1989 Honda Civic Hatch issue

I just got a 1989 Honda Civic Hatchback. 4speed manual. D15B1 engine.

Anyways, it was driving fine for a day or so... but then today for some reason when i'm braking, like coming to a red light or something, it starts stalling out... i try pressing the gas to keep it from stalling, it doesnt want to give it gas and putters, then after a few seconds it will allow me to rev the engine. Sometimes it will completely stall or sometimes it will putter. I just changed the oil today and flushed the radiator but I dont think that has much to do with it. CV Joints are gone as well... is it a pain in the butt to replace them? Thanks!

I would do the simple things first, replace the fuel filter. I would also pull the full pump and check the strainer, may be something stopping it up when you hit the brakes. As for the CV joints, not hard just dirty and somewhat time consuming.

Okay where is the fuel filter and fuel pump located at?

http://texas.clubsi.com/brandon/crx/frame2.htm

Download the Helms manuals. The fuel filter is located on passenger side of firewall. Fuel pump is in the gas tank, take the back seat out to get to it.

Oooo, badass. Thank you. I was wondering where to find manuals and couldnt locate any. So you think it has something to do with fuel? It seems to be the case due to the fact that when i try to give it gas to keep it from stalling it wont allow me to do so for a few seconds... could there be any other cause?

Seems to me it would be fuel problems, maby some other members can shed some light on it though

I had the exact same problem, my rotor was messed up. Replaced it and cap, worked fine.

I had the exact same problem, my rotor was messed up. Replaced it and cap, worked fine.

Exactly. DEFINITELY check your rotor. It's inside the distributor cap (if you didn't know). The little screw that holds the rotor on tends to work itself loose over time.

No matter how many times I've tightened my screw I've ended up with many stories about the same result...

Okay where is this distributor cap and rotor? I am a body person... I havent had a chance to get to know the internals of cars yet so this should be a good learning experience. I can mess around with internal stuff without getting too pissed if I screw something up. ;)

The cap is basically a big plastic cover that the spark plug wires come out of. You can't miss it - it's on the left side of the motor & it's black. There's three 8mm screws that hold it on to the distributor. Loosen those until the cap comes free of the distributor (you won't have to remove the spark plug wires to do this). Once you get the cap off you'll see the rotor. It's a round, black, plastic piece with one screw holding it to the shaft. If you can grab the rotor & move it around loosly then you've found your problem.

One time I had checked mine only to find that the screw had come completely out... The car wouldn't start because the damn rotor wouldn't spin :lol:

Hey there, I just checked the distributor and yes the rotor was loose... I tightened it and replaced the cap.

That did not help any, apparently. It still does it... although I notice more now that its like on a downhill. On a level surface it seems to work just fine, but when I was coming out of my driveway and the car was on a decline it was sputtering, barely staying alive, I kept trying to give it gas with very minimal success until it finally died. Once I pushed it to a level surface it had no trouble...

Vaccum lines maybe? I've heard storys of this when one of the vaccum lines is broken or out of place. Just my .2 cents

Yeah but if that was the case wouldnt it stall out all the time instead of just when braking or on a decline? I'm thinking it may be a fuel issue like someone said up top... but I dont know how... or it could be something else.... oh well, in any case it should prove to be a good learning experience but i'd certainly like to get to the bottom of the problem.

That really makes it sound like a fuel pump issue. BTW, did you try actually replacing the rotor/cap? They're dirt cheap and easy to replace (as you should now know).

The cap is basically a big plastic cover that the spark plug wires come out of. You can't miss it - it's on the left side of the motor & it's black. There's three 8mm screws that hold it on to the distributor. Loosen those until the cap comes free of the distributor (you won't have to remove the spark plug wires to do this). Once you get the cap off you'll see the rotor. It's a round, black, plastic piece with one screw holding it to the shaft. If you can grab the rotor & move it around loosly then you've found your problem.

One time I had checked mine only to find that the screw had come completely out... The car wouldn't start because the damn rotor wouldn't spin :lol:

Not to change the subject or anything but I just checked my rotor just for the hell of it and found no screw holding it in. It doesn't wiggle back and forth though. There seems to be a small metal bar covering it.

Well guys... looks like I just made an ass out of myself, all on my own! My damn gas tank was showing half a tank. Apparently, there was no gas left, I filled it up... works like a charm. Thats why it was dying only when braking or on a decline at first. Thanks much for everyone's help, I appreciate it. :)

LOL :chair:

loltastic

thread of the week !!

maby the pickup tube in the take broke off, but you did have half a tank but it wouldnt suck it up in it.

man thats hilarious, i was gonna suggest that maybe u were getting some shit as or that ur injectors were clogged.

well, i filled up 8 gallons... and i think thats what a 1989 civic has so it was just the wrong reading unless it has more capacity than 8. thanks to everyone for their suggestions. i made an ass out of myself and i apologize... next time i'll check the obvious a little more thoroughly. ;)

heh, Is the guage working now?

Well it went up... but i'm not sure if the gauge will go down when its starting to get empty. :)

If it doesnt work... how do I fix it?

Tip: Until you do get it fixed, rely on mileage (you will get to know about how many miles your tank can run before getting low)
Sorry, I can't tell you how to fix it :/

Yeah alright thats what I was going to do anyway. Thanks everyone for your help.

Glad to hear it was an easy fix! And at least you learned a thing or two along the way :icon16:

I dont know if this works on newer guages, but its a trick I'v used on old cars. Unhook the wire from the fuel sending unit and put a test lead on it so you can hold it while your sitting in the drivers seat, start the car up and then ground the wire to a metal body part or something that is grounded to the battery. Your guage should go to all the way full but dont hold it there long you will burn up the guage. If it goes all the way up, it works the way it should (or close anyway). If it works but isnt showing correct when your sending unit is hooked to it then the sending unit is probably bad.

When I filled up the gas gauge went all the way up too... I just dont think its gonna go down below past the half mark... or maybe it will.

Hit it with a hammer... preferably a Craftsman hammer.

mmm... definately Craftsman. I bought me a set with my first car that I was fixing. 1994 Honda Accord... that was a nice lil car. I'm getting a 2003 Toyota Corolla Type S in a week or two so I just bought this civic to beat around until then. So far its doing not too bad, but i'll probably replace the CV joints and sell it for a couple hundred bucks.