89 Civic stalls and stumbles
Hello,
I have two '89 Honda Civics... one was inherited from Grandma, an automatatic, and has very low miles. We expected it to run like a top, but it's giving us some problems. Actually both cars began with a very similar problem around the same time. Which led us to blame this Ethanol gas we have here in Oregon now. I bought a fuel filter, but haven't got it on yet... a mechanic friend of ours suggested to research online, because it could be something else. Other symptoms, the tach goes all over the place, and it seems like it surges at those times (revs really high) than it backs off, repeatedly. Also at random times it will just not want to start again, this seems to only happen if you're runniung errands, and starting and stopping frequently. It turns over and just won't run (like it's not getting enough gas, even if I floor the pedal) The other random issue with this car is the Check Engine (or check transmission) light has come on a few times, each time it was while going downhill?
The other Civic if a manual, also has the whacky tachometer issue, although I don't remember it surging and backing off like the other one. This car also began the not-starting thing recently. It was so bad the other day, my husband barely got it home. He discovered though that if he held the key in the starting position and kept the gas pedal pressed he wouldn't stall and he eventually made it home.
Thanks for reading all that, and hoping for some really good advice. :)
