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Just signed up today after watching hours of ScannerDanner videos on YouTube! I'm an old DIY guy who has been wrenching on anything with a motor since I got my first Honda Trail 50 in 1975. I spent 4 years as a USAF mechanic working on helicopters, and I was a copier repairman for a couple of years at the end of the 80's before copiers became computerized. I still do all my own auto work but now that everything is computerized I am here to expand my knowledge.
Thank you Noah, glad to be here. I've got 5 cars to maintain for my family, so there is always something to work on. I've got a couple of Honda V6's that utilize VCM (variable cylinder management) that I want to understand better.
They ruined a prolific engine platform with that system.
The J series V6 has been a powerful, dependable engine family for decades.
For what ever reason, the VCM equipped engines have poor oil sealing rings, or maybe it's the pistons themselves.
Now when one comes in for a misfire complaint, I can almost guarantee it's cylinder #2 with an oil fouled plug.
My wife's Pilot is the previous generation without VCM and has 225,000 miles on the original engine. The VCM ones I see start eating enough oil to foul plugs around 110,000 miles.
From my past foarays into these things, the rocker assembly is kind of like inside out V-TEC. Instead of using oil pressure to lock rocker arms together to engage a larger cam lobe for more power, it instead unlocks rocker arms to disable cylinders.
I think 1-2-3 on the rear head can be disabled, as well as #4 on the front head.
Hi again Noah,
There are a couple guys who've made a cottage industry selling VCM disabling devices for the J series motors. I learned about them and installed one (the VCM Muzzler) at 180,000 miles. The system works by using a resistor between the ECT sensor and the computer so the PCM thinks the engine hasn't warmed up yet. This prevents the PCM from activating the VCM at all. Here is a link to the forum that explains it all. This is great info for all the techs on here who may run into one of these Honda J series engines. They are in many Honda and Acura models.
I was very impressed with how clean my cylinders were when I pulled my motor apart at 294k. I could still see crosshatched lines in the cylinders. The insides of the cats looked new as well.
