George2012

I love my 1989 Accord Lx but I'm tired of it running like an old tractor! Rough Idle, hesitation and almost stalling out when put into gear, running really rough until its driven for 15 or so minutes then idling better (she likes to be warm), ocassional surging in third or fourth gear under circumstances when I need to give it more gas (symptoms of running out of fuel or bad pump), stalling out when the A/C is on except if I'm cruising or in nuetral pumping the gas pedal.

She still gets 28-30 mpg and cranks up everytime I turn the key, it also fast Idles when it's supposed to on a cold start and I've had the choke pull off replaced and a minor rebuild/float & needle done a few years ago. New fuel pump and both filters, spark plugs/wires replaced less than a year ago, distributor cap & rotor done a few years ago.

Ultimately I just have a really strong feeling this carburetor is just old and crappy. It's a can of worms going through all the ridiculous trial and error diagnostics dealing with it so why not buy a reman and swap it out? I have replaced multiple vaccum lines and checked for leaks. nationalcarburetor.com is selling my carb at a great price right now, with lifetime warranty they stress quality on their carbs and say they test them and will usually be a bolt on and go style job.

Has anyone here replaced there old accord carb? Any advice or recommendations? Much appreciated!!

GrumpyOne

If you are fortunate enough to have an "old car" emissions exemption, go to a Weber carb conversion.

I'm not at all familiar with Accords but by 1989 most Hondas had at least throttle body fuel injection and if this is true in your case, The Weber conversion is probably not an option.

Also, extended warm ups may indicate a distributor advance mechanism issue..

jopower

Often the new carb will be in close adjustment and you can bolt it on ready to run, or just basicly adjust, like idle speeds and choke point. Query the seller as to this state. If so, likely worth it over your current leak box.

I'd also recommend looking into your temp sensors and some vacuum components being out of spec. Many troubles you describe are related to them. My 87 Nissan Sentra has a carb and a true vacuum spagetti bowl around it. I got the lines right and still had problems. The water temp, air temp and 2 temp vacuum valves (TVV) were bad. After replacing, all was near to right. Carb wasn't the main problem at all... except for adjustment after to suit new parts. I also did pull off the top of the float bowl to suck out the bits that had accumulated there. Best not to chance clogged jets.

GrumpyOne

If you are not stuck with emissions restrictions, (many areas become exempt after a car reaches the age of twenty-five years), a simple switch to a Weber carb is the solution. Gone will be 99% of those pesky vacuum lines etc.

Currently I have the EPA inspired 3 barrel on my '82 Honda Civic and it is running well but the vacuum control boxes are not and the first step in de-vacuuming the system has been taken by simply disconnecting the electrical connections to said boxes. Next will be a hose by hose disabling. Just disconnecting the boxes electrically has seen a vast improvement as the carb itself is in good condition.