1986 Honda Accord LX 2 barrel carb rebuild

[djriprock]

I'm going to try to rebuild my carburetor for the first time. I've not messed much with carburetors and honestly did not know much about them until I ran into my current problem, which I have put a "bandaid" on but realized I needed to rebuild the carb. I have a couple questions. First, how long will rebuilding the carb take time wise assuming I'm not a complete newbie with cars. Second, from what I see there aren't any special tools I'm going to need... is this true? Third, aside from a new float and rebuild kit, anything I should get while I'm doing this? Fourth, I've seen all kinds of things on removing useless vacuum lines in the car; anyone know about this for the 86 accord LX? Thanks for the help!!

Drake

[88Accord-DX]

I'm going to let you know that these carburetors are not easy to rebuild & personally don't think they are worth it. I had issues with mine & been down that road. It seems like all the vacuum solenoids need to be all working properly & everything has to be on point. I gave up on them & went with a weber & stage 2 vacuum removal. I never looked back & was a hard lesson to learn after many lost hours & time rebuilding these carbs. If you dig around in the carb section, you can find all you need to know about the different stages of vacuum removal. Good luck rebuilding OEM carb & getting it working right.

[2oodoor]

Wise words 88accord-DX
And hey, the Weber is the Easiest carb ever to rebuild but as with any, cleaning it good is the hardest part.
Best way to go if you're not under strict emmisions, not that they are bad but regs don't like any modifications in some juristictions..

The factory carb can be brand new and still not run right because of the gazillion external hardware pieces on the outside of the carb. Understanding how all that stuff works is a whole other task that could take longer than disassembling the carb itself! I have experience with other ccc comp cont carbs and still don't completley get these...and getting a 25 yo carb clean inside is not a quick chore.
All that said we will try an help with it, some here know the oem set up pretty good.

[djriprock]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm going to wait until I get all my parts in line before I do this and I will probably do a stage 1 vacuum removal at that time too. I'm curious about two things though. I have a ported vacuum switch just ahead of the thermostat on the block. It has a vacuum line that connects into the same line as the secondary diaphragm on the carb, and then a second one that hooks to the hard lines and runs to the back of the carb somewhere. I have searched and searched and have come up with a couple of theories as to what this in controlling. One theory is that it controls how much coolant is going into the heater passages of the carburetor during a cold start. Since during rebuilds though I've not seen anything relating to coolant though, I find this hard to believe. The second is that it is hooked into the fast idle unloader and the choke mechanism. That makes more sense to me. I have read one place where it supposedly hooks into the EGR system, but it does not appear close to any of those components. So, the question is, where does it go.

My second question relates to the A/C Idle boost. To those who have done the vacuum removal, how does taking that out of the circuit affect the running of the carburetor when you turn on your A/C? Does it bog it down too much and lead to rough running or does it handle it just fine?

Thanks!
Drake

[Dr_Snooz]

Are you still planning to rebuild the stock carb?

[djriprock]

Yeah I am. I don't have the money to throw in for a new carburetor right now. I'm going to try a rebuild with a stage 1 vacuum removal. I'm trying to pin down what all of the solenoids do right now to see how many I can eliminate. I'm also going to be looking at that black box of vacuum controls and is it really needed.

[Dr_Snooz]

Good times! As you go through the solenoids and other electric controls, be sure to check their function. It seems like most of the carb problems here come from those. Also check all the vacuum actuators. Take lots of pics and let us know how it turns out.

[POS carb]

I have a ported vacuum switch just ahead of the thermostat on the block. It has a vacuum line that connects into the same line as the secondary diaphragm on the carb, and then a second one that hooks to the hard lines and runs to the back of the carb somewhere.
Drake

If I recall correctly that's just a thermovalve vacuum switch, it's closed when the coolant is cold so that the secondary doesn't open up and bog the engine down