1988 Honda Civic TOPS AT 85 MPH?

1988HONDA

MEMBER
1988 HONDA CIVIC

I have a 1988 Honda Civic Hatchback 220,000 miles, I changed the plugs and did oil change. The car hesitates on acceleration and also tops at 85 mph? Does it have a speed limit on it? Do I need a new engine? Also I noticed that its missing 3 valve cover screws (leaking oil a little bit), could that be the problem? PLEASE HELP!

Friday, December 1st, 2006 AT 6:23 AM

3 Replies

BRUCE HUNT

MECHANIC
3,754 POSTS

I would wonder why the plugs weren't coated with oil. Did you have to pull real hard on the wires to get them loose? It sounds like you have not had the car too long. What is the engine size? I am wondering if you don't have a damaged set of plug wires. I was making a comment one time at work in a meeting about getting the car up to 85 and a friend on mine that is a state trooper happened to hear the comment and replied that he wasn't sure what road I was on because he didn't know of any roads with a 85 or higher speed limit.

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Friday, December 1st, 2006 AT 11:48 AM

1988HONDA

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3 POSTS

Well Mr. Hunt I thank you for your reply, the plugs have a little oil but not soaked and no the wires are not hard to loosen up. Yes that is true I bought this vehicle about 1 month ago, I believe the engine size is I-4 1.5 16 valve, SOHC(non-vtech) D15. I did test the wires and they look good, could it be the fuel pump? Or am I loseing compression from the valve cover missing the screws? About the 85 mph, Im not a racer I just wanted to test the power of this car, I did it on my home when I bought it, cmon I just wanted to see what it can do, dont say you never did that, thats why Im asking if it has a governor or limiter?Thank you for the comments

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Friday, December 1st, 2006 AT 4:16 PM

BRUCE HUNT

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OK, you said you tested wires and I am not sure how you did that.

The oil on the plugs would that be on the firing end or on the porcelin side? I suspect that the cover is leaking oil in to the plug holes.

All you need to worry about is the hesitation. The vehicle is running as fast as it will go. I have enough Honda experience to know that is about top end on those non-VTEC engines. I have a 95 with a freshly overhauled engine and it tops out about the same.

Now it could be other things but I suspect the car didn't hesitate when you got it right? Find another set of wires or replace them.

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Friday, December 1st, 2006 AT 7:32 PM