So I very recently acquired a stock 1989 Civic 4 door lx with 1.5l sohc engine. I don't know anything about it really, but what little I do know is this: it feels like it had no power, as in no matter how slowly I let off the clutch even on perfectly flat ground it just kills the engine before it ever gets going. Of course I can give it a litlli throttle to get going but I've driven other stick shift vehicles that didn't need that and were just as old. Another thing I know about it, is when I put it in any gear it the stick shifts back towards middle. Like if I put it in first and let go, the shifter scoots over to where third gear is, but it's still in first. When it does that I can pull it into neutral and push it straight back where I pulled it from and it throws it into 3rd. If anyone has any advice for either conundrum please let me know, I'm brand new to owning vehicles and I want to put a little work into it to get it up to maybe 150hp in the end.

 

Worn shifter bushings for the most part. Part #'s 16 and 18. If the slop is still there, the universal joint on #14 is worn or the roll pin #29 is missing or incorrectly installed. Sometimes the bushings/collars around # 13 can also wear down.

Majestic Honda or you can find a cheap kit on Ebay.

 

Would a short throw shifter kit (if it fits) also fix it?

 

In my limited experience with short shifters, it would only include #1 and the pieces around #13. So no, it would likely not solve your problem. I replaced my bushings and roll pin but I still have play from that U-joint on #14, and unfortunately it's discontinued. Certain companies may make a full aftermarket kit but I haven't cared enough to replace it.

 

I would agree with sumdewd on what a short shifter would do.

 

 

Yep, climb under it and look at it. I've seen people replace the roll pin (#29) with a bolt - this gives slop in the shifter and can damage the shift rod on the transmission. Replacing bushings didn't help much with the slop in mine - I ended up rebuilding the bottom of the shift lever (replaced #3, 4, 5, 13, 25) and that helped a lot. The rest of the slop in mine is attributed to the universal joint, which is not rebuildable with standard parts. The shift quality is acceptable now, though.

 

Go to the junkyard and grab a shift linkage, change yours out. Or rebuild yours. Easy fix.

 

There aren't any OEM parts left to rebuild the entire thing with. The shift rod with the u-joint is discontinued, and the junkyard parts are the same damn age. It's luck of the draw at this point with parts unless you rebuild your own u-joint or just swap to a B-series with a fresh Hasport linkage or something.

 

 

 

My bad, meant to be more specific. The new parts are available but I wouldn't bother too much in a junkyard for replacement parts.