By Tim Harding (Timh) on Thursday, January 13, 2000 - 07:05 pm:

I've been having a problem with my '81 civic wagon. The car seems to run fine around town, but after you get it out on the highway for about 15 minutes it started to bog down. At times the car will violently "jump." I can't tell if it's a ignition or fuel problem. The car has about 150k miles on it and nothing except the fuel pump and timing belt have been changed (engine-wise anyway). I remember some of you talking about a similar problem with water in the gas, but I've had this problem happen in every kind of weather condition (rain, 30-100 degrees, nice days, anytime...). It only happens after the car has been driven for quite a few minutes. Any thoughts?

By Anonymous ( - 208.160.214.104) on Friday, January 14, 2000 - 10:27 am:

Timing or distributor problems....maybe

By Charles R. ( - 206.171.134.229) on Friday, January 14, 2000 - 07:16 pm:

Fuel filter? Non-functioning vent on fuel cap? Check the easy things first.

By Tim Harding (Timh) on Friday, January 14, 2000 - 07:46 pm:

Thanks, I'll look at those things tomorrow when I'm done swapping springs on my '76.

By Anonymous ( - 204.201.251.8) on Tuesday, February 22, 2000 - 03:25 pm:

posssible clogging catalytic converter...

By Adrian (Civicguru) on Tuesday, February 22, 2000 - 03:43 pm:

Catalytic converter???? In an 81 Civic????

By quikrick on Tuesday, February 22, 2000 - 05:10 pm:

Yes!!!! Honda started putting those things on US models in 1980.

By Adrian (Civicguru) on Tuesday, February 22, 2000 - 06:05 pm:

Fair enough ... cars out here weren't required to have a cat until the introduction of unleaded petrol in 1986...

By Anonymous ( - 204.201.251.20) on Tuesday, February 22, 2000 - 09:33 pm:

my 78 civic (had) a catalytic converter on it

By Todd ( - 205.188.196.33) on Wednesday, February 23, 2000 - 03:45 pm:

It didn't unless someone else put one on it.

By Anonymous ( - 204.201.251.43) on Wednesday, February 23, 2000 - 09:16 pm:

well, i don't know what else that big bottle-shaped lump in the exhaust pipe might be... it sure looked like a catalytic converter to me!

By Adrian (Civicguru) on Thursday, February 24, 2000 - 12:10 am:

If it's the thing just after where the gear shift mechanism pokes through the floor, then you are looking at the resonator (just a little muffler, not a cat).

By Ryan Purkey on Thursday, February 24, 2000 - 07:17 pm:

Yeah, that bulge which is about midway down the exhaus it a resonator. If you ever replace the exhaust and what to keep it quiet, I put my two cents in for going with as long as a glass pack (cherry bomb) as you can in place of the resonator (the longer the quieter it runs) before taking it all back to some sort of muffler, a Dynomax turbo is a good one.

By Anonymous ( - 204.201.251.161) on Thursday, February 24, 2000 - 07:20 pm:

ok! deductive logic has failed me again :( oh well, now i know...

By cvccmatt ( - 12.23.46.60) on Saturday, June 24, 2000 - 10:38 pm:

check your distributor the mounting plate for the Points/timing sensors are mounted on top of thin plates. If they have gotten gummed up your timing will not advance.

By Anonymous (168.99.166.2) on Thursday, March 01, 2001 - 10:15 am:

i have an 82 civic 1500dx. i have custom built an intake tube(3inch) with a k&n filter. i also have hollowed out the cat and put on 2 1/4" exhaust back to a "thrush" muffler(pretty much the same as a cherry bomb) anyway, my car seems to be much more powerful to about 3500rpm but after that i have to let off the gas a little to get it to accelerate. do i need to richen it or is it my timing? if it is floored it tops out at 3500rpm but if it is 3/4 the way to the floor then it picks up. kind of a waist of the secondaries if you ask me. its almost like they arent even working.

By errol (205.188.199.32) on Friday, March 02, 2001 - 08:54 pm:

I have worked on a few early 80's hondas that the secondarys weren't opening. You may want to have someone press the gas peddel down and look to see if the secondary butterfly (way down in the throat) is opening........ While the car is off of course!

If they aren't, the carb has to be removed and the throttle shafts for the secondaries THOUROUGHLY CLEANED not just carb spray.

another couple of things are if the throttle cable is adjusted correctly

and that gas peddle 'stop' on the floor might be up too high...(just a thought)

By David Marshall (168.99.166.2) on Monday, March 05, 2001 - 09:44 am:

is it possible that the secondaries might need to be richened?

By NICHOLAS (143.192.1.15) on Saturday, March 17, 2001 - 04:06 pm:

HEY I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM ON MY WAY TO DENVER FROM PHOENIX. I TOO HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS AND I THOUGHT IT WAS ALL OF THE ABOVE, WATER IN GAS, IGNITION, ETC. WHAT IT TURNED OUT TO BE WAS THE CARB. THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT SOME ONE HAD ADJUSTED THE LAMBDA SCREW AND THIS TOTALLY SCREWED UP THE TIMING OF THE VENTURIS, SO I HAD TO GET A REBUILT CARB. ALSO CHECK THE ACCELERATOR PUMP. THAT I THINK COULD ALSO BE A PROBLEM. LET ME KNOW HOW IT GOES.

NICK
1983 HONDA CIVIC HB 1300 4SPD