few problems with my 92 accord

so i've got a '92 accord with a few issues. the idle is funky until it warms up, it surges up and down. so it revs up to 2k, then drops down to 1500, then up, and down again. i heard of two possible problems, 1) forget the name of the valve but it's a ~$200 fix, or 2) low coolant MIGHT cause this. just topped up all my fluids so i know it's not that. any other causes for this?

also, it's hard to shift, moreso when the engine's cold. when it's cold it can be really hard to shift into first or reverse, second shifts ok at certain revs but not at others. and sometimes it grinds a bit as i shift into third, even when the car's warm. i'm thinking it's the clutch cable since there's some play in the clutch pedal, i just got the clutch changed, would they adjust the cable at all when they swap out the clutch? how hard would it be for me to adjust it myself?

I think your referring to the EGR valve (big round aluminum jobby). $200?, I don't think so, and you can get used also. If it constanlty idles rough usually its the throttle position sensor. Also take the PCV valve off and see if it rattles, replace if it doesn't.
You paid good money for a new clutch, I'd have them adjust it before warranty runs out.
A Haynes manual tho' not as detailed as I would like, (unless you're ripping an engine) is ALWAYS good for finding most sensor locations etc. Well worth $20.

Good luck.

First thing check the oil in the gearbox...being low will make them crunchy and stubborn until the lube get splashed on everything, and then make the remaining lube run hotter than it should after driving a while, which creates problems...

Strangely enough a lot of cars that came to the shop with this complaint ended up having the floor mat stuffed up under the pedals so far that the driver couldn't fully depress the clutch pedal, which it really needs to do on initail engagement cold in most cars.

If that's a hydraulic clutch (I think so) check the fluid level, and consider changing the fluid to DOT 4 synthetic and see if it improves...DOT 3 (what's probably in it) sucks up a lotta moisture over the years and doesn't work well anymore.

Oh...and the idle. FI cars have an electric valve control (called different things, idle speed control, idle air control) that takes the place of a choke by metering how much air bypasses the closed throttle plate at idle.

It's a simple thing, two passages with a pintle valve connected to a motor that changes position to allow more or less air into the intake...when they get dirty, they get notchy and sticky, and have a hard time keeping up with the demand, so it causes surging...most times you can remove it and carefully clean the bore and passages and they'll begin to work fine again...

ill check those things out, thanks.

i had the same issue with my accord. i ended up tracing it back to the Idle Air Control valve. one of the easyest and cheapest fixed for this problem is to cut the wires going to the IAC valve... then go to radio shack and pick up a 10 watt 10 ohhm resistor and splice it between the two wires. wrap the mess up in electrical tape to seal it off from the weather, and your good to go.

honda computers are simple, it will never know the difference!

the only bad part about this is that your idle will sometimes be very low due to the fact that the IAC valve isn't hooked up. but if your car is a pos like mine is, a $1.87 resistor is a great fix.

your clutch needs to be adjusted under the dash, take it back to the place that did it and demand they adjust it under waranty.

change your tranny oil and switch your oil to full synthic 10w40 and add some GM syncro mesh, my accord (or for that matter all hondas) shifts the same way with traditional oil in the cold.

hope that helps!