1995 Honda Civic Timing issue

1995 HONDA CIVIC
220,000 MILES • 1.6L • 3 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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CDYKSEN
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  • 5 POSTS
The car seems to be having a timing isse. When I come to stop, the chuggs and shakes pretty bad. The shake, shakes the wholr car. I have replaced the spark plugs about 10000 to 15000 miles ago. Any ideas what is going on?

PS the idle of the car sounds actually like an idle of an old tractor.
Sep 15, 2015 at 9:27 AM
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CARADIODOC
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 34,393 POSTS
That's not a timing problem. You have a misfire, and by the sounds of it, multiple cylinders are misfiring. The spark plugs and wires are the logical guess, but you also have to consider loss of compression, non-firing fuel injectors, and other engine mechanical problems.

Also, since the spark plugs were recently replaced, a common cause of this problem is one or more spark plug wires that didn't get fully-seated. There will be arcing from the terminal to the spark plug at first, until that terminal burns away far enough to cause the misfire.
Sep 15, 2015 at 10:06 AM
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CDYKSEN
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  • 5 POSTS
What do you recommend? What should I start with fixing wise? Or should I get rid of the car?
Sep 15, 2015 at 10:35 AM
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CARADIODOC
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 34,393 POSTS
Start by removing the spark plug wires and looking inside the boots for signs of arcing or burning rubber. Every car will develop this problem if given enough time and miles. We fix 'em for that ; we don't get rid of them, because it still has to be fixed for the next owner.
Sep 15, 2015 at 1:12 PM
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