85' Honda Accord issues

[BoardroomMotorsports]

Hello everyone I just joined up on the boards after being recruited to help out a friend prep and maintain his 17 year old daughter's first race car. It's a 85' Accord built for the 4-banger class at the local dirt track here [Ocean Speedway].

My friend purchased the car back in November but it sat until early this month. I drained out the small amout of gas that was in the tanks and changed the filters as a precaution.

Now, after swapping out the dead battery for a fresh one, the car will start up, idle smooth/rev freely for about 15 seconds and than sputters out and dies like it runs out of fuel. It won't restart for a couple of minutes and the longer I wait the longer it runs.

It has spark. I can hear the pump clicking on when we turn the key on, so the pump is operational. But with those symptoms does it sound more like the pump not flowing enough or possibly something with the carbs? My problem is carbs are totally new to me so I am not sure where to start. I have sprayed down the carb & linkages with carb cleaner to see if it could help but has not really done much.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks

[2ndGenGuy]

Hi welcome to the site!

Indeed it sounds to me like your float bowl is filling up with fuel after the pump runs long enough, but just isn't quite keeping up with the engine's needs. It could be simply due to clogged fuel filters, or the pump is weak and dying. First thing I would do is change the fuel filters and see if you get any extra flow. There are two, the first one is in the rear fender well, and tends to get cloggged the worst.

The second is up just before the carb. Follow the red fuel line up from the firewall, and you'll see the fuel filter. It has two lines coming off of it on the other side. So you'll either need to make sure to get a similar fuel filter with two outlets or split the line back off after the filter.

After you replace the rear filter, try leaving the fuel line disconnected at the front filter and turn the car over. You should see a decent amount of fuel coming out. It won't spray, because it's not high pressure like a fuel injection line, but it should flow pretty well. If it's trickling, I'd replace the fuel pump. The good news is that the pump is easy to get to, and should take about 5 minutes to pull off of a junkyard car. It's right in front of the rear wheel on the driver's side.

Let us know how that works. Also you should post pics! We'd love to see the car.

[Dr_Snooz]

Um...what he said. ^^^

[Ronsoy]

you might want to check exactly what modifications were made to the fuel pump system when you turn the key on you should actually NOT here the pump the pump should only work when the engine is bieng cranked and when its running not at any other times..there is a fuel pump energizer under the dash if its still that way.


Ron

[85SE-i]

Another common problem with these cars is heavy floats. What happens is fuel over time starts to seep into the float which causes the floats to sink and it overfills the float bowls. Take the air cleaner off and check the sight glass on the drivers side of the carb. There should be a black dot about half way up the glass and the fuel level should be even with that. If it's above or below the dot, you've got a problem. Above would indicate heavy floats and below would indicate improper float adjustment or sticking needle and seat assembly. If you take the carb apart and the floats are brown, they are the old style floats which were problematic. If they are white floats then either they have been replaced or the carb has been replaced. The white ones are the updated design and are more resistant to the additives in modern fuels. You can get a set of the updated floats at the dealer for about $45. The part number is 16000-PA0-015.

[Civic Accord Honda]

if the pump working as it should then i reckon you should get a webber carb!

[85SE-i]

if the pump working as it should then i reckon you should get a webber carb!

I agree, if it's a race car then why not?

[2ndGenGuy]

Another common problem with these cars is heavy floats. What happens is fuel over time starts to seep into the float which causes the floats to sink and it overfills the float bowls. Take the air cleaner off and check the sight glass on the drivers side of the carb. There should be a black dot about half way up the glass and the fuel level should be even with that. If it's above or below the dot, you've got a problem. Above would indicate heavy floats and below would indicate improper float adjustment or sticking needle and seat assembly. If you take the carb apart and the floats are brown, they are the old style floats which were problematic. If they are white floats then either they have been replaced or the carb has been replaced. The white ones are the updated design and are more resistant to the additives in modern fuels. You can get a set of the updated floats at the dealer for about $45. The part number is 16000-PA0-015.

Damn good info!