I recently went to check out an 86 civic that a guy wanted 500 bucks for. I took it for a spin and everything important was in working condition except for one big problem: The car would not respond to anything but slight pressure on the accelerator. Anything past, mmm, maybe quarter throttle (prolly less?) yielded no results. I ended up getting the car up to like 60 mph, but it just took forever to accelerate since I had to shift so early. The guy who was pawning the thing off was selling it saying, "it needs new fuel filters." I figured that sounded like a reasonable explanation, and, in an excited/optimistic stupor, ended up purchasing the car and driving it home. What was the worst that could happen? At least I had a car that ran, right? Haha - Not for long.

It drove ok all the way home and part way into the next day until, while I was on my way home from school, the car started ******* down and trying to die. So, I pulled over and let the damned thing die. It would then only start up and stay running if I had the pedal to the floor. The thing idled reeeally rough when I started it like that. So, I gave up and walked home. Later that night I walked back and the car started up fine so I drove it home.

This BS went on (on and off) for a couple days until I finally got the fuel filters replaced. But, of course, that didn't fix the problem.

Eventually, I managed to drive the POS to a mechanic who cleaned the carb/choke for me. But alas, the car still ran like crap. The mechanic told me that either the timing belt had jumped or the exhaust was plugged. I drove it home without getting it fixed.

The very last time I drove the car, it barely managed to roll its way into my driveway. The thing was slowed to a crawl and DID NOT want to run. I parked it, and, since then, have not been able to start it. Because the car won't start, I've narrowed out exhaust problems. (Sound reasonable??)

Ok. To the point:

1)I want to know how badly I messed up by driving the car while the timing was off. I know if the belt had snapped, my engine would have really been screwed, but since that wasn't the case, am I ok? Or could I still have screwed the engine up to a significant degree? I would say I have put less than 50 miles on the car and I don't think the guy who had it before me ever really drove it with the problem.

2)The car has new CV axles, plugs, wires and cap. Tires are good. Decent all around condition. Less than 170K miles. I want your opinion: Should I pay to have a new timing belt put in if that will fix it?

 

Timing is easy enough to check. Remove the upper plastic cover and you can see the marks on the cam pulley. Definitely do that. If it is out of time replace the timing belt, it will skip again or strip next time. Belt replacement on that car is very simple. The only problem is getting the crank pulley bolt out.

A compression test should be done. Could have a dead cylinder. Someone might have adjusted the valves too tight, that will cause starting / idle problems especially when warm.

If it's still in time don't worry about the timing belt yet. Probably the carb is clogged up internally, and needs to be taken apart. Spraying stuff down the throat of the carb rarely solves anything. These later carbuerator models are a major headache when they don't run properly. The system is very complicated.

There is a window on the side of the carb you can see if it is getting enough fuel or starving because of the pump. filter. lines, etc. You might consider draining the tank and putting some fresh gasoline in.

Clogged exhaust is possible. There is a test with a vacuum gauge for that.

 

Cam timing was the first thing that I thought of. If the cam timing is OK, I'm guessing the catalytic converter has self-destructed. This plugs the exhaust and limits the amount of throttle it will accept. If that is the case, you risk burning exhaust valves if you keep driving it. Since the car is new to you, it is worth the time to go completely over the car, since a lot of 'mechanics' have had their hands on it in the past 23 years.

 

chop off your cat/muffler and see if it runs fine. most muffler shops wouldnt mind helpin you out, its free, and you paid nothing for the car so i wouldnt worry about losing your muffler/cat. also, did you check for spark? something might have died in the distributor because your car should still start even with the timing off like that. what about your fuel pump, has that been checked?

basically if your car was running with bad timing, and now you cant get it started, its VERY unlikely that that same problem is preventing it. something died bro and the car barely running was a good indicator it would happen soon.

 

The catalytic converter on that model is built into the exhaust manifold mounted right at the engine, it is not simple to remove to inspect or test drive without it. Even with a clogged converter, the engine should at least start.

 

ah, didnt know that. also thought you said 96 not 86