Problem with loss of power

[diablo75]

Hello. I just bought an 87 Honda Accord LX (5 spd) 4 door, and it has a problem with loss of power. It accelerates slowly up to almost 3K rpms, but then the engine starts to have trouble continuing (it's like it runs out of breath).

We bought it with the understanding that it needed to have the carb insulator plate replaced, which we did. We also replace all the cracked and damaged vaccum lines. The good news is that it finally idles almost normally. The bad news is that it still doesn't have much power. The timing is fine, and we checked all the vaccum lines w/ carb cleaner, and everything seems to be fine. Now we can't figure out what's wrong with it.

I'm wondering if any of you fine people know what could be the problem. My boyfriend thinks that it could have a faulty carb. I don't really know, cuz I don't know jack about cars. (I was excited enough that we got all the vaccum lines back in the right place). Thanks in advance, any input would be fantastic.

[racerx]

Welcome to the board!

Well, it sounds like you could have 1 of many problems. I know it sounds bad, but if you work with us, we'll sort everything out.

First of all, when you purchase a vehicle, it's normally best to do a complete tune up first, before anything else. i.e.:
oil, oil filter, fuel filters, spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, air filter, etc.
And run some fuel system treatment stuff in your gas tank.

Furthermore, have you done a compression check? If you don't know what that is, ask your boyfriend, or a trusted mechanic. Or you can take it down to the Honda dealer, and they'll run a full diagnostic for about $50-80.
The compression numbers will give us a good idea of the condition of the engine.

Start there, and we'll move on to things like getting the carb rebuilt, etc.
:welcome:

[diablo75]

:) Thank you so much for your reply! Well, when we bought it, it had actually just had a tune up, and quite a bit of head work done. It's a long story, but basically we got it from a mechanic who just didn't feel like putting the xtra work and money into fixing it enough to sell it for more. I just talked to him, and he seems to think that the carb just needs to be re-adjusted (right now it's adjusted for an air leak or something, I dunno). Fortunately, he's going to do it, as I took a look at the instructions for doing adjusments and they are WAY out of my league!

However, I think I may also take it into a dealership to get that compression check (thanks for the good idea!) Especially if adjusting the carb doesn't do the trick.

On an off note, I just talked to a mechanic who absolutely refused to work on my car because we had done work on it! Can you believe that?!?!? I think it's because I'm a girl, and he didn't trust work a girl did, UGH!

[leia]

Then that mechanic doesn't deserve your money. Find someone who's less of a dick :) My mechanic is the man, I call him up all the time. Its cool cuz the same shop has worked on my car its whole life, and all the other cars my family owns goes there too.

I don't have anything useful about the carb stuff, I just felt I needed to represent girls, hehe. I don't know much hands on either, but like you I wanna learn.
Its awesome that you're taking an interest in keeping it alive and working on it yourself. Have you picked up the Haynes repair manual? Its good reading, hehe. Plus it helps to boost your confidence before messing with things....which is what I need, I'm too scared to do much.

[racerx]

yeah, that's weird... my guess is that the mechanic just didn't want to work on it. probably because he's tried before and messed things up, or he was just booked...
some guys are just jerks.

anyway, yeah, it's nice that the mechanic will adjust all that stuff for ya. if it's still weak, definately take it to the honda mechanics.

where are you located? maybe some guys here could recommend a good mechanic, or parts store, etc.

[diablo75]

:uh: Just an update: Sooooo, after finally getting the carb adjusted, Bonnie (that's what I call her) still has the power of three mice on a running wheel. Took it to a reputable mechanic (Bret's Independent Honda, for those of you in the Greater Seattle Area) and it turns out she has a plugged cat. converter. Soo, we'll see how this goes. We're going to try to get a new one this weekend and put it in ourselves (advice, anyone?), and hope it does the trick.
Thanks for your help.

[A20A1]

On an off note, I just talked to a mechanic who absolutely refused to work on my car because we had done work on it! Can you believe that?!?!? I think it's because I'm a girl, and he didn't trust work a girl did, UGH!

OH my!

Well I hope it was just a plugged cat... usually that will happen in you run RICH.

Check the booster venturies,
http://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?t=8972&highlight=booster+venturi

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[racerx]

yeah, and since the carb might have been out of sinq, it's entirely possible it was running rich.
definately replace the cat with a performance replacement, rather than OEM. they're about as expensive, and, well, they give you extra ponies, so hey, why not?

let us know how it goes. i have a few friends whose cats might be plugged and it would be interesting to see how this helps.

...or you could just eliminate the cat... :D $20 on eBay for a resonator replacement...

[diablo75]

ok, so I know that this is not the right forum (carb forum and all), but since I started it, I hope it's ok to stray from the subject a little. So, we took the exhaust off, cat back, and couldn't get the darn bolts off the back of the cat. However, we peeked inside and it actually looked pretty clear. The muffler, on the other hand, sounds like a rattle when you move it. Because we can't replace the cat just yet, we took it out for a drive w/o the exhaust to see if it had more power.... but it doesn't. :banghead: So, my question is, do ya'll think it could be the fuel filter (fuel pump? etc?), or could it be that the exhaust system somehow creates the back pressure needed to get power.

nope, we still haven't got the compression check done, so I don't know. But it has plenty of get up and go under about 2000-2400 rpms, so we're thinking the compression is probably ok.

[A20A1]

Have you checked the booster venturies?

or sprayed carb cleaner and cheked for leaks?

[diablo75]

Have you checked the booster venturies?

or sprayed carb cleaner and cheked for leaks?


ummmm, okay, please forgive me for being ignorant, but what are booster venturies?
nope, no vaccuum leaks. we replaced all of the cracked vaccuum lines, and sprayed the hell out of it w/ carb cleaner.

[A20A1]

I posted the link earlier but I guess it got lost so I copied my post


OH my!

Well I hope it was just a plugged cat... usually that will happen in you run RICH.

Check the booster venturies,
http://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?t=8972&highlight=booster+venturi

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[diablo75]

I posted the link earlier but I guess it got lost so I copied my post

Thank you for re-posting it, I had forgotten about it from earlier. Well, I think that actually taking apart the carb is a bit more than my experience level right now. But could you tell me, if I did manage to get to the booster venturi, what would I be looking for?

edited to say: oopsies, i think I just found the part that explains the question I just asked, sorry :)