1991 honda civic stalling when coming to an idle?

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Melissa R

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*Very new to this - could not figure out how to answer questions asked by posters in order to give more information about my issue. Are you able to 'change' your question on here?*

OK, so 1991 Honda civic sedan. 5 spd manual. 290,000 kms on it. Runs smooths and soundly, but has started occasioanlly stalling when I come down to an idle (stopped at a light, or whathaveyou). When idling, it idles very smoothly. When it dies, it just quits. If I keep the rpm above 1500, it doesn't have the chance to stall.
When it does stall, it will not start. It will crank and the starter will whine, and then the engine _might_ do a 'lug lug' once or twice and then die (as if it's trying to start, but just caaaaannn't), but that is the closest thing to starting as it will get. I leave the vehicle for 5 - 10 hours, and it will start fine.
I am doubting this is an electrical, as the vehicle ONLY does this intermittently when I come down to an idle.
My best guess is an air intake issue (being starved of air) or EGR valve (being saturated with exhaust). My next guess was fuel pump - but the last vehicle I had with a fuel pump issue would surge, and lag and lose power randomly
and run rough while driving, and then stall if I stopped. My car does not surge or bog down or run rough or anything.
Fuel filter is brand new. Air filter clean. Everything else well maintained. Former owner had it religiously serviced, and I've only owned it for 3 months.
Injector or spark plug was suspected - BUT, the car should not stall if only one is malfunctioning/worn-out etc.
If anything, the vehicle SHOULD run rough if either of those were an issue.
And it all comes back around to the fact that the car starts perfectly fine any other time and runs perfect, just will not maintain itself at an idle, and then will not start once stalled.

That is as much info as I can think of to put in there...
 
Excellent question..!

YA (yahoo answers) can be a bit confusing at times...yes, even for me at times. Well, not really anymore.

Anyway, I'm leaning toward the EGR valve getting stuck open some times.

The reason I'm thinking EGR is the fact that as you say, it only does it sometimes, and only after it has warmed up.
The EGR port on that engine is really small and can build up enough exhaust debris to hinder the movement of the valve inside.
Cleaning them is a waste of time. It only helps for a week or so.
If you're going to replace it yourself, be carefull removing the bolts. They tend to get stuck and break easily as they've gotten hot and cold many times and the metal gets pretty weak.
Spray the snot out of the bolts with "knocker loose" it's great stuff. Then let it soake for an hour or so before even attempting to remove the bolts.
 
o would try running a can of fuel injecter cleamer and reset the computer do that bye taking the negative cable off the battery for 10 sec and it should restet the idile if it still continues replace idel control sensor and make sure vacum lines are hooked up
 
hmmm i would say look at the the tps"throttle position sensor"

you really got me stumped on this one
 
You are right in your diagnosis so far but add one thing will it do it before it comes up to temp? drive it with the gas cap off to see if it is creating a vacuum on the tank and then see what it does when you stall out. do you lose gas , spark , etc. I would look closer at the EGR causing a internal vacuum leak. you might also look at the intake manifold gasket. leak check with starting fluid while running.
 
2 answer ur 1st question yes u can change ur q after its posted by selecting to modify it.

now to the real issue....
check ur timing make sure its in time
if so ...
check oxigen sensors
after doing so check ur fuel pressure regulator. all 3 can b the cause of ur issue. it sounds like ur flooding ur motor which can be caused by not enough air to fuel ratio or your timing being off a few degrees and it causing the fuel not to spark on time. also b4 i forget check ur plugs they will be a big deciding factor. if they are all coated in black stuff u may be burning oil and fouling ur plugs. if the tip of the spark plug is burnt u may be running to hot and may need different plugs. hell just take the thing to autozone and have them put it on the tester for ses light. even if u dont have one on.
 
Sounds like a fuel vapor lock. Check all of the fuel lines for adequate clearance from hot engine components.
 
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