High Rev Problem With My Civic

Have 2001 Civic LX Coupe. When I rev it up to 4000+rpm (drive it hard)
the next day or several hours afterward the engine (while idling) will
start to fluctuate. It will go back and forth between 0 and 1000 rpm.
One more than 1 occasion the engine has shut off entirely. One time it
did this in the freeway and I'm a bit freaked out about it.

The Good: I can prevent this easily by just not driving my car hard
(keep it under 4000rpm). Of course this is no fun. Anyone have solution?

 

wrote in

Does the engine shake badly when it's at the low point of the idle
fluctuation?

Check coolant level in rad (when cold)

Check cleanliness of throttle body and IAC

How old are the plugs/wires/cap/rotor?

 

"Does the engine shake badly when it's at the low point of the idle
fluctuation?"

The engine shakes a little, not a lot when it is near zero rpms. The
shake is more akin to the small vibrations typically felt when you shut
off your engine.

"Check coolant level in rad (when cold)"

You mean the radiator? I checked that and the levels are good.

"Check cleanliness of throttle body and IAC"

I think I need a mechanic to check the cleanliness of the throttle body
and IAC don't I? Isn't the throttle body inside the engine? Sorry for
my noobness.

"How old are the plugs/wires/cap/rotor?"

The inside of the engine compartment looks very clean and I just had
fluid levels checked by a mechanic 2 weeks ago. I bought the car this
Feb second hand so I think everything is fairly new. I have only 65,000
miles on my Civic.

Thanks so much Tegger for your response.

 

wrote in

Are you sure it's actually going down to zero? Or is it just going down to
the last line BEFORE zero?

It's on the outside. It can get really dirty with neglect (and K&N filters)
and affect the engine's ability to adjust its own idle. You need to have
this checked.

If the intake hose is loose where it attaches to the throttle body, or a
line has become dislodged, you'll suck a LOT of dirt into the throttle
body.

If the PCV system is plugged, oil will get pumped into the throttle body,
gumming it up.

Cleanliness tells you absolutely nothing. If the wires are still OEM, there
will be a year printed on them. What is that year?

Also, one other thing that will cause this is a big air leak. A split or
dislodged hose would typically be the culprit.

If certain intake parts are loose, this can also cause a large air leak and
cycling idle.

 

Ok I just did a Google on throttle body and now I know what this part
does (I actually know it by sight, just not by name). I guess the only
way to check would be to remove the plastic housing around it.

Yesterday nite I was doing some research on "How to install an AEM CAI
System". Some dude had pictures up in a step by step process so I do
have an idea of what it looks like with the throttle body totally
exposed and how to find it.

Steven