I have an 86 Accord DX, carbuerated. It has around 188k miles, I'm the second owner. only major replacements I can think of is that I had the transmission replaced a few years ago and the alternator replaced about a month ago.

I took it to Sacramento on the 9th, and it drove down beautifully. Once down there, the car coughed like a maniac - kinda like how a push mower does when it starts running out of gas, but it would only do this during acceleration. Same deal on the way back up, but I made it. Once I got within 30 miles of home (Klamath Falls, about 300 some miles north of Sac) it was as if someone had turned a light switch - car worked great again. Then on Tuesday, it starts to cough again, trying to idle at around 500rpm (my car usually idles high, about 1500 or so) and on Wednesday it would stall out if I didn't keep giving it gas. I just heard about this site today, and unfortunately the car is already at a mechanic. However, I thought I would ask anyway to get myself informed and to let others know what to do if they ever find a problem like this.


Please note I am a novice when it comes to cars

 

Nevermind, it happens to be that I have a cracked base insulator. Apparently it is a rubber gasket-like thing that sits between the carb and the manifold, and it is expensive

 

Hi, was wondering how you determined that this was the problem?? I have the same vehicle and same symptoms and was about to give up after checking everything, but after seeing your post I'll check this out....

 

Mechanic found the problem, not sure really how. He said something about using carb cleaner and checking for a vacuum, but I didn't understand all of it.

At this point, the car runs fine while cold, but once the engine warms up the car loses the vacuum and things go to hell.

He's still trying to find the part through Honda, but apparently it is either hard to find or the guys at the Honda parts department are slackers. Just as an fyi, he quoted that labor would be $150 and the part might be around $200 to $300. It's also something you don't want to go looking for at the u-pull-it places because the rubber can be real sensitive to the moisture and temperature, and it just ends up being dried out and cracked all over again. If you know of anyone that has recently totalled a carbed 86 Accord, then jump at them and buy the base insulator off them for cheap- it's probably a good thing to have even if yours isn't bad yet.

If anyone knows where I could find this part in Oregon, that would be a help!