86 honda civic

got it free.. with problems of course... needs muffler... smokes ...
very loud... trouble starting in cold weather... has 194 thousand plus
miles on it...
needs started fluid.. oil change .. tune up.. was sitting for a year
and a half then started with owneer spraying wd-40 where the filter
goes.... i no really nothing about cars and want to get this running
... previous owner said good car getting around town in .. but wouldnt
risk driving out of town like cross country or anything... but it was
fre.. minus my fee of battery cost.. needed a battery...

k ... so there are the problems that i know of so far.. what can i do
to get it running and does anyone know what this will cost me?

-HondaDriver

 

There's no such thing as a free lunch... ;-)

Firstly, it probably wasn't started with WD-40. More likely Ether, or
"starter fluid".

Honestly, if you know nothing about cars, it would be in your best
interest to get it to a mechanic who regularly works on Hondas. You
obviously need a muffler, possibly more in the exhaust system. You
probably need a tune-up. The timing belt should probably be replaced.
The carb probably needs to be adjusted, as will the valves. And there is
probably more.

If you know about cars, or are [really] interested in learning, you could
probably do most of these yourself with a good service manual and the
proper tools. But without knowing much about cars, you will definitely
want someone to at least give it a good once-over to determine what needs
to be repaired. You could have potential safety problems in a car that
old that hasn't been properly maintained, and if you don't know what you
are looking for, it is easy to overlook many of them.

 

There's no such thing as a free lunch... ;-)

Firstly, it probably wasn't started with WD-40. More likely Ether, or
"starter fluid".

Honestly, if you know nothing about cars, it would be in your best
interest to get it to a mechanic who regularly works on Hondas. You
obviously need a muffler, possibly more in the exhaust system. You
probably need a tune-up. The timing belt should probably be replaced.
The carb probably needs to be adjusted, as will the valves. And there is
probably more.

If you know about cars, or are [really] interested in learning, you could
probably do most of these yourself with a good service manual and the
proper tools. But without knowing much about cars, you will definitely
want someone to at least give it a good once-over to determine what needs
to be repaired. You could have potential safety problems in a car that
old that hasn't been properly maintained, and if you don't know what you
are looking for, it is easy to overlook many of them.

 

If it needs starting fluid in order to start, then you should really check
the timing belt. Sometimes when the timing belt is close to breaking it
will slip a tooth or two. The car will still run but one common symptom is
that you need starting fluid in order to start the engine. It could also be
a problem with the carburetor but check the timing belt/mechanical timing
first.

Eric

 

As Eric says, the timing belt will be a priority. It really should be
changed because if allowed to fail your car will be back to being worth
nothing. But that decision at this stage really is yours, because you have
so little invested in it.

It's a safe bet the gasoline in the tank is unusable after a year and a
half. It will have to be drained and the old fuel disposed of - call your
local fire department for the procedure.

My experience with carburetors that sit that long with gas in them is that
they get thoroughly gummed up and the engine won't run. The easy thing to
try is to spray a liberal amount (say, 5-10 seconds' worth) of carburetor
cleaner into the vent at the top of the carburetor. That vent is probably
the top-most opening you see in the throat of the carb; if it looks like it
angles off to the float bowl that's the place. Open the throttle all the way
once to circulate the cleaner through the accelerator pump passages. Repeat
every day or so for a few days.

Good luck!

Mike