1986 Accord LXI, DD/Project

[zachmem]

Hello folks of 3geez! First Post! I purchased a lovely 1986 Accord LXI Hatchback, 5 Speed FI in January. Paid $800. The VIN plate fell off of the dash between the day I bought it and the day I took it in for inspection. Between the combination of procrastination and government red tape, I just registered and plated the car on 6/11/2016 lol.

Anywho, the car idles rough, the filler tube for the gas tank leaks pretty bad, the temperature gauge on the dash immediately maxes out as soon as the key is turned, there's a coolant leak on one of the very short hoses near the distributor, oil leaks from the distributor near the base, oil leaks from the oil filter housing, I've noticed in 5th gear if I floor it the car BARELY accelerates and the PGM-FI light illuminates on the dash. Three times the engine has cut out while in gear, pushing the clutch in and cranking the starter will fire it back up but I have to give it gas, and I had to limp it home (usually after driving 50+ miles that day). Oh, and there are a few HUGE rusted out holes in the frame. A bit of a basket case!

I've replaced the resonator, muffler, a corner lamp, the hatch struts, the radio (lol), the fuel filter, lots of brittle vacuum lines and its full of coolant and the oil level is acceptable.

Its so much fun to drive, I really want to solve the reliability issues with this car and keep it on the road! My first manual transmission car, too!

I'm competent with a multimeter and I have a Mitivac vacuum tester.

[5 Speed Speeder]

Try flooring it in 4th instead of 5th. 4th will take you from 35-100 or so(just dont floor it when the rpm's are low). Just pop it into neutral from 5th, rev up, clutch back in and catch the tach in 4th as it falls back down. Its a great way to pass people, our intakes sound real mean above 3500. You gotta time it right if you dont want to burn your clutch, so be careful and learn your rpm relative to your mph first. Get it so you can know your mph just by looking at rpm's. if youre having fuel problems search for info on the tw sensor and find the proper continuity spec and test it with your meter. You can still buy that sensor from honda dealers. good luck!

[conozo]

Does your dash VIN match the one on the drivers door and one stamped into the firewall?

There was a recall on the gas filler pipe for the 86-87 years. I have no idea if they would do the warranty now 23 years after the recall was issued. Worth a call to the dealer.

Since you started with the important items first such as the radio. Now its time to move onto a basic tune up. Plugs, wires, cap. Get the coolant temperature sensor fixed by checking the sending unit. I bet its bad or the wire is disconnected.

[zachmem]

Try flooring it in 4th instead of 5th. 4th will take you from 35-100 or so(just dont floor it when the rpm's are low). Just pop it into neutral from 5th, rev up, clutch back in and catch the tach in 4th as it falls back down. Its a great way to pass people, our intakes sound real mean above 3500. You gotta time it right if you dont want to burn your clutch, so be careful and learn your rpm relative to your mph first. Get it so you can know your mph just by looking at rpm's. if youre having fuel problems search for info on the tw sensor and find the proper continuity spec and test it with your meter. You can still buy that sensor from honda dealers. good luck!

When the car starts wanting to die, I cant floor it in any gear at all. I can barely give it enough gas to limp home. I'm going to check out that TW sensor.

[zachmem]

Does your dash VIN match the one on the drivers door and one stamped into the firewall?

There was a recall on the gas filler pipe for the 86-87 years. I have no idea if they would do the warranty now 23 years after the recall was issued. Worth a call to the dealer.

Since you started with the important items first such as the radio. Now its time to move onto a basic tune up. Plugs, wires, cap. Get the coolant temperature sensor fixed by checking the sending unit. I bet its bad or the wire is disconnected.

The VIN plates matched, it fell off while I was driving. I replaced the filler tube yesterday! I couldn't manage to get the four small vacuum lines reattached, they were just too short. Another thing on the to-do. The temperature sending unit is screwed, a new one is on the way. I unplugged it, the temp gauge falls flat, plug it back in and the gauge maxes out.

[Oldblueaccord]

If you have rust holes ,rusted filler tube etc good chance some rust got in the gas tank. Rusty fuel wont run too good.

[nastytee]

Nice score. It looks promising.

[zachmem]

Development! New temp sending unit, gauge looks good. Never goes over about 25% though. I floored it in fourth, PGM light popped on. I checked the code, seven blinks. Bad TPS. Where can I get a new one and a harness that'll fit my stock 3-pin rectangularish plug?