Hi folks,

I recently bought a 1991 civic from a friend. He was really **** about doing all the service that was recommended so the engine and trans are in mint condition. I'm 40 and been driving since 16 and have always had manual trans for all but 1 of those driving years...I would consider myself pretty good at driving stick. But since I've bought this car I'm amazed at how bad I drive it. At first I chalked it up to just needing to get used to it but i find that some days it drives better than others. I've really been paying attention to it now and find that the engine kind of dies when the clutch is being let out while I'm adding a little throttle. It seems to hit a lower rpm and does a slight sputter. I also noticed this issue when shifting between gears. It really makes you look like you're new at driving manual. From what I see it doesn't seem to be an ignition problem - it doesn't miss at idle or under a load. If i'm driving with my foot off the gas and then give it a littlegas I can feel the hesitation. the car has 150k miles on it. I've replaced the plugs, rotor,cap and wires. Could this be an egr valve? I had a Ford (yah, i know - hate to admit it)one time that if I remember correctly has a issue that was similar. Also, If I let it idle and then put a little pressure on the gas to raise the rpm's to about 1000 it will bob up and down by about 300 rpm's...not sure if this has anything to do with it. And when I'm going down a hill to my house, I put it in 3rd gear to keep the car at 25mph and if I add a little gas to keep up the speed I can feel the miss.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

Is it timed correctly?

 

I don't have a gun but will have it checked. There's no spark knock though, even with the cheap gas I use.

 

You might want to check the fuel injectors and the pressure regulator. Alternatively, the fuel filter is clogged or the fuel pump is having a problem.

Start by checking the fuel pressure: