96 civic has lost a lot of power!!
 

Hi everyone!! I have a 96 Civic DX and i know they are slow as it is but i do mostly highway driving and I usually go around 75-80mph without a problem and some power to spare to pass if i slam on the gas. Now i live in florida where the only hills we have are lil bumps on the highway pretty much but now when im on the highway i can barely go past 70mph and as soon as i reach a "hill," even the little bridge hills my car will not stay up at even 70mph.
Now im not sure what the problem is but i will say that i have to get a new muffler because w/e is in the inside of the muffler broke off and was rattling around. Now im not sure if that would cause this drastic of a power loss but it might. I changed the oil a lil while ago, spark plugs, the belts where changed about 20,000miles ago and nothing else seems like it would be a problem, but i dont really know..lol. The car only has a CAI and like i said mostly driven in highway so not to much beating on the car. Well if anyone has any suggestions or if you all think it might be the muffler then please let me know. Thanks!!

RE: 96 civic has lost a lot of power!!
 

Is the CEL ON?

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread/1901557

Any other engine problems? Has the fuel filter or plug wires been replaced? Have you inspected the distributor cap and rotor?

RE: 96 civic has lost a lot of power!!
 

Well the CEL light is not on, that would have definatly been the first thing i would have checked. I have also ordered plug wires with the muffler, but i have not changed the fuel filter...could that do that much damage? and yes i did inspect the distributor cap and rotor and they looked fine. :)

RE: 96 civic has lost a lot of power!!
 

A common cause of power loss is low fuel pressure. This can be caused by a clogged fuel filter or a faulty fuel pump.

RE: 96 civic has lost a lot of power!!
 

Get that exhaust fixed.

RE: 96 civic has lost a lot of power!!
 

loss of power= timing off, bad plug wires or plugs, distributor and rotor worn, fuel filter clogged or dirty, fuel pump bad, low voltage to same, weak coil, rings damaged-low compression, retricted exhaust flow,

The exhaust must exit fast to keep the power up otherwise the old spent fuel is taking up space the new fuel need to work and you lose power.

RE: 96 civic has lost a lot of power!!
 

As pointed out by other members, if the damaged muffler is blocking exhaust flow, then it could lead to a power loss problem.

RE: 96 civic has lost a lot of power!!
 

+1 on the timing. Check with a timing light. The belt may have skipped a tooth.

Most other problems such as the fuel pump and filter, cap rotor wires, etc. will cause the engine to run rough and slow when you floor it. The blocked exhaust would not though.

RE: 96 civic has lost a lot of power!!
 

Well the muffler just pretty much broke off the tip and the inside, but i can see through it now and the air is coming out just fine, if anything the airflow is less restricted now by the exhaust..lol. Now I have heard the timing belt one, how do i check that? or do i have to take it in somewhere? Thanks :)

RE: 96 civic has lost a lot of power!!
 

You should find directions in one of the FAQ's here. You will need a timing light and a piece of wire to jumper the test connector. Or if you don't have a timing light, take the timing belt cover off and check the marks on the cam pulley, which will tell you if the belt has slipped (though the spark timing could still be set wrong all along).