i entered a tunnel on the highway, down shifted to hear my new straight pipe. and lost all power right after i hit the gas. i limped it to the gas station and then got it towed home. now the car starts fine but dies almost immediately. if i give it some gas it wont die right away but still ends up dieing. how do i diagnose if its fuel or spark? i can hear the pump prime but could it still be the problem? someone also mentioned i could have skipped a tooth on the timing belt, anyone know anything about that? im just a weekend mechanic, i have some knowledge but it aint much, let me know what you guys think, any feed back is very helpful. 94 civic si (d16)

 

Sounds like it could have jumped a tooth.
Definitely sounds like a timing related issue.

Pull the timing cover and check the timing. There are grooves on the side of the cam gear.

 

This is how you check timing. This is also where you should start.



Once you're done with that, buy a DEI/HEI spark tester, and follow the instructions on it. Tell us what color your spark is on all four. They look like this. $15 at your local parts store.



This is all extremely basic stuff. If you don't know how to do this stuff, I wouldn't recommend calling yourself even a "weekend" mechanic.

 

im just learning man. i can do those things forsure. is the screw driver spark trick the equivalent of the spark tester?

 

That also works to test spark yes.

 

...Sure, if you want to risk your coil. Or, you could do it the right way, instead of the shade tree way.

 

i cant even get the cover off. its pitch black out and the tensioner seems to be in the way

 

You don't have to remove the cover. There should also be a TDC mark on your crank pulley, and the lower cover. The tensioner sure as hell isn't what's stopping you from removing any covers, though.