i have a 1991 honda civic wagon, 1.5 liter engine, fuel injected.

recently it hit the 105k mile mark and i was going down the interstate and it started acting like it was running out of gas it started putting along. finally it quit.

people are telling me it's my timing. saying it jumped.

i myself do not know much about cars, i know when it needs gas and when to change the oil and stuff.

if anyone can help me out i'd greatly appericate it.

i'm too broke for a mechanic.

<U>edit:</U>
a friend of my dads said that it could be that i bent my heads.

is that possible? i didn't see any smoke or anything, it just started putting out then quit.

when i try to crank it sounds like its just turning then it'll make a putting sound as its turning and thats as far as it gets. it will not crank at all i hope that information maybe helps a little more.

idk anyone that is experinced enough to come look at it. so i guess i'll have to save up money and find out.

how much would it cost to have a mechanic look at it?


Modified by michaelhinkle at 5:49 PM 9/9/2007

 

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Well, diagnosis is next. Check for gas then spark. Air is there so it is these two.

When you crank it over what does it do? Do you get any sort of ignition? Can you smell gas in the exhaust pipe?

Pull a plug wire and hold it close to a valve cover bolt and have someone crank the motor...Do you see a spark? If you have a rubber glove this is the time to use it to hold the spark plug wire and don't touch the car when doing this.

So if you have spark and smell gas in the exhaust then it is time to check the timing belt. Our motors do not self adjust the timing belt you have to do it. So it might have jumped a tooth but it would run if only one tooth off so...

Well I will go into more if you will answer some of the questions here.

Tia for now, back Monday.

 

well, see when i tried cranking it it just made a whining noise like it was winding down.

i'm not sure how to check all of that, haha. i dont know much about cars.

 

Pull the distributor cap and check the bolt that holds the rotor on.
Then check the timing belt.

 

thanks. anyone else?

 

You are going to have to get a mechanic to look at it. Maybe you know someone who can at least tell if it jumped timing or the belt even broke. You need to know the basics of the engine to know if it jumped timing or not (firing order, TDC, etc). It would be very hard for anyone to diagnose based on the info provided.

For what its worth, if it is just spinning like a sewing machine when you try to start it, your timing belt is very likely.

 

i edited the topic.

 

bump to the topp.

 

bump

 

If your really wanting help .. you need to supply everyone with the most info you can provide.

If you dont know to much... your gonna need a buddy to help you out..

Pull a spark plug wire off the valve cover.... try to hover the spark plug wire over some metal on the engine.. I.E. Valve cover bolts** Have someone Crank the engine over with the key. IF you get spark.. its a fuel OR timing issue..

If you dont get sparks.. its your distrubotor. Easy fix*

Like said above. IF you motor spends freely.. and faster then normal cranking.. You may have slipped timing.

All these guys trying to help including me.. Cant really do much without feedback or pix's

 

i'll take pictures. the battery died from the car sitting so i'm letting it charge overnight. and sorry, i've been kind of busy. a friend of my dad's is going to come look at it and tell me what he thinks, hes a mechanic. um i'll tell you guys what is wrong.