just got this 87 accord, carburated; it ran fine for a few weeks then one day started losing power and stalling out at highway speeds. RPMs would drops and the car would shudder until it stalled. pumping the gas pedal would get it going a bit but it would get worse until it stalled out completely.

So far, I changed the fuel filters, air filter, replaced fuel cut off relay, tested the pump, inspected the tank, tested the EGR valve, and checked that the distributer was fine.

After each tinkering the car would run fine for 2 days or so before the problem would reoccur.

Anyone have any ideas? I'm trying to fix this on a budget.
Thanks

 

As strange as this may sound I had a similar issue on my older car.... I went through much the same stuff as you have before I realized that my cap/rotor/spark plugs were old.... I replaced the cap/rotor/plugs and it's been fine ever since.... why? I have no idea, I bought over $130.00 in parts and ultimately fixed it with the cap/rotor/plugs ($25.00)

 

great, thanks! that was one of my next steps.

also, the car would idle fine if you uplled over and put it in park before it stalled, was this similar to you?

 

Pull the breather and plug the vacuum lines on the passenger side of the carb.
Then spray around the base of the carb with some carb cleaner to check for vacum leaks [idle will change] Also be sure the primary and secondary throttle plates are working smoothly.
Then if ya can't find any leaks try "stuffing" the carb.
Hold the throttle open to around 5000 RPM then shove the choke plate closed, when the RPM drops to around 1000 let go of the choke plate.
Don't let the engine stall or it will be flooded maximus. []

What this does isuse the engine/intake manifoldvacuum to pull fuel thru the carb and jets at high speed, and hopefully clean them out.

 

ok no apparent vaccuum leaks and i adjusted the throttle cable, it was a bit loose. the throttle is operating smoothly otherwise.
I will try "stuffing" the carb, i suppose i need the air filter assembly off for that.
also changed the rotor and plugs, caps gets here tomorrow (i live out in the country, of course they don't have everything i need)
but so far no success.

I did notice today that the issue seems to be triggered when accelerating up hill, then it's all downhill from there (pun intended).
also, it happens usually around 50mph/ 3.5k rpm. I guess that's second gear (auto trans)

 

does engine idle ok ??
it sure sounds like a carb issue, if you have access to compressed air, buy a can of carb cleaner, remove the top off the carburator, remove the jets and clean all the passages,first spray carb cleaner, then blow with air , also remove the idle solenoid at back of carb ,, and 1 more thing, make sure that the main jet ( in the bowl ) did not pop out ..

 

Forgive me for re-opening an old thread, but was this issue ever resolved?

I have the exact same issue with my 88 and have tried just about everything mentioned in this thread in trying to fix it with no success...

Much like jcnva, my 88 will work for a day or so after tinkering and then return to stalling by way of RPM meter reaching 0 before the car sputters to death. Another additional issue is that the car is now running smoothly when idling and then suddenly, without sputtering, shuts off.

Thanks!

 

Are the tune up items up to date? Have you changed BOTH fuel filters, there are two.

When it dies, does it start back up and run fine?

 

Yes and yes.

When it stalls and I try to start it back up it will turn over for a while before running. However, the running is short lived and rough and will cut again soon after.

Just this morning I changed a few more hoses coming from the distributor and unhooked the EGR-to-Carb hose and plugged it. So far today, the car has run at low speeds and when rev'd to a high RPM...I will test on the highway and see what happens.