Rep Power: 0

2002 Honda Civic EX 1.7 190k miles.
Had VTEC and misfire codes back in October. After swapping the VTEC solenoid and having someone clean out the intake manifold there have been no more check engine lights but ever since I've been having issues with lack of power most notably when going uphill. For example on the highway to work which has a stretch of uphill driving I used to be able to easily maintain 55-60 mph and now even if I get up to 60mph before the hill the car just slows down gradually until I'm struggling to maintain 40. The problem seems to be at its worst when in 3rd-5th gear on hills and it also takes much longer to accelerate to 60mph on flat roads than it did before. The only other issue is the clutch is starting to go but that didn't start acting up until last month and I want to try to diagnose the first issue before deciding on getting a new clutch/transmission but I have no idea what could be causing the lack of power without throwing any Check engine lights please help

 
Rep Power: 223

Sticking brakes? Clogged cat? Dirty air filter?

 
Rep Power: 222

My bet is clogged cat

 
Rep Power: 0

brakes and air filter have been checked and seem to be fine. It could be the cat but I took it to a dealership to get an overall diagnostic test done on it and they marked it good for "Inspect exhaust system for leaks, damage, and loose parts". Would the cat had shown an issue there or is that not something they would've tested during that? Just for more info the dealership only said there was a clutch/transmission issue which just started recently so I don't think that would be it and an oil leak that's been there for years and I monitor daily to make sure it isn't low.

 
Rep Power: 222

Not something they would check forWhat's this clutch/transmission issue?

 
Rep Power: 0

it started slipping here and there mostly when shifting within the last month. The dealership was trying to say that the reason for the power decline but as I said that has been an issue since October and there was no slipping or signs of the clutch going bad until recently.

 
Rep Power: 366

clogged cat is easy, either open enough to see if it is clogged or loosen the exhaust before the cat and see if it improves
clogged cat is like if you want to happily fart, but someone plugged your exit hole
highly upsetting when you can't happily fart

 
Rep Power: 0

Alright thanks ill try that tomorrow and see if it improves at all

 
Rep Power: 223

Just a heads up, the car will be loud with the exhaust opened up.

 
Rep Power: 0

So we disconnected the cat and took it out and while it seemed it had more power, the clutch was slipping a lot more than it usually does even with light touches to the gas and once we reconnected the cat it went back to not slipping as much. So maybe it had more power and the clutch is so bad that it struggled more than usual to keep up. I don't know if that is a reasonable conclusion to come to so if not let me know. Otherwise we are going to replace the clutch here in a week or two then try again and see how it goes without the slipping. I appreciate all the help.

 
Rep Power: 366

have you had a chance to look inside the cat? below is a bad case.

 
Rep Power: 0

Didn't have enough time today but we will look at it when we get a chance