hi all,

hope someone will be able to help me narrow things down for me.

Model: Honda Accord 1.6 SA6 1983

problems:
1) i cant start the car in the mornings and after it rains (no go to cold starts). it starts ok when its hot outside.
2) i changed the battery like 5 months ago so im not sure if its due to this but after i switch on my headlights, the car idles low...on the verge of dying off
3) my last service was about 2 months ago and the oil filter, air filter, engine oil, spark plugs were changed in case some of you maybe wondering if it is due to the plugs
4) at same time the service was done, said mechanic screwed the engine mounts and replaced them, but i think its not the correct mounts as the engine now shakes like a dog after a bath. doesnt help that the screw which bolts down the air filter cover is worn and rattles
5) when the car starts, it idles real rough and the RPM needle (noob naming convention) jumps up and down a lot...cant quite remember if the smoke was white or black.
6) timing belt was changed about 5 months ago as there was this odd ticking (sort of metal knocking on metal sound) but it did not go away
7) lastly, when u step on the gas in first gear and the car starts to roll...it sometimes hesitates and often it would die but would be normal once more if i ease of the gas...also it tends to hesitate and then suddenly it accelerates kinda like u hit the NOS button or turbo kicks in (happens in gears 1-3)

the car is old i admit...but its my only means of transport. so far im guessing several things

- carb needs replacing mebbe?
- fuel pump issue?
- starter?
- distributor (as mentioned in one of the threads)
- battery (ruling this out as its quite new)

any advice or help will be much appreciated as i have near ZERO knowledge about cars

thank you very much

 

It seems to me that it might be cheaper to get a 3rd generation Accord (86-89). They can be had for pretty cheap sometimes and are very reliable. I had an '83 Accord before and loved it. Sorry I really couldn't answer your questions ...

 

I think you have a lot of issues. The ticking is probably valve noise. If you rev the engine from idle to 2 k if the ticking changes frequency it probably needs the valves adjusted. Rough idle and low power when you first accelerate carb adjustment or vacum leak. When you say it wont start, does it turn over? If it turns over then look for vacum leaks or carb. If it wont turn over then its probably electric. Bad starter, bad ignition switch, loose bat cables. Does it use coolant? Some of those mid 80's Hondas had a rubber insulator plate between the intake manifold and the carb. As the rubber ages it would leak coolant into the intake manifold causing rough/low idle. Before you put any serious money into it do a pressure check and see if the pistons have adequate compression. If you dont have good compression the other problems arn't worth fixing and could be contributing to some of the problems.

 

the headlights could be because of a bad alternator.

 

first off, thanks for all the replies guys. appreciate it very much.

when its cold (morning or after rain), it turns albeit struggling to do so and can never start. it only starts when it is warm as in left in the sun.

previously i used to have water in the radiator but recently added coolant due to the fact it was overheating badly. took it to a mechanic and they decided to pull the thermostat out to keep the engine cooler. later, found there was a leakage in one of the pipes (the coolant must have ate the old pipes bad). i now have no issues with overheating.

my main gripe is the car wont start cold. i sometimes get back from work and it just wont start in the open car park..end up walking home then and collecting the car the following day when the suns out and shining

the other gripe i would say is the weird acceleration problem. in 1st gear, lightly press the gas pedal and lift the clutch slowly. the car jerks forward and backwards like its gonna stall. then all of a sudden it becomes normal and speeds away. happens in gears 1 to 3. this is especially dangerous when i need to stop and make turns. if the car dies on an oncoming truck...please pray for me =.="

i know the car is old and maybe its not worth dumping more money into it, but i really cant afford even a 2nd hand car right now.

based on the two main gripes, is there any clue to the problems.

-engine
-alternator, plugs, distributor, starter
- carb

if i could pin point the one item which would solve the 2 main gripes, that would make my day and it would really help me out financially. hope thats not asking too much of a dumb thing

thanks guys!

 

Check your spark plug wires to see if they jump .If they are bad they could easily
jump when it's cold and humid ....you said it runs ruff after a rain .Get yourself a can of wire dryer and spray your plug wires when it's running ruff. It's a good poor man's way to get it to run a little better . (wd-40 will work too)