Problems with my 87 accord DX

[a20soda]

Alright so yesterday i bought an 87 accord dx for 500 bucks. wasnt running, but it just wasnt getting fuel up front so we thought it was the fuel pump. sure it enough it was, along with the wire going back to the fuel pump being dead so we ran a wire straight back and got it running. Now, a whole mess of problems. It was burning oil right off the bat, but after working on it, having it started a while, we shut it off to go eat dinnner.

After dinner we came back, started it up, and no more smoking!! yay! After sitting overnight went and started it up again, and its smoking... Could it be the piston rings, or valve seals? My dad suggested it not be the piston rings because it wouldnt come and go, it would be all the time in that case.

So we drove it last night up to the gas station and we heard a very slight clicking at the front right CV axle, the clutch has to be almost all the way out to grab, the water pump fried so we have to keep filling the radiator with water to get it anywhere, and some retard disconnected an f-ton of vacuum lines and messed things up.

Summary: Tires shot, brakes shot, water pump shot, burns oil (sometimes), runs lean.. (carb problem?), cant get it to stay on and idle by itself. It will idle cold due to the choke but not warm.

When we drove it, it wasnt too bad. Seemingly no loss of power whatsoever, but the clicking CV and the bad clutch are almost enough for me to send this one away.

Im on a low budget, but i have another daily drive. Ive got all the time in the world to work on this, so is it worth even keeping? We're replacing the water pump today and trying to reconnect all the vacuum lines..

Any and ALL help is totally appreciated!!

Thanks in advance,
Patrick

[a20soda]

bump... opinions appreciated :P

[stephensimmons]

bump... opinions appreciated :P

How is the body and whats the mileage?

[a20soda]

body is flawless, 180k miles. drives great, but randomly smokes and havent been able to notice a pattern.

Just checked all the vacuum hoses and there were some disconnected and some plugged in wrong. They are all properly connected now and it idled cold, but that doesnt really matter does it? because it isnt on the idle circuit until its warm right?

Thanks.

[stephensimmons]

body is flawless, 180k miles. drives great, but randomly smokes and havent been able to notice a pattern.

Just checked all the vacuum hoses and there were some disconnected and some plugged in wrong. They are all properly connected now and it idled cold, but that doesnt really matter does it? because it isnt on the idle circuit until its warm right?

Thanks.

What color is the smoke?

[Dr_Snooz]

I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time trying to get a carbed 3g running myself. It sounds like it needs more time than money though, so it might be worth it if you're so inclined. Do you like the car enough to spend the time on it that it needs?

[a20soda]

well i mean, its cool.... had a 2000 civic, d16y8 vtec before... and blew a rod through the block. i like the accord, but i will sell if need be. i just want a honda to mess with this is my first time working on a carbd engine though... so...

the idle issues can be fixed pretty easily, just takes time. the only thing im concerned about is the smoke.. its greyish, and tons of it comes out. i know its oil because it smells like the 2 stroke mixture used in weed eaters, blowers, etc.

i bought the car not running for 500... i have it running now and if i fix the water pump and the idle issue i could probably sell it for 1000+? just a thought... but i dont mind keeping it as my baby just want to make sure the smoking isnt gonna make my engine take a huge dump.

EDIT: like i said i have time to put into the car, and i dont mind, i love learning new things and these carburetor engines are like a history class for me lol, since they are before my time Im totally interested in hearing what you guys think tho :P

Thanks!

[Dr_Snooz]

i dont mind keeping it as my baby just want to make sure the smoking isnt gonna make my engine take a huge dump.

Sounds like the 3g bug has already bitten you so you're gonna have to fix it and keep it. Don't worry about the engine though. It will take a lot more than a little smoke to kill a 3g. Under what circumstances does it smoke? Under load, when cold, when starting, etc?

[carotman]

If the body is flawless, I would fix it.

A CV joint isn't a problem.
The clutch can be adjusted

[stephensimmons]

the idle issues can be fixed pretty easily, just takes time. the only thing im concerned about is the smoke.. its greyish, and tons of it comes out. i know its oil because it smells like the 2 stroke mixture used in weed eaters, blowers, etc.

How long has the car been sitting? Because my friend the last time I had and worked on a car with "grayish smoke and it smelt like a 2 stoke it was bad gas! Once a car sits for a long time this will happen. So you need to start buy draining your gas tank and get you some fresh gas in there and you just mite fix your smoke and carb problems at the same time...........oh and one more thing put you a couple bottles of some GOOD gas treatment in it to help clean out that carb some!

[a20soda]

Ah, okay I think im keeping it....
Well the smoke is extremely random will come and go. when we drove it to the store the other night it didnt smoke at all lol. we straight ran it out of gas, and had to run up and grab some from the gas station. im about to grab a water pump, what kind of gas treatment should i get?

And the car had been sitting since like october.

[stephensimmons]

Ah, okay I think im keeping it....
Well the smoke is extremely random will come and go. when we drove it to the store the other night it didnt smoke at all lol. we straight ran it out of gas, and had to run up and grab some from the gas station. im about to grab a water pump, what kind of gas treatment should i get?

And the car had been sitting since like october.

Well do to the part store and get some gunk or stp gas treatment and run that through it that should fix that problem

[a20soda]

awesome thanks, will grab some treatment. excited to get this bad boy purring...
also, never adjusted a clutch, is there just a screw on the housing?

[stephensimmons]

awesome thanks, will grab some treatment. excited to get this bad boy purring...
also, never adjusted a clutch, is there just a screw on the housing?

Its down on the tranny where the cable mounts to the bracket. Its black plastic nut bout 1in or so in diameter. its easyer to get to if you remove you battery and battery tray but you dont really have to. You'll see it though.

[a20soda]

Alright so far Ive got my game plan for the maintainence. One quick question: Was looking online for a manual and found it. It has a diagram for the a20a2, but according to wikipedia that was only a European engine model. I have the a20a1, are these similar enough that i can use this manual? It was the manual posted on this forum somewhere.

[2oodoor]

yes it is worth keeping, you describe a list of common issues you would find in even a newer fwd car!
as for the smoke, probably pcv issue, get that working flawlessly and fix the vacuum issues the smoke may go away..

[itzdave]

you can also check pauldesign's website for some good manuals as well.

[a20soda]

Alright!! So, worked all friggin day, just got done. Replaced water pump, timing belt, other aux belts, bled brakes, new pwr steering pump, new fluids across the board, fixed ac, fixed cruise control, set timing, oil, oil filter, new valve cover gasket, adjusted clutch, and for sharts n giggles, re-did all of the vacuum lines again. lol so its running and idling (although a bit high) and the clutch has a lot more play to it, a bit over half the clutch pedal. We adjusted it as much as we could, to get more play out of the clutch pedal, what else can i do?

We noticed that the float is bad on the carburetor so i was wondering do i need a new carb, rebuild kit, or just buy the float?

And right before we were going to call it a night, i was moving the distributor to adjust the timing and the dashpot with the 2 vacuum lines snapped. xD FAIL. lol, was also wondering can i just buy the new dashpot piece or do i need a new dizzy?

And, here is a pic below of the brown beast. GAWD i cant wait to strip the paint lol

The hood isnt uneven, just unbolted and sitting on top

[a20soda]

yes it is worth keeping, you describe a list of common issues you would find in even a newer fwd car!
as for the smoke, probably pcv issue, get that working flawlessly and fix the vacuum issues the smoke may go away..

Can you elaborate more? Ive never heard of vacuum issues causing smoking. And the PCV valve? :P

[2oodoor]

on these cars there are a "multitude" of vacuum controls (unless you do weber conversion) that can make the *choke cycle off ( *erroniously of course) and on all day long when it isnt needed. If something isnt working right it can jump into fast idle, choke will enrich (making smoke, black grey) and also cause vacuum leaks with in turn disables proper crankcase venting (PVC valve)
The PVC valve is connected to the vacuum port in the center of the manifold in front of the carb. The valve itself is under the manifold, it goes into a plastic tube that is connected to the oil separator box (bolted to the block under the manifold)
both of the A20A1 I had smoked as you described and both stopped smoking after the weber conversion and getting back on regular oil changes.

[a20soda]

Awesome, im going to look into the weber conversion. How expensive are they?

[2oodoor]

all new will be 400 ish,
they can be found in junk yards and then buy the adapter plate new though.

[a20soda]

HOLY CRAP. almost as much as i paid for the car. total bummer

[a20soda]

Alright!! So, worked all friggin day, just got done. Replaced water pump, timing belt, other aux belts, bled brakes, new pwr steering pump, new fluids across the board, fixed ac, fixed cruise control, set timing, oil, oil filter, new valve cover gasket, adjusted clutch, and for sharts n giggles, re-did all of the vacuum lines again. lol so its running and idling (although a bit high) and the clutch has a lot more play to it, a bit over half the clutch pedal. We adjusted it as much as we could, to get more play out of the clutch pedal, what else can i do?

We noticed that the float is bad on the carburetor so i was wondering do i need a new carb, rebuild kit, or just buy the float?

And right before we were going to call it a night, i was moving the distributor to adjust the timing and the dashpot with the 2 vacuum lines snapped. xD FAIL. lol, was also wondering can i just buy the new dashpot piece or do i need a new dizzy?

And, here is a pic below of the brown beast. GAWD i cant wait to strip the paint lol

The hood isnt uneven, just unbolted and sitting on top

bump for help/opinions ;D

[2oodoor]

I have got several webers one was 150 from local buy sell trade, one from member here which came with custom manifold, plate and 38 weber for 250, a two I got from junkyard for 20 bucks.
An adapter plate will be around 50-60 bucks, that is the main thing. There are ways to fill and drilll the stock manifold to fit one but it isnt for the non mechanicly inclined and a spacer still would need to be used most likely.
edit.. my memory may be failing on those prices but they are close...