I've got a 96 Civic EX 5-speed that I just bought that's having some hesitation issues. When driving the car, after a cold start, there is serious hesitation in 3rd and 4th gear, to the point where often I'll have to downshift in order to get enough power to go. I can sit and rev this car all day long and not notice any kind of hesitation. No CEL, and I've tuned it up (new plugs, wires, cap and button.) I'm not sure what else to try? What typical Civic issue would cause this?? Thanks!!

 

You may want to check the ignition timing with a timing gun and measure the fuel pressure.

How many miles? Has the timing belt been replaced?

Is the air filter or catalytic converter clogged?

 

It only does it when the car is cold though... once it warms up, there's no problem. It has 117k miles on it, the timing belt has been changed.

 

Is the engine idling to spec when cold and warm?

You may want to test the IACV and MAP sensor on the throttle body.

 

The idle drops way low at some stops, but otherwise seems fine...

 

Try cleaning the IACV (see link below).

 

Something that always bothers me about these forums, is when someone finds a solution to their problem, they never post it, thus never adding to the library of knowledge that's out there.

That being said, here's what fixed my issue. The distributor, for whatever reason, was arcing to the back of the engine... that's right, there was a friggin electrical current jumping off of the distributor! Also, we cleaned out the intake (carb/throttle body cleaner.) I'm not sure which of these solved the problem, but the problem is solved and I'm happy!

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

That's great. How did you fix the distributor issue?