My Honda Civic Wagovan has had a problem since getting to NJ from CA last Fall. Intermittently, but more often as time passes, it will die after starting and being driven down a small hill. If I keep it in gear (it’s a stick) as I go down the hill, it will often die as I depress the clutch and put on the brake. The tachometer will go from 1200 or so RPM down to less than 500 and poof the car dies. I suspect that since this happens going down the hill but not up, my fuel filter may be clogging with sediment because of the angle and the momentum in the filter. Does that sound ppossible/probable, or is there some other thing that could be going on? Oh, one other bit, if I take it out of gear as I go down the hill, it is much less likely to die at the bottom. The car is well maintained, but has 250K miles on it, and I don’t remember the last time the fuel filter was replaced.
fuel filters are pretty cheap in and of themselves. are you waiting for permission to change yours? If you have a carburator, it could be the float. If not, it could be crud in the gas tank. I dont know what else it could be but there are a lot of guys here who might. good luck.
When I had a Bug, I had no problem tackling these things… I think I’ve just assumed there are repair jobs in this car that need special equipment. (My Bug was a 1966 and my Honda is a 1988.) I also don’t have a shop manual for it since they aren’t available even from Honda (it’s too old a car…) You think it would be straight-forward without a manual?