Wow, it's been a long time since I posted a new topic! I used to spend more time here before starting our family.
Sorry this is long and a lot of information.
2004 Touring purchased new March 2004. 188,500 miles.
Got the infamous P0301-306 and PO300 with VTM4 light. After warm and reaching closed loop you can restart and VTM4 light goes out restoring AWD.
No, I haven't done the valve adjustment...YET. I'm not 100% sold on it and want to make damn sure I've checked all the basics out first. Yes I've seen all the posts claiming miracles from that. :wink:
A few things I've done:
EGR pipe clean down to valve. No ant farm on the plenum plate. I did not remove the intake. It's unclear to me if there are ports on the bottom of the 04 intake? In any event not much carbon to speak of. Clear gasket holes and intake holes. I ended up replacing the EGR valve and gasket. I had cleaned it and then it made a horrible whistling noise - possibly when I screwed up the "gasket".
I did notice a slight twist of that center flexible gasket under the plate, but I believe I straightened it out. It must have come that way from the factory. Nobody else would have been in there.
Replaced the PCV hose. It collapsed by the intake nipple. Seemed to be allowing air through but for $6 worth the replacement. Replaced the valve too. I couldn't hear the pintle rattle. Did notice some gasoline smell on my hands from that. I don't smell anything under the oil cap.
Replaced the PS pump O rings and changed some of the fluid. Most certainly is unrelated but the lights turned off completely for a day after I replaced them. At least now the pump is quiet and not overflowing. LOL!
Checked for current from coils. Haven't found the spec for coil test yet but they seem to be consistent. Replaced plugs with OE NGK in October. Double-checked the gap. Had some cheapies in there for a while. Yeah, I won't do that again.
Engine compartment seems really dirty, especially on the battery. I'm not hearing a leak anywhere but maybe I'm missing it. Is there a common place to check? I have a good seal on the air filter and I changed it last summer. But compared to my Accord with 120k there's a good buildup of grime over there. Just realized I've probably not even changed that air filter. :surprise:
Yesterday I noticed that the radiator fans weren't coming on. Temp was around 55F. I went for a drive and still nothing. I unplugged the fan connector from the CTS and they turn on. Also confirmed that the compressor kicks them on and then also switched the relays around in the fuse box. Doesn't make a difference. The car has never overheated or moved past a little bit less than halfway on the gauge. I would certainly expect the fans to come on. My Accord V6 does even in winter. Granted it's a tighter engine compartment but I would still expect them to come on after 20 minutes.
Also suspicious of the thermostat. I don't think it was changed when my guy did the timing belt/water pump service around 120k - maybe 3 years ago. Radiator cap is lukewarm at best.
My FIL is dismissing the thermostat as an issue. I'm thinking of ignoring his advice and just picking up the OE thermostat plus seal/o-ring. Can I do the change without losing a bunch of coolant? I'll probably pick up an extra bottle just in case. I can always use it on my other Honda.
Also need the cold/hot specs for the CTS. I have the dealer 03-04 MDX service manual that I bought from Tim quite a while ago but it's either not in there or I'm looking in the wrong place.
The ride is still pretty good and the engine quiet for how old she is. It's the wife's car and I'm thinking we'll get her something new and then I'll ditch my Accord for the MDX for better snow driving if we can work through this.
Sorry this is long and a lot of information.
2004 Touring purchased new March 2004. 188,500 miles.
Got the infamous P0301-306 and PO300 with VTM4 light. After warm and reaching closed loop you can restart and VTM4 light goes out restoring AWD.
No, I haven't done the valve adjustment...YET. I'm not 100% sold on it and want to make damn sure I've checked all the basics out first. Yes I've seen all the posts claiming miracles from that. :wink:
A few things I've done:
EGR pipe clean down to valve. No ant farm on the plenum plate. I did not remove the intake. It's unclear to me if there are ports on the bottom of the 04 intake? In any event not much carbon to speak of. Clear gasket holes and intake holes. I ended up replacing the EGR valve and gasket. I had cleaned it and then it made a horrible whistling noise - possibly when I screwed up the "gasket".
I did notice a slight twist of that center flexible gasket under the plate, but I believe I straightened it out. It must have come that way from the factory. Nobody else would have been in there.
Replaced the PCV hose. It collapsed by the intake nipple. Seemed to be allowing air through but for $6 worth the replacement. Replaced the valve too. I couldn't hear the pintle rattle. Did notice some gasoline smell on my hands from that. I don't smell anything under the oil cap.
Replaced the PS pump O rings and changed some of the fluid. Most certainly is unrelated but the lights turned off completely for a day after I replaced them. At least now the pump is quiet and not overflowing. LOL!
Checked for current from coils. Haven't found the spec for coil test yet but they seem to be consistent. Replaced plugs with OE NGK in October. Double-checked the gap. Had some cheapies in there for a while. Yeah, I won't do that again.
Engine compartment seems really dirty, especially on the battery. I'm not hearing a leak anywhere but maybe I'm missing it. Is there a common place to check? I have a good seal on the air filter and I changed it last summer. But compared to my Accord with 120k there's a good buildup of grime over there. Just realized I've probably not even changed that air filter. :surprise:
Yesterday I noticed that the radiator fans weren't coming on. Temp was around 55F. I went for a drive and still nothing. I unplugged the fan connector from the CTS and they turn on. Also confirmed that the compressor kicks them on and then also switched the relays around in the fuse box. Doesn't make a difference. The car has never overheated or moved past a little bit less than halfway on the gauge. I would certainly expect the fans to come on. My Accord V6 does even in winter. Granted it's a tighter engine compartment but I would still expect them to come on after 20 minutes.
Also suspicious of the thermostat. I don't think it was changed when my guy did the timing belt/water pump service around 120k - maybe 3 years ago. Radiator cap is lukewarm at best.
My FIL is dismissing the thermostat as an issue. I'm thinking of ignoring his advice and just picking up the OE thermostat plus seal/o-ring. Can I do the change without losing a bunch of coolant? I'll probably pick up an extra bottle just in case. I can always use it on my other Honda.
Also need the cold/hot specs for the CTS. I have the dealer 03-04 MDX service manual that I bought from Tim quite a while ago but it's either not in there or I'm looking in the wrong place.
The ride is still pretty good and the engine quiet for how old she is. It's the wife's car and I'm thinking we'll get her something new and then I'll ditch my Accord for the MDX for better snow driving if we can work through this.