1987 Honda Accord

Last week I replaced the vacuum choke opener. I knew it wasn’t holding vacuum, but I wasn’t sure that it was getting the correct vacuum signals from the thermovalve, so I was hesitance to replace it. Anyhow, it was the best $40 I spent in a while. Now that the weather is cooler, my car was running like crap when it was cold, because the thing was choking itself to death. The choke wasn’t opening very much until the electric choke came into play which took a few minutes. So for the first couple minutes my car was running, it felt like it was running on 2 cylinders. And the car wouldn’t run at fast idle. I had also had the choke propped open a bit, so starting the car required priming the carb about 4 times, and even then starting could take a couple tries. Now with the new opener, the thing runs like a dream. It runs smooth right from the start. It starts with only priming the carb about twice, and it starts reliably. The fast idle is working correctly. It runs at about 2000rpm, and after a minute or two it runs at around 1500, then after a couple more it idles around 1100, until it settles down to about 800 when fully warm. The fast idle unloader still doesn’t work, so you have to tap the throttle to get it to come off the fast idle cam. But I usually only let my car idle a minute or less before driving, so it’s mostly a moot point. And since the car isn’t being force to run rich when it’s cold, it even warms up a bit faster. I am very pleased. The car has crossed 188K, and it’s due for it’s next oil change. I’m also still planning to replace the radiator as soon as I can find the time. The radiator still isn’t leaking, but a large amount of the fins on the bottom are all rotted out. Oh, and I just realized that I completely forgot to write an update when I put new tires on my car. I installed four Kuhmo Touring A/A 795 that I got from The Tire Rack. Basically they were the cheapest tire with a brand name I’m familiar. I think they did help improve wet handling of my car, and once it snows, I’m sure I’ll be glad to have them.