Carburetor Repair - Advice Needed

I've run into some more problems with this 1980 Honda Civic project. When
I first got it going a couple of months ago, it seemed to run pretty good.
Then it started idling poorly, and now it won't start at all - it just
sputters a few times and gives up. I pulled a couple of spark plugs, they
looked OK but were dripping wet with fuel. I've talked to some fellow auto
enthusiasts and they think it's a carb problem causing the engine to flood.
One guy suggested the floats may have corroded and sunk down, while another
guy thinks the needle valves may be clogged. So I opened up the carb and
looked it over, the floats are plastic and perfectly intact but there is a
lot of loose sediment at the bottom of the float bowls. I don't know a whole
lot about carbs so before I go any further I thought I'd get some advice. Is
this as simple as taking apart and cleaning the needle valves, or do I need
to remove the bottom half of the unit for servicing as well?
I can't seem to find any rebuild kits available for these, and a whole new
carb is beyond the reach of my budget. Besides, I'd rather fix the old one
and learn something in the process (not to mention save a few bucks). The
car is still on blocks and can't be moved until we get some warmer weather,
so I'm not in any great hurry.
Thanks for any advice.

Chris F. > wrote:
> I've run into some more problems with this 1980 Honda Civic project. When
>I first got it going a couple of months ago, it seemed to run pretty good.
>Then it started idling poorly, and now it won't start at all - it just
>sputters a few times and gives up. I pulled a couple of spark plugs, they
>looked OK but were dripping wet with fuel. I've talked to some fellow auto
>enthusiasts and they think it's a carb problem causing the engine to flood.

Could well be. Isn't certain, but that's a reasonable explanation.

>One guy suggested the floats may have corroded and sunk down, while another
>guy thinks the needle valves may be clogged. So I opened up the carb and
>looked it over, the floats are plastic and perfectly intact but there is a
>lot of loose sediment at the bottom of the float bowls. I don't know a whole
>lot about carbs so before I go any further I thought I'd get some advice. Is
>this as simple as taking apart and cleaning the needle valves, or do I need
>to remove the bottom half of the unit for servicing as well?

You don't know until you have the thing completely apart. It's possible a
little spritzing with carb cleaner will fix everything. It's also possible
that you have seals that have failed completely and need to be replaced.
You won't know until you either try cleaning it and putting it back and
discovering that it works fine or not, or until you disassemble and rebuild
it.

It's also possible you have an ignition problem and you're flooding the
engine trying to start it when the ignition goes out. Even so, a carb
rebuild wouldn't be a bad idea, and it would at least rule out the carb.

> I can't seem to find any rebuild kits available for these, and a whole new
>carb is beyond the reach of my budget. Besides, I'd rather fix the old one
>and learn something in the process (not to mention save a few bucks). The
>car is still on blocks and can't be moved until we get some warmer weather,
>so I'm not in any great hurry.

There's got to be a rebuild kit. Try the Honda dealer, first of all. Also,
if you're living in a big city you may have a carb specialist in town who
might rebuild it for a reasonable fee or might be able to get you the kit.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Chris F. wrote:
> I've run into some more problems with this 1980 Honda Civic project. When
> I first got it going a couple of months ago, it seemed to run pretty good.
> Then it started idling poorly, and now it won't start at all - it just
> sputters a few times and gives up. I pulled a couple of spark plugs, they
> looked OK but were dripping wet with fuel. I've talked to some fellow auto
> enthusiasts and they think it's a carb problem causing the engine to flood.
> One guy suggested the floats may have corroded and sunk down, while another
> guy thinks the needle valves may be clogged. So I opened up the carb and
> looked it over, the floats are plastic and perfectly intact but there is a
> lot of loose sediment at the bottom of the float bowls. I don't know a whole
> lot about carbs so before I go any further I thought I'd get some advice. Is
> this as simple as taking apart and cleaning the needle valves, or do I need
> to remove the bottom half of the unit for servicing as well?
> I can't seem to find any rebuild kits available for these, and a whole new
> carb is beyond the reach of my budget. Besides, I'd rather fix the old one
> and learn something in the process (not to mention save a few bucks). The
> car is still on blocks and can't be moved until we get some warmer weather,
> so I'm not in any great hurry.
> Thanks for any advice.
>
>

Ya got me curious. This place has a kit for 121 dollars! and the
float kit is 50 dollars! Yikes ! Keep looking there ought to be some
out there cheaper. I used to buy the whole damn cars of that year for
50 bucks, drag a couple of them home and piece them together and drive
them for a year or two maybe five. What I'd do is disassemble the carb
clean it up and try using the old parts/gaskets. A new inline final
fuel filter and with a little luck you can get by with that. Most of
the carbs around that time have several adjustments, and linkage to mess
with, and a couple of fast idle speeds, they were set to run pretty lean
and they are hard to get back to factory specs. That is not one of the
carburetors I'd want to learn on..... anyway
If you want a kit, here ya go, keep looking or get your checkbook out,
http://www.redlinemotive.com/store/r...tor+Repair+Kit

"Chris F." > wrote in
:

> I've run into some more problems with this 1980 Honda Civic project.
> When
> I first got it going a couple of months ago, it seemed to run pretty
> good. Then it started idling poorly, and now it won't start at all -
> it just sputters a few times and gives up. I pulled a couple of spark
> plugs, they looked OK but were dripping wet with fuel. I've talked to
> some fellow auto enthusiasts and they think it's a carb problem
> causing the engine to flood. One guy suggested the floats may have
> corroded and sunk down, while another guy thinks the needle valves may
> be clogged. So I opened up the carb and looked it over, the floats are
> plastic and perfectly intact but there is a lot of loose sediment at
> the bottom of the float bowls.



"Lots of sediment"? Whoo boy. You need to clean the whole works out. NO
sediment is acceptable. One microscopic dot can plug the idle jet(s) and
cause stalling.

Pull that carb and clean it out thoroughly with carb cleaner.

You'll find at least two screws in the side of the carb, maybe more. Pull
both (or all), making CAREFUL note of EXACTLY how many fractions/turns it
took to make them let go, and what holes they came from.

Now flush the entire carb with spray cleaner. You need to get ALL the gunk
out of the emulsion tube, the jets and everywhere else. The emulsion tube
has lots of little holes in it that will act like a screen and hold the
gunk/particles/flakes, etc.

Chances are good that various diaphragms are split, so check those too.

Does this carb have the bowl vent that closes when the engine stops
running? If so, you've got one more thing to worry about. It can gum up and
stick closed.

You can take this thing apart easily if you take LOTS of photographs and
make careful note of screw turns, adjustment-hole usage, that sort of
thing. And also be aware that all screws in one place may NOT be of the
same length, so pay CAREFUL attention to where they came from so they go
back in the same holes!


--
Tegger

"Chris F." > wrote in message
...
> I've run into some more problems with this 1980 Honda Civic project. When
> I first got it going a couple of months ago, it seemed to run pretty good.
> Then it started idling poorly, and now it won't start at all - it just
> sputters a few times and gives up. I pulled a couple of spark plugs, they
> looked OK but were dripping wet with fuel. I've talked to some fellow auto
> enthusiasts and they think it's a carb problem causing the engine to
> flood. One guy suggested the floats may have corroded and sunk down, while
> another guy thinks the needle valves may be clogged. So I opened up the
> carb and looked it over, the floats are plastic and perfectly intact but
> there is a lot of loose sediment at the bottom of the float bowls. I don't
> know a whole lot about carbs so before I go any further I thought I'd get
> some advice. Is this as simple as taking apart and cleaning the needle
> valves, or do I need to remove the bottom half of the unit for servicing
> as well?
> I can't seem to find any rebuild kits available for these, and a whole
> new carb is beyond the reach of my budget. Besides, I'd rather fix the old
> one and learn something in the process (not to mention save a few bucks).
> The car is still on blocks and can't be moved until we get some warmer
> weather, so I'm not in any great hurry.
> Thanks for any advice.


I looked it up at Checkerauto online, kit is about $90, floats $15,
diaphram, o hell I forget now, anyway its all available and you
probably need every bit of it.

Any sediment in your carb means it hasn't been apart for a long time.
You may have rust and other crap in your tank too.

>



--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

On Dec 27, 11:21*am, "Chris F." > wrote:
> * I've run into some more problems with this 1980 Honda Civic project. When
> I first got it going a couple of months ago, it seemed to run pretty good..
> Then it started idling poorly, and now it won't start at all - it just
> sputters a few times and gives up. I pulled a couple of spark plugs, they
> looked OK but were dripping wet with fuel.

Was the fuel gushing into the carb when it idled bad? What did the
float level look like when you opened it up?
Does it have a bright powerful spark at the end of a plug wire? Any
tight valves?
You may be wise to reassemble the carb and do a careful thorough
diagnosis before you spend so much time and money on a carb overhaul
it may not need.
My wild ass guess is a bad ignition rotor...
HTH
Ben

On 12/27/2009 9:21 AM, Chris F. wrote:
> I've run into some more problems with this 1980 Honda Civic project. When
> I first got it going a couple of months ago, it seemed to run pretty good.
> Then it started idling poorly, and now it won't start at all - it just
> sputters a few times and gives up. I pulled a couple of spark plugs, they
> looked OK but were dripping wet with fuel. I've talked to some fellow auto
> enthusiasts and they think it's a carb problem causing the engine to flood.
> One guy suggested the floats may have corroded and sunk down, while another
> guy thinks the needle valves may be clogged. So I opened up the carb and
> looked it over, the floats are plastic and perfectly intact but there is a
> lot of loose sediment at the bottom of the float bowls. I don't know a whole
> lot about carbs so before I go any further I thought I'd get some advice. Is
> this as simple as taking apart and cleaning the needle valves, or do I need
> to remove the bottom half of the unit for servicing as well?
> I can't seem to find any rebuild kits available for these, and a whole new
> carb is beyond the reach of my budget. Besides, I'd rather fix the old one
> and learn something in the process (not to mention save a few bucks). The
> car is still on blocks and can't be moved until we get some warmer weather,
> so I'm not in any great hurry.
> Thanks for any advice.
>
>

The first thing you should do is verify that the ignition system is
working and if that's the case, just rebuild the carb using the kit.
When I was rebuilding carbs, the kits cost 10 to 20 bucks or so. That's
not the case these days it seems. On the bright side, it's likely that
you'll never have to buy one of those again. :-)

Chris F. wrote:
> I've run into some more problems with this 1980 Honda Civic project. When
> I first got it going a couple of months ago, it seemed to run pretty good.
> Then it started idling poorly, and now it won't start at all - it just
> sputters a few times and gives up. I pulled a couple of spark plugs, they
> looked OK but were dripping wet with fuel. I've talked to some fellow auto
> enthusiasts and they think it's a carb problem causing the engine to flood.
> One guy suggested the floats may have corroded and sunk down, while another
> guy thinks the needle valves may be clogged. So I opened up the carb and
> looked it over, the floats are plastic and perfectly intact but there is a
> lot of loose sediment at the bottom of the float bowls. I don't know a whole
> lot about carbs so before I go any further I thought I'd get some advice. Is
> this as simple as taking apart and cleaning the needle valves, or do I need
> to remove the bottom half of the unit for servicing as well?
> I can't seem to find any rebuild kits available for these, and a whole new
> carb is beyond the reach of my budget. Besides, I'd rather fix the old one
> and learn something in the process (not to mention save a few bucks). The
> car is still on blocks and can't be moved until we get some warmer weather,
> so I'm not in any great hurry.
> Thanks for any advice.
>
>
Needle valves tend to be a bit self-cleaning. More likely the jets. If
there is fuel in the float bowl the needle valve is okay. Usually
something in the needle valve keeps it from closing, so it sticks open
and floods the engine. It rarely sticks closed. The needle valve is a
ON-OFF kind of thing, as opposed to jets which regulate the flow and are
carefully calibrated.

As someone else said, you should have NO gunk in the float bowl.
Something must be wrong with the filter.

On Dec 27, 2:21*pm, "Chris F." > wrote:
> * I've run into some more problems with this 1980 Honda Civic project. When
> I first got it going a couple of months ago, it seemed to run pretty good..
> Then it started idling poorly, and now it won't start at all - it just
> sputters a few times and gives up. I pulled a couple of spark plugs, they
> looked OK but were dripping wet with fuel. I've talked to some fellow auto
> enthusiasts and they think it's a carb problem causing the engine to flood.
> One guy suggested the floats may have corroded and sunk down, while another
> guy thinks the needle valves may be clogged. So I opened up the carb and
> looked it over, the floats are plastic and perfectly intact but there is a
> lot of loose sediment at the bottom of the float bowls. I don't know a whole
> lot about carbs so before I go any further I thought I'd get some advice. Is
> this as simple as taking apart and cleaning the needle valves, or do I need
> to remove the bottom half of the unit for servicing as well?
> * I can't seem to find any rebuild kits available for these, and a whole new
> carb is beyond the reach of my budget. Besides, I'd rather fix the old one
> and learn something in the process (not to mention save a few bucks). The
> car is still on blocks and can't be moved until we get some warmer weather,
> so I'm not in any great hurry.
> * Thanks for any advice.

spray some carb cleaner/starting fluid in the carb and see if it'll
start then.. If so give your carb & possible your fuel tank a good
cleaning. Also don't forget to replace the fuel filter.

On Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:57:24 -0800 (PST), m6onz5a
> wrote:

>On Dec 27, 2:21Â*pm, "Chris F." > wrote:
>> Â* I've run into some more problems with this 1980 Honda Civic project. When
>> I first got it going a couple of months ago, it seemed to run pretty good.
>> Then it started idling poorly, and now it won't start at all - it just
>> sputters a few times and gives up. I pulled a couple of spark plugs, they
>> looked OK but were dripping wet with fuel. I've talked to some fellow auto
>> enthusiasts and they think it's a carb problem causing the engine to flood.
>> One guy suggested the floats may have corroded and sunk down, while another
>> guy thinks the needle valves may be clogged. So I opened up the carb and
>> looked it over, the floats are plastic and perfectly intact but there is a
>> lot of loose sediment at the bottom of the float bowls. I don't know a whole
>> lot about carbs so before I go any further I thought I'd get some advice. Is
>> this as simple as taking apart and cleaning the needle valves, or do I need
>> to remove the bottom half of the unit for servicing as well?
>> Â* I can't seem to find any rebuild kits available for these, and a whole new
>> carb is beyond the reach of my budget. Besides, I'd rather fix the old one
>> and learn something in the process (not to mention save a few bucks). The
>> car is still on blocks and can't be moved until we get some warmer weather,
>> so I'm not in any great hurry.
>> Â* Thanks for any advice.
>
>spray some carb cleaner/starting fluid in the carb and see if it'll
>start then.. If so give your carb & possible your fuel tank a good
>cleaning. Also don't forget to replace the fuel filter.

I rebuilt a few carbs with success, but they probably only needed
float valves anyway. That's why I did it. Sticky float valves.
Always heard that a proper job took a chemical bath to clean out all
the passages. Never did that, but that's what I heard.

--Vic