My 1989 Honda Accord LX, with 135,000 miles on it, stalls after a few minutes of driving. Then, after re-starting, it stalls before I even have a chance to put it into drive. My mechanic replaced an electric base plate gasket in the carburetor, but warned me that this repair might not fix the problem. If it didn’t, I probably would need to replace the carburetor – if one could be found for a 1989 model. Well I still have the problem. My question: Is it worth it to invest $1,500, more or less, for a carburetor for a 22-year-old car? I’ve been using it strictly as a second car for the last 11 or 12 years. It seems to be in good shape otherwise.
Reman carb here for $350 http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1166992,parttype,5904 Labor shouldn’t be too much.
The repair for this should not be that hard, but you need to find a mechanic that knows carburetors.
There are adjustments for the idle air/fuel ratio and idle speed at hot and cold. The idle speed is easy. The problem with the A/F adjustment is that the screw is covered to prevent it from being tampered with. You need someone who knows where the screw is located so they can remove the tamper guard and readjust the screw.
What I like to do in this situation is to remove the tamper guard, then carefully run the screw all the way in, counting the number of turns until it stops. Do not tighten hard or the tip will be damaged. Then I take the screw out, spray some carburetor cleaner into the hole and replace the screw. I put it in until it stops and then back out the number of turns that it took to screw it in at the beginning. This puts it back to the factory setting. Most of the time, this is all it needs. Sometimes it needs a little tweaking from there.