81 civic 1500DX fuel /starting problems

Lazlong · 05-28-2004, 12:08 PM

I looked at buying my first Civic yesterday. The seller said that it had been setting for the last two years but had run before he parked it. he could only get it started by pouring gas in the carb while I was there and said he thought it was the fuel pump.

I offered to buy it if it was only the fuel pump and not something major. he said I could try to fix it before paying for it. Sooooo

I checked the rear fuel filter and it was clear, pulled the fuel pump and it pumped when out of the car. I checked the voltage to the fuel pump on the car and read 2 volts. So I reinstalled the fuel pump to the fuel lines and ran a lead from the battery directly to the fuel pump lines. I disconnected the fuel line from the carb and, with the exernal battery connection, filled a bottle with gas quickly. I reconnected the fuel line to the carb and and tried to start it (with the fuel pump on the external battery). No go. It would turn over but not run. I poured some gas down the carb and tried again and it did start and run for a few seconds until the gas was gone that I had poured in. Tried this several times but wouldn't stay running. I'm at a loss at this point. Can anyone help me? The seller wants me to finish testing as quick as possible. Thanks.

punkrampant · 05-28-2004, 05:02 PM

probably sending unit, clogged feul jets, cracked lines, or it is the pump itself. could even be a bad connection or corroded wires

cvcc_wagon · 05-28-2004, 09:37 PM

disconnect the secondary fuel filter under the hood and see if you are getting fuel there and check that that filter is not clogged. if that's all okay then it's your carb that needs some working on.

cvcc_wagon · 05-28-2004, 10:00 PM

i had the camera out for another post so i took a pic of the secondary filter in my car. it's the thing in the middle with the red hoses coming off it.

Lazlong · 05-29-2004, 04:13 PM

Thanks for the pic. That is where I disconnected the fuel line to test fuel flow. However, it looks like just a tee fitting where the fuel lines meet. If it is a filter it is much slimmer and shorter than the one in the pic.
If they had removed the filter and just put in a tee I image that it is possible the carb is clogged up. How much of a battle is it to clean out a carb on this engine? The car will only cost $300 but if the repairs cost $400 I'm in a losing battle.

Whats the value of a 81 civic if I have to part it out? I'd much rather get it running with the price of gas lately.

cvcc_wagon · 05-29-2004, 06:12 PM

that is entirely possible, i know that mine is a filter because i have replaced it and honda may have changed things by 83 anyway. to be honest i don't know much about rebuilding carbs, you're better off posting at http://www.civic1200.com/discus/ for an answer to that one,
thats a site dedicated to first and second generation civic's. $300 for an 81 civic with a good body (they all rust up north here but a Texas car should be pretty good) seems like a fairly reasonable price. i typically see them for $500 CDN or so in the paper up here

lxndr · 05-29-2004, 09:08 PM

Since it's been sitting for so 2 years, my bet would be that the needle valve in the carburetor is stuck in the closed position, keeping the bowl from filling with gas.

StiffyLS · 05-30-2004, 09:32 PM

I have a similar problem. My '83 Civic 1.5DX has problems starting and staying running, I have a switch wired up to my fuel cut-off relay to give the pump constant power, so when it don't start I just flip the switch to get it started. This is supposed to be only a temporary fix until I could keep it running, but after replacing both fuel filters, fuel pump and the fuel cut-off relay, it still gives me problems. I put in a universal fuel pump and it seems to run constantly, with the key turned on, is that normal on universal pumps? Even after replacing all those parts, my car still dies on me from time to time, usually on my way to work, damnit. So, are my fuel lines cogged? Does my carburetor need some work? If so, will a carb repair kit do the job and how much? Anything else it could be, electronical or what not?

Also, my car seems to have nice power with low RPMs, but the higher I go the less power I get, any help here would help too.

TO: CVCC_Wagon: Looks like the lid covering your air filter has been cut, how much did that help? Would it help my high RPM performance?

One more: What does CVCC mean anyways?

Thanks for any help,
StiffyLS

cvcc_wagon · 05-30-2004, 10:33 PM

wow, lots of questions, lets see if i can get to them all. ok, you say your car dies, how does it die? is it when it is idling and just gets too low to keep running, or does it all of a sudden shut off while you are driving. i have experienced both, the idle is a matter of the vacceume for the cold idle not working properly, mine is inconsistent and lately it hasn't worked at all but it still stays running at about 1000 rpm most days. the sudden shutoff could be caused by the fuel system but when i have experienced this it was because of a bad ignition switch, it would shut off on the highway and stuff, we replaced the ignition (at a cost of about $250 for a new one from Honda

) and that went away. i wouldn't suspect that unless you have had trouble starting (ie. when you turn the key and nothing happens but the next try goes without a hitch) so the second suggestion would be an electrical one to answer your question.

ok, onto the next two. you say your car has trouble at high rpm's. what do you mean exactly? i would assume that you mean that when you punch the gas on the highway it suddenly bogs down like it is being choked, if that is the case then you should do what i did (when i had this problem) and cut the lip off the air cleaner cover. i can now floor it in any gear at any rpm and not get a dead spot anywhere. i also put 2.25" exhaust so that also helps my high rpm power. i got the car to 100 mph last year, currently 5th gear doesn't work but i can do 85 mph in 4th without any problem, it will do more but it's sitting at 4000 rpm so i don't want to push it too much right now.

for the last question, i gave a brief explanation of how CVCC works in another post a couple days ago, here is a link to that thread, if you still have questions feel free to ask.
this site also has a good explanation, the last part about the name is not correct however.

cvcc_wagon · 05-30-2004, 10:39 PM

oh, i've got some more pics of my car at http://www.redpepperracing.com/gallery/AndrewSmit of you are interested in seeing what i have done, i still have to take on the rust but i think first i will get going on the engine swap if i ever get around to it.

StiffyLS · 05-31-2004, 01:00 AM

My car dies both ways, sometimes when I'm at a stop, sometimes when I'm coasting, but most of the time it's when I'm accelerating. It sure sounds like a fuel system problem to me. I have never had a problem with it turning over, so I don't think it's the ignition switch. What else electrical could it be?

Mine does exactly what yours did. I'll try modifying the air filter cover.

Damn, and I thought CVCC was a performance thing

Your car looks very clean, except for the engine, but what can you expect on an old import. Not too many aftermarket parts for it. Seems your car gots some giddy-up to it, even for a wagon. I know my car can get up and go, even with it's problems.. Once everything is fixed, and running stable, I want to throw on a custom carb. Might even make it a custom car, 4x4 would be different, if at anyway possible!

StiffyLS

cvcc_wagon · 05-31-2004, 01:46 AM

there are a couple carb options, the Weber 32/36 will work with the stock manifold with little trouble, the Weber 40 DCOE dual barrel will require a sidedraft manifold but will provide the best performance. both are not smog legal. my car looks clean from a distance, it's got lots of problems close up, the biggest one right now is the rear wheel wells. i'm probably gonna go to the wreckers and cut the quarter panels out of another wagon and weld them in, then new paint. need to save some cash first tho.

StiffyLS · 05-31-2004, 02:36 AM

Thanks for the carb choices, but what do you think I should do about my fuel problem? I'd hate to spend 50 on a diagnostic when I could use that 50 for the needed parts.

StiffyLS

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