98 civic w/ zc block + y7 head

[Enox]

so I've owned this car for around a two years now. it's been more than reliable for me, great mileage, etc. but it has a slight hiccup when taking off in first from a dead stop. takes about 1-2 seconds for the engine to catch up and take off like normal(only does this in first gear from a dead stop). I'm curious if this is a timing issue, or could it possibly be clutch/trans related? going to throw a timing light on it this weekend and see if it's at tdc.
(pic for attention p

 

[Enox]

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Last tune up?

CEL codes?

last tune up was roughly 6 months ago, new dizzy and plugs. kept the old wires because they looked okay. and no cel.

 

[Enox]

Buy new plug wires from Honda. Visual inspection is useless. Aftermarket plug wires are junk.

Did you replace entire distributor assembly and set the ignition timing?

Have you replaced the fuel filter?

Does the CEL work? The CEL not staying on means nothing if the CEL bulb has been removed.

ill pick up some Honda plug wires this weekend, I need to replace a broken bolt and stud in the oil pan. so ill grab both of those.
yeah bought a new one from oriellys and jumped some connector under the passenger side of the dashboard, set it to tdc, but I pulled the battery when I wired up my killswitch(girlfriends car was stolen from our apartments) and the timing probably reset itself. and yes the cel does work, I have a cat-less header with a o2 sensor plugged into it. could it be that the after cat o2 sensor is reading funky and that is why I'm getting a delayed pull in first gear?(header came with the car, but I do have the oem header with cat in the garage)

also never replaced the fuel filter

 

[Enox]

The ignition timing must be set to 12 or 16 degrees BTDC not to TDC. Download the service manual from stuck thread at top of forum. You'll also find instructions for replacing fuel filter there.

so 12 - 16 btdc would be either the center mark on the timing belt? then the marks on either side of the middle mark would be 2degrees +/-?

 

[Enox]

Correct, if you meant to say crank pulley rather than timing belt.

sweet thanks yo! ill let you know how it goes after the weekend