96 civic reluctantly accelerating

I have a 96 civic, and until just recently everything was fine. I've
noticed lately that when I step on the gas, it really doesn't matter which
gear, it hesitates to speed up and becomes kind of jerky. Just an hour
ago, I was going up a pretty steep hill in 2nd gear, maybe 15 mph, and it
would not accelerate and the check engine light came on. I've had a
clutch go out on me in the past, and the engine is not revving in gear now
like I had experienced with my previous Honda. nybody have any words of
wisdom?

 

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What's the mileage, when was the last tune-up, and when did you last run
a can of injector cleaner thru it? Any chance it's just a tankfull of
crappy gasoline?

'Curly'

 

I had a tune up a year ago, and had an oil change 2 months ago. My mileage
is 136,610. I ran an injector cleaner about 3 or 4 months ago and just
recently yesterday morning.

 

Perhaps the fuel filter needs to be replaced.

 

I believe I had the Fuel filter replaced last year as well. This morning,
while driving to work I noticed a strange smell. I also plugged one of
those computer reader gadgets in last night and it read p0304 4 misfire
detected. We reset the check engine light, and then it came back on again
today when I was accelerating up a hill again.
My real pressing question is: Am I going to be able to make the 6 hour
drive I plan on doing tomorrow?

 

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(1) Has the Civic ever stalled at a stop sign or light while the engine
was still warming up? At 136,000 Miles, I wonder if you've got a tight
valve. (2) Have they ever been adjusted?
If you answer YES to the first question, and NO to the second question,
your trip should probably be postponed until you can get them inspected.

F.Y.I. NOTE TO 1st Generation CR-V OWNERS . . . . . Honda CR-V is
notorious for burning valves on the first generation engines ('97-'01).
The European version of the owner's manual apparently recommends valve
adjustments every 50,000 Km (30,000 miles). Those who know about this
set the clearance on the LOOSE side of the spec. The North American
version of the manual says 'Wait till they get noisy' which is insane,
because (on that engine) they tighten (quieter) as they wear.


'Curly'

 

Curly,

You are the biggest help! It has never stalled on
me, and I have never had a valve adjusted.
Unfortunately, I can't postpone my trip either, I am
in a wedding on Staurday and must be there.
Do you think everything will be okay?

Bek

 

P0304 4 misfire:

#4 Fuel Injector bad. replace it and you should be fine unless you get
any more check engine lights.

 

misfire... hm.

if i was going to do something, itd be to change the plugs with ND or
NGK, or at least look at em and clean em.


then, if i was going to just throw money at the misfire problem, id
replace (in this order)

rotor
distributor cap
wires

with OEM stuff.

 

Last time I got symptoms very much like that, it was plug wires. More
specifically the boots on the plug ends were arcing through to the valve
cover. This was the case where the boots fitted down inside holes in
the valve cover - I don't know if a 96 Civic is like that, but my 95 Sol
sure is, along with my wife's 95 MX-3.