1994 civic ex bogs down at 3k rpm.
 

The background is I bought the car cheap to fix and use as my daily. It had two check engine lights. Both have been corrected and I currently do not have a check engine light in one was for primary o2 sensor and the other was for the TDC sensor. I have replaced the distributor, plugs, wires, air filter and throttle position sensor. The car will start and idle and rev through all rpms when in park or neutral but when I put it under a load it dies at about 3k rpms and loses power and occasionally back fires. I have good spark and fuel pressure and have no idea what it could be. This is my first honda I have tinkered with and just want it for a daily, but I am becoming increasingly frustrated with it. Any help would be awesome if someone else has had this issue.

Re: 1994 civic ex bogs down at 3k rpm.
 

I would check the timing belt, it may have jumped a tooth. Having map and tps plug backwards will do that also.

Re: 1994 civic ex bogs down at 3k rpm.
 

At least you didn't waste money throwing part at it instead of troubleshooting it . . . too late

Re: 1994 civic ex bogs down at 3k rpm.
 

no the distributor had to be replaced to do a bad tdc sensor and it is a 20 year old car so plugs and wires and a filter are never a bad idea. The o2 sensor was also bad and throwing a code so it needed to be replaced. The only part I bought that wasnt necessary was the TPS which was like $40 bucks and some change. Thank you though for your awesome insight you are a great help man. Thanks 0bd2eg I will definitely look into the timing belt issue.

Re: 1994 civic ex bogs down at 3k rpm.
 

So did this problem pop up after you replaced the distributor? It's possible you've installed something improperly. It's always a good idea to check the timing as a sanity check though, but I don't think that is the issue if you're only having problems under load. Same with the spark plug wire order on the distributor.

I'm thinking this is something like a MAP sensor problem.

Re: 1994 civic ex bogs down at 3k rpm.
 

no it was doing it prior to the distributor replacement. I was hoping that when I replaced it and the o2 sensor that it would correct the issue, however it did not. The car also has to crank quite a few times before it starts if it is cold. Once it is warm it will start right up. I think I am going to do the timing belt tomorrow night as I have no way of knowing the last time it was done more of a piece of mind thing and if it helps the situation all the better. I also may take the throttle body off and give it a good cleaning as well. Thank you for the insight fabrik8 I will look into the map sensor and see if i can determine if it is good. I checked the MAP and TPS plugs and the TPS plug cant reach the MAP sensor so I know that isnt the issue. Thanks again for the help guys.

1994 civic ex bogs down at 3k rpm.
 

Have you checked fuel pressure when it's acting up? It could have good enough pressure at idle and reving with no load, but not enough to provide the flow required under load. Just something to check.