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Okay, so I purchased my 86 1.5 CRX for a very cheap price a month or two ago. Everything was going great, a new clutch put it 3k miles ago.
Anyway, after seafoaming my car in the crankcase, and gas tank, very little in the brake booster (since it was too messy), it was idling and running great. Then, after 60 miles in about a week or so, it's starting to every now and then, bog down in 1st and 2nd gear? The bogging is pretty bad in 2nd, it will look like im constantly hitting my brake HARD and releasing, while maintaining a steady amount of throttle. Plus, my throttle response is kinda sticky at ~2800-3000 rpm now... I parked uphill on a steep incline(HORRIBLE IDEA). And when I went out for a drive, it kept dying trying to take off at ~3000 rpm. I literally had to redline it to take off!! Of course, after redlining, I burned my clutch and it launched uphill like a high-HP maniac. It wasn't my driving that caused it to die, as before I would take off a steep uphill around 3k-3.5k and feather the clutch for a smooth take-off. I'm not sure what is causing all of this. Has new plugs, alternator belt is loose. I'm guessing, since I know I already need an oil change, it could be that(but I don't think it would be this severe and i'm doing that tomorrow), or low transmission fluid causing the bogging? I'm not exactly sure, I need some help here please.

-Sorry for the extremely long post, it would take someone generous to read it all lol....

EDIT: Car has ~168K Miles on the stock engine, and it has a carb, not fuel-inj.

 
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Check engine light on? You should check your flud level howeve low fluid would cause a diferent problem then your having.

 
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Most of those cars died a long time ago here in the rust belt. Or they are near death.

Timing and that sort of stuff should be easy to check.
Timing belt is in time?
Distributor/ignition is in time?
Make sure the timing advances work inside the distributor, both the centrifugal advance and the vacuum advance. That could be an explanation for a lack of power, and the car is how old? Ugh.

I'll move to the mysterious carburetor.

One part (bog in 1st and 2nd) sounds like a lack of fuel delivery, like a clogged fuel filer.
Or too much gas: Could be running rich from the choke being stuck on. Does it suck gas like there's no tomorrow? Blow black smoke when this happens?

Pull the entire air breather off (and plug the little vacuum hoses if you are going to run the engine without it).
On the RPM staying at 3000, make sure the throttle closes easily and completely. Could have something keeping the throttle open, like a bad cable from the gas pedal to the carb. Could also be having a choke issue, like it is staying up on fast idle or the choke stays on after the engine is warmed up. The choke blade should stand straight up and down when the engine is warmed up and running.

Is the carb covered in dirt? Sometimes just hosing down the carb and linkages with throttle plate and carb cleaner spray can will help with stuff that is sticky and dirty. In fact, cleaning is one of the first things to do with most carb problems. Clean until it is shiny aluminum everywhere again. Let it dry out before starting the engine, that stuff is flammable. Engine will cough and sputter until the cleaner is burned out of the intake too.

The rest of it? No idea. If it isn't one of the above, then I have no idea what to guess at. Waaay too many possibilities to guess at for me.
I know that back in the 80's the carbs did not like ethanol in the fuel, they rotted rubber parts and sank floats. Most got fixed long, long ago with upgraded gaskets and stuff.
Could just need the carb overhauled too. That seems to be a lost art. Kids these days have no clue what a carb is.

 
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Thanks for the comments, I just got an oil change, radiator serviced, and fluids topped off at Jiffy for $97. Sounds much better, and idles very steady now at 1500rpm, which seems high so I may need to adjust timing? It was really funny to watch the guys at jiffy try to start the car with my fuel pump led kill-switch hidden & off haha!! Of course, the problem is still there though. I am thinking it is the fuel filters, because I do get a bad throttle response & bogging occasionally in lower gears(2-3, rarely 3). As for climbing hills, still the same problem. In fact, today I have to coast backwards down the hill, take off with some speed, and completely run a stop sign in order to make it up the hill, because I cant stop uphill and take off without speed because of the loss of power, unless I high-rev(redline). But there's no way in hell i'm going to burning my clutch again just to get up a hill. A friend named steve who works at Autozone said its most likely the fuel filters and both go for $19 so I'm gonna replace them tomorrow and see what happens. Yes, I cleaned carb and entire car out when I first bought the crx...... ah i wish it was RWD.... lol

P.S. Why do I read these forums bottom-up? It's a bit strange.


EDIT: No smoke problems from exhuast. I'll check the choke tomorrow, could possibly be the reason since I let my idiot neighbor mess with the carb. Check Engine Light is off, and never has been on since I owned it.

 
Rep Power: 518

You are in LA? You recently bought the car? Did it pass the smog tests before you purchased it? Cuz it don't sound like it would pass now.

To add to the lack of power and bog guesses, could also have a plugged up exhaust (bad cat). Every one of the guesses can be diagnosed and ruled out or addressed if one knows what they are doing.
A flooding carb condition can lead to a clogged cat very short time. Like a matter of minutes if the conditions are bad enough.

Changing fluids shouldn't have anything to do with the poor running condition.

The high idle speed certainly could be the choke. The throttle is mechanically opened through the fast-idle mechanism as the choke blade closes. Is the choke fully open with a hot engine? It should be.
Could be vacuum leaks. Could be could be could be lots of other stuff.

You trust Autozone for diagnostic advice?
No offense, but I think I can tell what your level of troubleshooting abilities is already.
Go ahead and try the filters. See what happens.
It sounds to me like the car probably has multiple running problems.
Compounded by 25 years of people dinking with stuff to keep it going.

When the filters don't solve all your problems, I recommend you take it to a professional Honda specialist that has experience with OLD Honda carbs. There is an awful lot of stuff on these that an ordinary Joe isn't going to know anything about. Someone that was a dealer tech back when these cars were common would be your most efficient bet if the car is still all original and has to pass a smog test. The car is really from before my time, I was a just a rookie when that was new.



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It was purchased from a guy on Craigslist. He told me before I purchased it, that it had smog problems, which, for the price doesn't concern me too much. Yeah, it's my first car in LA so I'm not exactly knowledgeable about cars yet. I've been learning as I go, online, YouTube, mechanics, bad mechanics, a lot of sources. So my decisions are not good.

I do remember checking the choke when it's warmed up and the blade was fully open. So that shouldn't be the problem. The cat idea, I never heard that one before, and it seems like a VERY legitimate reason. Makes a lot of sense for the power loss. In January when I get some cash, if the fuel filter doesn't change anything, i'll get a new cat for it and see how it works. Besides, chances are, in order for it to pass smog I'll need a new cat anyway. Might as well see if I can sum up enough to get a new Magnaflow exhaust system while I'm at it, because the exhaust pipes are fairly dirty anyway.

Thanks for the help so far!

EDIT: Apparently there is no vacuum leaks, but there is one threaded hose that at the end is ripped as if it were cut. I mentioned this to the guys at Jiffy Lube, they said they'll check it out, and they came back to tell me it was normal and manufacturers did that for some .... eh... can't remember what reason. But I don't think it's normal.

 
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"for the price doesn't concern me too much"
That could turn out to be a VERY expensive decision.

I do not live in Taxifornia, so I am not familiar with all of the regulations there, but listen to this:

Check with your local DMV or BAR rep or CARB or whoever you need to and verify this: I think the SELLER MUST GET THE CAR TO PASS THE SMOG TEST AT THEIR EXPENSE at the time of purchase. You may get to bail out of your mess if that is true since the seller KNEW the car cannot pass the test...Again, check with your local authorities about this.

Maybe someone that knows more about this could jump in and verify this or correct me on this?

 
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Oh, I already knew about this. The DMV knows too, I talked to them about it. It's on a temporary registration right now. I'm not going to report anything about him selling me the car before passing smog, he warned me ahead of time and I get financial aid if it doesn't pass smog, so this is why i'm not concerned. And yeah, CALIFORNIA SUCKS WITH TAX, and all their smog regulations!!! Its a big mess full of hidden fee's.

EDIT: I did actually own two cars before this, first one I sold simply because it was just too much work. Second one was an 02' Dodge Intrepid SE. Ended up selling for $240 due to blown rod bearings and gasket.... The car was a nice auto with no other problems, but I couldn't afford 2-4 grand to fix a car that has a bad rep for oil starvation causing blown rods. This car actually has potential, and it's a fun little car.

 
Rep Power: 518

NO NO NO NO NO! Jiffylubes only job should be to tell you where the oil filter is!
Go to a reputable professional for questions and answers. Seriously, anyone with any real mechanical talent isn't going to be at an oil change place. If one is there, they aren't staying for long.


NO NO NO. The cat should be the LAST thing to replace, AFTER the running problems are completely fixed and the car runs perfect.
IF the cat is even bad. Like I said before, almost everything can be tested to prove good or bad.
Testing can be far cheaper than firing the parts cannon at the car.
The cat could be disconnected from the exhaust for testing how the engine runs and how the car drives.
Cats are NOT CHEAP.
As long as the engine runs poorly you can kill any cat, old or new.
You can kill a cat in only a matter of minutes if the engine runs bad enough.

Why waste money if it doesn't need it?
Why waste money if a new cat will just get ruined right away?
A cat can only clean up so much exhaust from a poorly running engine.

Is the aftermarket cat CARB certified? IDK if you meant an aftermarket cat or not.
Does "pipes are fairly dirty" mean the exhaust is riddled with rust holes and loud?
Is there a real reason to dump cash into the car when it still doesn't run right and can't pass smog test?
Spend the money on getting it to run right, the car will be much more fun to drive. Then dress it up.

I'm sure there are ASE L-1 Certified diagnostic specialists that LIKE these cars out there. You would probably be money ahead to seek them out.
If you are ready to pay for it, I know a troubleshooter or two over there that can probably solve your problems.

 
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Alright, i'll take your advice. I'll just wait until I can get some money to do whatever is recommended by a professional, after I check with more than one. I still havent replaced the fuel filters yet, because I don't want gas all over the place. I have a fuel pump killswitch, but I'm not sure if turning off the killswitch(Like I do everytime I turn off the car), if it stops the flow. So i'm trying to think of a way around this. and THANKS for the help a lot!! Also, if you know anything about electrical's, can you check out the post I did on my blinkers and see if you can think of a solution without having to use 2 relays? Thanks!