Rapid stalling while accellerating and starting but not idle

HONDA ACCORD
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GOTSANITY
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Hello, I have a really odd issue with my 1989 Honda Accord LXI. The car has a 2.0L engine with 143k miles put onto it (We purchased it used about 1.5 years ago and havent had any major issues until now). We have taken decent care of the car (admittedly not as nice as we should have at times).As for the problem:

When we were driving the other day the car suddenly started stalling and then accellerating and stalling again (you can hear it clear as day) in about 1-2 second intervals. It makes the noise when first starting up and when attempting to accelerate past about 10-15mph but not when idling. It sounds perfectly normal (no knocks or anything) while idling but a few seconds after stepping on the gas it will start again. Please if you have any idea what may cause this problem let me know.

And the worst part about not being able to drive it... I'm going on vacation in a week and supposed to be driving out of state :(
Jun 17, 2007 at 2:31 PM
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REYNOLDS810
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Hondas are good solid cars with few problems based on the miles the car has If it has not been changed I would check the timing belt this is a fairley easy job on them and is prob. whats wrong with yours
Jun 17, 2007 at 3:05 PM
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BRUCE HUNT
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It might be time to replace the timing belt but the timing belt really shouldn't cause those problems. If I follow you correctly is the surging of the engine happening while it is moving or stationary? Often surging is a result of a vacuum leak but there are a number of other possibilities.
Jun 18, 2007 at 12:54 AM
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GOTSANITY
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If it is a vaccuum leak what would be the easiest (and preferably cheapest) method of testing the car? I just want to be sure of the problem before going for costly repairs and tests.
Jun 19, 2007 at 3:31 PM
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REYNOLDS810
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listen for a whisteling sound while engine is running if you hear nothing buy a can of brake clean carb cleaner or starting fluid and start the engine and spray all vacume lines the intake where it bolts to engine and listen for the engine to rev up in rpm what you spray and the engine revs that is the leak
Jun 19, 2007 at 3:36 PM
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REYNOLDS810
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also hondas are known for i believe it is a mass air flow sensor going bad and it will make the car surge at idle alot of guys i know race hondas and the say when you get on them alot it will go bad and cause the engine to surge. i believe it is the MAF but it may have been the TPS
Jun 19, 2007 at 3:46 PM
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BRUCE HUNT
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
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Hondas surge for any number of reasons. The MAF can be a culprit, O2 can cause it, but some of the more simple and cheap means to look at are vac leaks at a hose, low level of coolant and air in the cooling system. Purge the cooling system at a bleeder. Another cause is the IAC valve. The Idel Air Control valve has coolant and air flowing through it. It senses the temps of both and feeds the computer the information. The IAC can be taken off and clean. Another cause is a bad intake manifold or manifold gasket. If you have had any work done in this area it is possible that the gasket is leaking. There is a smoke test that can be performed to find the leak on the intake manifold. It is a rather inexpensive test. As a final thought, look around the throttle body for any broken pieces or loose hoses.

Let us know how things are going.
Jun 20, 2007 at 1:54 AM
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