I have a 1997 Civic EX Coupe with 127k miles, well maintained, everything stock.

A week ago when I started the car it kinda sputtered for a second then I got a CEL. When I checked it, it was for a "random misfire" in both cylinders 1 and 2. Since it was "random" and the car runs fine, I just reset the light and it hasn't came back on.

Since I got it 2-3 months ago, it sometimes will start slow. Doesn't take longer to crank or turn over, but once it does get started and I stop turning the ignition, it will sometimes sputter for a second or two and sound like it's about to die out.

I had a Del Sol with a d engine and never had these issues. This car has had an oil/filter change every 2500 miles and I just changed the spark plugs with the last oil change. Also, when I called Honda of America to inquire about the 150,000 mile thing with some 96-97 Honda's, they said mine has already been through the "recall" with the previous owner, who took great care of it.

I thought possibly some ignition problems, but dizzy looks fairly new, plugs were just replaced, haven't replaced wires but I assumed they were replaced with the "recall" tuneup thing because they also look fairly new. I thought maybe dirty injectors, but this engine looks MUCH cleaner than my del sol's which had over 200k miles on the same injectors and ran fine. Thought maybe air sensor is having issues and it isn't getting enough fuel or air, but again the engine is in great shape and everything looks almost new in the engine bay. I also checked the air filter and it only has a little dust on it.

Any ideas on what things I should check?

Also just a side question, the interior is nearly perfect, no scratches or tears, but it's got a few sunburns. Rear seat interior is a little faded at the top, and the sun visor clips are dry rotted and broke. I ordered new ones and not quite sure on what's the best way to get the old ones off. They just "pop" in and don't have screws. I don't want to tear up the ceiling board thing getting the old ones out, so what is the best way to get them off? I'm considering just breaking the clip into pieces but that would be time consuming so any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

 

dizzy cap and rotor, and get plug wires too.

 

Hm, I'll check them out even though the cap looks new. If that is the case, any suggestions on what to get? I know when I needed a new crank pulley/harmonic balancer because the idiot that owned the car before me didn't properly torque the center bolt and it flew off, destroying the crank pulley, timing belt, and timing belt covers, cost me around 250 for repairs...it would have cost over 3 times as much for OEM as the lightened one I got, just curious if there's a route other than OEM for a decent price. Thanks.

 

i would go ngk on the plug wires, but don't be fooled by those thick as hell $90+ wires that don't actually help unless you are running one hell of an aftermarket coil. for the dizzy parts, stay oem. hondaautomotiveparts.com