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Your carburetor might need rebuilding. I have a 3bbl Honda Keihin carb on my 1984 Honda Accord, and the throttle stop screw (as the manual called it) was a long black horizontal screw that you could turn by hand (although it wasn’t the easiest thing to get to) – it looks very similar to the large red screw in your picture, and it faces the firewall. But your 2bbl carb is probably different. Does your car ever “diesel” upon shutting the engine off, or hesitate/stumble upon acceleration? When mine was doing that, I took the carb to some pros who rebuilt it – the power valve was damaged and was siphoning raw fuel down the intake manifold. Engine didn’t like that. Ran so much better after it was rebuilt, and if you’re lucky, they’ll give you a good warranty to come back and check out the carburetor again for free (90 days in my case).
I did some searching and found someone with an ’87 Accord LX who was going through similar problems to yours, by the sound of it. Maybe look through and see if it helps. I also agree with the above poster on looking at the manual for your specific vehicle. It’s just like the manual for my ’84, they’re huge and very useful.
1987 Honda Accord Service Manual on eBayThe car seems to be idleing a little worse now within the first two minutes of starting, then drives like normal. Not sure why.
[quote=”dtidman” post=177809][quote=”Temeku” post=177739]I tested the above harness using the video dtidman posted earlier. The harness has continuity, but resistance repeatedly clocked in at 00.1-00.2 (I did the rest several times and tried different ground points to be sure), instead of the recommended 05.0 range.. So the harness is not getting (enough) power? I tried to trace the wires but they get lost in a bunch of plastic tubing that lead to either the control box (this car’s version of an ECM) or the fuse box. I’m gonna have to rip that tubing apart if I want to check the integrity of the wiring.
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Could elaborate on what you did here? Are you testing the resistance on the harness or the sensor? What points were you measuring?[/quote]
I tested the resistance of the harness using the method shown in the video you posted.
I tested both of the highlighted connections. Same result, 00.1-00.2. And yes I made sure I was doing it correctly, using the right calibration on my multimeter (I even tried multiple others just to see if it made any difference) and the ignition turned to the “ON” position.
[quote=”Disabled Automotive” post=177718]It is a job you can do yourself if you have the proper tools but you will need to get an alignment after the install right away or you will destroy the tire.[/quote]
The front left tire already has inner edge wear anyway, probably from being out of alignment (previous owner had gotten into a small fender-bender, evidence on front bumper and hood is slightly crooked). I called the local auto shop this afternoon and they want $210 to do the job+alignment, so I’ll probably just do it myself to save money. If I did the outer tie rod myself, would it be safe for me to drive it about 10 miles to the alignment shop?
(continued)
Meanwhile, the manual vaguely acknowledges the existence of a specific air intake charge temperature sensor…
Neither the manual nor car parts websites show or mention the weird thing with the harness that I’m seeing at all. What do you think?
I tested the above harness using the video dtidman posted earlier. The harness has continuity, but resistance repeatedly clocked in at 00.1-00.2 (I did the rest several times and tried different ground points to be sure), instead of the recommended 05.0 range.. So the harness is not getting (enough) power? I tried to trace the wires but they get lost in a bunch of plastic tubing that lead to either the control box (this car’s version of an ECM) or the fuse box. I’m gonna have to rip that tubing apart if I want to check the integrity of the wiring.
Plus there’s still the confusion over exactly what part(s) is the air intake/charge temperature sensor on this car. Rockauto and Carid show this as being it:
But there’s two of them, and my service manual shows those as being Air Bleed Valves.
The term “Dieseling” has a misleading name – it happens to gasoline-powered cars too, it actually has nothing to do with diesel fuel. My 1984 Honda Accord did that for a while when I bought it – it would shudder for a few additional seconds even after the engine was shut off. The engine was burning off the remaining fuel in the chambers, even after the ignition was cut. At first I thought it was my Idle Stop Solenoid on its way out, but after I repaired/sealed a number of vacuum leaks the car had and rebuilt the carb – it never “dieseled” again.
[quote=”college man” post=177700]That tie rod should be tighter than that. It should not move as easy as it did.[/quote]
So, bad outer tie rod then? Is it something I can DIY or should I have a professional do it?
[quote=”college man” post=177532]If you get a helper to turn the wheel and cause the noise you can put your hand on the
component to see if you can feel the groan.https://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/diagnosing-noises-in-your-car%5B/quote%5D
I was able to find the creaking/scraping noise earlier today using that method. Big-time vibrations with my hand on the tie rod. I jacked it up and there is no play in the wheel or rotor when I try and wiggle it, so that’s good. But there was this….
I was not able to push or pull the tie rod, but I was able to twist it back and fourth. Not sure if that’s supposed to be the case.
Grit visible in the outer tie rod this afternoon:
[quote=”peshewa” post=177644]Your egr valve has a carbon build up. Remove it, clean it make.aure.the rod moves in and out easily, then check it for a vacuum leak. If it’s good.after all that, reinstall it. Make.sure the tube for it is also clear enough. Much newer civics have a weird chamber leading to the egr that is long and against the head, that sometimes has to be removed and cleaned, but not sure if your accord has that.
But seriously, it’s the egr valve. This was a common thing on cars from the 80’s and early 90’s. The symptoms were exactly the same as what you described.[/quote]Pulled the EGR earlier this afternoon:
It didn’t seem too bad, I scraped a bunch of the carbon off with my key. It held vacuum perfectly fine, the rod moves in and out easily.
Here was inside the EGR mount:
Couldn’t really get in there (Honda decided to place a massive vacuum line hub literally right on top of the EGR valve), so I wanted to get your opinion before moving forward with anything around there.
My service manual vaguely mentions a air charge temperature sensor, but doesn’t really specify exactly what it looks like (Rockauto shows it differently too) but there is this strange thing inside the air intake, that is never even shown in the manual at all:
On the underside of it, there is a harness.
Well the car is definitely running rich, and is still hard to start when cold outside. Again, the warmer it is outside – the better the car runs.
What makes it difficult for me to believe that it could be the carburetor is that not only was it rebuilt back in June (and checked twice since then for free under warranty), but also: when driving the car for more than 30 minutes even when warm outside, the car will begin to randomly shudder when stopped at a red light as well, not just when cold. However, unlike when it’s cold outside – the problem will actually correct itself after about 5-15 seconds of sitting at the red light….the RPM will magically move back up to 800 where it should be and the shuddering stops completely, smooth as can be. And if you sit there long, it will do it again about 30 seconds later. And so on and so fourth. These symptoms, and my car in general, have been very sensitive to outside air temperature ever since I bought the car nearly a year ago.
These symptoms are not consistent with a carburetor problem, although yes it is fuel-related. I’m thinking that the only sort of thing that could magically correct itself every few seconds under specific outdoor air temperature conditions like that MUST be sensor-related. This afternoon I was browsing through my Accord’s parts available on rockauto, just aimlessly clicking through menus out of boredom. Then I came upon this – Air Charge Temperature Sensor. I completely forgot my car even had this thing. Somehow I had kept overlooking it over the last few months. It sits in the air cleaner assembly on top of the carb.
Look at the symptoms of a Air Charge Temperature Sensor gone bad. Those sound exactly, play-by-play what my car has been experiencing for a long time, to the point where I just began to assume that’s how carbureted cars are supposed to run. But since the part is $70, I want to be absolutely sure that I’m not just throwing parts at the problem hoping that will fix it. What do you guys think?
Thank you both for your replies. I drove the car around again today and the shaking/rough idle is especially pronounced when I’m slowing down/stopped facing downhill. I checked the fuel bowl level through the fuel bowl “window” and it looked to be right where it should be, in the middle. I feel like I should also mention that the problem also disappears if you switch from Drive to Park mode (goes back up to 800 RPM), I do this in drive-thrus and long red lights. But put it back in drive, and the RPMs will drop way down to 200-300 and shake again until you accelerate.
I’m thinking about driving the car around until it warms up and begins to idle poorly, then parking it in front of my house and taking off the air cleaner cover to check the carb while it’s running. Maybe have someone throw it back in drive with their foot on the brake while I look at it to see what it does.
If you’re near an AutoZone, take your vehicle there – they’ll scan your check engine light and pull the code(s) for free. Then just go from there.
Thank you all for your replies. I might have been wrong about no leaks before – I’m still not positive about it yet, but I think the oil pan gasket may be leaking. After I added those 4 quarts of oil, later that night, there was a decent-sized dark puddle that suddenly appeared under the front of the car, right next to the oil pan. It was not there when the car was parked in that spot a few hours earlier. I looked around under the car for over an hour – everything was dry except for around the oil pan drain plug and gasket, which weren’t dripping or anything, but they looked “recently” wet. The oil level has remained the same, though, and it hasn’t happened since that night.
Some of you might be on to something about those piston rings being stuck and burning oil. I’ve asked a few mechanics who said the same thing about mid-to-late 2000’s Toyotas and that our Yaris may be another victim. I’m going to keep my eye on it for a while longer (now the right headlight has suddenly gone dim for some reason….)