Interesting pics I took of Pilot with VCM internal

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Originally Posted By: Trav
Looks like many I have done, I would change the PCV and the spool valve. The part with the 2 solenoids and blue plug on the rear cyl head, this one may have one on the front also (VCM 2).
These get clogged and fail without warning on engines like this, I have a half a dozen old ones hanging around that failed, when they go the engine will only run on 3 cylinders and it wipes the expensive active engine mounts out and hammers the transmission.

On these I remove the oil pan and clean it out along with the pickup tube and filter mounting pad so I can flush the spool valve passages out then manually clean the heads.

Some before and after of one of these (VCM 1 engine)










Hi Trav, I know where the PCV valve is. But where is the spool valve? Do you have a part number for a 2011 Pilot? Thanks!
 
Originally Posted By: mclasser
Cool pics. Year & mileage?

I have the VCMuzzler on my Pilot and couldn't be happier. Power from the 6 cylinders is available at all times without the shudder and lag B.S. from VCM.


VCMuzzler?

What years of Pilot is it available for?
 
Originally Posted By: bigjl
Originally Posted By: mclasser
Cool pics. Year & mileage?

I have the VCMuzzler on my Pilot and couldn't be happier. Power from the 6 cylinders is available at all times without the shudder and lag B.S. from VCM.


VCMuzzler?

What years of Pilot is it available for?


Any year the Pilot has VCM, if its older and does not have it there is no need for the muzzler. They're available for all Honda V-6 applications that have VCM
 
..its a resistor in the oil pressure circuit.

Resistor in oil pressure circuit? It is my understanding it's a resistor in the temperature sensor circuit for VCM engagement system. I am considering simply splicing a 100 (80?)ohm resistor into this circuit sensor signal line to permanently disable VCM-II.
I have experienced absolutely no issues with it- no oil consumption, etc. and engine runs super smooth and easy on the gas for a strong V-6. Just do 4-5k oil changes and keep an eye on the pcv system. Maybe I should just leave it alone?
Whatdoyathink, Trav?
 
IIRC on the VCM I system it was a 40 Ohm resistor in the oil pressure circuit at the spool valve, its been many years since I played with this when no one had any idea how to disable the system without throwing a CEL.
Yes the Muzzler II works on the temp circuit but I gave up working on these things for the most part (I pass on new work) so I haven't followed the developments and don't have much interest.

It is 100% worth doing, even thought the engine runs smooth now thing can go bad quickly and that's when it gets expensive. Get a pre made harness and forget it.

The muzzler is available on ebay. There are a couple of other ones out there but do not work on VCM 1.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VCMuzzler-II-for-Disabling-VCM-on-Honda-and-Acura-Vehicles-/172249356977
 
My 2009 Pilot with 139,000 miles now has a knocking main bearing and when the valve covers were pulled, the mechanic found thick sludge over the entire top of the engine. Used natural oil at 5,000 mile OCI for first 60,000 miles and then went to Mobil 1 ever since also at 5,000 mile OCI. Three garages recommended replacing the engine.

See plenty of early VCM Honda 3.5 V6's with similar problem but no recourse back to Honda. At $4500 to $5500 to replace the engine and Honda making several changes to their initial VCM-1 design, does anyone know of claims paid by Honda???
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
The Honda V6 without VCM is a very good engine, I would even go as far as saying its one of the best but the VCM turned one of the smoothest running V6 engines on the market into one of biggest pigs ever foisted on the buying public.
I just don't understand their doubling down on this horror trip of useless technology.


It's all about meeting CAFE, at least, without designing an entirely new engine.

I have the pre-VCM 3.5L.
smile.gif
 
Aside from the posts on this site, the 3 garages I contacted all indicated Honda VCM engines need synthetic oil only. Mine ran the first 60,000 miles on conventional. Each garage was aware of the problem by word of mouth. Based upon that, this is a widespread issue with early VCM engines. Unfortunately, I bought a 2009 Pilot which was the worst year. My contacting the dealer and Honda have proved fruitless. They indicate no one has this issue.
 
Honda denies this issue exist, they had to get sued before acknowledging they might have a problem with some engines. They could program this out in minutes with an simple ECM flash but that would cost them billions in CAFE credits received over 17 years and they would have to reimburse customers for the vehicles not getting published mileage. No way in Hades are they going to do that even offer to do it as a customer request option, I think that could be interpreted as them admitting something.

Yes they need synthetic oil and in many cases a very short OCI (3-5K) to stay clean. I have done a few of them over the years and don't like doing them anymore, its so labor intensive to clean them and the VCM II engines many times have hosed rear jugs or a torn up valve train anyway, they need a long block.
 
Thank you for that info. Just saying, but one needs to be careful about "word of mouth". Many times it's just one guy repeating what he heard from someone that heard it from someone, etc. Of course changes as it makes its way down the pipeline. Instead of getting many pieces of independent info based on actual experience, one may get one piece of info repeated 100 times! Internet is really bad for this. LOL
 
Thanks. I read a number of your posts and you have the problem well identified. The car is 7 years old with 137,000 miles. After a few weeks of researching and thinking I will simply keep it for a few years with short oil changes. We normally buy new after 10 years so hopefully it lasts that long. Since Honda will not even admit the problem, it is my last Honda after over 30 years of buying them.
 
So this muzzler is like the obd II plug in I picked up for the Caprice. It stops it from shutting down half the engine.
 
There is a long and rich history of VCM issue discussion on the Piloteers forum. Some vehicles seem to be worse than others on the vibration and reliability issues, with no real clue as to why. This is NOT just a case of "everybody knows" and "word of mouth".

Short OCI's have the problem of loading up the intake manifold with volatiles. 100K intake manifold tear-downs and clean-ups are recommended for these engines. I don't know if a catch-can is even feasible on these engines (I have the pre-VCM), but if you go to short OCI's, I would look into it.
 
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