Distributor issues on my VX
 

Are the VX distributor any different then the DX and the SI one of the same years (92-95) or its all the same.

Mine has give up on mine this morning and need a replacement one and the junkyark where I had look only has LX and DX and according to there site, the VX and the SI share the same distributor, is that true?

BTW, if your gas tank is empty, do u still have the fire on?

The Non-VTEC ones have a different bolt pattern and won't bolt up, so you need the VX or Si one to work.

Damn, well thx for the info. And Tomo, I had change my distributor not even 2 years ago (less then 20k miles) and I already have to change it. I bought a new one at the time. Is that just bad luck or what? Well I think I will have to hope that this one is ok.

Where did you get the distributor from, Honda or NAPA, or the like? And was it a rebuilt one or a New one?

I dont have the info right now, but I will inform myself.

And you, where would you buy it, and a new or a rebuilt distributor?

Thanks

I've only needed to buy a distributor once. Bought it from NAPA it was a gold level refurbed unit. This means that all serviceable parts were replaced with new parts, ie. the coil,rotor, igniter, sensor pickups and bearings were all new in it. That basically meant that only the casing and shaft were not new. They have a silver level refurbishing which is just the faulty parts were replaced. That unit is cheaper but a little less reliable.

In a nutshell, I get refurbed units, but refurbed to the point that they are new, lol.

Well Tomo, got news... Well mine was a rebuilt one, but the point is the distributor I have is a TD-41U on my VX!

that's the one of the DX and the LX one, the NON-VTEC.

1. TD-42U
1992-1995 Honda Civic & Del Sol VTEC 1.6 Liter $124.95

2. TD-41U
1992-1995 Honda Civic (Non-VTEC) 1.5 Liter $124.95

Could that be why is already going away, and why did he works all that time ??

Help plz...

Here is a link to the TD-42U specification (https://www.streetimports.com/product_details.asp?id=398 )

And the one for the TD-41U (https://www.streetimports.com/product_details.asp?id=352 ).

And the piece come from At Pac - Auto Part Distributor ( www.atpacauto.com ). Its a canadian shop... NAPA is 430 rebuilt, and AT Pac is 350 new (DT-41U... I supossed the DT-42U is about the same price...).

What in the Dizzy went bad? Did you first try the coil or the ignition control madule. I don't understand what the nature of your problem is.

Cheers,
Chris

Well when I try to start it, the distributor wont fire it up, there is no fire and the check engine light is on. First time it did it when the car was hot and he restart when it get cold (after about 20min). But last day, it was hot and humide outstide and the car simply not started at first.

I dont know if it could help, but I noticed that when I have those problems, the check engine light stay on and the car wont make that sound that the car make when setting (I think is the water pump or something like that...).

If you want to try to troubleshoot your distributer, check this thread out. It is for an integra, but the honda distributers are very similar and most of the info should work

https://www.team-integra.net/sections...ArticleID=1112

Check to see what code the check engine light is telling you.

Civic distributors are notorious for going bad but usually they just stop working completely. Check your connections on the distributor in case they are corroded. It might also be worth it to take off the cap and see if any of the connectors are loose. I've had that happen on a Honda before and a simple squeeze of the pliers made it work much better.

You can bolt up the non-VTEC distributor but you will not be able to adjust the timing within spec. It will be too retarded. So if you have the wrong distributor, get rid of it and get the correct distributor.

Could it be why I have trouble with the actuel one? Cause if so, it is the mistake of my mechanical and I wanna know because having to change a distributor after only a year and a half, for 420$, he would have do give me a litle explanation...

good info thx

And if the timing is too retarded, could that cause bad mpg?

Ignition timing is critical to your mpg. It will run, but it will fail smog and get poor power and FE.

Hmm- it sounds like the slot in the end of a VTEC cam that the dizzy plugs in to is cut a few degrees off of where a standard cam is cut.

Is this just because the mounting/adjusting slots aren't long enough? How many degrees out would the timing be?

Could the adjustment slots of a non VTEC dizzy be lengthened with a dremmel tool or could a slotted steel bracket be bolted to the adjustments slots to compensate for this?

Just trying to save someone some $ if possible (or myself if I ever get a hold of a cheap non running VX with a bad dizzy)

Hi guys need some help here. So which model td-41u (non-vtec) or td-42u (vtec) is for 92 honda civic vx ? When i'm checking online they both say VX compatible. VX has vtech so i would think td-42u?

If i have a Canadian VX, 5spd - what distributor should they have put in my car?

I have a 1992, and the dist the mech put on has an extra flange open...is that right?? i'm still having issues btw.

My engine is NOT throwing any CEL codes - my issue is intermittent NO START - it will crank strong, but not turn over - the relay clicks, CEL lights, fuel pump primes, then relay clicks again and car will start fine. It's when the CEL light DOESNT light in that process that I know it won't turn over and start
...or will be driving and then it just loses power & dies, or sputters and bucks, while driving then will die. will go for a week running like a top, then just acts as if the fuel gets shut off and rolls to a stop and the dash lights come on when it eventually dies.
The main fuel relay IS GOOD, it's brand new...(see above actions, when it DOES start)
any other ideas that may be causing my intermittent no-start/dies while driving issue?
The ECU? i took it out and it looks pristine inside - no leaking no burns, nothing loose. ???
Attachment 1876

Attachment 1877

my vx is exhibiting almost identical symptoms, i wish someone would reply with ideas

On the side of one of the mounting flanges it should be stamped with "TD 42U". Only the 92-95 Civic Si and Civic VX use this distributor (all 91-94 JDM single cam D series VTEC and VTEC-E engines). There is no other distributor application that will work for the OBD1 D series VTEC engines.

You can mount up a non VTEC distributor but the ignition timing will be off by a lot even after you've maxed out the adjustment. It will run but get poor mileage, bad emissions, and low power. If one flange isn't bolted up, this indicates your idiot mechanic attempted to mount it improperly to set the ignition timing; however, the internal sensors are out of phase and you'll need to get the correct distributor.

The coil and ignitor inside the distributor are maintenance items that fail fairly commonly. You should not replace the entire distributor unless it leaks and replacing the O-ring doesn't fix the leak indicating that the shaft bearings are bad and it is wobbling. The CEL does not come on when the coil or ignitor fails.

It's possible that using the wrong distributor could lead to the problems described, but a proper diagnosis would have to be carried out AFTER the correct distributor is installed (if the issues persist) to know for sure.