I do not like the Honda FSM.

[Xist]

I had repeated problems with the alternator belt, but I noticed the other one was loose. That one does not have a tensioner, it has the square hole for the breaker bar. I am pretty sure that putting my foot on the frame and lifting a 23" bar as hard as I could should be adequate, although I could only use one hand, while I tightened the mounting bolt with the other.

It did not chirp, but still squealed.

It is a logical jump to remembering why adjusting the alternator adjusting bolt did not do anything.

I thought I heard some sounds, but nothing like before. I fixed it?

[Xist]

I pulled the spark plugs again, sprayed them with much more carb cleaner, sprayed the holes again, blew out the spark plug holes, and then wiped down everything. I did not feel any misfires today until I was stopped at a long light a mile from home. The whole car shuddered!

The fun thing is that I came home from work Friday evening, parked the car in the garage, plugged in my battery charger, turned on the fans, and fell asleep.

I need to get a shop fan, I just do not want one more thing for which I do not have room. Had I set a timer for twenty or thirty minutes everything should have been fine, but it needed to charge for a long time before I could start the car.

Aside from the one shudder, the car seemed to drive perfectly today. I do not know what the deal with that CEL code is!

[Xist]

I made it to the family half an hour away, but I guess that I am fortunate that I had problems before I got further away.

[Xist]

I thought that I needed to rent a car so that I could make it to both jobs, but my afternoon clients had not confirmed. Why rent a car to drive to one place 5.7 miles away? As I drove Mom to school I remembered that this is the day that I am supposed to drive to the school in the other town and if those clients did not confirm, I would try to make up a session with someone else.

I had just wanted to pull one student that I missed yesterday, but the guys that were supposed to install a handle in the door they installed last week showed up.

There was no way my student would focus!

I left my charging cable at the school yesterday and the wall plug at home, so I used the ancient computer to charge, but it must have USB 1.0, my phone was still discharging!

Then some strange lady showed up and said "That's my spot." She also asked "Did you guys get a duststorm?!"

A few things: We don't get duststorms up here, we have groundcover. That was sawdust and the big door within arm's reach was a wall the last time she was there.

I completed my paperwork before leaving yesterday, could not see the one student, and could not use my phone for anything because it was about to die, so I grabbed my lunch and water jug and started walking those 5.7 miles.

I think that I got about two miles before someone offered me a ride. Thank goodness for them!

I still would have been walking when Mom came to get me. At least I would have been able to go back for my speech supplies! So, I was home early, but did not have my supplies, and I was not going to any school covered in sweat.

I quickly showered, but I would have been at least half an hour too late, and Mom still would not have been able to use her car all day. I messaged my supervisor, summed up the situation, and asked if I could see those kids tomorrow.

She asked if I was at the first school. I borrowed the car, drove back, and said yes.

"Clock out."
About making up those sessions, was that a yes or no?

The guys at Enterprise said that Costco gives a 7% discount and USAA gives a 5% break. You are also supposed to get an upgrade with Costco, but I forewent that in case I would get a marginally better discount.

I am researching replacing the valve seals, but I think there is too much information in the videos. I have watched videos by Eric the Car Guy, Brian's Mobile, and someone calling himself "PeanutButterMan," who refers to Eric's video, and pointed out some stuff that I missed.

I am going to see what I can find in the FSM, but have you heard? I don't like it!

[redpoint5]

Eric the Car Guy, now that's a real channel. Shouty is no match.

... don't you have a friend to lend a ride? I'd have you covered if you lived where it rains.

[Xist]

Friend? What is this word you speak of?

[Xist]

But wait! There's more!

I kept seeing that if you replaced the top seals and still had a problem that you needed to remove the rocker arm assembly, and remove the bottom seals. That did not sound especially terrible, but every set of directions that I found warned about a different way that it could go terribly wrong.

However, Eric the Car Guy said to check for oil one month after replacing the top seals. Why would I have a problem four times as fast, but only have dirty plugs? I soaked them in isopropyl alcohol, and they looked good, but when I went for a test drive, I had misfires and CELs for three cylinders within two miles.

I stopped back at AutoZone and asked if they had the proper spark plugs in stock this time. When I went last week I showed the guy the part number that Honda put in my owner's manual and I saw the computer show that OE was copper, but he kept trying to sell me platinum. I told him that Honda specified copper and I wanted copper. Since at the time Torque only showed two misfires I only bought two plugs, but supposedly the closest they had was Autolite, and I was not eager to see if those were good enough.

The monkey sold me copper plugs, but charged me for platinums.

How did I not notice the price difference?

I walked out with four NGK copper plugs and 42¢. I plugged in my shop fan, hoping to have my car ready and the rental returned in time to make up a session from yesterday, and drove ten or fifteen miles.

Zero misfires. However, as I pulled onto the main road, someone driving a new Civic nearly T-boned me. They had a red light, so I wonder what the police officer two vehicles behind them would have said, but fortunately they stopped, and I did not face a completely new set of problems.

Unfortunately, the client was unavailable to make up the session, so I will not have three consecutive clients in the same town. I also do not know when I can make up the session now that I work in a school three days a week.

Also, my Civic battery is charged, and my fuel filter washers are supposed to arrive today, so I will be able to see how that car is doing soon.

[Xist]

I made it to both jobs, seeing three home clients--except the first two were no-shows. I drove home without a problem, just those occasional misfires, but my brother asked to go the pharmacy, and I got misfires on three cylinders. I came home, parked in the garage, and positioned the shop fan, but what am I going to do, pull the spark plugs, and see that they are just a little dirty?

Mom will let me borrow her car tomorrow, I just feel bad leaving her stranded for ten hours, although I rented a car last week.

According to https://www.fixdapp.com/blog/p0300-honda, the first thing to check are spark plug and grounding wires. The chart on 22-18 of the FSM lists grounding wires and the diagram on 22-19 shows their locations. I will will disconnect each grounding wire, rough it up quickly with my Walmart dremel, and reattach.

Since I have three misfires on NGK wires a little over a year old, I doubt that is a problem, but I guess that I should find my multimeter and bang them together or whatever you are supposed to do.

I wonder if my Civic wires would fit on my Accord.

"If you have determined that your ignition system is operating correctly"--no, wait! What about the distributor?! How do I check it?! Do I lick it?!

[Xist]

The distributor points are corroded, so I bought a new one. There was also oil in it, so I removed the rest of it, and replaced the o-ring, but could not replace the inner seal, so I ordered a new distributor from Amazon. It should be here by Monday.

[California98Civic]

You must either have the worst luck, have a worn-out Civic, or be mistake prone in your repair work. I don't mean that to sound harsh, and I hope saying so does not offend. I sympathize with the difficulty you are experiencing. Maybe it is time for a different car? Hondas seem to like to torture you? Did you vandalize one once in a previous life?