92 civic w/GSR problems please help

b2thao2thab

JDM EG6
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ok peeps, i hope you can help me out on my issues... I have a gsr in my civic and i am running into a few problems. first problem, i am having an overheating issue with the new GSR, i was told the stock civic radiator would be fine, everything else seems to be operating just fine... second issue, the engine seems to be bogging out throughout the whole powerband at full throttle. But when half throttle occasionally it will seem to be running fine???? any help would be greatly appriciated.

Thanx
 

MasterShake

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is the knock sensor hooked up? i was told the same thing bout the radiator but it didnt work with my ls swap. i had to rig up the ratdator fan to cut on all the time. unless your over heating problem is bad that might work.
 


99siTUNER

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I have a stock radiator in mine, never overheated yet. its a NEW radiator, has more cooling fins, but stock size. maybe check the thermostat make sure its working right? or get one thats a bit colder to prevent high temps. As far as bogging out, what ecu, wiring etc setup you got?
 

b2thao2thab

JDM EG6
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Well i was able to solve the overheating situation.... what i did was took a fan switch (located on the waterneck near thermostat) and replaced that with one off of my single cam. Works great, fan turns on and everything, no overheating.

as far as the bogging out, i was able to somewhat solve the situation with that by advancing the timing a bit, but it still doesnt run like i think a GSR should run. It feel just a little stronger then my D15B swap i had in before the GSR. I do know my vtec isnt working because i am throwing code 21. So any help on the sputtering would be great.

Thanx again guys.
 


b2thao2thab

JDM EG6
5+ Year Member
for the ECU i have the P72 which came with the GSR. and for the wiring, Im using my stock harness which i ran the vtec and extended the O2 sensor wires. everything checks out OK, except for the Vtec, im guessing i have to rewire correctly, because it was running fine and Vtec was working before on my D15b vtec engine.

Thanx again.
 

JDMLyfeStyle

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Theres your problem right there.. You need to hook up the IAB solenoid that activates the secondary butterflies in your intake manifold

here is the pins you need to use

 

b2thao2thab

JDM EG6
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I forgot to mention that i do not have the stock GSR manifold... I have a skunk 2 intake manifold.
 

JDMLyfeStyle

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Any Check engien lights?
Check all your engine grounds.. especially the thermostat housing
 

b2thao2thab

JDM EG6
5+ Year Member
all grounds are intact... im leaning towards ignition.... but i also read on another forum that the Knock sensor is vital to engine performance... im trying to get more info on that note. but if you know if the knock sensor would cause powerloss throughout the whole powerband please inform me of that. i need to get this thing running prime...

thanx again.
 

JDMLyfeStyle

DSM DESTROYER!!!!!
5+ Year Member
well i didnt think about it at first.. but right now your running the single stage manifold.. and your using the GSR ECU.. its looking for that second stage in the Intake manifold.. so that is holding you back cause your ECU is still thinking those secondary butterflies need to open.

Go get a Chipped p28 for a GSR with a single stage manifold and your motor will come alive
 

99siTUNER

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you guys are right, those ECUs will work, but he said stock harness, which is obd1, so unless theres an obd1 to obd2 conversion in there for the p72 (doubt it) then hes probably got an obd1 p72. forget the others, get that s**t chipped, disable the IABs and good to go. either way IMO just the lack of iabs shouldnt make it THAT slow. (d15b style slow) i disconnected mine the other day just to see what kind of difference it made, down low, definate power loss. up high in rpms and it pulled like normal obviously. theres gotta be something else, or your hopes were just too high for the gsr's power! :laugh:
 

b2thao2thab

JDM EG6
5+ Year Member
I do appriciate all you guys with your input and hopefully with this i can find a solution to my problems tomorrow... My friend (great with hondas) is going to look into it for me. So lets all cross out fingers and ill definatly post the solution if we do find one!!
i do know that the engine feels sluggish throughout the whole powerband, so there is no big increase in power at any point, its a steady increase all the way, but its sluggish. as far as the ecu, my friend has an LS/Vtec in his gsr integgy (thats where my gsr came from) <~~~that engine was running fine with the stock gsr computer with the skunk 2 intake......??
I would think that the gsr would at least churp second, and possibly third.... but yea, no luck with this one..
ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT RIGHT NOW I DO NOT HAVE VTEC WORKING!!!!!

Thanx again.
 

99siTUNER

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b2thao2thab said:
I do appriciate all you guys with your input and hopefully with this i can find a solution to my problems tomorrow... My friend (great with hondas) is going to look into it for me. So lets all cross out fingers and ill definatly post the solution if we do find one!!
i do know that the engine feels sluggish throughout the whole powerband, so there is no big increase in power at any point, its a steady increase all the way, but its sluggish. as far as the ecu, my friend has an LS/Vtec in his gsr integgy (thats where my gsr came from) <~~~that engine was running fine with the stock gsr computer with the skunk 2 intake......??
I would think that the gsr would at least churp second, and possibly third.... but yea, no luck with this one..
ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT RIGHT NOW I DO NOT HAVE VTEC WORKING!!!!!

Thanx again.
that might just be your whole problem then., is no vtec. and you should be able to churp 2nd no sweat. what I did for wiring in vtec etc was just snipped the wires on the solenoid and soldered wires long enough to go right to the ECU, as opposed to trying to mold it into the harness wires. that was I KNOW the wires are going to the right spot. make sure u got all 3 for vtec (vtec power, ground and oil pressure) and then the knock and it should come to life.
 

b2thao2thab

JDM EG6
5+ Year Member
I re-wired the vtec solenoid, success on that!!!. Vtec is working great... but unfortunately my engine still sputters when cruising around!! had 2 of my honda friends look at the car, and all 3 of us have come to the same conclusion... Its gotta be the ignition. So once i have the money to tinker with that, i will update again.

Thanx 2 all of you.
 

JDMLyfeStyle

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if its the ignition take a look at my write up on this page.. How to Test your ICM and Coil that will tell you if ur ignition is faulty. And if there is a problem the coil is gonna run you about $90 and the ICM about 125... I have 5 spare distributors at all times brand new for people that have Distributor problems or if i do a swap for someone i always have a new dizzy to put in there. KNown to go bad when they sit awhile in between uses.
 

12.8:1 Ls/vtec

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b2thao2thab said:
I re-wired the vtec solenoid, success on that!!!. Vtec is working great... but unfortunately my engine still sputters when cruising around!! had 2 of my honda friends look at the car, and all 3 of us have come to the same conclusion... Its gotta be the ignition. So once i have the money to tinker with that, i will update again.

Thanx 2 all of you.
Listen to the people on the knock sensor.IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ONE THEN YOUR CAR IS GOING TO SUCK. CHECK IT OUT AND SEE. YOUR ECU THINKS THERE IS ONE AND IF THERE IS NOT ONE THEN YOU'RE IN THE BUSINESS OF BEING SLOW.
 

b2thao2thab

JDM EG6
5+ Year Member
JDMLyfeStyle said:
if its the ignition take a look at my write up on this page.. How to Test your ICM and Coil that will tell you if ur ignition is faulty. And if there is a problem the coil is gonna run you about $90 and the ICM about 125... I have 5 spare distributors at all times brand new for people that have Distributor problems or if i do a swap for someone i always have a new dizzy to put in there. KNown to go bad when they sit awhile in between uses.
Well the engine had been setting for 8 months or so, just did the compression check, and i got hpenominal numbers, 210 across the board... the motor had been rebuilt by a respectable shop in cali about 5K miles ago, so looks like everything is checking out A-OK. as far as the ignition, i have yet to look into it, but im almost 100% thats the problem. So soon enough, im hoping to pull some good times out of the stock GEEZER with ITR cams!!! wish me luck.
 


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