95 civic dx autotragic

Ok so my civic at this point still has the original motor in it with 194k on it.

When i bought the vehicle it had a blown head gasket, i was broke at the time so my buddy gave me temp. gasket sealer, which did work for a couple hundred miles.

After those couple hundred miles it didnt want to crank over, turns out it was just a bad ground so i shaved metal down a bit and it cranked.

After replacing the head gasket, removing the A/C, Power steering, etc.
The car drove fine for about maybe 10miles then i started getting this weird problem.
The car cranks over a little weak and idles bad, which i think is just a bad IAC. Once I start to drive it goes fine....until i reach a stop and try to take off again i notice a lot of loss of power, after about 2-4 stop signs if i give it full throttle it would cut off, now if i ease on the gas slightly it will start to crawl. Reaching 20mph in about 15-20 secs then it will barely get up to 35mph.

Ive checked tps voltage, spark, compression on the cyclinders and all was fine.
My cousin who is a mechanic at a independent repair shop and drives a boosted ek hatch said that it might be the lock up solenoid on the trans, now before i go and order that, i would just like a little back up from you guys on here before i go spend more on this motor since im still workin on getting misc. parts for a ls/vtec swap i plan i doing soon.

 

It it cranks weakly, check the battery and alternator.

 

battery and alternator were fine.

took off that lock in solenoid and cleaned it, made it shift better but it still didnt fix the problem

 

Its not that it cranks weak but it cranks for a while til it turns over, then there is a delay in rise of oil pressure, no leaks or anything tho

 

Thread title edited.

 

CEL come on at all?

 

Fuel pressure/volume? unlikely, but still check it.
Check the coil with a spark tester, it should jump about an inch in open air with a bright blue color.

Only two other things it can be is timing and compression.

Do you mean the idle is low, or does it idle rough?

What was wrong with the head gasket that warranted replacing it? And what were your compression numbers? Resurface head? New head bolts? The bolts are not reusable and will cause another gasket failure.

Take a reading of your engine manifold vacuum with a gauge, note any flutter in the needle, the reading at idle, rev the engine to 2500rpm and maintain, take a reading, then snap the throttle to 4000 or so and record the maximum reading.

Cleaning the lockup solenoid will have no effect on shift quality, that is only used for the converter clutch, after 4th gear.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/transmission-drivetrain-127/automatic-transmissions-torque-converters-explained-2086594/

Lock up solenoid would stall the engine while in gear 9/10 times, would have no effect on starting.

 

I am going take this thread into account, and re-edit the problem that the OP is having since he is my cousin.

During the initial purchase of the vehicle, the head gasket was taken into perspective
and is priority over all minor repairs that were needed. Analyzing the symptoms from the
start, I came to a conclusion that this little D Series had to go under surgery, involving cylinder head replacement.

White smoke, and the sweet odor during idle and 'ANY' given load are two coefficients
in which almost anybody properly mechanically inclined can make a final observation on
what's going on, and which repairs need to be taken into account.

I was the one that replaced the head gasket.

Compression is top notch. Numbers were really good, and stable. Can't remember the actual
digits, but I will re-do a compression test sometime soon to verify for different variations.

I'm almost positive that it has nothing to do with how the cylinder head was assembled.

This is where the OP lacked proper description relevant to the cars symptoms.

Based on my experience, While in Drive/1st/2nd, the car stutters, and has no potential at
WOT at a warmed up ambient temperature. Last night, the OP stated the dilemma still
occurs during any given temperature.

Anyways, when driving the car from a full stop the throttle needs to be kept under a smooth load,
and a very slow transition if furthermore throttle is desired by the driver.

If any of these actions are to be ignored or the accelerator is mashed from a dead stop,
the car dies out.

 

^

 

Check the timing

 

lol.

 

Bad fuel or fuel filter? Did you change fuel pump relay? I had a starting issue on my 1991 civic. I thought it was something electrical but it was my fuel pump relay.

 

It's not related to "starting."

Again, read the description posted up above in my post.

It's a hesitation, stuttering symptom that chokes the cars acceleration while in gear.

In Neutral, it revs up without any problems.

 

The mechanical timing may be off by one tooth on the timing belt.

 

But Ron, I am almost 100% sure that I have put the belt on right. perhaps I will
take a glimpse at it again tomorrow after work.

Regardless, don't you think the problem would be present even in neutral, and not just
in gear if timing is a possibility?

 

Not necessarily. The ignition timing must be adjusted by the ECU when the engine is under load. That could explain your observation.

Have you tried to adjust the ignition timing spec? If you are unable to do so, that's another sign that the mechanical timing is off.

This is to ensure that you are using the correct cam gear timing marks:

 

Right! That makes sense.

If ignition timing, or timing in general is off the ecu won't have the ability to properly fire based on a wrong input under load.
The result, an improper misfire.

This also explains the issue why the car dies at WOT! Too much excessive fuel drowning the motor since an improper retarded timing sync
is the nemesis.

Preciate it Ron! I will give it another try tomorrow and update with results.

I love Diag stuff, I just wish I was better at it.

 

After a good amount of driving to where the problem is really bad and the car can barely get over 25mph i would throw its autotragic self in neutral and bring it to WOT and it will still have a HUGE delay until the rpms climb. But again WOT in neutral wont cause it to shut off.

But tyvm for the info Ron, im waiting for my cousin to get home right now and I will post if it is the solution

 

Timing was on dot but its ok i found the solution. It needs v tec and a B.

 

does amount of fuel play any role? if the car is fuel on gas does it do it?

 

Normally when they crank over for a long time it's a fuel pressure issue (bad seal on gas cap, leaky filler neck, tank line, etc)

I've personally put a timing belt on off a tooth once, car started up fine and idled fine, but had absolutely no power. I'm pretty sure I had it retarded a tooth, I'm not sure how good/bad it would act if it was advanced.

 

It would have that overlap single cam advanced vtec power y0! Lol.

We check'd timing yesterday. Dead on the spot.

We're just gonna' swap a B in it anyways pretty soon. it's a worthless d15b7.

 

Did you do a valve lash adjustment and ignition timing adjustment (if you're sure the cam timing isn't off) after the HG replacement? If you disturb the cam/rocker arms, you'll need to readjust the valve lash, even if you never touched the locknuts. I changed my HG a while back and the valve lash got so far out of whack that some valves were pinched closed and some were way too loose. Check 'em out, it can't hurt anything. Same goes for the dizzy... if you've taken it off during the HG replacement, you've got to readjust the ignition timing. Also, and this is a long shot but worth looking at, pull the main relay and look for any solder joints with ring cracks around them. A magnifying glass might be useful for this. If you find any cracked ones, resolder the joint... in fact, while you've got the thing out, resolder them all. I had a similar intermittent cranking/hesitating problem after my HG replacement that I thought might have been fuel injector/pressure regulator related, but it was really just the main relay (aka, the Civic's achilles heel).

 

You gotta put a vac gauge on it I was having the same exact problem on my d15 I had 2 burned valves.

 

Hmmm I'm having the same problem in my 97 ex and my itr