VX getting lousy FE lately, what are the causes?

[theholycow]

Low fuel or thick MTF can't cause a symptom similar to clutch slipping.

[add|ct]

^Well, it's just disk slippage then. The transmission stays in gear but the engine revs and hesitates to make power; almost like a lock-up type torque convertor hesitating before entering O/D mode if that makes any sense? At least as far as feel.

The car drove better today and when I refilled(plugs were replaced half way during this tank) my MPG was just under 41 MPG. A 'decent' jump from the 36-38 range I had been getting since those 'newer' plugs and Red Line had been used.

My only other thoughts are as follows: If my VTEC solenoid itself is leaking at the base(via the 1 wire connector?) would that(solenoid delaying entering VTEC) be causing similar symptoms as I've described? I haven't had a CEL come on since replacing the 02 sensor last fall. Could it be making clutch symptoms worse by hesitating to go into VTEC while at WOT, when the VTEC should be engaging?

[add|ct]

With oil leaks on the brain, I gave the engine a good looking over last night, making sure the PCV valve I replaced had remained seated into the breather chamber, etc, and I noticed a sensor/wire of some sort with 'fresh' oil residue just above the oil filter.

It's located right next to the breather chamber/pcv valve location. Is that the crankshaft sensor or another sensor? I don't have an CEL, but could it be leaking oil and still be functioning(not fouling out completely anyway?)? It is 'possible' that the weeping bolt from the Valve Cover Gasket(VCG) is allowing some oil to make it's way down there over time. In fact, now that I think about it, perhaps some oil from this location is making it's way over to the VTEC solenoid? I doubt the latter, though. It only appears to 'leech' out slowly over time and simply runs down the side of the valve cover, so gravity in mind it may/may not be reaching the sensor described.

Pics might be possible.

Also, since I had recently bled the clutch fluid some for air removal/top-up at the Clutch Master Cylinder, I pulled the dust cap down at the Slave Cylinder and noticed a little bit of fluid inside the cap. :???: So, I'm not sure if it was residue from the previous bleed or perhaps I didn't close it enough? Going to check levels today of the clutch reservoir but I did notice as well, that the boot behind where you bleed the slave cylinder, had a diagonal 'slit' about 1-2 inches in length along a 'seam' of some sort? Is it okay for the boot at the clutch slave cylinder to have any sort of slit?

[pgfpro]

Heres what I was talking about as far as the PCV causing the ring pack to gum up.





As you can see the intake runners closes to the PCV inlet are the worst.

[add|ct]

^Could you by any chance re-post those pics with direct links to the images(cant see enough detail)?

[pgfpro]

See if this works better???

[add|ct]

^Yes, that's perfect. Thank you.

So, you are saying the two runners on the left-hand side are in worse shape? I can't really tell, untrained eyes here. The left most for cylinder 4 looks to have white scorching(oil starvation?) while cylinder 3 seems to look the darkest of them all(excessive corrosion?).

[add|ct]

Also, would there be any problems resulting from p/n 7; in the picture below, if it has a tear in the seam on the left-hand side(labeled 'release fork boot' on the Honda Automotive Parts site):

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...3sr301_m03.png

[pgfpro]

The ones with the black lines are coated with about a 1/16" of black oil goo.

This is from the oil separator after time not doing its job the way it should.

The blue line has some goo. What looks like corrosion is the aluminum intake itself. The picture is not the best. But the blue line runner is still somewhat clean.

[pgfpro]

Originally Posted by add|ct

Also, would there be any problems resulting from p/n 7; in the picture below, if it has a tear in the seam on the left-hand side(labeled 'release fork boot' on the Honda Automotive Parts site):

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...3sr301_m03.png

It shouldn't be to much of a problem unless you drive on a lot of dirt roads. Its just a dust cover to prevent dirt from getting to the clutch fork and pivot ball.