I drove from Toronto to San Diego over the last 4 days and I noticed the following changes in my car:

- the engine sound at high speed began to change (it got higher ptiched)

- the engine wasn't 'pulling' like it used to especially up hill

- the engine has to reach a higher RPM than normal to reach the same speed as before.

I think that the valves have to be adjusted (tappet adjustment) but I don't know. I was driving at around 80 mph for like 5 hour streches.

Any ideas?

 

the engine has to rev higher to attain the same speed? is it an auto or stick? if thats true then prolly your clutch or torque converter is going, in which case your going to spend a lot of money fixing it.

 

It's stick...I don't think it's the clutch; the low speed pep is still there, and the uptake and feel is the same under 100 km/h. I bought it new and I _never_ drive it hard or ever rev past 4000 rpm or shift like an idiot. Oh well, let's see what the Acura guys say.

 

If you say the engine has to be at a higher rpm to reach the same speed, that sounds like a clutch. Otherwise that's not physically possible unless the clutch is slipping.

 

same thing happened on my old 91 ls, the clutch started slipping real bad, then one day it went out...

 

if the rpm is different at the same speed then it is definitely the clutch. Another reason the power might be down is oil. After such a long trip the oil loses viscousity thus the motor loses a bit of compression making it feel like you have to push the gas a little more to do the same thing. also you will get that tapping sound from the valves if the motor oil gets too thin. Also I've noticed although honda recommends 5W30 which I found is not thick enough. Most honda owners I've talk to burn a little oil when using 5W30. When I switched to 10W30 I had no oil burn. Which is definitely better if your using an expensive synthetic oil.

 

Guys, I just took it to the Acura Dealership here in San Diego and it _was_ the valve clearance as I suspected. I had them also check the timing (which was fine) and replace the plugs. It pulls like it's old self (the bench mark its always stuck to was 4050RPM = 130 km/h almost exactly in 5th gear on level ground). After the trip it took about 4300RPM to do 130 clicks, but after the valve clearance was ajusted, the sound is back to normal and so is the power and feel. Apparently, it was producing less power at the same RPM - which was my hunch.

There was no chance in hell that my clutch would die after just 5 years - if your clutch dies before 8-10 years you shouldn't be driving stick

 

glad to hear your teg is fine now

 

If you encounted any higher elevations, the air is less dense causing loss of power too.