[Aznboi812]

no i do not want to ask the civic forums , so heres the problem, my brother's civic (98 civic dx automatic) is running pretty crappy lately. he complaining that the car stalls out when going uphill. i'm not sure what seems to be the problem. i tried googling the problem and they said it might be a fuel filter going bad. anyone has their input in this? thanks

 

[Smaay]

could be the filter, the heavier load is requiring more fuel and its starving.

 

[Aznboi812]

when its low on gas it definatly stalls out but this time it stalls out on half tank. i'll try the fuel filter first since its the cheapest fix. perhaps the ignition coil if the filter fails.

 

[KAT_Ayanami]

- It will probably be the fuel pressure. And the first idea would be the filter. They are cheap enough to replace without thinking it twice.

- You can also check the injectors by placing a screw driver on them and the other end of the screw driver on your ear.

- Do you have a check engine light? Or does the car sound like a diesel? If so, you might have a non firing cylinder. (If so, I will elaborate how you could check it).

- Check that the intake (air filter) and exhaust are NOT restricted.

Those would be really easy steps that are also regular maintenance items.

 

[Aznboi812]

-
- Do you have a check engine light? Or does the car sound like a diesel? If so, you might have a non firing cylinder. (If so, I will elaborate how you could check it).

- Check that the intake (air filter) and exhaust are NOT restricted.

-yes it does have a check engine light and it does sound like a diesel but i always thought that would be from the cat going bad.

- hmmm i'll put the stock intake back on (lol brother brought some cheap intake)

 

[KAT_Ayanami]

If you have the light and diesel sound, I would say you are running on 3 cylinders. Thats why it has no power to move correcly.

1- If you want to keep the car for a year at least, get the fuel filter.
2- Do the screw driver trick to listen to all the injectors. All should "tick" as they work. If one doesn't or sounds funky compared to the others, it might have taken a crap on you.
3- You can check the spark plugs and wires for integrity by disconnecting the wire at the distributor cap. If the car stalls or runs like crap. The spark plug and injector works. If there is NO change, the plug, wire or injector is done.

Be careful when doing #3!!! It can give you a hell of a shock. Do not touch any part of the car as you do this, wear rubber gloves, and if possible, use insulated pliers to remove the wire.

You should also get a scan cheapo $30 scan tool and see what other codes might show up. For example, a bad O2 sensor will screw up your air/fuel ratio and will make your car run rich as a pig!! (safe mode).

Let me know if you need anything else.

 

[Aznboi812]

thank you. really thinking that one cylinder is crapping out. just doing the fuel filter for now. going to sell the civic since the cat is done and its having oil comsuption problems, and head gasket needs to be replaced.

 

[KAT_Ayanami]

If you want to sell the civic, then just buy a scanner. It will work for any other car you drive.

That way you can verify if a cylinder is missfiring, and if so, changing the fuel filter will not make much difference.

Like I said, it would only be worth the investment if you keep it for a year more or so.