Beast Mode Gringo!

I finally picked up a wagon. It's in need of some elbow grease but seems like it's a nice little rig. Needs lots of cleaning up and some issues addressed but I am happy with it.

Its a 1985 4WD with a six speed. 247k miles. Really stock and seems like it's all there. Had the owners manual and dealership paper work in the glove box. A little bit of surface rust in a few places but that seems to be about the worst. It needs the CV shafts replaced (came with a new pair) passenger side mirror, the interior needs attention, rear hatch isn't opening, and needs some help running.

I drove 110 miles down to Shelton from Everett after work to go give it a look. I picked up my dad in the Tacoma area to be a second set of eyes and he is well versed in cars. We get down there and the car was a little more rough than anticipated. Interior smelt of mildew and was just generally dirty. The seller lived on 40 acres with a circuit of trails. We got to thoroughly test out the 4WD on the dirt trails and then took it for a test drive on the road. Tires felt a little out if balance around 55 mph. Other than the tires and a couple rattling noises I though it was pursuing.
The seller was asking $2000 and we agreed on $1400.

On the way home, I heard an intermittent noise that almost sounded like the radiator fan hitting someone,but would stop when I let up off the gas. I made the 52 mile drive back to my parents no problem, vacuumed it out, ate dinner, and visited with my folks and started to make the remaining 60 mile drive home.

About 30 miles in the the shuttle started hesitating in fifth gear around 55-60 mph. Full throttle and it would pull but mid to little throttle hesitated. By the time I got off the highway and got into town it was lurking and jerking at very stop and go.

Today at I tried pouring in a bottle of sea foam and filled the half full tank. Now it won't even idle. I pulled it in the garage and no extra time to look at it.

Since this is my first Honda, I am calling upon you experts for some advice. What would be your next point of attack, if the seafoam is a no go, should I try cleaning the carb, changing the fuel filter and clearing the gas lines?

I will try uploading photos tomorrow.

Comments

  • First thing is first, check for any signs of vacuum leaks. You've got about a million vacuum lines in her. Go through them one by one and make sure everything is connected and you do not see any holes.
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    Thanks man I will be doing so this evening and keep you all up to date.
  • wait so , it wont run now? i was gonna say maybe something internal on motor if its not running. would it idle before putting in the seafoam ?
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    It was idling when I got home Saturday night, but was hesitating when I would start from a stop. On Sunday after work, I fired it up to go to the gas station and use the sea foam. It wouldn't idle before and after I put in the sea foam.

    As of now it starts right up on the first crank and it will drive but still hesitates and won't idle.
  • not real familiar with that gen . are they carburated or fuel injected? u should throw some pics up 2 !
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    It's carbureted. I just started a photo bucket account. I'll work on uploading some.
  • Talk to Chaife, he was a huge help in stripping down my 85 4WD. Like 503Wagon said; check your vacuum lines and go from there.
  • Talk to Chaife, he was a huge help in stripping down my 85 4WD. Like 503Wagon said; check your vacuum lines and go from there.

    He's right, Chaife is kind of the resident 3rd gen pro.
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    I am going to give this photo posting a shot.

    These was taken yesterday. The day after I picked her up.
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    I got to spend some time in the garage and start taking a look around. I first fired it up to see if anything had changed. Fired right up and ran... for about a minute or two. I am guessing that once it comes off the automatic choke, is when it is having its idle issue.

    I did find a few hoses that were loose or damaged.

    This one i found on the passenger down near what I think may be the clutch leaver.
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    This hose was damaged at both ends. I clipped them off clean and stuck it back on. May need to be replaced. seems to be old and brittle.
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    A ground strap that was shoved into that hole there. Not sure what the hooked up to.
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    Found one missing nut on the mounts for the air cleaner.
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  • that ground strap should go to the block somewhere, That definitely doesn't' help things.
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    Alright I will get that bolted back into the block. The first picture of the hose, was the only obvious open ended house. I also found the accordion section of the intake had a small hole in it. My phone died before I could get a picture, but it is behind where the distributor cap lead runs.

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  • you see that empty bolt hole right by the oil cap? thats where that wire goes. hook it up and see what happens.

    also that hose off the back side of the valve cover with duct tape on it, yeah replace that guy too lol.
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    Yeah, it's on my shopping list. I was looking around in my garage for a hose that would fit but I came up short. I'll clean up that terminal and the block and bolt that back together.
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    Are there any preferred sites for parts for Hondas?
  • hondapartscheap.com might have something for you, sometimes shipping can take a few weeks but they keep the site updated fairly well. Or just find something aftermarket.
  • I've always liked majestic honda. Shipping is fast and prices are good (for OEM stuff haha). Never had to look for 3rd gen parts though...

    http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/
  • simplyhondasimplyhonda Council Member
    Nice pickup. Seeing more and more 1G wagons popping up. I am growing fond of them. Did you get that ground strap hooked up? That might solve more than you think.
    Ground strap broke on my CRX once and motor died. Get used to rattling noises, it's a wagon!
    Have fun with it! I'm excited to see what you do with Her!
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    I haven't got a chance to hook it up yet. I will when I get home after work. Not much plans for it other than fixing it up and making close to as stock as possible. I am pretty boring. :)
  • jongsrjongsr Wagonist
    My favorite is hondapartsunlimited.com, good looking wagon. I'm sure you will have it running great in no time.
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    Before I hooked up the ground strap, I tested the resistance between the block and the chassis. I was getting about 1.1 ohms and it dropped to .8 ohms. I couldn't hook it up directly to the block in that open hole like 503Wagon mentioned. The valve cover was too close to the edge of the hole and could get a bolt/screw head threaded past it. I hooked it up the on of the valve cover studs. Looked like that's where it may have came from looking at the bends in the ground strap. I then took it for a drive to the DMV to transfer the title. I did die on me a couple times after it came off the choke, but I did get it to idle. It's such a fun little car to drive.

    I also bought a factory service manual today. I'm pretty stoked on this little car.

    So now I am looking into making it run better still, fix the rear hatch latch (it's not opening), and replace the front CV's.
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    Nice to see another 3rd Gen. joining up!! Cool car.
    Let's keep it simple, check grounds first.. Lucky for you my little blue wagon has also been suffering from the same thing for about the past month. I decided today to address it.
    Here is where your ground should be strapped.
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    I took my air cleaner housing off and checked all the carb's butterfly valves and vacuum connections..
    There is little to nothing that one can do to stop an intake/ vacuum leak on one of these things. What with over a hundred vacuum lines or something crazy... The chances that it has a leak are certainly high... Sad story really. Here's a look at what's under the air cleaner.
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    Now here is what you CAN do! :smug:
    You can observe your engine at operating temp. See if the engine comes to temperature and stays there.
    Mine wasn't, so I swapped in a new thermostat today because the idle out of control, so was my temp. There was no choke control because my thermostat was stuck open.
    I took this time to flush the system and put new coolant. This is the best I can recommend to start with. As it fixed mine. Hope this is all it is for your new ride!

    If all else fails, Weber makes a fantastic Carb that would keep her on the road and the vacuum nightmare out of your hair. Good luck and keep us posted.
  • He's right, I've already looked into the webber simply because all those vacuum lines scare me haha.
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    I got the ground hooked up to the the valve cover stud, and had the air filter off the other day checking things out under there. One of the studs that blots the air filter housing to the carb had no nut on it. Got those two issues addressed and I have been able to drive it the last couple days without it dying on me. It's been doing pretty good. I'll look into flushing the coolant system soon.

    Still some what confused about the one open ended tube here.
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    I got the shuttle to the car wash today and gave it a preliminary cleaning. The wheel wells were caked in mud from PO's muddying expeditions. Tomorrow I am going to pick up and Dri-z-air to dehumidify this mug.
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    That is simply your transmission's vent tube. :encouragement:
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  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    Good to know. Thanks man for the info. It's very helpful. I'm really liking this forum.
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    Some good stuff that came with the rig. I guess I am legally the second owner on paper.

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  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    Nice ride. I'll agree with the others who say the weber kit is the way to go.
  • quartersquarters Council Member
    wow that is some nice documentation.
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    Fantastic looking literature! I should mention that my wagon would not idle before I swapped the thermostat yesterday. Holds true @ 1000rpm now.
  • NorthxNWagonNorthxNWagon New Wagonist
    Thanks for all the help folks. I am really loving this wagon. After washing it yesterday and getting all the caked mud out of the wheels and wheel wells, the wheels feel like they have been balanced.
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