No power, high rpms.

mobius

New Member
Ok so I have a problem with my integra. I just bought the car about 3 weeks ago. Its a 5 speed manual with a short shifter, and I've been experiencing problems with it ever since i got it. So it's mainly highway problems rather than city, but i do see a slight problem on my city streets too. On the highway, whenever i get up to highspeeds my rpm's are really high. 75 mph, 5th gear, im about 3500-3750 rpm, 80, it's about 4k. The thing is, if i try to gas it, it barely increases rpm and speed. this even happens in 4th gear. Also when i do gas it the engine makes a sound, like a slight groan. like it's trying to pick up but it cant. I find it hard to accelerate at all. ower speeds are fine, infact i think it's pretty fast. I just replaced te spark plugs and wires and got an oil change. I know i need to replace my motor mounts but i dont think that could be causing the problem. lI've driven automatics but never manuals, although i don't believe any car should be acting this way. HELP?!
 

R13

The other asshole
3k-4k rpms sounds about right, At least that's what my gsr runs around 70mph, Still leaves the question of where's the power.
 

gsr_nikhil

Member
At 80 mph you should be right at 4k rpms with a GSR tranny. Do you have a CEL (check engine light)
 


95teggyse

drive it like i stole it
my 95 special edition 5 speed runs at usually 3000 rpm's at about 65 mph in 5th but i still have pull no problem so seems bout right to me the ls style tranny from what i hear is geared a little taller than the gsr one, i recently did a tune up as well nothing special ngk platinums, wires, valve cover gasket and tube sealsand did a cat delete running stright pipe all the way runs better than before
 

Shadoh

New Member
Is it accelerating, or is it not doing anything? You said you've never driven a Manual,i believe when you drive an Automatic and floor it at highway speeds the transmission downshifts for the needed power atleast thats how it feels when i drive my jeep. Whereas the Manual 5th gear is a cruising gear it should pull but it wont pull like you're used to with an automatic pulling at highier speeds. I'd say try downshifting and check for pull or have someone with a manual integra drive it to see if its pulls like a normal 5th gear pull. Just my none mechanicaly inclined 2cents.
 


Merlins Beard

*Beard not included
Manuals will accelerate differently than automatics. Like said before 5th is the cruising gear, 4th is a passing gear. In an automatic the car will shift down into a passing gear to accelerate then back up into a cruising gear once speeds level out. Manuals don't shift by themselves (as I'm sure you've noticed) and will remain in the cruising gear which is geared for maintaining speeds at low-medium rpm and not acceleration.

If your rpms go up but the speed does not change (without shifting) then you have a clutch slipping problem.
If your rpms increase slowly as well as your speed then it's normal.

Keep in mind these cars have a 1.8L 4 cylinder, not exactly known for their torque.
 

mobius

New Member
yeah, i just took a trip from phoenix AZ to flagstaff and it did fine, you're right about the shifting. i downshifted and it had pull. noobie when it comes to manuals, and smaller engines. i owned a jeep cherokee 4L straight 6 before this integra lol. But on the way coming back from flagstaff the shifter did throw it back into neutral, from 5th. i'm assuming my clutch slipped? because my 5th gear is fine, that's the first time it's happened.
 

NemesisCBR

Boredest Member
It probably just popped out of gear because you didnt have it in all the way. Most likely this happened shortly after you shifted? If it starts happening a lot and in other gears you are either shifting poorly or you have a problem. Just pay attention to it over time.

You also didnt specify which integra you have. Base models will be far weaker/slower than the vtec models. If you want greater acceleration when you downshift, go to third, depending on your current highway speed.
 

gsr_nikhil

Member
mobius said:
yeah, i just took a trip from phoenix AZ to flagstaff and it did fine, you're right about the shifting. i downshifted and it had pull. noobie when it comes to manuals, and smaller engines. i owned a jeep cherokee 4L straight 6 before this integra lol. But on the way coming back from flagstaff the shifter did throw it back into neutral, from 5th. i'm assuming my clutch slipped? because my 5th gear is fine, that's the first time it's happened.
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You short throw shifter could be screwed on too tight at the bottom. When I replaced mine if I tightened the screw too tight it would get really hard to put it into first or 5th. Try playing around with different degrees of tightening
 

Merlins Beard

*Beard not included
mobius said:
yeah, i just took a trip from phoenix AZ to flagstaff and it did fine, you're right about the shifting. i downshifted and it had pull. noobie when it comes to manuals, and smaller engines. i owned a jeep cherokee 4L straight 6 before this integra lol. But on the way coming back from flagstaff the shifter did throw it back into neutral, from 5th. i'm assuming my clutch slipped? because my 5th gear is fine, that's the first time it's happened.
Click to expand...
Those Jeep engines are fun, my uncle has a Wrangler with the inline 6 and a 6-speed trans. Even with that engine, acceleration in 6th just doesn't happen.

The pop-out can also be from excessive wear in the transmission. This is usually paired with grinding between shifts and whining or howling from the transmission while in gear. My old teg did this on the highway, 2 or 3 times in my 15 min of freeway during my commute. My trans fluid was leaking and it got very low, after filling the trans back up again the problem became less severe.
 
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