running out of gas

[baron4406]

Ah my saga continues with my first ( and LAST) Honda purchase!! Anyway my Accord runs out of gas when they tank is about 1/4 full . I added a new fuel pump when the old one died and kinda forgot how to place the pickup on the pump. I placed it with the short end down....then the short end up (with the long side along the bottom of the tank. Got all the rust and goo out of there too.........and no its NOT the sending unit reading wrong because after the last episode I filled it up and it took 7 gallons. So its a pickup problem.......but what???

[doug]

The pump goes in at a particular angle in order to be positioned correctly for take-up of gas. I can't remember if the cap with the bolts has a set key, but I don't think mine did. My guess is your pump is just aimed in the wrong direction in the tank.

[doug]

I put a scan of how the unit should look here,
http://87accord.com/image/accord%20028.jpg

[baron4406]

Ah yea you guys misunderstood me a bit......first off the pump is bolted in exactly like it was before, easy to do since the fuel nipple is oriented just where it was before. What I'm talking about is the filter that is pressed onto the fuel pump. That scan did me no good since that pickup looks nothing like mine and you really can't tell much from that pic anyway. Thanks for the effort tho!

[doug]

yeah, it kinda sucks when I try to help someone who gives no information on what year or model they are having problems with, but I do my best. sorry what I offered was of no help and GOOD LUCK in fixing your problem. Since it's gonna be your LAST honda why just you don't end your problems and sell it this weekend?

[shepherd79]

have you changed both of your fuel filters?
the filter on the bottom of your fule filter should not effect it, unless you didn't change it when you changed the pump.

[baron4406]

Actually I changed three filters when I did my fuel pump, the one I'm talking about is the one you press onto the fuel pump itself, its knows as the pickup. Since my car is running out of gas when there is still 4 gallons left in the tank. I assume the sock filter is on wrong.

Why my last Honda?? Touchy subject!! I needed a work car because My Camaro just sucks gas like there's no tomorrow. So I asked around and everyone said Honda was the most reliable car you could get, the motors were good for over 200,000 miles. Now I always had great luck with American cars, despite what some brainwashed people say about them. One of my most reliable cars ever was an '88 Shadow turbo I picked up for $100 since it had a minor engine fire. I replaced some wires, did all the belts and the motor purred like a kitten and got great mileage. That being said I just got bad advice. Found this '87 Accord, was in real nice shape, interior was perfect, and the A/C was kickin'. WORST mistake ever, the car is just junk to put it mildly. It has left me stranded more than the 30 American cars I had before it COMBINED. Its rusting like there's no tomorrow, something I haven't seen on any other late 80's car I've owned. Honda should be given an "el cheapo" award for clinging to a carb setup when everyone else had fuel injection. Maybe it worked great when it was new but its a total nightmare now. I pulled all the emission stuff and it actually runs ok now, but this fuel problem is really getting me I have to keep the tank above 1/2 or I'm walking. What bugs me is the car has no power whatsoever, I mean that's cool with me I KNEW that since it has less than 100hp. But if I drive a car with no power I expect good gas mileage, well this car's gas mileage is terrible for its power level.....its not even 30 MPG. Its marginally better than my Camaro. So sorry to say I have no idea how Hondas got to be such cult cars, the engineering is no better than any American car I've had, in fact its a rattletrap to the degree that its annoying to drive. In the car's defence the motors burns NO oil, and it actually runs nice and smooth for the miles it has. It would be the PERFECT work car if it was reliable and got decent gas mileage. I'm kinda stuck with it since I've had it for less than a month and I don't even have the title yet. So I'm still driving it everyday and holding my breath as I do it. I know its gonna leave me sit and
I just gotta live with it. I just know now I have a fresh perspective about the reputation of cars, and what the real world is like. I always wondered why the American cars I drove were totally reliable when all you heard on the news and stuff was how American cars were junk. Its all hype. I leaned my lesson. But hey you guys love these cars and if they make ya happy then more power to ya. I'm just one guy here. I will say the help I got on this site kinda threw me for a loop. Honda cars may not be as good as everyone thinks but alot of people that drive them are cool and really helpful. For that I thank you guys alot!

[A20A1]

Sorry the car isn't what you expected...

So everytime the car dies, if you were to look at the float, is empty?

And did the problems only occur after you changed the pump?


I'm thinking the ignition fuel solenoid may acting up because of a loose wire or bad connection... I mean you said everything was intstalled the way it was before on the fuel pump end... the only other thing I can think of is the electronic fuel cut that is behind the fues box (this will shut the pump off if you rev too high)... and the float needle itself getting stuck or the filter inside the float valve is clogged because junk may have gotten past when you changed the filters. Thats the 4th filter by the way... removing the float valve is not recommended becasue you must replace the o-ring with a new one everytime you take the float valve out.

I have pics of me removing the float valve here:
http://www.geocities.com/accord89lx/Carbtech.html

actually now that I look at it it has 2 o-rings... both need to be replaced... the size is a difficcult one to find... anyways in one of the pics you can clearly see the filter screen.
hope that helps.

[dj99]

Gee, maybe my '88 that I've enjoyed for the last 14 years is a POS, NOT! Or, maybe you bought a POS and expect it to turn into a rose by magic? Sounds like it has a few problems that could probably be fixed by someone other than you. I wish you could drive my 3G for a spell. You would change your tune.

I've owned GM, Ford, Datsun(Nissan), Mazda, Toyota, and Honda vehicles, and have to disagree with your broad statements about Honda being crap. I've seen crap, and it was definitely not Honda.

[baron4406]

Well I drove the car all the way to my parents house today and it ran perfect. So I'm convinced something is amiss with the fuel pickup. For now I can live with it, I just keep the gas above 1/4 tank no biggie. If I have time this week I'll pull the pump and replace the pickup again. However the gas mileage is really bad, and it got bad right when I took some advice off this board to reattach my Air Jet controller. It runs no better with it connected and it killed my gas mileage......so that was bad advice I'm taking it off. Also I NEED to figure out a choke system for this car............its in the 50's now in the morning and its a bear to get started. So that's next on my list. This car threw some challenges at me, and I tackled most of them. So I don't have THAT bad of opinion of it. I just think I should be getting better than mid 20's on gas mileage. My Camaro run high 12's and gets mileage that good if I keep my foot out of it. I'm not even sure what the Air Jet controller is or what it does.........why did it kill my mileage?? Also A20A1 I know the float controller you are talking about and yes there is a small screen in that assembly. That, the needle and seat and both O-rings were replaced when I rebuilt the carb.

[A20A1]

ok kool...

I assumed the air jet controller adjusted the carb based on elevation.
I've plugged my air-jets as well, since the air jets are connected to the main jets throught the emulsion tube... if you hook a vacuum source the the air jets fuel will be sucked out at a very fast rate.

How the ignition timing, spark plugs, cap and rotor?

[baron4406]

They are all new...........I just checked my gas mileage. I put 7.5 gallons in it and there were 208 miles on the odometer. Considering 180 of those miles were highway miles the gas mileage I'm getting is horrible. Is this normal for these cars?? I adjusted my idle mixture screw out until the revs picked up a bit, so that should be ok. I just unhooked my air jet controller so we'll see if this tank gets any better mileage. Again thanks for all the help I appreciate it.

[dj99]

I get somewhere between 28.5 and 31.5 mpg, depending. I drive kind of hard too. So your 27.73 mostly highway shows that something needs fixing. Good luck with that.

[DanG86LX]

Originally posted by baron4406
.... If I have time this week I'll pull the pump and replace the pickup again.

If i remember correctly from when I replaced my fuel pump ~ 3month ago, the strainer or filter was a little longer than the original one, and couldn't put the pump in. I had to orient the filter upward. If u look through the hole, there is a recessed area at the bottom of the tank where the filter fits in..

[pimp86LX]

sorry to hear you got a bad apple out of the bunch, Don't let one bad car experience deture you from open minded taste. I have owned a k-car. and it was very reliable, got a shadow and it sucked, sunfire....lets not go there. I had an 88 4-runner and put 450,000km before i sold it......theres a bad apple in every bunch

[markmdz89hatch]

maybe a dumb question, but when you rebuilt the carb, did you, at any time during the rebuild, flip the carb completely over?

Just curious...?