Ok, now this is weird. Let me TRY and explain this the best I can...

-Symptoms are tempermental, they come and go, get worst, and lighten up. For no reason.
-SO FAR, I've only encountered the problem in third and fifth gear.

The problem:

Just cruising, I'll feel the car literally start pulling on itself (Like I pulled the E-Brake up), I'll let off the gas (In gear still), and instead of "catching itself" (You know what you let off in gear, the car just sort of coasts, and winds down gradually?), it would just fall flat on it's face, almost like hitting a bump, and would start winding down from there. I would give it gas again to get going, I would have the pedal depressed almost 50% and nothing would happen, and it would "pop" back up, and start moving again. It's very difficult to go partial throttle when this happens, because partial throttle is right in between the engaged and disengaged point (That's the best way I can think to describe it), so it would be a constant battle trying to figure out how to keep it from disengaging, without going over the speed limit.

However, this was occuring in fifth gear, so I dropped into fourth gear... And there problem went away. I've also encountered the problem in third gear a lot too.

The car is getting VERY difficult to drive, it feels like it has an extra 2,000lbs it's dragging. Getting the car going from a dead stop takes more concentration than open heart surgery. Shifting from first into second, is either very violent (When disengaging the clutch), or the clutch just free revs for a few thousand RPM, then catches (Sounds like someone driving a manual who doesn't know how to... That "BAAAAAAAAAH" sound in between shifts). Like I said, it feels like the car is toting another 2,000lbs or so.

So I got home today, and ready to take a sledgehammer to the car in my rage. I jacked the rear of the car up (If you don't remember, I had a sticking caliper in the back, that I THOUGHT was making the car feel heavier), and to my surprise, both rear wheels spun very freely.

Did the same to the front, and both wheels spin freely in the front...

I'm at a complete loss of what could be causing this. I don't think it's the clutch, the car goes into gear with ease, I can still chirp first to second. It's not in the greatest shape, but it isn't doing a bad job.

So what could be going on here? I'm completely dumbfounded. This problem just started last Tuesday, happened ONCE, and went away for 5 days, now it's acting up again, but on a MUCH more consistant level.

The car has 97,000 miles on it.

ANY help is appreciated.

 

Might want to hook up a friends wide band and see how it looks when you are at those specific rpm bands, could be a problem with your fuel system that requires immediate attention.

 

I had a similar problem, turned out to be a bad ground. Check all your grounds, specifically the thermostat ground. And when is the last time you changed your rotor/cap/wires/plugs?

 

I changed my rotor/cap/wires/plugs/fuel filter about 5,000 miles ago. I'll check my grounds right now.

As for a fueling problem... That's possible. The car has been running extremely rich since I've owned it.

Guess it's being parked for a while. Prelude FTW.

 

wow, that sucks dude


i'd be pretty angry too. you say it NEVER did it in 4th at all, but would do it in 5th, and occasionally in 3rd?

sounds pretty odd

 

Yeah, real odd... I think it's RPM dependent, and at fifth and third gear cruising speeds, I'm in between 3,000RPM-3,500RPM. Fourth gear at 60MPH I'm at around 4,000RPM-4,200RPM.

I just checked my grounds, they're fine. However, my negative battery cable was QUITE loose, I tried to tighten it down, and it wouldn't tighten anymore. I guess it's just worn down. I rigged a way to tighten it down, I'm going for a test drive real quick, we'll see how it goes.

I'm starting to think it's an electrical problem. I can't think of what else would be as inconsistant.

 

If your negative battery terminal is lose like that, it could cause a problem, shifting from 5th-4th might cause it to jump to a good spot or something of that nature, so might be less serious than a fuel issue.

 

Neo's a genius. Car's driving great now.

A hour ago I would have put money on my transmission being destroyed (You'd have to know the history of it, to know why I'd think that).

It still feels a bit "heavy" at some points, I think I need to check all of my grounds a bit more thoroughly, perhaps just replace them. It could also be my worn clutch just slipping around a bit.

Anyway, looks like that solved the bulk of the problem, good looking out guys.

EDIT: This is GO-FIGHT-KILL... Forgot to log out.

 

glad everything turn out better I've never experienced it so its a first for me!!

 

Put a small screw between the terminal (on the battery) and the connection, so that when you tighten the connection, the threads on the screw dig into the terminal.

It won't wiggle off any more.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BudMan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Put a small screw between the terminal (on the battery) and the connection, so that when you tighten the connection, the threads on the screw dig into the terminal.

It won't wiggle off any more. </TD></TR></TABLE>

i was pissed when i noticed a nail in the terminal of my bat when i bought my car, then slowed down to think of why it was there, pretty good idea actually. its been working great for almost a year now, probly the cheapest thing i could fix on my car though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Carolina Fried Rice &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Neo's a genius. Car's driving great now.

A hour ago I would have put money on my transmission being destroyed (You'd have to know the history of it, to know why I'd think that).

It still feels a bit "heavy" at some points, I think I need to check all of my grounds a bit more thoroughly, perhaps just replace them. It could also be my worn clutch just slipping around a bit.

Anyway, looks like that solved the bulk of the problem, good looking out guys.

EDIT: This is GO-FIGHT-KILL... Forgot to log out.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Glad to help.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by #965ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> glad everything turn out better I've never experienced it so its a first for me!! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Honda-Tech's a great site.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BudMan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Put a small screw between the terminal (on the battery) and the connection, so that when you tighten the connection, the threads on the screw dig into the terminal.

It won't wiggle off any more. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That was my "rigged fix", did the trick.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by neo_ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Glad to help. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Good advice man, I never would have thought.

Appreciate the helpg guys, it feels good to just cruise in my baby without wanting to drive it off a bridge.