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I own a 1990 Civic LX, I've owned an EF in the past, and both are/were automatic. That said, I know how the engine and transmission should be acting.
Simply put, THIS BITCH IS SLOW, like, way slower than it should be. I've clocked 0-40 at full throttle at a time of roughly 18 seconds. The transmission is shifting, and while it's not the smoothest thing in the world, I wouldn't describe it as being distressingly rough, it seems nominal.
This has been an issue since purchase, although it has DEFINITELY improved after replacing several things. Here's what I've done:
-Replaced the ancient nasty fuel filter.
-Replaced the Spark Plugs (this made the biggest difference overall)
-checked the gas tank for rust/bad fuel, drained and refilled (all good)
-hollowed catalytic converter because it was already failing (made a minor difference, stopped the car from producing a violent shake at 5k rpm and hesitating to pass that point).
-replaced all fluids and the oil filter
-replaced O2 Sensor
-reset ECU.
The car does need to have its valve cover/spark plug chamber gaskets replaced, not super badly, but definitely soon, other than that I'm seriously up a wall over this. Anyone have any ideas? It's not throwing me a check engine light or anything BTW.
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By the way there's very little speed gained by moving from half to full throttle...
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>>17172054
swap a b18 or k20.
I personally don't like the EF sedan but boy oh boy do I have a hard on for EF hatches
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>>17172076
>swap a b18 or k20.
I just want the exising engine to work properly. I don't really have the kind of money to buy an engine.
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>>17172054
Could be a cylinder down
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time for an engine rebuild
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>>17172190
Wouldn't there be some sign of such a failure? How would ibe able to tell?
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>>17172197
It'll run rough, rougher than a 4 cylinder should
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By the way there wasn't anything strange in the (rather old) oil when i purchased the car, and no odd smoke or knocking has occured.
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>incorrect ignition timing
>play in distributor shaft
>worn dizzy cap or rotor, spark wires
>weak fuel pressure
>faulty coil
>binding brakes
>transmission slipping
>low engine compression
>exhaust plugged
in that order
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OH I forgot to mention that after you take it out of park and drive it for even a little bit, the next time you park, the idle will go from around 1100 to 2000 rpm over and over again, eventually this does stop though.
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>>17172317
Fix any coolant leaks if you've got em and bleed the air out, clean out your IACV and FITV and test or replace as needed, and check for vacuum leaks
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>>17172197
You could get it tested somewhere, but to me with everything you've described it does sound like one cylinder is down, biggest sign is acceleration being obviously slower than it should be
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>>17172076
pretty much this. I'd look into a B20Vtec swap, but that's me.
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OP, I think I know whats happening.
Same happened to me, if its rough, its down to 3 cylinders, but 4th is still working.
Adjust your valve clearance and you should be good.
If you do not trust me go check your compression.
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