A Couple of new Accord owner ????'s

[jidai]

Okay, I have a few questions about my new Accord (1989 DX) that I'm stumped about. To give you some info I bought the car from a Honda mechanic and it has had all belts replaced in the last year. It has a new alternator, tires, and sound system. Here's the stuff I can't figure out:

1: The car is rather hard to start when it's cold. It always starts but I get some chugging for a while and it might stall again when started. It never has a problem when driving and never shakes again after I give it some gas but starting up is shaky. New Battery perhaps?

2: I haven't yet gone through the first tank so the jury is still out but it seems to go down rather quick (the gas level) and I think I might smell gas when I get out sometimes. I've got an appointment to take it in but could it be a gas leak?

3: Sometimes the steering wheel clicks when turning as if it were clicking on an active turn signal several times in a turn, is this normal?

4: What do those side vent levers to the right of the steering wheel do?

5: How easy is it for the pop-ups to get frozen? When do I need to leave them out? Do these need to be oiled or something? They seem like something that could break easily.

6: Anything I should know/look for in a 213,000 mile Accord? Tips on upkeep?

Thanks, any help would be appreciated.

[smufguy]

1. Unlike a fuel injected, carbs are hard to start up during cold weather, its normal. U can always get a carb rebuild kit, follow the instructions on the HOW-To and do it yourself. Also, you can check your fuel filters (one in the engine bay and one near the tank on driver side) and change them. changing 1) distributor cap and rotor, b) spark plugs and wires may help if they are bad already.

2. Gas smell could be from various reasons, esp a carb can run too rich causing fuel fumes to permiate even after engine being run for a while. Check under the carb for wetness (gasket failure) and check the fuel delivery hose and return line (rubber hoses) for any holes or wetness. Also check under the car to see if anything is wet. Fuel wont drip if its a small leak, it will just evaporate.

3. IS it the steering wheel or is it just the noice? could be ur axles going bad. Check them.

4. The side vent levers control the side vents, lol. They open or close them

5. Pop-ups usually dont get frozen much. I live in New Jersey and we get snow and stuff melts, but once i warm up my car and turn the lights on, they always pop up, besides, i always clean the hood area free of snow. But if ur in the higher lattitude, then leave them open everytime it snows or u find that the temp is too low after watery snow. They dont break often, but complaints are mainly due to the motor failure, and they are not that hard to change. U can lube the pivots if you want and no they are not fragile.

6. Just do the regular full tune up, including all the ignition, fuel and fluids and you will be fine. Also, look into efi conversion after a while if you want.

[phrenology]

Wow smufguy you didn't chew that noob up and spit him out, Lol. Change of heart? Its good to see 3geers being "most excellent" to each other.

[halxi]

what smufguy said about the clicking is probably right, ill bet one of your CV's is bad and needs to be replaced

[smufguy]

Wow smufguy you didn't chew that noob up and spit him out, Lol. Change of heart? Its good to see 3geers being "most excellent" to each other.

well he was asking something really technical, had the thread where it was supposed to be. Organized his problems and asked for help. I like that and i will be more than willing to go far to help him solve his problems and if not, point him in the right direction.

If he did ask about bodykits and motorswaps, u know i would have ate him for breakfast. lol. Im not always bad bro, im nice sometimes

[jidai]

Okay, the carb thing makes sense. I sat down today with the manual and it suggested that I pushed the gas pedal once softly for cold temps, twice for below freezing, and three times for below zero. Now, I tried it today once because it was fairly cold and the thing had been sitting all night. Works great. Awesome.

I think it may be a gas tank leak towards the top as the meter is now progressing slowly after about halfway. I'll have my guy check that, the fuel lines, as well as around the carb as you suggested. I'll also have the axles looked at. It does sound like just a noise, though. Like a noise inside the cabin not something happening outside or in the wheels. I'll have it checked anyway.

I'm looking into some mods (and by mods I mean like things to make it more dependable not OMG street race) after finals as I REALLY like this car and want it to run for a long time. I'll look into the EFI thing. Thanks for all the pointers and such, I'm glad theres a community for these great cars, especially one that's patient with n00bs who foolishly bought shitty Fords earlier in life and are just getting into some real cars. Thanks.

[buds302]

oh and for a new battery i suggest the optima red top i got it and it is the shit. yeah its a little expensive but its better than the walmart special i used to have! and the clicking, sit still with the car running and crank the wheel if it still clicks then theres something in the steering column and your gonna have to investigate. the levers under the dash for the air vents, if you turn the fan on high and pull one of them or both of them the vents next to the dash and on the other side of the car will open and you will have air flow( well your supposed to anyway). and as for being a newb, we wont bash you if you follow directions! you did the right thing on this one, had the thread in the right place, asked the right questions, and so on. smufguys right, if you would have asked about bodykits in the techincal sectionwe would have to say sumthin about that.

[HondaBoy]

1. carb accords are sorta funky to start in cold weather. A20A1 told me that the problem with mine could possibley be the EFE plate(electronic fuel evaporator) might not be working, because in warmer weather it starts just fine. also about the battery, if its an old battery, it may loose power in colder weather. mine did until i replaced it.

2. mine was kinda bad on gas until i did a few things. all new parts on the ignition:coil, wires, plugs, cap and rotor. i used to smell gas also when getting out of the car. it was my carb that had a problem. the accelerator pump was leaking from an O ring. i had never rebuilt a carb, i rebuilt the one on my accord for the 1st time and had good luck. runs a lot better than before.

3. if you mean there is clicking sounds when turning, that'd probley be a CV axle. mine had to be replaced. its always best to do both at the same time because if one is messing up, the other one usually messes up soon after. that's not something to worry about big time, but you should think about replacing the axle if thats the case. if it starts shaking quite a bit while driving, then it may be time for new axles, if the alignment is good.

4. about the side vent levers, my '87 does not have them. i had wondered myself what those were for in some models. guess that'd make it easier than reaching over and having to close them on the slats.

5. the pop ups shouldnt get frozen unless a motor goes bad. those motors are quite strong. strong enough that if you were to put, lets say your hand, in between them while opening or closeing, it would be able to crush the bones in your hand. if the motor does happen to go out, there are manual knobs that you can turn to make them go up or down. they are on top of the little motors under a dust cap.

6. for up keep, change the oil fairly frequently. this engine likes fresh oil in it. a lot of the 12 valve engines in hondas are sensative to fresh oil. meaning you'll usually notice it running a lot better with good oil in it. i say change the oil about every 3500 miles. on an engine with high mileage as yours has, stay with a conventional 10W30 oil, synthetics can loosen things up like deposits and leak easily though gaskets and seals. dont run the hell out of it, even though the A20 is known for taking a beating and not giving up. but yeah, just treat it nice and it'll probley last you a good while, even with high mileage.

[buds302]

yeah dont beat on it too much. i had an 88 with 260000 miles on it and drove it everywhere. i sold it to my friend, he drove it a month and it died. then bitched and wanted his money back. i told him to f-off cause he ran the shit out of it

[jidai]

Got a call from my mechanic today. Here's what's wrong:

-Leak in the top of the gas tank and in the fuel lines, lines can easily be replaced but tank is $500 new from Honda and used ones are hard to come by.

-Rear Ball Joint needs replaced, $100.

-Front Struts and Springs are going. Probably another $500 or more for that.

I paid less than $1000 for the car. I am once again in this same situation. I liked the car a lot but looks like I got a lemon. The guy who sold it to me is a mechanic at Honda (came from work and had the coveralls and badge still on when he dropped it off) and I can't believe he didn't know about some of these. He claimed to have checked it out a lot before selling it and I don't know how he could not have noticed the smell of gas coming from it. I am beyond pissed.

Right now I'm driving a 1999 Ford Taurus SE (24V Duratech w00t) and getting it in condition comestically to sell. Will try to get another Honda but I don't know about this generation. With all the headache so far I'm very cautious. Perhaps a later generation Accord...

[smufguy]

well gas tank is 50 bux rom the junkyard and i used to have a carb tank for a long time and junked it couple of months back. I would have just shipped it to you for the shipping price and part would have been free.

Fuel lines are not bad, the only place where they might leak are the places where they got the rubber hoses going to them. U can do it and a braided fuel hose is like $60 a foot and all u need is like 3 feet and ur good.

Struts and springs are not gonna be 500. I paid 650 for my aftermarket ones and it was 4 shox and 4 springs. Not just one. U can replace the front two shox and springs for about 300 bux or even less. Tokikos and KYBs are dirt cheap and they are available for our cars and u can go with stock springs (60 each) or good cheap springs listed in the Suspension section.

Getting it done by a mechanic is expensive, since he chages u by the hour despite whom it may be. Do it on your own, take a couple of pics of what are wrong and we will find u a good easy solution.

PS: 5th gen accords are great. If you are unwilling to do anything to this 3rd gen, buy them. but a good one will be about 7K and be prepared to do some maintanence work on em. they are about 10 years old now too.

[jidai]

Okay. I'm willing to get in there and replace these. Springs/Shocks seems pretty easy. If I can find that ball joint I can replace it. I'm willing to just pay the mechanic for installing the tank if I give him the part.

My only question is how good it is to buy parts off ebay motors. I've got a couple tanks that look pretty good. Can I trust these? Will they even fit? I also worry, though less so, about buying old OEM parts like these springs/shocks because I don't know if they'll work or not. New parts seem to be available for cheap as well. Is this a good way to go for parts? Thanks for your continuing help. Hopefully, we can bring this thing back to life.

[smufguy]

okay how about this. Jim has a tank at his disposal. its a lxi tho and its tank is different. I have never seen anyone change that. But if you can wait a little longer, i can go to his house and pull it out for you and send it out. But pm jim (Hostile java) and ask him if he is willing to sell it to you and tell him that if he is willing, then i will help him pull it out.

Well shox and springs are good to be replaced as new, unless a fellow board memeber has one to give you. LIke i said, jim might have shox still on his old hatchie sitting in his yard. So i can pull it out and send it to you too.

So ask him about all this, and tell him what i said about helping him.

[jt money]

Hey while we are on the subject about problems. I got a 88 honda accord carb 5 speed. Aight sometimes when im driving it starts jirking an when I try to take off it shuts off, an it dont want to rev up. When I get it over 4 grand it accl fine. I replaced both fuel filters, replaced the sock on the fuel pump an when I did that it seemed to run better for about 2 min. It wasent that dirty though. What could be the problem. I have the engine out right now because im gettin it rebuilt.


If anyone has an answer pm me.

[POS carb]

1: The car is rather hard to start when it's cold. It always starts but I get some chugging for a while and it might stall again when started. It never has a problem when driving and never shakes again after I give it some gas but starting up is shaky. New Battery perhaps?

bad battery would mean the starter strains and it cranks very slow or getrs stuck
bad running at idle only while the engine is cold is a resuld of a bad mixture... either the choke isn't opening properly, one of the vacuum lines that controls it or any other thermal function with a leak will cause this type of problem. try opening the choke a little with your finger (remove the screen in the air cleaner) if it smoothes out a lot then take off the air cleaner and adjust the tabs onthe choke linkage so that it doesn't close so much. you can find vacuum leaks by spraying carb cleaner around in the engine. when you spray near a leak the rpms will change BY 500-1000 or so (depends on the leak)

2: I haven't yet gone through the first tank so the jury is still out but it seems to go down rather quick (the gas level) and I think I might smell gas when I get out sometimes. I've got an appointment to take it in but could it be a gas leak?

Use a lighter to find the leak
park it over cardboard to find drips, user your nose to isolate it. check around the gas tank filler pipes, these are known to rust. Also the purge canister in ther engine bay may not be connected properly

3: Sometimes the steering wheel clicks when turning as if it were clicking on an active turn signal several times in a turn, is this normal?

bad c.v. axle

4: What do those side vent levers to the right of the steering wheel do?

let fresh air in when the car moves fast I think (my 87 doesn't have them)

5: How easy is it for the pop-ups to get frozen? When do I need to leave them out? Do these need to be oiled or something? They seem like something that could break easily.

usually they only get stuck on their own wires or if the plastic trim around the bulb is missing screws. if it gets jammed either the safety will pop off the joint or it'll shut down the motor (or drain your battery if your car is in a particularly nasty mood). a red light simbol will illuminate on the display where your fuel/temp gauge is to notify you it is getting resistance (the one that tells you what doors are open)

6: Anything I should know/look for in a 213,000 mile Accord? Tips on upkeep?

replace ALL coolant lines. your power steering and trans cooler lines (automatic only) should also be replaced with new hydraulic lines but these don't usually fail unless you take your car apart a lot. timing belt should be changed and change the oil in the motor and transmission with 10-40 oil or honda atf if you have an automatic. flush the radiator with those cleaner products and refil with 50/50 mix, also replace the thermostat and gasket for about $10. replace brittle vacuum hoses with new ones (buy a 5 foot section and start cutting). Inspect suspension balljoints, replace if loose or creaking

for a tune up get new plugs and wires, oil and water pump should be changed with the timing belt as well as the front crankshaft seal (oil leaks). Replace/clean distributor cap and rotor if they appear "burned" at the contact points. replace fuel filters.

after this you car should be running new

[colo88lxi]

Just my two cents. If its the upper rear ball joints, I would suggest buying the upper control arm with the new ball joint already on it. I just did this repair and after screwing around with trying to replace just the ball joints, I took them back and got the whole unit. Yeah, it cost twice as much ($65 each at Advanced Auto) but it only took a half an hour per side to do. If you want OEM, I think you can pick them up for about $75 from some of the internet Honda sites.

To do a quick test, while the wheels are on the ground, reach above the rear wheel and grab the upper control arm and the rear knuckle just below the ball joint and rock them back and forth in opposite directions, if you can feel any play, they probably need to be replaced!

[smufguy]

Hey while we are on the subject about problems. I got a 88 honda accord carb 5 speed. Aight sometimes when im driving it starts jirking an when I try to take off it shuts off, an it dont want to rev up. When I get it over 4 grand it accl fine. I replaced both fuel filters, replaced the sock on the fuel pump an when I did that it seemed to run better for about 2 min. It wasent that dirty though. What could be the problem. I have the engine out right now because im gettin it rebuilt.


If anyone has an answer pm me.

I dont wanna pm you cause if someone has the similar problem, they can relate to it. The problem of stuttering under 4k and running fine at higher rpm is usually the aspects of a overly rich running motor. How long has it been since ur O2 sensor was replaced? Since u have a DX and dont have the luxury of the lxi guys having an ecu that can spit out codes, we have to find out what exactly might be wrong with your car.

Also, check your positive lead to ur alternator and all connection clip going to it is tight enough. Check ur ignition system including the plugs and mainly ur cap and rotor.

Also ur carb can be running too rich so run it a little leaner by adjusting the AJC or whatever. Do a search or Pm Carb guys like ERIC, Andy or MIKE.

[jidai]

The problem of stuttering under 4k and running fine at higher rpm is usually the aspects of a overly rich running motor. How long has it been since ur O2 sensor was replaced? Since u have a DX and dont have the luxury of the lxi guys having an ecu that can spit out codes, we have to find out what exactly might be wrong with your car.

Also, check your positive lead to ur alternator and all connection clip going to it is tight enough. Check ur ignition system including the plugs and mainly ur cap and rotor.

Also ur carb can be running too rich so run it a little leaner by adjusting the AJC or whatever. Do a search or Pm Carb guys like ERIC, Andy or MIKE.

I had this exact stuttering problem on a different car (my first, a merc mystique) and ignored it like a moron. One day when I was just sitting with the engine running I started getting a surging idle where it was revving and dying over and over just sitting there. Checked my codes, O2 sensor, replaced it and worked fine after.

I'm working the parts thing out w/ Hostilejava now, smufguy. We actually know each other from ars technica, a different forum. We'll let you know, thanks for all your help so far.

[jayshonda]

I bought an 89 lxi for about $1000. i knew the t-belt, radiator, exhaust and a few other things had just been done and the body didn't have a pimple on it. i could feel the front end wobbling around and an axle clicking so I knew there were some problems. It had 159K on the clock but other than the front end stuff, it ran great and the clutch was good.

i did the front upper and lower ball joints, new springs, new struts, new strut mounts, new radius rod bushings and one cv shaft. also threw a new set of rubber on and did both rear upper joints. i did all the work myself and probably have $800 of parts in it, including the new tires. if i had paid to have all that done, it would have been more like $2500.

i bought this as a temp car to use while i am doing some head work on my audi and now it comes time to sell the honda. If i charge nothing for my time, it's 1800 or so. I don't like working for nothing so i have it listed for $2500 and i hear people say, "hey i can get a car like that for $1500.

Yep, there right, but what you get for $1500 or less is pretty much like the one you bought. by the way, there is no way that honda mechanic didn't know the whole story. he just played dumb.

[jidai]

Okay. Talked to the guy who sold it to me and he agreed to buy it back. He's going to swing by my place and limp it home. I'm replacing the mirrors and stereo on this '99 Taurus (which is STACKED btw) and hopefully selling it in a month or so. I hope to see myself in another Honda soon, hopefully an Accord, hopefully a 3rd gen. If I get another 3rd gen (LXi or SEi I think) I'll throw up a celebration post in the correct place in the forum. Until then, thanks for all your help, guys. Sorry it had to end like this.

[jidai]

Sorry to revive an old thread but this story now has a true conclusion, a happy ending.

A friend of mine got a new Corolla as a present from his parents so I'm buying his car...

It's an '87 or '88 Accord LX-i Coupe. And it's a 5-speed! I'm exciting to rejoin the 3rd Gen ranks and will post a seperate thread as soon as I get the car with pics and all. Hopefully I will have this one long enough to mod it!

Edit: It's an '88! Hello 24 more HP (plus whatever I can get out of the 5-speed versus my old automatic)

Edit2: It's also a Hatchback! Not a Coupe. Don't see many of those!