I have a 94 honda civic 1.6 Vtec 4 cyl. I have a dead #3 cylinder. I have spark, I have fuel pumping from fuel inj, i tried new plugs.... I had a re-man head installed 5-6 months ago and it was running great. then one day i slowed down to a stop sign and it started idling rough. I am baffled.... Could the problem be. 1) a stuck valve (why would it stick) 2) a burnt valve (possible with a new head?) 3) bad ring in piston (would it go out that fast like that?) I really love this car and wanna keep it going, any help would be great! Thank you

 

do a compression check

 

I will be doing one tomorrow, how will i know if it is a valve or rings?

 

pull valve cover and check valves. im not sure, but theres something called a leakdown test. maybe that checks rings? somebody call me out for being an idiot if im wrong...

 

A leakdown test basically tells you if there's a compression leak in one of the cylinders.

As far as what it could be, are you burning any oil? If you're burning a good bit of oil, I'd say it's a ring. If not, it's probably a valve or the head gasket. I assume you're not burning any coolant?

 

not burning any oil.... Just the usual. If it is a stuck valve, am i able to take valve cover off and fix it from the top or am i gonna need to take head off? Thanks

 

The valves may be adjusted too tight. You could be able to restore compression by readjusting them, unless a valve has burned because of it.