95 Accord shakes, stutters, and loses power

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Hey all, long time no see. Recently bought a 95 Honda Accord for $350. It's got 237k, has some bumper damage and previously had its engine replaced due to it belonging to a negligent teenager once upon a time in its life. The guy I got it from owned it for a good few years, said when the engine was replaced it had significantly less miles than the old one, so it's less than what the odometer reads.

He warned that at highway speeds something sticks (and he assumed something with the brakes) and you have to give it a good slam on the brakes and it snaps out of it and then it will go above 55.


So here's what I've been finding :


*** I use this as a Pizza delivery vehicle. If I've been on shift longer than a couple hours, the problem starts popping up above 45 mph. The car will suddenly be very hard to accelerate, the steering wheel and car will start shaking, and I can't for the life of me get it above 45, so i hit the brake...then I can't get it above 35, and then I have to pull over because cars are piling up behind me. I stop on the shoulder, start it up, and it works fine...for another 20 seconds. Starts to shudder again. If I leave it sit another half hour or so, it doesn't act up again for another 20 minutes of driving. It's only above the 35-45 mph area. Once I get it above 55 (if I can when it does that), it goes away. Temp gauge is absolutely fine, it's right below the half mark.

*** I also don't know if 4 cyl accords are usually sluggish to accelerate, but around here in Omaha, NE people like to drive fast, and it takes about 10 seconds to get up to 45 from a stop light and I have people lane changing behind me one after another.


Other possible unrelated notes...

*** First time I lost power, I turned it around and drove straight home. Luckily it was on a leisure run and not at work. The oil light came on and was flashing, normally, I about pooped myself and checked the oil (it was low, which was odd because the week before it was half). Got her up on the ramps and to be sure I changed the oil and filter anyways. Looks like this guy did it himself because nothing was torqued too tight, the plug was virtually new, and the filter was a Microgard and not some mass boxed supply chain filter. Haven't had the oil light since but still have had the shuddering.

*** When I brake from 45 mph or so down to zero to a stop light, I get quite a bit of movement in the steering wheel too. Much of the same shuddering.

*** Muffler is loud but that's probably unrelated.


Things to note - I don't know when the spark plugs were changed last, transmission fluid looks and smells clean, guy said brakes were done in the last 2 months.

Before I take it into a mech, just looking for some input. Thanks in advance!
 
Sounds like you need calipers. Look at the rotors closely- you'll likely find one or both will have a reddish color to them and lots of dark colored dust on the wheel and surrounding areas.

Another test is to drive it until it acts up then go home and jack the front end up and try to turn the wheels (in neutral). One or both may be difficult to turn which would indicate a stuck caliper.
 
You need to check the wheels when it starts sticking to confirm the rotor is hot. Does it have rear disc or drum brakes?

I had a 94 accord and that car was solid. Are you sure the spark plug wires and coil are ok? What about catalytic converter? Could it be clogged?
 
First of course resolve whether it is brakes dragging or an engine performance issue.

If the brake master cylinder doesn't come all the way back when the brake pedal is not pressed, the brakes will drag after a period of driving. The most common reason for that is having the brake light switch turned down too far so the pedal doesn't come all the way up.

These have a distributor ignition so timing must be adjusted with a timing light. If the cam timing is too late because timing belt skipped a tooth, the engine will be a real dog.
 
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Sounds like a plugged Cat or bad Coil. Try removing Oxygen Sensor before Cat to see if that makes a difference. The steering wheel shake is probably warped rotors.
 
Spark plugs have been mentioned but no one came right out and said... pull one, pull a couple, examine closely. Or just get fresh ones, probably about $24 (4 * $6/ea). But if you're price sensitive (this is a pizza delivery beater), checking is free. What are you looking for? Besides the obvious (oil fouling, damage), check the gap. The older the plug is, the larger the gap is over spec.

Which brings up... if the plugs are oil fouled, and it's burning oil, there's a good chance the Cat is clogged, so you may want to stop there.

The_Eric gave good advice, it's never a bad time to check the brakes. The last brake job could have been just a pad slap, maybe no fresh pin and pad ear lube, no rust cleanout, bent/jammed abutment clips, or even a stuck caliper. Also brake checking is free, or the very low cost of some SilGlyde or Permatex 24125 Ceramic lube.

Keep in mind there's no rule that says there can't be more than one problem.

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
Change the fuel filter


Good idea, at this mileage, because you don't have to drop the tank, and prices are quite reasonable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuLT6oA1Vdk

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
and if it still has no power replace the ignition coil(s).


I think these earlier Honda's have the coil under the distributor cap on one end of the head. You need to rotate the engine to get the disassembly screw to turn up. And again, not too pricey or difficult.

Yes, it's throwing parts at it, but we're talking about $50 or less. Nothing will help if the Cat is clogged.
 
Originally Posted By: Warstud
Sounds like a plugged Cat or bad Coil.


Quite possibly.

Originally Posted By: Warstud
Try removing Oxygen Sensor before Cat to see if that makes a difference.


I've found with older cars, removing the O2 sensor means destroying it, at the least it's a job requiring leverage, impact tools and/or a torch. So as a diagnostic, it may be necessary, but try all the easier stuff first! If you do try it, be prepared to buy yourself a new sensor, a new Denso runs $35-40 or so.

Originally Posted By: Warstud
The steering wheel shake is probably warped rotors.


Not this [censored] again. Please read the bazillion threads on "warped rotors".

I've seen rotors with in-spec runout give the shakes due to pad imprinting, and I've seen out of spec runout rotors run smooth, due to lots of lube and the fact they haven't had time to build up pad material on the high spots yet. Yet suddenly when they start to shudder they're declared "warped", when in fact they were installed crooked, and always had the same runout. On a Honda front you can usually re-index the rotor to lessen runout, you can ignore the two little machine screws that do nothing but hold the rotors on during the assembly line process.

Here is me checking runout on my Honda last week with cheap-[censored] equipment. You can get a setup like this for $30 from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Indicator-Magnetic-Point-Precision-Inspection/dp/B002YPHT76
I keep mentioning price because I assume the OP is price-sensitive, since this is a pizza delivery beater.

 
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