fiveforwardgear

First let me say, i know you get tired of answering questions to some random who comes in for one thing and then never comes back that could have easily been found in a search. So, i promise i did search first, and i do and will greatly appreciate any help any of you can give me as i know some of you probably know the culprit to my problems off the top of your heads.


So Long story short, I had bought a 1984 mazda RX 7 to do a v8 conversion on, my daily driver blew up so the RX 7 had to go. i traded it for a 1999 honda civic ex. The Car seems to have seen its better days but good things ive noticed so far: Cold air intake (dont know of brand), battery relocation to trunk (good thing depending on the job), coilovers in front and back, power everything inside beside seats. The body has seen its better days, its a 15 ft'r.
photos:






So, I DID search but i honestly didnt know what to look for specifically enough to find it. Any help would be appreciated... Here we go!

1.) doesnt want to idle on start up, i need to give it gas to keep it running for a few seconds before itll idle and once it does idle its rough. it also bogs down from time to time. The guy i got it from said it did that and he "hand adjusted" the distributor and im guessing like any car doing it by hand isnt good enough and i need a timing light to check that out? could that be causing the idling issues?

2.) So they swapped a civic SI cluster into the car. The tachometer and speedometer work but the gas gauge and temp gauges do not. Any ideas why that would be before i pull it out? different connectors?

3.) Most importantly, if anyone could help id very much appreciate it. So. It looks as though someone put in a short throw shifter or something, its quite low. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are all very close to each other, so close its hard to tell when you're in neutral as sometimes i'll think i am but im in 4th, i think there is a considerable amount of play when in gear but i'll confirm that tomorrow it just dawned on me to check. So, 1-4 all very close to each other, but in order to get into 5th i need to go WAAYYYY over to the right and slide it up, its ridiculously far for any shift pattern and even more so considering how close and tight 1-4 is. it almost feels and sounds like your hitting exhaust when you go all the way to the right to get into 5th. Any ideas on this? shift linkage? any common issues?

4.) The exhaust pipe is a good couple inches before the bumper? looking at it from behind it doesn't look to have a tail pipe but if you bend down you can see it under there. this stock?

Again, any help would be huge and i greatly appreciate it!

-Brett

Wankenstein

A) Cold air intake doesn't add HP gains with this engine and is most likely less efficient than the stock air box/filter.
B) Battery in trunk.. is that due to subwoofers? because, other than that I can't see any advantage, and really just a disadvantage for the starter and alternator due to positive and negative cable lengths needed.
C) Coilovers could be a good thing if, they are good quality and balanced (suspension & handling).

1. Find a free PDF file download of the 6th generation (1996-2000) Civic Field Service Manaul (FSM) and follow the procedure of setting ignition timing with timimg light.
2. Remove and clean IAVC and throttle body: Follow FSM.
3. Test for fuel, spark and air: http://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/hon...rt-condition-1
4. Could be a faulty ICM (ignition coil) and/or igniter: http://easyautodiagnostics.com/honda...system-tests-1
5. Could have a vaccum leak
6. Check mechanical timing and compression: http://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-de...ssion-2497191/

Sounds like your car has been hacked by someone who didn't know what they were doing. Could be something as simple as a fuse or relay or sensor OR it could be a wiring short or harness issue.

Install an original (long) shifter. Do a manual transmission drain and fill with Honda MTF: manual transmission fluid.

EX models have a cat-back exhaust. A prior owner probaby installed a fart can muffler or an exhaust tip on it and it either fell off, rusted off, or they took it off before selling it to you.

fiveforwardgear

Thanks for the info man. I wanted to call it a hot air intake since that's what it actually is, but I was trying not to offend anyone. As mentioned, I'm more of a v8 kind of guy. I absolutely agree this thing reeeeks of hack job. I stated it as a good thing because a.) they do cost money and at worst I could sell it. 2.) with the coil overs and goofy head light led bands under the head lights this intake fits right into the type of market that would want the car. 3.) I'm pretty sad about this car, but with my DD u expecting shitting out I needed something more reliable then my 32 year old rx 7. That thing didn't start when it was - 2 and got like 16 mpg. Although at the moment this isn't doing me much better. Reliability wise.

Coil overs no idea how to check the brand. Where and what should I look for?

I'm not positive that the that it has a short throw but the throws are so Damn close to each other, stock shifter how are the throws? Also today once in gear I paid attention to play, and I can most it almost to the point of looking like it's in neutral once it's in gear. Left to right it moved a good 4 inches back and fourth. Linkage maybe?

The exhaust has a muffler. It's just set back. By your response, I can assume that's now how they look stock?

As for the cluster, sigh, what was the point of that? So just pull it out of the dash and see what I can see you think?

Thanks again man. I'm gonna go get a timing gun from Harbor freight and start there. Guy said it has new plugs wires cap etc and fuel filter.

Wankenstein

They could be stock KYB2 struts. They look like coilovers but they're considered to be shocks. Manufacturer's name should be stamped on them or possibly a sticker.

Stock 1 & 3 gears are close to each other and from a stand still pretty easy to be in 3rd when you feel it's in 1st.
5th gear can be hard to get into some time and is as you said pretty far from 1st-4th. Check your transmission mount as if it's broken or worn out it could make it harder to shift gears.

Yes, the muffler is set far back near the rear bumper.

I can't help you there as I don't have experience with that. If, no one else chimes in here then post on Honda Tech. There's more dudes into modding on that site.

The timing guns at HF suck ***. Find a good used one on Craigslist or a pawnshop.

That says it all. Meaning he couldn't get it running right and now his pile of turd is yours..lol. Whatever you do, don't just throw parts at it. Start with the free stuff: cleaning IAVC, cleaning throttle body, checking compression, check air filter (replace if needed), check spark, test distributor's ICM and igniter. Confirm mechanical timing.
Report back with results.

Stock 99

Any mention of an engine swap? Should check the stamp on the front of the block. It has an aftermarket header on it so primary O2 sensor might be part of the issue. I'd try to plug an OBD2 scanner into it first and see what it had to say. Shifter bushing could be causing the shifter issues... cheap and easy fix. The cluster should be plug and play in that car so there wouldn't have been a need to mess with it. Fuses... connections maybe though.

fiveforwardgear

Here's a video of how much play there is when the car is in gear. something is vibrating directly under the shifter it almost sounds like its hitting the exhaust or something.

http://sendvid.com/4dqp5wxv

Again thank you for all the help so far. The throttle seems to stick almost from time to time keeping rpms up around 2 but flutter the pedal and it drops back down to normal, so i'll definitely look into the that, start there and with the timing...

I knew it had an aftermarket header and all these other problems made me totally forget about it. Tomorrow i'm going to get lower down and take a better look at the exhaust. it looks like stock cat back, from the glance i took and the positioning of the tip. with the header? this car is super tricked out.

also definitely gonna check into the coilovers. that would be entirely uncool if they turned out to be KYB.

My hopes is to just get it running decent and the shifting cleaned up to where i could sell it and not hate myself too badly when i look at myself in the mirror.

fiveforwardgear

So i posted some updated info, and a video of the shifting, but it never got approved?? that was over a week ago...