i just bought a 93 civic automatic with a 1.6 v-tec motor, and on the ride home i brought it up to speed on the highway and instantly had a burning rubber smell, so i backed it the gas and down to about 3k RPM and the smell went away. Brought it back to to 4k and the smell came right back. only thing the car has done to it is a cat back and intake. not sure if its the water pump locked up or what becasue the engine was running a little hot and it had visible smoke coming off the throttle bodywhen i opened the hood, granted its only about 50 degrees outside, i had the oil changed right when i bought it. but anyway, does anyone have any advice?

 

I'm new at the honda scene,but it sounds like a belt to me.Pop the hood and have someone bring the revs up to get a visual.I think if the water pump was locked up completely,the belt would've blown off by now,but it could be the impeller inside dragging.Be careful if you have someone do that though and stay out of the way in case the belt does blow off.A belt to the face at 900 mph couldn't feel good!Hope I could help some.

 

well you say at 4K RPMs.... highway driving... THEN SLOW YOUR @SS DOWN!!!!! what you doing 100MPH........



keep it under 3K and the speed limit
but depending how much oil is smoking out the tailpipe is how much of a problem it could be... msot likely worn oil rings if its coming out the tailpipe.... but if your smelling oil inside the car then check for oil leaks under the hood, oil could be leaking out the valve cover, distributor, the mains or several spots and be driping onto the manifold which would burn it and give ya that smell tho you should be able to smell it more at a slower speed.

 

well just to say i know mine is newer but my 01 civic ex turns 4k easy at 75

 

yeah, my car turns 4k easy at 75, plus the problem was with getting onto the highway, short onramps are killers, but i think i might have found the problem. i had coolant leaking out around the lower bolt on the thermostat housing, so im gonna replace the thermostat and gasket tonight, and housing if its crackedtonight and see where it goes from there. by the way, where is a good place to get a new head gasket? im lookin at replacing mine this weekend. it probably needs it. the motor feels a little weak.

 

what model civic you got? my 94s 5speed tranny goes 80MPH around 3K rpms...... no where close to 4K rpm...... not ure if yours is a automatic and maybe thats different, or a older civic with only a 4speed....