Why does my 89 Civic have a low idle?

89 Civic 16 valve Auto 200+miles (not sure how correct that is), Bone stock.



Two days ago I was driving up a hill and my car began to shake really hard and struggled to go over 40 mph up the hill. I stopped at the nearest stop light and it shaked so bad that it seemed like it was going to knock off right there if I didn't give it gas. Came home, went to change the spark plug wires and noticed there was Oil in the #3 cylinder. I automatically think it's the cylinder seals and go order some new ones, come back two days later and take out the other spark plugs to see what condition they're in, spark plug in cylinder #2 has burnt oil on it and some oil around it. I clean everything up and replace the seals. Put the new wires on and start it up, nothing has changed. It's idling way too low and feeling like it's going to knock off everytime I come to a stop, slow down, or go in reverse. I don't know what else to check! Anyone willing to help a new civic owner?Why does my 89 Civic have a low idle?What you are experiencing is called %26quot;blow by%26quot;. You are losing compression because your rings are shot. That's another reason as to why you are finding oil in the cylinders %26amp; burnt oil.



I recommend going %26amp; having a compression test done, this will help you determine if for sure you are losing compression due to the rings being shot.



Btw, the chance of the rings being shot w/as many miles as your car has on it, is not uncommon. It's only a matter of time, unless you've already noticed, before it starts burning oil %26amp; you see thick, foul smelling smoke come out of your tail pipe.



Unless you don't mind tearing down your engine to replace all your seals, gaskets %26amp; rings yourself, then the car is probably worth salvaging... for now. However, if you are unable to do that %26amp; require a mechanic to do it, sad to say, it's going to cost several times more than what the car is worth.



You are better off cruising around your local junk yards %26amp; on ebay to hunt up another engine. This is way cheaper than having to rebuild an engine yourself or buy another car, by far LOL.



Best of luck!Why does my 89 Civic have a low idle?hondas suckWhy does my 89 Civic have a low idle?It needs a check up at the Honda dealer. Put it on their PC. it will say what the problem it. Maybe one of the sensors is bad. It's a simple problem.Why does my 89 Civic have a low idle?its sounds like the timing belt jumped a tooth. check the condition of the timing belt and also check the timing. if it hasnt been replaced, then that sounds like a place to check. also simply check vaccum hoses, gas filters, intake or cat could be clogged. high mileage on that car.Why does my 89 Civic have a low idle?89 civic huh, you might need one of 2 things, cheapest is a tune up. or get you timing belt changed and a tune up. that should fix your problem