A Laundry List of Issues

[jfratch2]

Hello, everyone! I am currently driving my 1987 Accord LX in a new terrain with new weather conditions and it seems that everything is going wrong now. Here's a little history on the car:

I have had this car since high school (7+ years) and it has been my daily driver for the most part. My dad and I have done most of the maintenance and repairs together so I'm somewhat familiar with a lot of the car. It was originally a California car. I should note I am the third owner. It was having difficulty passing smog due to high NOx levels prior to moving out of the state but it runs fine under normal conditions. It has been a great commuter when I need to take it on trips to the city, two or more hours away.

As of September this year I have moved to Iowa with this car. Our first snow came earlier than expected and I had major defroster/heating issues. Basically no heat at all when the car was fully warmed up. I took it to a local shop and they replaced a valve on the heater core, flushed it, and added new coolant. They also adjusted my idle. (It was around 2000 when warm and had trouble idling down on its own since the cold weather set in.)

I immediately found the idle was adjusted way too low. It was around 800 when warm and would stall out at every stop. With the help of my boyfriend, (I am a lady btw), we adjusted the idle back up to about 1250 when warm. Here's the problem now:

The car has always had a minor oil leak that the current mechanic said was due to an oil pan gasket. It has been rapidly burning or losing oil to the point of needing to add a quart every two weeks or so. This issue was never this severe before.

It is leaking coolant now that it has come back from its last shop visit. It didn't do this before I took it in.

Even with the idle adjustment the car is still stalling during abrupt stops and tight turns. I suspect the battery may be insufficient for this cold but haven't been able to take it in yet. (I'm about an hour and a half from the closest Honda dealer and our auto parts store closes the same time I get out of work each day. Also, its a very small town with only two mechanics.)

I should also add that after all the time the car spent in the shop here and the money I had to dish out for it, there is little to no difference in the heat/defroster situation unless driven for extended periods of time. Once the car is driven for at least an hour it tends to blow a bit warmer but not nearly as efficient as it was before all these issues.

In short, I am frustrated and cold and need some advice! Any ideas are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[derolph]

800 rpm is not too low for idle speed, so I'm puzzled about raising the warm-engine idle speed to 1250 rpm. Why do that? btw, is the transmission automatic or manual? You said your car is an LX, so the engine has a carburetor, right? How many miles does your car have on it?

I've encountered several coolant leaks in my '88 Accord other than the radiator hoses; these engines have several small hoses up on the engine that circulate coolant to various parts of the engine; if any of those small hoses are still the originals, they have probably deteriorated due to age and might have leaks. When the engine and thoroughly warmed up and running, take a very close look at all coolant hoses. You might find a small leak. Also, when the car has been parked for awhile, look under it for any coolant on the ground and try to pinpoint where the coolant is dripping from the engine. Doing so can be helpful in locating a leak.

Regarding lack of heat, does the temperature gauge on your instrument show normal temperature after the engine is warmed up? After a cold start, how long does the engine take to warm up to normal temp? Did mechanic verify that the valve that controls coolant flow to the heater is working?

Regarding oil consumption, you're either losing oil due to leaks or the engine is burning oil (sign of worn piston rings, leaking valve seals, etc.), or both. Numerous points of oil leaks can occur. Some investigative observation, similar to the technique mentioned above for coolant leaks, should yield some evidence. I bought some contractors paper - comes in large rolls of heavy weight paper - and put some under the car when parked in my garage. This was helpful in identifying sources of oil leaks. Examining location of spots on the paper after the car is parked overnight is a good time to check it. I had multiple leak issues, most of which have been remedied; they were valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, oil filter stand gasket, and front main, i.e. crankshaft, gasket. I also discovered the a seal on my manual transmission was leaking; if I had not discovered this, I think I was at risk of transmission damage due to loss of oil from it. Checking the oil level in the transmission was part of my investigation.

[jfratch2]

The car is an automatic trans with 175,xxx miles on it and it is carbed.

As far as the idle speed, in the cold when it was turned down to 800 it was sputtering and gasping and would stall out whenever I was at a light or stop. Once we turned the idle up it has been much better. In warmer climates, when I lived on the west coast, it idled around 900 when warm. I have only adjusted this idle since experiencing much colder climate and assuming its affect on the car.

The temp gauge indicates the engine being warm and we see bubbles in the radiator and the fans kick on once it reaches this temp on the guage. It takes about 10-15 mins for the car to warm up. It is usually parked outside, over night. (My apartment complex doesn't offer covered parking and it drops to below zero often times over night.) Come to think of it, the mechanic never verified that the valve had shown to be working properly.

The radiator and most engine hoses were replaced in 2012 by my dad and I. I will go back over these hoses to see if any possible leaks exist there.

Thank you for the pointer with the paper! I hadn't thought of trying something like that. I will mention this to my boyfriend and hopefully we can execute a similar trial!

[lxidavid]

Hey Julie It's David :D Nice to see you on here lol. These accords, boy don't they strike a nerve. Anyway, mine is leaking coolant as well, and overheating at times...