3rd Gen Accords Really This Picky About Fuel?

Okay guys, as you know, my Accord is dubbed "GM3503G" and is going to be my 350GM V8, RWD swap car. But for now, it's my daily driver.

My problem is I had lost my license for drag-racing (stupid, I know) and had to park it last August. Well, the last 5 months, the car has been having issues. Running rough, and eventually wouldn't run at all. Thought it was a bad pump. Tore it out, had it checked, even tested it on the car. It's pushing the right amount of fuel at a pretty decent amount of pressure. Enough to operate.

Changed the fuel filter, still had issues. Cleaned the injectors, still had issues. Final option before taking it into a shop was some HEET and new fuel. Guess what? Started up, ran perfectly, even drove the way it did last August.

Are Hondas really that picky on fuel? I've had vehicles sit longer than that with the same fuel, fuel injected and Carb'd and they'd all start just fine. Honda really can't be that picky, can they?

Probably bad fuel not igniting like it should. If the car has been sitting for a long time its better to put new fuel. You can use that old fuel for lawn mowers or weed wackers. it can be picky.

Like I said, it's running fine now, just didn't think Hondas would be this picky about fuel. Like I also said, I've had vehicles, EFI and Carb'd sit longer than that and still start with the old fuel in the tank.

I'm just glad it's running again.

Maby the fuel was poor quality to begin with. Then after sitting it lost the majority of its octane. I had one sit for a year and use the gas with no problem.

That's possible. But you'd think Bucky's gas would be decent grade, considering that I get better performance out of the car, and better mileage while using.

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Originally Posted by LJ1987LX-I

That's possible. But you'd think Bucky's gas would be decent grade, considering that I get better performance out of the car, and better mileage while using.

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Never know could have been a bad batch, or they switched their supplier. Anything is possible.

Yeah, that's true as well. I tell ya, it was a horror story, tried everything to get it to run, and nothing. Until HEET and new gas. I was pissed.

Could have been the blend of the gas that you put it away with, summer blends are a bit different than the winter blends. Also with the amount of ethanol in gas now , i wouldn't have been surprised that It collected a decent amount of water

These old Hondas were known for being very picky about fuel. You could tell different grades and different suppliers by how the car ran. My brother's '84 CRX had a provision in the warranty for fuel octane rating. If you ran anything less than the premium 92 octane grade, it would void the car's warranty. So yeah, they are very picky.

Well I guess that explains it. At least the mileage is good enough that I don't really need to worry about having to put premium in it. I might try doing that for a while... I've been getting vapor-lock-like symptoms, and I'm wondering if a higher-octane rated fuel would help that.

I had one that sat for 2 years with the same fuel in it start like new. 6 months later, it wouldn't start at all. It seems like in that few months, enough water accumulated that it kept the car from running.

Ethanol in fuel does make the fuel go bad faster because it absorbs water fairly quickly.

Unfortunately, living in the midwest, it's getting harder to find gas with a really low rating of ethanol.

These cars were designed to run up to E15, according to the owner's manual. As long as it doesn't sit and the fuel system and evap system are in good working order, you won't have an issue with it, outside of slightly worse fuel economy. NGK has a TSB out on that which has helped me in the past with fuel econ and power issues with E10.

A ton of good info here.

Will look into it. Thanks for the link. But I may just let it go and deal with the issues for now, it's most likely getting the 350 in it later this year, so.

No prob on the link. It needed to be stuck to the top for now while we edit our new How-To section and your thread reminded me of it.

I had my car parked for 2 years and the fuel went bad. I had to drain the tank, take out the fuel pump to bench test it. added gas and turned the key to burn up what I had in the lines.

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Originally Posted by LJ1987LX-I

Well I guess that explains it. At least the mileage is good enough that I don't really need to worry about having to put premium in it. I might try doing that for a while... I've been getting vapor-lock-like symptoms, and I'm wondering if a higher-octane rated fuel would help that.

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Try putting stabilizer into the fuel. I do not know if it works, but it is supposedly made to deal with fuel degradation over time. Worth a try I think (it it just a few bucks)

Running fine with no problems :)

You know, you can run a car with no problems on straight ethanol with minor engine modifications. Straight ethanol cleans engine components better than any petroleum detergent. According to this article, it is possible to produce cellulosic ethanol for as little as $1/gallon. Corn ethanol costs as little as $1.40/gallon. Why aren't we all running on ethanol right now?

Instead of switching over to ethanol, however, we mix it with gasoline, which is terrible in every way. It is fairly well established that the two do not mix. When they are mixed, they separate relatively quickly and turn into the degraded muck that clogs up fuel lines and carburetors and makes cars stop running.

Ethanol absorbs water from the air. When you are running straight ethanol, the added water gives you a little water injection boost. By mixing ethanol with gasoline, however, we turn that water into an ugly mess.

Everything the oil companies produce is toxic and inferior in every way. Better energy alternatives abound, yet somehow we just can't seem to get off the oil. How is that?

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Originally Posted by Dr_Snooz

You know, you can run a car with no problems on straight ethanol with minor engine modifications. Straight ethanol cleans engine components better than any petroleum detergent. According to this article, it is possible to produce cellulosic ethanol for as little as $1/gallon. Corn ethanol costs as little as $1.40/gallon. Why aren't we all running on ethanol right now?

Instead of switching over to ethanol, however, we mix it with gasoline, which is terrible in every way. It is fairly well established that the two do not mix. When they are mixed, they separate relatively quickly and turn into the degraded muck that clogs up fuel lines and carburetors and makes cars stop running.

Ethanol absorbs water from the air. When you are running straight ethanol, the added water gives you a little water injection boost. By mixing ethanol with gasoline, however, we turn that water into an ugly mess.

Everything the oil companies produce is toxic and inferior in every way. Better energy alternatives abound, yet somehow we just can't seem to get off the oil. How is that?

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it eats the seals out of everything rubber and also eats your fuel lines,it also absorbs water like crazy, even 10 percent damages lawnmowers and boat engines, you also don't get the same energy out of a gallon of ethanol as a gallon of gas, so you actually need to burn more, I've replaced the rubber parts in my lawnmower carburetor 4 times this season already, they turn into goo, if you look in the original owners manual under fuel there's a very specific warning about running these cars on anything above 10 percent corn, it's listed under use of oxygenated fuels, I recently helped repair a boat engine that had been run on the stuff, it was a mess, every rubber part that touched fuel was ruined, and I'm talking about pump gas, many of the marine engine manufacturers are refusing to honor warranties if corn gas has been run

damn thats wack.
ive used 5 year old gas out of a junkyard car in a efi integra once and it ran fine(Y)

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Originally Posted by AccordB20A

damn thats wack.
ive used 5 year old gas out of a junkyard car in a efi integra once and it ran fine(Y)

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do you have the corn gas now?

Also, I have read for years that you need a plastic fuel tank and corrosion resistant metal lines if you are going to run straight alcohol as fuel as alcohol absorbs water - much like brake fluid - and will cause a metal fuel tank to rust.

I don't know about picky, I think my car will start if I pissed in the tank after a long night of drinking.

But seriously, I was helping a friend fix a 5th gen with no fuel pressure, I had him crank the car and I got the engine running by spraying starting fluid through the vacuum hoses as he drove it (slowly) and by modulating the spray we moved it out of the weeds onto the pavement with no gas.

I'll use any gas, I don't care what brand, the cheaper the better. It's a freaking 25 year old Honda guys. I understand the occasional bad batch, but for the most part, it'll burn.

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Originally Posted by POS carb

I don't know about picky, I think my car will start if I pissed in the tank after a long night of drinking.

But seriously, I was helping a friend fix a 5th gen with no fuel pressure, I had him crank the car and I got the engine running by spraying starting fluid through the vacuum hoses as he drove it (slowly) and by modulating the spray we moved it out of the weeds onto the pavement with no gas.

I'll use any gas, I don't care what brand, the cheaper the better. It's a freaking 25 year old Honda guys. I understand the occasional bad batch, but for the most part, it'll burn.

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it's not about it burning,it's about it destroying the fuel system in the process, the stuff is horribly corrosive to a lot of the rubber and plastic parts

Lost, if you've replaced your fuel lines on your mower 4 times this year, start shopping at a new parts store, as that fuel line isn't rated for ethanol. I have the original fuel line in my 1998 Toro Wheelhorse, and with the exception of the part between the fuel pump and the line that goes over the engine, it's all original. That's not to say that the ethanol hadn't eaten the fuel pump, but the brand new Kohler branded box stated that it was ethanol safe. I haven't had an issue at all with it, and it sat with about a quart of last year's gas in it over winter.

Remember, these cars WERE DESIGNED TO RUN ON MIXED FUEL. If you have issues with the fuel, you should address the fuel injection system and the vacuum advance.

Hell, way back when, I would drop a quart of rubbing alcohol into one of my old 3geez if I didn't have enough gas on hand and I needed to move the car. It ran just fine on it. Of course, there were not long term scientific tests involved, but nothing instantly broke or anything of that nature. Rubbing alcohol is around 30% water already.

another major issue with E85 no one thinks about, none of our fuel pumps will work with it, the in tank pumps are submersed in gas which doesn't conduct electricity, the motor windings are cooled by the fuel, E85 conducts electricity, so it will basically short out the pump, you also require a stainless or plastic gas tank, stainless fuel lines, and you can't have any bare aluminum or rubber parts anywhere in the system, this pretty much means all the injectors have to be changed, fuel rail has to be changed, probably a different fuel filter,different regulator, all will be damaged by the E85, could it be done/yes, but is it worth all the trouble? running e85 in the tank could potentially be very dangerous as the pump could short and arc,

I have an original owners manual and it states not to use more then ten percent corn in these cars, they were exploring the use of these fuels back then and Honda decided the max was 10 percent

Dude, if ethanol shorted out fuel pumps, then wouldn't you think new car manufacturers would stop using them, especially in flex fuel vehicles? Plastic tanks don't get holes in them, nor do they split at the seams like a metal tank. They're also considerably lighter than a metal tank.

Ethanol will clean every bit of gunk out of your fuel system, and it will mess with old rubber. New rubber isn't the same as the old stuff, and is safe to use with ethanol fuels.

If your 3gee is being picky with gas, I still maintain that you have an issue with the car, not the gas.

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Originally Posted by Vanilla Sky

Dude, if ethanol shorted out fuel pumps, then wouldn't you think new car manufacturers would stop using them, especially in flex fuel vehicles? Plastic tanks don't get holes in them, nor do they split at the seams like a metal tank. They're also considerably lighter than a metal tank.

Ethanol will clean every bit of gunk out of your fuel system, and it will mess with old rubber. New rubber isn't the same as the old stuff, and is safe to use with ethanol fuels.

If your 3gee is being picky with gas, I still maintain that you have an issue with the car, not the gas.

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the new pumps are designed to work with e85, the old pumps aren't made for it at all