Hi everyone, I have a stock 1992 Honda Civic VX I got from a friend 8 months ago with about 74,000 original miles on it. About 3 or 4 months ago I first noticed a kind of muffled rattling noise coming from the rear passenger side of the car that was barely noticeable. Over this period of time the noise has gotten very loud and turned into a kind of twisting/rattling noise (it's hard to describe) when I engage the clutch or if going over rough roads. It's getting a little worrisome. I removed everything from the rear of the car and drove it but the noise is still there. With the engine off I jumped on the bumper and bounced the car, checked the muffler and exhaust pipe for play (very little play), but can't recreate the noise. It's only apparent while the car is more or less moving. What could be causing this noise?

The other issue I've had since I first got the car is very poor gas mileage, about 20 mpg, and increasingly poor acceleration. The car cruises just fine though. There is no CEL. But I have noticed an irregular idle that dips to the point where it seems the engine will die then comes back up.

These are the things that were fixed or replaced before and after I got the car:

• tires
• distributor cap
• spark plug wires
• rack
• axles
• brakes
• fuel pump & filter
• exhaust
• new battery
• clutch switch
• water pump
• timing belt
• tensioner
• alternator fan belt
• A/C fan belt
• valve cover gasket
• oil seals
• ECT sensor
• blew out all the hoses in case of blockage and but are all clean
• main relay
• air filter

If I can help with any more info please let me know.

Thanks everyone.

 

Have someone drive while you sit back there.

 

how about checking blockage in the catalytic converter? that would lead to lots of noise, slow acceleration and really bad fuel economy!

 

Actually I had my friend, the previous owner, sit back there while I drove and he couldn't identify it.

 

That sounds like a possibility. How would I check for blockage?

 

the most simple is take it off the car, shine a light into the honeycomb of the catalyst, look through the other side to see if you see light shining through. I know with the one piece (manifold + cat together) you might not be able to see directly, you can always rent a remote inspection camera (gooseneck) and snake it down into the exhaust runners to see the light. The other thing to look for is if you see the honeycomb is broken or cracked right at the exhaust side that goes to the a-pipe. It usually is obvious it's cracked, broken, etc..

 

Just what exactly did you replace regarding the rear struts.

 

Sorry for the late reply, busy week.
I will see if I can do what you suggested or have someone else look at it.
Thanks.

 

I didn't replace anything related to the rear struts but I'll check with my friend to see if he did anything.
Thanks.

 

Oneheadlight, so I think you may be spot on about the catalytic converter. I didn't have the right tools to check anything myself but brought it to my shop who said there are pieces of something broken off into the muffler, which is now no good. The cat back part of the exhaust system is fairly new so my guess is those pieces are probably coming from the cat. I want to buy a complete exhaust system and replace the whole thing. Can you recommend a quality replacement and where to buy it?

 

If you're looking for a stock exhaust replacement, I purchased a Bosal brand on Amazon about 6 years ago for my EF and was happy with it.

 

Thanks DaX I'll look into it.

 

Ya definitely sounds like chunks of the honeycomb inside the cat are flying out and getting stopped in the muffler. Your VX is like my HX and it has the exhaust manifold + converter together, where the other 92-95 civic have a cat under the car, not next to the engine. So you have to find something that will bolt up to your manifold.. I did some digging and davico makes one for yours, so does BRE which is the new merged name for Bosal. The davico is the cheapest. The rest from the cat-back is up to you, there's lots to choose from.. I replaced my o2 sensors as well, and yes your VX takes the primary 5 wire wideband o2 as the HX does.. I found a great price at sparkplugs.com $240-ish.. NTK is the ONLY one to use, anything else will throw a CEL.

but here's the rest of my story.. what happened recently.. kind of related..

for me, I had my exhaust manifold crack, the 96-2000's were known for this. I could've installed for $1200 a Honda manifold/conveter, um no.. don't think so. I found the aftermarket name brands.. for mine did not include the one bolt hole on the exhaust outlet flange of the cat for the bracket that supports the cat! So.. I took a chance with a "no-name" Chinese brand on amazon called Mostplus. It had the correct mounting holes, exactly.. Turns out the manifold casting is thicker than Honda! It has been working well, but you do have to google "breaking in" a catalytic and make sure your mechanic does. That's critical to do. it only cost me $110! Insane I know. But I was willing to take the chance and I guess I was blessed and chose wisely!

ok.. the only problem I had was an exhaust rattle with the provided heat shield.. I put on a honda one and no more rattle, just thin metal was the cause of the chinese rattle... that was the only complaint! The cat is doing a great job, exhaust tone is great (silent) and it's much smaller than the original honda.

I looked at the Mostplus brand and they don't make one for your 92.. but was fun to tell the story of what happened recently..

 

Thanks for sharing and all the great info!

I had to get my shop to do the work for me. He recommended doing it in stages to see what needs to be done. So I got the cat-back exhaust installed first and that definitely fixed the weird noise issue. I still have poor acceleration and mileage but they might be a little better now.

 

I hope you didn't go wild with the exhaust purchase. there is a reason the design is different from other civics. backflow

 

Set the ignition timing with a timing light!

 

No I didn't. The car is completely stock and is my daily driver so nothing fancy for me.

 

Yeah I want to do that but I'm having a heck of a time finding the service check connector on the passenger side. Here are a couple of photos. Where is the connector in relation to these photos?

 

 

Thanks for the photo but I still can't find it. Does it lay disconnected like in the photo or do I need to disconnect it from something first?

 

I kind of think those two wires are your check connector. Give them a tug see if it comes loose.