Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Feels like its way down on power or secondary isnt opening

  1. #1
    DX User
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Vehicle
    85 Accord/ 2001 VW Passat/ 93 Crown Vic
    Posts
    5

    Feels like its way down on power or secondary isnt opening

    Ok, so I have searched pretty good with different key words and dont get exactly what im looking for.

    I have been daily driving my 85 Accord for a few weeks. Its completely fine around town but on the highway, it struggles to maintain speed even with the slightest little grade in the road. I find myself in 3rd gear with my foot flat on the floor to maintain close to posted speeds on these little inclines. I dont feel a surge from a secondary like I would think I should.

    Now this is the slowest car I have ever owned and I have to get used to that.

    I was poking around the carb and found a collapsed vacuum line coming off the drivers side of the carb. I replaced that and car seems to have picked up a bit...I dont know if this is normal or not for it to be this damn hard to maintain speed. I understand it only made 86hp when new but I should be able to at least keep up, right?

    On Sunday, we're moving from Idaho back to the Washington coast. There are a couple good passes I have to climb. Im afraid I'll be around 35mph for much of those climbs while it revs its little balls off.
    It really feels like its just running off the Primary barrel. I guess I may be shifting to soon and to afraid to let her rev out to 6 grand. Shes an old girl with 320k miles on her. I dont like the idea of an old engine spinning so hard for so long. Maybe Im wrong and need to just let her eat?
    Excuse the crappy formatting.
    Last edited by FartCan3; 01-15-2020 at 05:07 PM.



  2. #2
    DX User
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    31

    Re: Feels like its way down on power or secondary isnt opening

    What is the engine rpm when you're "in 3rd gear with [your] foot flat on the floor to maintain close to posted speeds on these little inclines?"

  3. #3
    DX User
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    31

    Re: Feels like its way down on power or secondary isnt opening

    If this has a manual transmission, how many miles are on the clutch?

  4. #4
    DX User
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Vehicle
    85 Accord/ 2001 VW Passat/ 93 Crown Vic
    Posts
    5

    Re: Feels like its way down on power or secondary isnt opening

    Not a clutch issue

  5. #5


    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Vehicle
    88 LXi
    Location
    Knoxville TN
    Posts
    5,205

    Re: Feels like its way down on power or secondary isnt opening

    Quote Originally Posted by FartCan3 View Post
    Ok, so I have searched pretty good with different key words and dont get exactly what im looking for.

    I have been daily driving my 85 Accord for a few weeks. Its completely fine around town but on the highway, it struggles to maintain speed even with the slightest little grade in the road. I find myself in 3rd gear with my foot flat on the floor to maintain close to posted speeds on these little inclines. I dont feel a surge from a secondary like I would think I should.

    Now this is the slowest car I have ever owned and I have to get used to that.

    I was poking around the carb and found a collapsed vacuum line coming off the drivers side of the carb. I replaced that and car seems to have picked up a bit...I dont know if this is normal or not for it to be this damn hard to maintain speed. I understand it only made 86hp when new but I should be able to at least keep up, right?

    On Sunday, we're moving from Idaho back to the Washington coast. There are a couple good passes I have to climb. Im afraid I'll be around 35mph for much of those climbs while it revs its little balls off.
    It really feels like its just running off the Primary barrel. I guess I may be shifting to soon and to afraid to let her rev out to 6 grand. Shes an old girl with 320k miles on her. I dont like the idea of an old engine spinning so hard for so long. Maybe Im wrong and need to just let her eat?
    Excuse the crappy formatting.
    Carbs dont deal with altitude well...in fact not at all. on my fuel injection 1988 I would loose 1 sec in the quarter mile at 5000 feet.

    I know on my 1st gens I would sometimes on long grades here east have to just let it hang in 2nd gear. Most of our paved mountains go about 3000'.

    id still go thru the carb and make sure the timing and fuel pressure /volume are good. Possible the timing belt is off a tooth that would really kill power.
    1988 Lxi owner since August 1995
    336k miles running strong!
    Now running E85.

    Oldblueaccord <<< MY YOUTUBE PAGE!

  6. #6
    DX User
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Vehicle
    85 Accord/ 2001 VW Passat/ 93 Crown Vic
    Posts
    5

    Re: Feels like its way down on power or secondary isnt opening

    just let eat the 6-7k it might take to keep up?

  7. #7

    Dr_Snooz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Vehicle
    1989 Accord LX-i
    Location
    Fresno, California
    Posts
    10,638

    Re: Feels like its way down on power or secondary isnt opening

    Clogged cat.
    Dr_Snooz

    "I like to take hammers, and just break stuff, just break stuff." - Beavis


    1989 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe, 240k miles, MT swap, rear disc swap

    Shop manual downloads available here: CLICK TO VIEW

  8. #8
    DX User
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Vehicle
    1985 Accord/ 1987 CRX
    Location
    PNW
    Posts
    6

    Re: Feels like its way down on power or secondary isnt opening

    Quote Originally Posted by Dr_Snooz View Post
    Clogged cat.
    I agree with Dr.Snooz, if you never touched the cat since you owned it and the chances are with this car you have 200,000 miles like the rest of us; that's bound for a big clog. Being a carb'd car I would also add some Marvel Mystery Oil to the fuel ONLY the recommended dosage 4oz to 10 gallons. People claim it snake oil but I've gotten results many times, it helps lubricate some carb parts and may free something up if its mechanical.

Similar Threads

  1. lock isnt working
    By accordfan in forum 3geez Accords
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 12-29-2012, 12:50 PM
  2. secondary still not opening
    By mark_salad_bar in forum Carburetor Tech
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 04-26-2010, 08:47 PM
  3. Isnt an Accord but
    By Lil Mike in forum 1geez Accords
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 02-17-2008, 01:22 PM
  4. losing power when opening the throttle
    By b3stbuddy in forum Carburetor Tech
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 05-01-2005, 04:39 PM
  5. 50k isnt enough for pics
    By gruvmstr206 in forum Classic Honda Community Chat
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 05-30-2002, 11:44 PM

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
This website uses cookies
We use cookies to store session information to facilitate remembering your login information, to allow you to save website preferences, to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners.
     
Links monetized by VigLink