Car rocking back and forth

[gizmo]

Good to know. tC's free of a rev hang.

[fa22raptorf22]

I welcome this thread wholeheartedly! TS has a latest year RSX-S! LUCKY!

Now lets lay down some facts here since ive driven many RSX's and own one as a daily myself...

1) All models of RSX are K series motors, and are drive by CABLE. They also have zero rev hang and very quick throttle response.

2) The throttle with the K series are one of the more touchy throttles I have gotten used to.

3) There is quite a bit of drive-train slop... meaning its very easy to "buck" when in the lower gears.

Is that so? Let's say I was cruising at 3k rpm and I shifted to neutral. It would stay at 3k and drop to idle when I stop.

Hmm, odd. Lets continue...

If I'm in 2nd gear and I slow it to idle, it will start rocking more intensely as rpm's drop. This usually only happens at low speeds though

Ah ha! Looks to be the case of throttle stick to me.

Do you know how to ease out of gear? Try and see if you can. If you ease out and the revs stay up... throttle is definately sticking. Either that, or the IACV. Its a common problem with the RSX.

What it should do is the second you are off the gas and out of gear, the rpm should drop to 750+-50 and stay there.

*aside* are you on CRSX ( forums.clubrsx.com ) ?

I don't think the clutch has ever been replaced and it doesnt feel like it needs to either.

Thats fine, however I am at 60k myself, and the person who owned it before me chewed through the clutch and it has tons of chatter, so a CMC pushrod adjustment was in order. You may want to do this at some point to change the clutch engagement point if it gets weary.

My recommendation to you is to have someone check out/clean the IACV and also check the main throttle cable. I am very sure its sticking.

Send me a PM here if you want more specific answers or hit us up on CRSX... I have the same username.

Cheers

[lilshortwun]

Hey there. I am on clubrsx with the same name. The only reason I asked here is because those guys are dicks lol. Did some testing today and the rpm's don't stay at 3k when I go into neutral. It actually drops a little bit as the car is slowing (~2100) and stays there until I stop. So basically while I'm still moving, the car sounds like it just started up on a cold morning, wastes my gas too I think. If you mean ease out of gear as in going into neutral without the clutch, it does the same thing. So what you are saying is that it's most likely my IACV or throttle cable? I've seen tutorials for them on crsx but I'm not sure I really get them. What should I do to the throttle cable to make it unstick.

On another note, I was trying out cruise control today and encountered another problem when I turned it now. When I am starting off in first gear, the throttle response is really low. I'll have the accelerator depressed halfway and the rpm's are slowly climbing as if I started off in third or something. When it reaches ~1500 rpm the car jolts a little bit and the response gets better and once more at ~2500.

Oh yeah. My idle is around 950. Sometimes it fluctuates between 1050 and 950. but it happens randomly

Edit again: I'm not sure what you mean by clutch chatter but sometimes when I am starting in first and apply really low gas, the engine makes this chattering sound. I tried to adjust the cmc rod one time but I think the nut is damaged or something. I used my wrench and it was providing a lot of resistance but then suddenly my wrench slips fast and it feels like it loosened but it didn't budge.

[fa22raptorf22]

Its definetely the Idle Air Controller / Valve. There is no other reason why the revs would hang with the throttle plate closed. Unless the throttle cable is wack and holding the plate open some. Maybe I would check the throttle body for contaminents as well.

As a comparison, If i ease out of gear at any speed / rpm, it drops right to idle and stays there.

** You want to know something? Are you sure you have an S motor? You say the rpm rises slow until you get over 2000. Thats how the base motor works... it changes to a 16 valve at 2200 rpm. Check under the hood and see if you intake manifold is metal, not plastic.

That would explain why your power is low, at low rpm... a faulty intake runner valve.

Edit:

Oh yeah. My idle is around 950. Sometimes it fluctuates between 1050 and 950. but it happens randomly

That's no good. Should be much lower@ 750. Either you have a vaccuum leak, IACV, or you throttle cable is sticky. Check tutorials on setting idle rpm. This *might* work for an rsx: http://www.team-integra.net/sections/ar ... icleID=195

[lilshortwun]

yeah it's a type s motor. the black part with the A on it i think is plastic. but the silver part is metal. It's too hot to touch right now. I hit vtec before so thats a sure indicator.

Thanks I'll check that out and see if it helps

Edit: if you're talking about low power until 2k in response to my last post, it only happens in first. And it just started happening today. Not sure if it will still do it tomorrow

[fa22raptorf22]

yeah it's a type s motor. the black part with the A on it i think is plastic. but the silver part is metal. It's too hot to touch right now. I hit vtec before so thats a sure indicator.

Thanks I'll check that out and see if it helps

Edit: if you're talking about low power until 2k in response to my last post, it only happens in first. And it just started happening today. Not sure if it will still do it tomorrow

Yeah Its gotta be that IACV... because its failing to give over control when you start out from idling... thereby giving you like no power. Clean that sucker out!

[lilshortwun]

Well I took out the iacv and it wasn't really dirty or clogged. I cleaned it though and put it back on. During the process, I lost maybe half a quart to a quart of coolant. Tested it out today and everything got worse. My throttle was stuck for some reason. Then i remember someone saying something about air pockets and that I should open the radiator cap with the heater on. Saw some smoke come out of there, tested the throttle and it was working again. Drove for about 20 min and noticed some significant things:

- when I started it, rpm was 2500. I let it sit for 1-2 min and it raised to almost 3000.
- car temp rised faster than normal but never exceeded normal operating temp
- idle was all over the place. When I am coasting and put it in neutral, sometimes the rpm's will not drop at all even when I stop. I'll be sitting at a red light with the rpm's at 2800. After about 20 minutes, idle seemed to be around 1500rpm a lot higher than was it was before.
- hot air coming in through the vents even after I turned off the heater.

I put everything back the way it was supposed to be. except for the cruise control cable. When I was putting that back onto the throttle body, the cable fell out of its place. There's a black rotating mechanism that I attached the end of it too but it kept slipping out. I'm starting to think thats not where it goes because it won't stay there. Any thoughts on why it got worse?

[fa22raptorf22]

Did you do the whole idle learn process described in that doc I linked you to? That is an important step after doing the adjustment.

Also, you should look up how to fully bleed the coolant system.

Its late for me so I have to hit the sack, but I will look up more info for you in the morning. Take care.

[lilshortwun]

I couldn't find that screw in the guide. I will have a closer look tomorrow morning. Either way, it's probably best for me to resolve my rpm issue first. So you are implying that my problems are due to the air in the coolant system? I'll look up on how to do that properly.

Edit: Also going to acura dealership tomorrow to get some coolant since it's a little low. Do I add it into the radiator cap or the reservoir right next to it?

[fa22raptorf22]

I am implying that your heat problems are due to the coolant bubbles.

Place the coolant directly in the radiator while its running, until the level stays at the top. Then fill the reservoir up half way. (there might be a fill mark on it.

Also, Look here for the IACV stuff. http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?t=717143

Its also possible that you may have a vacuum leak. But still this is very odd. If the rpm is high and holds fairly steady, it seems like its not even dropping into the idle loop. Are you sure the throttle isn't stuck?

What happens if you leave all the cables off? can you get the idle down? Maybe a throttle stop screw?

[lilshortwun]

I am implying that your heat problems are due to the coolant bubbles.

Place the coolant directly in the radiator while its running, until the level stays at the top. Then fill the reservoir up half way. (there might be a fill mark on it.

Just did that today and it's a lot better. No high idle and it's fairly consistent. Only thing is that sometimes when I am stopping at a light, idle doesn't go down immediately. It lowers rather slow and then stays at 1500 for 1-2 min before going back to about 950 which leads back to the issue of stuck throttle. Also, if I just drove, engine is warm and I turned off the car and turned it back on, rpm's will go to 2k like normal on a cold start but then drop down to idle. It never did this before. It leads me to think the iacv is reacting slowly.

Its also possible that you may have a vacuum leak. But still this is very odd. If the rpm is high and holds fairly steady, it seems like its not even dropping into the idle loop. Are you sure the throttle isn't stuck?

The only hoses I removed was the intake hose. I tried tightening that up this morning and it made very little difference and I think it's safe to say vacuum leak is not an issue now. How would I fix a stuck throttle?

[fa22raptorf22]

Glad to hear its getting better... ish. Where do you happen to be located?

And yeah... I mean... It could even be a bad IACV that needs replacing. Did this problem occur over time, or suddenly one day? How long ago?

[lilshortwun]

Southern California. Before, it was just idling a little high and the rev hang issue, pretty much everything in my first post. The idle didn't use to fluctuate between 1100-950 though. That started happening gradually. First noticed the fluctuations about 2 weeks ago. Then I cleaned my IACV and these other problems came up but they seem mostly fine now.