‘99 EJ2.2 P0340 code; misfires above idle.

[ZMAN24250]

Hopefully this is the right place for this.

 

I have a ‘99 EJ22 that I just pulled the motor on to repair the rear oil separator plate, install new clutch, valve covers, oil pan gasket, lash the valves while I was there, and spark plugs.

 

I got the engine installed and everything hooked back up. The engine will start and after a little fuss, hunting for an idle, then begin to idle smooth. But if any throttle is applied misfires occur. I’ve tried unplugging connectors including the cam sensor and main engine wire harness to clean it and put dielectric grease in. I’ve also taken one of the large grounds off on the drivers side of the engine bay and cleaned it as well. I’ve tried disconnecting the battery for some time. All to no avail. I’ve even unplugged the cam sensor and ran the motor and it is worse with it unplugged.

 

It has gotten a little worse now and will misfire at idle. It ran like a top before I pulled the motor.

 

I didn’t touch anything with the timing belt when the engine was out so everything there as of last I checked should still be timed correctly.

 

The only code I get is the P0340 and I think I’ve gotten the P0341 once when I first started to diagnose but I can’t 100% remember on the 0341.

 

I have no idea why its misbehaving. Hopefully someone here knows something about these motors that I dont.

[Max Capacity]

What did you use to tell you "how to set" the valve lash ?

[ZMAN24250]

I just used the numbers on the hood for valve lash and used the Exhaust open, Intake closed method. Basically when the Exhaust valves were, open I lashed the intake and vice versa. Its what Ive done for other engines that I lashed with no problems. Basically if the exhaust was open the intake is on the heel of the cam so I lashed it then. They were all a touch sloppy, kinda on the high end of the tolerance range but nothing you wouldn't expect from 123K miles. So since the motor was out I decided to bring the lash back down to the middle of the tolerance range.

[Max Capacity]

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in soon.

 

Make sure the coil connectors are tight. May be swap coils around and see if the CEL follows.

[ZMAN24250]

All the connectors seem to be tight. Im not sure how swapping the ignition coils will help as its a camshaft problem and code. Also, from what I understand, the camshaft sensor controls the fuel injector timing and the crank sensor controls the spark timing.

 

I also made a post with a video on r/cartalk that hopefully might help in diagnosis.

[Max Capacity]

I've never drove that deep into it...may be a PM to "covertrussian" might be some help. He seems to know his stuff.

[ZMAN24250]

Just messed with it more this weekend. It seems to get worse as the car gets warmer. When I first start it cold it will rev to about 2K before it misfires. Then that threshold will drop more and more and stop at 1300ish once warm.

 

I tried cleaning up the alternator connections, I tried cleaning up grounds, and Ive tried other cam and crank sensors. Nothing has changed.

 

Im gunna drive myself crazy trying to hunt down this problem.

 

Also, the passenger footwell was wet and it seems the sunroof drain was leaking. So I investigated the ECU and took it out to dry it incase it got wet. Popped it back in after a day in some rice and there was no change. Dont worry though, fixing that drain is now added to the list.

 

My next plan of attack is to pull the timing cover off to check that something mysterious didnt occur. Also, to recheck the valve lashing to make sure its correct. I found a PDF of how to properly so im going to double check everything with that method.

 

I was talking to a friend who used to work at a shop and he had talked about if the lash (or any mechanical thing) was not correct, the reason its not running right could be because the computer is trying to deal with the incorrect things.

 

Anybody have any other thoughts on what is wrong with my 2.2L?

[ZMAN24250]

It appears to have been solved!

 

In further investigating the wet footwell, I found that the hose for the drain in the sunroof had popped off. Apparently this is a common problem. I ziptied them back on as that was the common fix for these. Ok, great, job done.

 

Still misfires though.

 

So I saw all the connectors in the kick panel near where water was dripping from the sunroof drain. I decided to disconnect all but the air bag plugs, apply a more than adequate amount of dielectric grease in the connectors, then plug them back in.

 

Fired up the car... no problems... silky smooth....

 

I cleared the code that was remaining from last time it ran, and drove around. No problems, no misfires...

 

Turns out the problem had nothing to do with my engine removal and install. Guess thats why I was chasing my tail, I was checking all the things I touched, not the stuff I didnt.