Just bought 92 Civic vx with bog problems

[jttriesch]

Hey guys, thought Id get into the world of hypermiling, and came across a 92 vx in a junkyard with a clean title and 149000 miles on the odometer. I bought it with a bad tranny and clutch, so my friend (who is a honda guy) and I put in a working transmission, new clutch, new rear main seal, one new axle, and a lightened 7 lb flywheel.

My friend talked me into putting on the light flywheel, but after some research it seems pointless. driving 55-60 mph after the swap, I got 44, then 38, 33, 29 and then 26. Something is going terribly wrong and its driving me nuts. My check engine light came on after a day of driving and turned off before I could check the code. It hasnt come back on since, but I havent been driving much.

The biggest problem is the car is bogging out every time I give it throttle from 1800 rpm to 3300, roughly. It was doing this even with the bad transmission in it before.

My friend thinks it could be a dirty or clogged egr valve. Maybe an O2 sensor? Any help is appreciated!

Jeff

[justpassntime]

If you don't already have the Honda Factory service manual download it from the link below. All you have to do is sign up to login. It's free and worth the time. There are no mistakes in these manuals like there are in the Haynes and Chiltons. I find myself shaking my head every time I open one of those. The Factory manual is much more detailed and includes things you will never find in the others.

Good Luck!

http://www.hondahookup.com/manuals/

[jttriesch]

I bought the Haynes, and I hate the dang thing. Thanks for the info!

[Daox]

Welcome to the site and congrats on the car. The VX is an awesome vehicle.

I'd probably just start with general maintenance like fuel filter, injector cleaner, air filter. I'd also check if theres and IAC valve and if its gunked up.

[jttriesch]

Thanks. Last week I replaced the air filter, put injector cleaner in, changed the spark plugs with NGKs, changed oil and oil filter. Ill change the fuel filter next, and Im leaving now to check and clean the egr valve and I'll check the IAC valve as well.

[SVOboy]

Welcome to ecomodder! Try unplugging the o2 to see if that helps...it might be dead and not tossing a cel

[jttriesch]

Today I tired cleaning out the EGR valve by taking the valve off and tryng to spray inside the whole system with some cleaner, but its very hard to get into the ports. To get into the entire system involves drilling to pull out some port plugs. Theres a thread on how to do it on an accord, which is very similar to the civic:

http://home.comcast.net/~em-engineering/T2T013.pdf

After I tried cleaning the car still bogged or lugged whenever I gave gas. I am planning to completely clean out the egr system. Ill also unplug the O2 sensor and see if that changes anything.

Jeff

[justpassntime]

I was on my way home when I had this thought pop into my head, yes sometimes once in awhile I have an idea.

What about the catalytic converter? If it is coming apart or getting plugged it may do just what you are complaining about. It would run fine at idle or a little just above until enough pressure built up to cause this problem.

I had a couple of cars that did some strange things because of the catalytic converter.

One had totally broken loose inside and was sliding around. Ran great until the pieces slid back to block the exhaust from exiting. This one was hard to diagnose because it ran fine just sitting, but driving for a few miles or uphill would cause it. Once you stopped it would run fine again.

Another car just ran like crap most of the time until I pulled the catalytic converter off and basically dumped the dust and small pieces out of it.

[jttriesch]

Hm... Thanks Ill check it out and see if there is anything fishy with the catalytic converter. My girlfriend's jetta needs a cat and after her car has been running for a while the engine will stall and she has to wait 5 minutes until it will start again.

[Bror Jace]

Yes, try the simple things first ... as they are the cheapest and often, it's one of those that's the culprit.

Speaking of which, check for sticking brake calipers. They will do all that you describe above (poor drivability, terrible mileage). After going 5+ miles, get out and walk around the car. A sticking caliper will get CRAZY hot and be fairly obvious ... sometimes like the wheel's on fire.

Brake components for those cars are very, very cheap if you shop around.