since its still running too, which is a good sign. Do you know if the SI wire harness and ECU is still being used or was those replaced for the swap?

Maintenance: *Spark plugs: NGK BCPR6E-11. *Timing belt: Part no. 14400-PK2-004 (same as 88 Prelude).*Oil filter: Same as 88-89 Integra. Fram part no. PH3539A. *Oil pan gasket: Same as 88-91 CRX/CIVIC or 86-89 Integra. *Spark plug wires: Same as 86-89 Integra. *Distributor cap and rotor: You can use the 88-91 CRX/CIVIC SI or 88-89 Integra.

After thinking on it moving the timing at this point may not be the best thing (could be fine tho) so I would do the o2 and see if cel goes off since it looks like it detects its not there. The reason I ask about the ECU is that the ZC on the Acura 88-89 Integra (5 speed only) ECU's which also is OBD0 and is plug and play runs richer and has different maps & higher rev limiter which can mean stronger performnce but runs a bit rougher than the stock SI ECU. Check if good before buying. If your on the SI ecu, may be why it hesitates unless this just started when the cel light came on.

I changed the oil, spark plugs, and oil filter on it several days ago. It's been a little hesitant like that since I got it. I'm thinking I gotta give it a little more gas. Ecu may be stock, but then again it could be the zc ecu. I'll have to pull the matt out and the floor up to unbolt it. I'll write down the number.

I noticed when I pulled the plugs out they were a little white, it was running a little lean, not too lean but a little lean.

It likely it the stock one.

I pulled out the old 02, the tip was pretty Dark for how long it had been sitting in it. New one went right in with no problem. I fired the car up and it brought my idle up from 300 or 800? up to 2,000 for a little bit, then sort of evened out to 1,300-1,600 maybe 1,700. It wasn't erratic but it did go up and down a little when I let it run. Haven't driven it yet. I plan on driving it a little later today.

It actualled did quite down my engine a tremendous bit, It was a lot louder before. It's more or less quiter. I didn't the engine puttering or stumbling to breath, I do how ever need to replace my old air filter, it's an after market one, I'm gonna get the old OEM filter box and smog it that way, I can get my tags and then after that just get another after market housing and filter then set it up.

As for the brake line, It is compromised. It's pretty noticable, But I'll replace the line and have a family mechanic bleed my brakes.

The ECU needs some drive time to see the new o2 and map for it, so I would check after the brakes bleed and drive for a bit then see if idle is still up & down if you may end up having to rotate the cam pulley a tooth one way or the other way and see if stops that up & down idle.

The one ZC I know of that idled up & down was about from 600-1500 rpm (guessing), as long as it was at idle it was up & down, I moved the cam pulley one tooth over it did not crank (kinda acted like it may have if I continued to try) so I moved it back the other 2 tooth to get back to where I started and to the next tooth. It started up very well and idled steady. Before I moved the cam pulley I loosened the distributor and turned it while it was running but there is not enough turn in the distributor to take out the Up & Down idle which led me to the cam pulley, I had the distributor tight but still not fully tight and did move it back each way to hear it run (no timing light just ears) found what I liked and tightened it down and it ran great, never did put a timing light on it but you may need to.

The idle actually died down and returned to normal, It was I guess mapping it or testing it? It went down to 5 or 6 closer to7 possibly 8 rpm. Pretty low but it maintained it. I drove it a little bit. Hesitation dissapeared after replacing the 02.

700-800 rpm for idling with new 02

Thats good.

My check engine light hasn't come on at all. I need an alignment though, car pulls to the left a little bit same with the right. It's just a tad off. I felt it when I got on the freeway. I felt the inner sides of both tires both inner sides were bald.

Then those tires will need replaced too.

Can I get away with buying a universal magnaflow cat? Like Jack my car up, pull my pipe off and just slide it on? Or would I need to get it welded on

I would hit up a exhaust shop that street racers and hot rod guys go to, I did just that and picked up a barely used flowmaster (no rust) for my Blazer and they welded on for me total $60.00. I did the catalytic converter delete test pipe and new muffler to past bumper tail pipe, basically over half my exhaust from even with trans all the way back, I gave them my catalytic converter in exchange + 60 cash. They did all the work. So you can get it done cheap. The patch work diy install a muffler or pipe, always turns brittle and leaks sooner than later.

I could ask around online and get some on what some of the local shops have to say in terms of price.

Any muffler shop can handle the weld up.

The guy I bought the car from has a friend who can "smog" the car. For the right price. I'll ask if he can check off my moving permit

One thing about Honda's they were way ahead of us as far as clean running engine.

Do you happen to know of any interchangeable parts for the CRX. Performance wise?

Well I will try to remember, but the SI came with some of the ones other CRX owners upgraded too, like the rear brake disc conversion. I know alot of the other honda and acura fit the crx too. Most are just the same part or slightly better maybe, minus the bigger engine upgrades and that one has already been done, One thing tho, I wonder if you have the ZC header pipe or D16, if its the D16 the header bolts match but the port actually do not match perfectly, The head should not be matched to header but header matched to head. A set of small grinding stones can be use to match it up, use the ZC gasket (if you can get it as a template or cut the D16 gasket to fit the ZC head and then mark the misalignment on the header. Using an air grinder (or electric), with a small stone port the header to match the ZC port. This helps if yours needs it.

One thing you can change the gears in the trans from other honda's or acura's to fit what you want, Change out for shorter gear for faster take off, and/or change out the final drive gear for longer gear, the DX in the same year as yours has a 3.88 final gear and SI has a 4.25, the HF has 2.95 49state and 3.25 ca. That would let you go farther in each gear before going into the next gear and give some top end (I know the days of letting your Honda do its thing is harder to get away with). Why I drive a truck now.. But if I there again I would what I did then first which is the highest speed rated tires you find worth the money I used Yokohama racing tires ZR rated but now these are only going to Y rated, yes racing tires for pavement but not the slicks for drag but the ones with tread for street competition, they cost me about $1100 for a set and about $1200 for a set of 10 1/2 inch wide aluminum Eagle racing rims. I had to offset that extra 3 1/2 inches to fit the full width of the tires on/under the car. When I get on my other computer I will post a pic of it.

That all sounds awesome man

I've got Dc sport headers though, what I do need is a CARB legal sticker for the headers since it's straight piped I was going to pull the exhaust end off and get a universal cat and some pipe and clamp the cat and pipe together. Toss the exhaust back on and go smog it that way. One Auto shop said several shops are willing to allow an exhaust swap as long as it matches and fits the "your" I.e my car then smog it.

As long as it passes. I used to live in a state with strict smog and yearly inspections. They do have to keep them up but they salt the roads there heavy and cars do not last as long and need inspected as gas lines and brake lines if about rusted threw the owner needs to know so I did not mind it other than it cost too much, and if you have a star chip on your windshield that was not anywhere in your way of driving you have to replace the windshield or fail inspection. But if a spark plug was bad and smog fails then you need to fix that and I would not mind if you only had to pay once for what already passed instead it starts all over but they note that it failed for smog only so if you come back they only check smog and they do not re-check everything else, but you have to pay the full inspection cost again, that is the way they do it. The shops there will charge more because they know you have to get it to pass or buy another car, I saw my family struggle with this and the reason I and my cousin went into auto-mechanics, he went on to actually be a state inspector. (and no he can not give us special treatment as they are so strict I would not dare ask, but he will point out things that may not pass next time so I can get that done before failing and paying twice next year.)

The blue one.

That's a beautiful honda crx. I've got a squeak coming from my driver side when I press on the breaks, I even checked the belt too. The belt was fine, till I added a little pressure to it by firmly pressing down on it. Had a little squeak it

brakes*

Thanks. May be getting to the metal (old style sensor) piece to let you know to get ready for pads.

That would make a lot of sense. Your the 3rd person to tell me that. I've asked two family members and they said the same thing.

Sometimes the metallic pads just make noise or the back of pad may need anti-squeal lube put on. If it were to be making noise when not on the brakes or all the time or when turning it would lead me to other problems but since on the brakes it does it, then I believe its related.

Cause i hear it when I'm turning, breaking and going from stop light to stop light

Bearings will grind, roar worse than brakes when real bad and does it all the time but more noticeable when going slow but starts out very light until you know for sure its a wheel bearing. Axles they clunk, pop,click, and start out at first when turning but will do so when going straight when real bad just before they fall out and start breaking your front end and wheel flips down flat. Control Arm Bushings Can make squeaks, rattles, rubbing, mostly when going over bumps or moving slow until real loose then it rattles and feels loose too, Ball joints, can make popping too and steering feels loose, sway bar links & bushings mostly rattle cause the bushing is gone and metal to metal touching and then feels like its hitting bumps hard. Brake backing plate can do all the above sounds depending on how it is touching/rubbing. Shocks can wear themselves loose and make sounds too but mostly wear out and put undo stress on the rest of the suspension until control arm bushing and ball joints go bad.

It's more squeaking than anything else

Likely brakes but thought I would just cover some other possibles.

What would cause the idle to drop below 650 rpms. It'll drop from 650 to a litte below 100 as if it wants to die. It'll then jump up to 650 then even out and run smooth

Does it do this alot or once in a blue moon? How old is your timing belt? Could be early sign of a failure to come of a electrical part.

Timing belt is fairly new. Hasn't given me any trouble. I did clean the throttle body and the butterfly valve with cleaner and it shot up to 2 grand and it sat at 2 grand for a good couple minutes. I had let it sit for a 6 hours. After that it ran fine. My other concern is that the starts fine. But once in a while I'll hear the starter solenoid clunk and the main relay click. I had the relay replaced to see if it'll stop the issue. It temporarily stopped then it came back. So I'm wondering if it's the wiring harness under the steering column or if it's an ignition problem?

When i go to start the car, I'll turn the key all the way just before starting it to get the fuel pump primed. Then I'll try starting it. Afterwards it'll clunk and not start. I'll turn the ignition all the way off and then repeat the process till the car starts. It'll start up on the second attempt 90% of the time.

The starter clunk must be another issue, when we clean a throttle body we remove it and the IAC clean with crc throttle body cleaner and assorted nylon brushes, re-install with new gaskets, test the IAC too, look for vacuum leaks, clean PCV, you may need to re-clean it if the job before was not done correctly, make sure all electrical connections are good, pull back the carpet on off drivers floor and check the computer for codes, as it will blink codes out if any, but the last time we encountered a fluctuating RPM the timing belt stretch letting the cam pulley move one tooth but this RPM rise and fall was continuous, never let up until fixed. Reason for asking. your starter may be going out but is not the reason for the other issue with rpm's.