1993 civic bucks

[yoguy1]

1993 civic with manual transmission starts to buck while driving along in gear as if a rookie just let the clutch out too fast. The check engine light flashes while bucking (probably because it almost stalls) but does not stay on.

[nitebeest]

Do the rpms almost die out when it does this (you say it almost stalls)? And does it happen in every gear or just certain ones? Or certain speeds? What rpms are your car usually at when it happens?

[yoguy1]

Thanks for your reply.

This happens after the car is warm (5 mins or so) at 2500 - 3000 rpm. I have noticed it in 2nd and 3rd gears but have not driven it fast enough to get into 4th for fear that I may make things worse. When it does happen, the rpms drop and the car would stall if I do not engage clutch.

[sblkcamaro70]

i am going to say it is a fuel related problem,myabe pump or filter, just cus when you start your engine up all the fuel you need is there but after you drive it a bit if your fuel filter is clogged your pump cant keep up with the demand. just suggestion it could also be ignition but i would guess fuel delivery first. reply when you find out

[nitebeest]

sblk has a good point. I'd say check the fuel filter. It's a 93 so if it's never been replaced or been a while (do you know when it was last replaced) it probably needs to be changed out. Also see if it's time to replace the fuel pump too. You'll need to take out the back seat to get to the access panel, but after that it's relatively straight forward.

Another question though is this while you're in gear or while your shifting into gear? If it's while your shifting it could be your synchros are close to going out. If it's while your in gear then I'd probably look into the fuel filter to see how bad it is.