spanking new 87 civic w/141k miles

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Quest

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First off, it would be desirable if you can seriously load-test the engine before you start performing "surgery" on it. Check all the thermally controlled vacuum switches for leaks, check all your vacuum hoses for leaks, check distributor vacuum advance diaphram for leaks, check your carb throttla plate shaft bushings for wear, etc. (standard affair)

also: check to see if your engine valve cover sez: "CVCC" or similar. If it does, you shall seriously consider replacing the carb with a quality remanufactured Honda (Keihin) carb for these CVCC units come with a lambda adjuster for the pre-chamber. Substituting it with a weber would, under most circumstances not work well (for their is the pre-chamber that needs fuel in it)....
 
i just got a spanking new (to me) 87 civic with 141k miles on it. it has the puny 1.3L 4 cylinder in it. i have no idea what the maintenance through its like has been other than the last 6 months of a friend owning it. he changed the oil, and put in new air filter and plugs and wires.
the engine starts ok with no ticking noises and idles well. he told me that it does not idle well at night with a full electrical load. i have not tried that yet. i plan on using the POW (plain old water) cleaning method this afternoon and adding a shock dose of FP60 to the tank. and a shock dose of LC20 to the oil
does anybody have any other suggestions other than auto-rx? i have a bottle waiting.
these engines had a wierd 3 barrel carburetor on them and are prone to problems. i plan on replacing the carb with a weber 32-36 carb i have sitting on a shelf. i should be getting close to 50mpg when i get done with this car.
 
Not an additive suggestion, but if it has trouble idling at night with a full electrical load, take it into advance auto parts, and have them run their load test on it. It is free, and pretty decent. It should point you in the right direction...
 
quest. this car does not have the CVVC engine. its the plain old 1.3L 4 cylinder. i will be performing vacuum leak testing this afternoon.
 
First, any Honda with a three bbl carb is CVCC.
Second, unless you are certain it has already been done, the engine must have a new timimg belt. A broken belt is death to this engine. The belt and water pump are under $40.00 and are not really hard to change. Finally, what does it look like? You have a great view of the cam and some of the valve gear through the filler. If it looks pretty clean, do not use anything other than engine oil in it. For that generation of Civic, I used 10W-40. Forget the Weber, since the Honda carb is very good. A rebuild will pay great dividends, as with any old carb. Finally, 141K is nothing for the engine. It will give well over 200K with just a little TLC.
I have always liked that generation of Civic. We had two of them and they were always fun and cheap to drive.
 
"....does not idle well at night with a full electrical load."

Your wires are like 20 years old, and any connections now are corroded, so it is not like new anymore.

Try cleaning the high current wire connections (alternator, battery, head lamp sockets, etc.) and put some dielectric grease on them.
Add a new battery that maybe all you need if they are 16 years old now.
 
the pattery and alternator have been recently replaced. i did the water decarbonization this week. i had to do it 2 cylinders at a time because fo the vacuum fittings. i used a 50% rubbing alcohol mix to do it. i got major amounts of black smole that eventually tuned to gray and then to just steam on each side. i now have brown oil with water mixed in with it. i must have put the water through too fast. it was due for an oil change anyway.

i cannot find anywhere to get ths carb rebuilt. new ones are stupid expensive. i will not pay as much for a carb as i did for the car itself.
 
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