hf civic swap almost stalls when cold
 

I have a 91 hf hatch, and from a cold start it doesn't like higher gears. For example, when I shift into 3rd @ 25mph, 4th @ 30mph, and 5th @ 35mph it starts making the sound like the gear is too high. It makes the sputtering that would otherwise come before a car bucks and stalls. Once the engine gets up to temp I can once again shift into 5th @ 30mph as usual. This behavior is only present when the engine is cold, and only for a few minutes.

The car makes another sound, and only for the first few minutes. It is a chirping sound everytime I upshift into a gear high enough to make the engine sputter. It is a high pitch cyclical sound that cycles once every second or so, and itr sounds like it is something rotating. input bearing? throwout? It sounds like it is coming from the tranny maybe, and is there without the clutch depressed, not sure about if it is there with the clutch in...i'll check. ideas?

Anyone else have any idea?

I get a distinctive "clunk" in my '85 Si when I shift at low RPMS (1.5k and below) and the car bucks a bit. My guess is an axle on it's way out. Turning seems to make the sound pop louder, haven't been able to tell yet. It's usually a 1-2 or 2-3 shift, as the speeds are lower and my gear ratios are very short compared to your HF gearing. My other guess is w/ theclencher, bad mounts make for some odd noises. Two-part urethane liquid mix or energy suspension inserts clear that up. Hope that helps, Mak

Yeah, that clunk, if it's the same one as when you go around turns sounds like one of your cv joints. My sound is not that, but one of my boots doeas have a crack :D

5th gear at 35mph??? you have an HF, I'm pretty sure that is even slightly higher gearing then my VX, and if that is the case, my VX, going 35mph in 5th gear the engine is turning 1,000rpm, fast idle should have two stages, around 1,500, and around 1,100-1,200, then drop down to around 750-800rpm when fully warmed up, my guess for your poor running is that you are taking a cold engine, and trying to ask it to give you alot of torqe at a lower speed then it is trying to idle at.
You have a car that is already geared really high, it's designed so that at highway speeds in 5th gear the engine is turning close to 1,000rpm slower then nearly every other car on the road, the practice that others on here have of going 35mph in 5th might work well for them because their engine is still turning 1/3rd faster in the same gear.

Oh, ok that sounds good, but what do you mean by this part? Are you saying that their cars behave differently than mine?

yes, I meen that other peoples cars are going to behave differtnly then your's, my car is geared simaler to yours, and it doesn't like driving at 35mph in 5th gear at all, no matter what the weather, or how warm the engine is because going that slow in a gear that high lugs the engine, and pulls the engine speed down near to the idle speed, your HF is geared for eccomy already, a bunch of people on here don't have cars that are geared like that, so when they drive at low speeds they shift in to a higher gear, please take a look at: https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=2290 and notice how peoples engine speed varries while going the same speed in the same gear you have an efficent car, and are driving it like you have a less efficent car in hopes of gaining effcentcy, and have taken it to far.

In all fairness, I have the same transmission as his and I drive mine like he does, but I don't experience these problems at all.

Perhaps the b1 is getting tired?

In all fairness Ben, there are only 83k on the b1, and it acts like a new engine in any other context. Glad to see you settled in at school, and looks like you've met your match. :)

Ah, true, I forgot the old lady thing with the car.

Mehbe it's just too weak then, it's only got 70 hp. We need an HF'r to compare with.

Thanks for the kind words, Frank-o, it's a fun time.