[king1999]

My 2010 Odyssey EX-L misfired and lost power/vibrated. I searched the forum and found the info of the lawsuit. It was ten days before the 8 year cutoff. So I have it towed to a dealer and they replaced spark plugs 1-4 for free and updated the software. I asked about the piston rings and they said they can't replace them yet according to the warranty process. I would have to come back if the problem occurs.

After I got my Odyssey back, it have been running pretty normal except that there is a bit vibration (which I am not sure if it is new or not since my wife had been the one driving it before the misfiring). It also burns oil one quart per 2k miles.
My question is how do I know if it needs a ring job? What kind of symptoms would need to appear?

I am getting a VCM suppressor soon but would like to get the rings replaced first by the dealer if necessary.

 

[MrRangerZr1]

Replacing the rings is a temporary fix, the problem will come back. (not might, it will) Disabling VCM is the way to go. Once you disabled VCM, run a few cans of fuel injector cleaner (I use B12 chemtool) and drive the van hard, that's how I got my 2010 EX-L to burn less oil. What this does is clean the piston rings, once it gets cleaner, it seals the combustion chamber better and oil doesn't burn as much.

How many miles does your van have? Vibration may be from motor mounts. Be prepare to replace all 3 motor mounts (plus 2 transmission mounts) Motor mounts take a beating from VCM. All of my mounts were shot at about 150k miles. Did I mention they cost $1k?! :rant: No going aftermarket for motor mounts, OEM only. You can also do the EX-L to LX/EX motor mount conversion which will save you some $$$.


Oh, make sure you swap out the last 2 spark plugs. Doesn't make sense to have 4 brand new plugs and 2 old.

 

[davedrivesody]

My question is how do I know if it needs a ring job?

The first sign is oil-fouled spark plugs.

After that is high oil consumption, although it has to be ridiculously high for Honda to act on it.

The last straw is engine misfire due to low compression.

Dave

 

[Odyssey.owner]

Some sneaky character would just put some oil into cylinders and get van towed to dealer before warranty expires.
After warranty expires you will have two options:
1. Pay for the ring job out of your pocket.
2. Continue adding oil every 2K and replacing spark plugs every 10K.

 

[king1999]

Replacing the rings is a temporary fix, the problem will come back. (not might, it will) Disabling VCM is the way to go. Once you disabled VCM, run a few cans of fuel injector cleaner (I use B12 chemtool) and drive the van hard, that's how I got my 2010 EX-L to burn less oil. What this does is clean the piston rings, once it gets cleaner, it seals the combustion chamber better and oil doesn't burn as much.

How many miles does your van have? Vibration may be from motor mounts. Be prepare to replace all 3 motor mounts (plus 2 transmission mounts) Motor mounts take a beating from VCM. All of my mounts were shot at about 150k miles. Did I mention they cost $1k?! :rant: No going aftermarket for motor mounts, OEM only. You can also do the EX-L to LX/EX motor mount conversion which will save you some $$$.


Oh, make sure you swap out the last 2 spark plugs. Doesn't make sense to have 4 brand new plugs and 2 old.

Thanks for your reply. My Ody is 8 year old with 85K miles. So the mounts are probably OK. Will add the VCM suppressor as soon as I receive it.

Yes, I did get the other 2 plugs replaced, around with timing-belt, water pump, serpentine belt (power steering pump belt), and both tensioners, for about $1200. A bit pricey but the tensioner under the power steering was making high pitch noise and must be replaced and I got some discount when fixing all these together. Didn't have time to shop for cheaper fix before Christmas trip.

 

[king1999]

The first sign is oil-fouled spark plugs.

After that is high oil consumption, although it has to be ridiculously high for Honda to act on it.

The last straw is engine misfire due to low compression.

Dave

yep the dealer only fixes it if the oil burns one quart per 1000 miles!
Will keep my fingers crossed after putting in the VCM suppressor.

 

[king1999]

Some sneaky character would just put some oil into cylinders and get van towed to dealer before warranty expires.
After warranty expires you will have two options:
1. Pay for the ring job out of your pocket.
2. Continue adding oil every 2K and replacing spark plugs every 10K.

The 8-year warranty already expired a few days ago, but I was told by the dealer that it may still be covered since I reported the issues before it expired.
Due to my relatively low milage (85K), I hope the burning can stop or reduce after I install the VCM suppressor.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

The 8-year warranty already expired a few days ago, but I was told by the dealer that it may still be covered since I reported the issues before it expired.
Due to my relatively low milage (85K), I hope the burning can stop or reduce after I install the VCM suppressor.

Last resort could be cleaning existing piston rings. It is a very simple procedure, can be done at home.
1. Remove spark plugs.
2. Add about 50ml of gunk cleaner into each cylinder.
3. Crank engine for a second or less.
4 . Let it soak overnight.
5. Crank engine again a few times, 5-10 seconds each time.
6. Install spark plugs and coils.
7. Drain engine oil.
8. Fill up engine with normal amount of some cheap oil, and let it run for a while, 20-30 min.
9. Drain oil again and replace it with oil you normally using - Mobil 1 Full Synthetic, etc. also change oil filter.
10. Drive around with VCM disabled and monitor oil level on the dipstick. If it stays the same, then you won.

The only problem is - I did all that back in Europe, and the cleaner I used was some german made stuff. Do some research and find some alternatives people use here in North America.
Some saying Seafoam Engine cleaner works fine, but I never used it, so cannot say anything about it.

 

[John Clark]

BG-109 is what I'd use if I needed to clean piston rings.

 

[king1999]

BG-109 is what I'd use if I needed to clean piston rings.

Reading some reviews of BG-109, it seems too strong for my relatively low mileage. Will try B-12 first to see if that helps.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

Reading some reviews of BG-109, it seems too strong for my relatively low mileage. Will try B-12 first to see if that helps.

I just did some research, and I think B-12 is too strong for what you need to do. While it is fine to use for fuel system cleaning, you cannot pour it into crank case. B-12 instantly eating up plastic cups and rubber gloves, I mean mechanic rubber gloves. Most likely will do the same to engine gaskets, seals, etc. Whatever you going to use to un-seize piston rings, it must be safe enough for other parts of the engine.

 

[king1999]

I just did some research, and I think B-12 is too strong for what you need to do. While it is fine to use for fuel system cleaning, you cannot pour it into crank case. B-12 instantly eating up plastic cups and rubber gloves, I mean mechanic rubber gloves. Most likely will do the same to engine gaskets, seals, etc. Whatever you going to use to un-seize piston rings, it must be safe enough for other parts of the engine.

It can be used in crank case if you are careful according to the manufacturer: https://www.berrymanproducts.com/solution-central/b-12-crank-case/
However, I will just put it in the fuel and let it run its course slowly.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

It can be used in crank case if you are careful according to the manufacturer: https://www.berrymanproducts.com/solution-central/b-12-crank-case/
However, I will just put it in the fuel and let it run its course slowly.

I would not put it in my crank case ) Just watch what it did to mechanics gloves and how fast it destroyed the rubber.
Adding fuel system cleaner into fuel will not un-seize piston rings, unfortunately. It will clean piston surface and valves, but piston rings will stay where they are. To free up piston rings you will need to pour cleaner into cylinder and let it soak for a while. I would even do it twice, if it doesn't work on first try, because procedure is relatively cheap and simple, and possible positive outcome will save you a lot of time and money.

 

[MrRangerZr1]

Last resort could be cleaning existing piston rings. It is a very simple procedure, can be done at home.
1. Remove spark plugs.
2. Add about 50ml of gunk cleaner into each cylinder.
3. Crank engine for a second or less.
4 . Let it soak overnight.
5. Crank engine again a few times, 5-10 seconds each time.
6. Install spark plugs and coils.
7. Drain engine oil.
8. Fill up engine with normal amount of some cheap oil, and let it run for a while, 20-30 min.
9. Drain oil again and replace it with oil you normally using - Mobil 1 Full Synthetic, etc. also change oil filter.
10. Drive around with VCM disabled and monitor oil level on the dipstick. If it stays the same, then you won.

The only problem is - I did all that back in Europe, and the cleaner I used was some german made stuff. Do some research and find some alternatives people use here in North America.
Some saying Seafoam Engine cleaner works fine, but I never used it, so cannot say anything about it.

No offence but this is completely unnecessary. You have to remember the V shape of the engine, it will not be effective. Sure, it might work in 4 cylinder engines but not V6.

 

[MrRangerZr1]

I just did some research, and I think B-12 is too strong for what you need to do. While it is fine to use for fuel system cleaning, you cannot pour it into crank case. B-12 instantly eating up plastic cups and rubber gloves, I mean mechanic rubber gloves. Most likely will do the same to engine gaskets, seals, etc. Whatever you going to use to un-seize piston rings, it must be safe enough for other parts of the engine.

Been using the B12 in all of my cars, no side effects. Not in the crankcase, just in the fuel tank.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

No offence but this is completely unnecessary. You have to remember the V shape of the engine, it will not be effective. Sure, it might work in 4 cylinder engines but not V6.

Because of V-shaped engine, there is a step number 3 - "3. Crank engine for a second or less.", which is not necessary with inline 4 engine.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

Been using the B12 in all of my cars, no side effects. Not in the crankcase, just in the fuel tank.

To free up piston rings, cleaner should be poured into cylinder, not into fuel tank.

 

[MrRangerZr1]

Because of V-shaped engine, there is a step number 3 - "3. Crank engine for a second or less.", which is not necessary with inline 4 engine.

Not sure what you meant? You have to crank the engine with spark plugs removed in any motor or else the motor will hydrolock.

You won't be able to submerge the whole piston in a V6. The pistons are angled.

 

[John Clark]

You can do it that way but you won't get a small puddle of it to sit on top of the piston. It will still get to the rings and soak a bit, just not as good as in a 4 cyl. I've never tried this myself so I don't have any personal experience to add. I have heard good things about BG-109 for this very thing, but again, never had to do it myself.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

Not sure what you meant? You have to crank the engine with spark plugs removed in any motor or else the motor will hydrolock.

You won't be able to submerge the whole piston in a V6. The pistons are angled.

Sorry, I thought my instructions were clear enough..
I said to remove spark plugs ( #1 ) , pour 50ml of cleaner into each cylinder ( #2 ), crank engine for very short period of time ( #3 ) to spread cleaner around the cylinder walls, let soak ( #4) . Step #5 is to remove the rest of the cleaner from the cylinder, just gotta crank engine without spark plugs, to prevent hydrolock. Step #6 - install spark plugs..



Sorry, maybe my English isnt good enough, that is very possible.

Anyhow, I used this method on V shaped engines at least twice if I recall correctly, worked everytime. My guess is - the piston doesnt have to be submerged completely, spreading cleaner around cylinder walls can be just enough.

Though I wouldnt bother with this cleaning method if car has a lot of miles on it, because it burns oil most likely for a different reason.