Depending on how long the car had been sitting, the choke linkage might just need a couple of shots of WD40. Or, the PO didn't let the choke element warm up enough. Most times they'll snap shut, and then start to open right away, depending on how "tight" the choke element is set.
I'd probably add a can of Berryman's B12 to the fuel tank, so it'll help give the gas some vitamins, and clean some (if any) crap out of the carb itself.
Carbs are simple old school tech, and don't use any kind of OBD equipment, so asking questions here would be your best bet. Keep in mind that throttle shafts (and their bores) wear out, but not with your "low" mileage. Yes, as others have pointed out it's 27 years old, but it's still a Honda with Honda quality thru out. I'd probably do a tune up, and replace the rubber vacuum hoses, and drive the hell out of it.

I guess I should mention that my wife and I took her 2000 Accord on a 2600 mile road trip. We were gone for 10 days, and just got back wednesday. Her car now has 228, 259 miles. :grin: The car ran great, with the AC on. Haven't ran the numbers on fuel economy yet, but I will one of these days.

 

If you replace the vacuum lines,,DO IT ONE AT A TIME... Also like mentioned use only ngk plugs,,use only honda replacement parts for the tune up,,no junk from the auto parts chain stores,,good luck,,pictures man,,we like pictures..

 

Leave the vac line alone....don't fix what ain't broke.

Clean the carb and linkage. Replace BOTH fuel filters, one under the hood by the brake booster and the other is to the inside of the drivers rear tire.

Inspect the vac lines and replace only those that are broken. Hint, pull the air cleaner base, at the back of the carb (carb to firewall), find the #7 vac hose and be sure it is attached to the base of the carb - use a screwdriver or something and give is slight tug to be sure it isn't burned thru right at the base of the carb. Other than that, enjoy the rife.

 

Ditto on don't fix what ain't broke.
I'd recommend changing all the fluids too, I like to whenever I get a new to me car.
Should be just engine, trans and brake.
I just installed a new brake master cylinder on my 94, no idea how old the fluid was but was in very poor shape, which likely led the demise of the MC.
Enjoy, and post pics when you get her home!

 

Ok guys, thank you for the tips, pictures are here as requested. A few other problems I noticed:

1) Inside the air filter part there was a lot of oil (?) The air filter looks soaked. I have a new one on the way and I tried to clean up what I could. Where would a leak be for this problem to happen?

2) The passenger side light has trouble going down (just turned it manually with the **** - I think I will have to fix the electronic part later for both lights). IT seems like the plastic around the headlight comes out a little too far. I guess I will have to take the while thing apart to find out why.

The choke plate was open when I took it apart, but I don't know if there that will change when I try to start it. The vac lines look to be in good condition to me, but there are a very large amount coming out of the back of the carb so maybe I missed one. I did not take the air filter housing all the way off because there were some small vac lines to the left that I was not sure I would know how to put back yet!

 

Oh yes, and also I was trying to find the secondary fuel filter (under the hood) but I could not locate it on the firewall. Does anyone know the general location or have a diagram?

 

Someone has removed the "secondary" fuel filter. In one of the pic's I would see the fuel line and there is a "splice/tube" inserted where the filter goes.

Again, on two of my 3rd gen carb'd cars, the #7 vac line on the back side of the carb -at the base of the carb between the carb and firewall - burned through. I can see most of the lines still have the "factory numbering" on them....notice the white numbers that are printed on the vac lines.....there are also plastic tabs at the "barbs" of the hard lines with numbers on them.....with a light look at the back side of the carb and see if you can locate a line with the "number seven" printed on it. That is the one I would inspect the most....leave the others alone.

You might think about replacing the PCV on the car as well.

 

Thanks for the idea. I will check the #7 later today.

Should I splice in the secondary filter on the red-colored line? Maybe using some hose clamps? I have the replacement PCV on the way as well. Hopefully that would help with the oil issue...

 

The filter goes where the arrow is in your picture that I edited.

When replacing the PCV, be careful of the tube it is seated in....with age that tube can get very hard, the rubber turns into more of a plastic material and will break if you are not careful. Honestly, if you bust it let me know as I have the tube.....don't ask. OE part number 11856-PH2-000. Since I don't have a "carb'd" 3rd gen anymore it is doing nothing but collecting dust. The 89 I have is FI and has a different set up for the PCV.

 

Hi Poorman. I always appreciate your advice. It looks like this is going to be quite a project, but I don't mind that type of thing or I would not have bought the car in the first place.

Here are some more updates. Please let me know if it would be better to start a new thread:

1) Secondary fuel filter installed ok. Why would anyone want to bypass it, it is so inexpensive!

2) Took out the PCV without any cracking problem that I noticed, but just to be sure I was doing it right, all I did was start to take off the hose clamp from the top of the PCV, and the bottom of the PCV slipped out of it's hole. What exactly secures the bottom of the PCV? It felt like it just came out without much force at all from the bottom. (From the top, where it connects to the breather hose, it was a bit difficult and took a while but the hose did not break) Anyway, 'bad' news: the PCV made the clicking noise fine when I shook it, so I guess that can not be the issue causing the oil leak? I am replacing it anyway but I am not sure where to look next. I am willing to try most anything if the tools are not too expensive.

3) Related: it looks like the previous owner did something funky (heh, not the first time now). There is a hose going from the top of the valve cover (upper right from the front of the car) That just goes down to the bottom of the car; open to the air. I am going to assume the worst that this was some kind of 'solution' to oil coming out of there, but I could be wrong. Does anyone know where this hose is supposed to be connected to?

4) Some other kind of weird hack by the previous owner I just noticed is on the carb. One of the valves/springs has been tied shut (open?) on the left side. I have no idea what it does.

5) This one is my own embarrassment, as I don't know how I was so inexperienced that I overlooked it! There is a part of the exhaust pipe that has completely snapped/separated. It is the pipe not the muffler, but the pipe right ahead of it. Should I try to do some major tape/clamp job for now, or is the part pretty easy to find? Do you know what this pipe is called?

6) #7 looks like the metal part is a bit rusty but the line feels like it is on secure. It is very hard to visually see the other end of it (the end in the carb) but I wiggled it and it feels like the others.

I am really sorry to bombard you guys! I still have a good amount of time to try to put into completing repairs, and I am willing to put in the hours needed to see it through. Thanks again!

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