Pinging on 93 octane

Nagasaki

New Member
Hey, my civic has been pinging under load with 87 so I started using 93...it still pings (very little) on 93, but I'm tired of paying 30 cents a gallon more. What do I need to do to stop this pinging? I just put in some fuel system cleaner yesterday and hopefully that does something. Completely stock, and runs good and smooth. 19X,XXX miles. Carbon buildup? Should I seafoam? Should I just wait a while and see if the cleaner and v-power stops the pinging?
 

RonJ

Banned
Get 87 octane back into the tank ASAP and then check the ignition timing:
 


Nagasaki

New Member
So the distributor will move after I loosen those bolts? It sure doesnt look like it will. I'm used to 350's and 454's that have the distributor in the back and only one bolt.
 

RonJ

Banned
Yep, just like the diagram shows.
 


Nagasaki

New Member
Yep, you're right. Got it set back to normal. A little different than a chevy but also easier. No more pinging. Thanks for the help.
 

RonJ

Banned
Glad to hear. No need to run a Y8 engine on premium gas. Regular 87 octane is all you should ever need.
 

Nagasaki

New Member
So after resetting the timing, the engine seems to be leaking oil from around the distributor. Could I have hurt the o-ring by just loosening the bolts and turning it? How hard is it to fix my leak?
 

RonJ

Banned
Easy fix.

1) Buy a new distributor O-ring from the Honda dealership.
2) Use a black Sharpie pen to make a straight line across both the distributor and the head. This will allow you to remove the distributor and reinstall it in proper time after installing the new O-ring.
3) Remove the distributor.
4) Remove old O-ring and install new one. Coat the new one in engine oil.
5) Reinstall distributor and align the black mark across the head and distributor.
6) Tighten bolts, reconnect plug and wires.
7) Done


 

Nagasaki

New Member
OK so I was wrong...It doesn't leak at the distributor. It is a small part that is above the vtec solenoid??? It has three bolts and oil is seeping out of it. It looks like a baby egr valve kinda. It's next to the intake manifold maybe 2 inches from a fuel injector.
 

Nagasaki

New Member
any ideas? can I buy a new gasket for it? It just leaks where that top piece connects. Can I just put some of that gasket maker on it?
 

RonJ

Banned
(Thanks to admin oc_civic for solving the picture display problem.)

Isn't the oil leak from the valve cover gasket instead of the VTEC solenoid?
 
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RonJ

Banned
If the oil is leaking from the VTEC solenoid itself, there is an O-ring inside that can be replaced:

 

Nagasaki

New Member
I wiped the oil off with a rag before posting the picture but it is certainly where it's leaking. I can't find an oring anywhere when looking on autozone or rockauto.

Well the leak ended up being an easy fix. One of the bolts was finger tight.
 


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