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Hey guys, so about a month ago I bought a black 96' Civic 5 speed coupe for $200 bucks because "it wouldn't start". Towed it home and charged the battery, guess what, started perfectly Took it for a test spin and I noticed it would randomly kind of sputter/bog/bounce when you eccelerate. When I parked it I also noticed the idle would go up down up down. It was sitting for a couple months so I was just figuring it needed to be cleaned out.
Now my wife moved from the states (we're in Canada) and she brought up her '98 Civic, which has US papers so it's only a parts car here. So I have full access to any part we need from a good running car. I swapped the IACV and whole throttle head, which stopped the up down idle, but sadly hasn't stopped the bog/bouncing
We insured it last week and have been using it around town, runs great except for the weird bogging. It's totally random when it happens, just cuts in and out. It's worse going up a hill, the other day I had to stop and go into 1st gear on an average hill. I've been trying everything to fix it, and swapped tons of parts from the good car. Tried new gas. The only thing that makes a little difference was bleeding the coolant system (which did have lots of bubbles, probably from changing the IACV), but it's still weird.
Sorry the the long post! I've been doing lots of searching, but everything that's been suggested doesn't fix it. I have a drivers test in 4 days so I kind of need it fixed!

 
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Also I should mention I calculated the gas mileage and was getting about 38mpg. The clutch and transmission work great, so I dont think that's the issue. And the CEL has never came on

 
Rep Power: 518

When the engine bogs down, does the tach needle raise/bounce/flutter/go up erratically?

 
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I couldn't say, the car has no RPM gauge haha, it's a full on base model. As far as I can tell, it doesn't seem like the engine is dropping rpms. It cuts in and out quickly, kind as if it was turning on and off with the the gas pedal pressed so it's pretty bouncy

 
Rep Power: 518

Oh.... *scratches head*

Guess: Ignition related? Swap distributor complete with cap, wires, and maybe plugs from the other car?


Check the clump of ground wires attached to the thermostat housing, the eyelet should be clean and shiny for a good electrical connection (and the stat housing too) and the bolt tight.