I have a 96 civic EX 5 spd that is stock excep a cold air short intake. Last week i took it for a 200 mile road trip and 1/2 way through, i went from having power and pulling decent inclines at 80 MPH to suddenly losing RPMs and barely taking the inclines at 60 MPH. First, I thought it was my dist. cap and rotor button (losing spark) so, I cleaned them and it seemed to have better response but didnt cure my prob. So I'm thinking it may be a "timing" issue for 2 reasons. A. Engine idles like it is missing (plugs are fantastic). B. when pulling a slight incline it seems to level off now instead of gaining revs and it makes a sound like : wah-wah-wah with a full pedal instead of waaaahhhhh (sorry best way 2 describe on the net.) And finally , C. When clutch is disengaged and i rev it at 4000 RPMs i get a "squeel" like a belt is slipping. If any of you Guys or Gals out there have any idea what this prob is let me know cause it costing me fuel and power and I really hate being passed by stock Neons. Thanks for you time i hope you can help me with this very serious "performane" issue.

 

sounds like the timing belt slipped...

 

Things to check/replace:

1.) Spark Plugs (what makes you think they are 'fantastic'?

2.) Cap Rotor & Wires (cleaning them may not fix the problem.

Timing belts don't slip, they are on gears (they might jump, but it's unlikely, it won't run funny if it's off by one tooth, it just wont rev or make much power.

But it will run funny if one cylinder is not firing.

If cleaning the cap & rotor seemed to help a little, then you probably need to replace the cap, rotor, wires and plugs.

 

bought brand new plugs and installed in september they only have 2300 miles on them and they were properly gapped. and yes the car struggles revving to higher rpms it gets to 400 rpms and just flatlines on me

 

Sorry, 4000 RPMs

 

It's very easy to quickly swap in a new cap rotor and wires and plugs (yes replace them, they are cheap) and see if this fixes the problem. If you have not yet replaced them, ever , it is definietly time to do so.

It is also possible, but not likely that your Cam timing is off.
In all my years, I have not seen a timing belt skip, unless it was because of user error in the installation.

It's a little harder to check the cam timing, so I would start with the cap/rotor/wires replacement.

Make sure that you look at the factory service manual, and use the proper diagram for the cam timing.

 

It's very easy to quickly swap in a new cap rotor and wires and plugs (yes replace them, they are cheap) and see if this fixes the problem. If you have not yet replaced them, ever , it is definietly time to do so.

It is also possible, but not likely that your Cam timing is off.
In all my years, I have not seen a timing belt skip, unless it was because of user error in the installation.

It's a little harder to check the cam timing, so I would start with the cap/rotor/wires replacement.

Make sure that you look at the factory service manual, and use the proper diagram for the cam timing.

 

ok, have a new problem , i need a complete distributor for my car now cause i snapped the head off the cap bolt, and coulnt get the bolt extracted so now, do you know of any place or anyone with a complete distributor for a 96 d16y8 engine??? god all i want now is more power out of my d16y8. over the past couple months of owning this car, i am totally amazed at how "zippy" the d16y8 engine is. My only complaint is it doesnt have enough torgue. Also, do you know how i can shave some weight off my car cause i think 3300 lbs for a 1.6 is a little on the power robbing side. any help with performance and mechanics are always greatly appreciated. thanks for your guys help so far.

 

unscrew all the other bolts.....
then the cut/ grind the other botl off.... or cut the cap off from around the bolt.. and then remove whats left of the bolt.

A new distributor is gonna set you back around $200-$400


as for making power out of the d16......forget about it...
its cheaper to swap in another engine

 

well, i have a friend here in charleston i talked to a little while ago and he said he has a spare d16y8 distributor that was for his 97 ex and he said for a 100 dollar bill i could have it, a pair of z3 fiberglass fenders(new never installed), and a pair of fiberglass side skirts (never installed) i think this is a fair deal, should i go for it??

 

as for the engine swap, i no longer have access to a garabe, power tools, or that insane amount of money.lol Maybe if im lucky since i work at an auto auction i may be able to talk a dealer into buy a wrecked civic that may have a b16 in it.

 

I'm not trying to be a dick, just being honest:

Your posts have no paragraph structure and looks like it is very taxing to read; I think I even saw what probably should have been a line item list mixed in there.

Perhaps you can edit it for the sake of future readers?

Anyways, from the bit I did read, I would check your plugs first


Modified by sackdz at 9:27 PM 11/14/2008