Performance Upgrade

[meangreenLXi]

I wanna make my car quicker. From a stop to 60mph, what can I do :D ? I had a tune-up a month or two ago, but I didn't know at the time that I had a blown valve cover gasket. I seems that after the gasket cover change, my car hesitates :mad: :( . I do think it's because the valve cover change came after the tune up. Is this true, if anyone knows :confused: ... Before the valve cover change, after the tune up, I felt quicker :pimp:. That was after the winter here in upstate NY(April), every since the valve cover change I can only get quick starts after hesitating a sec or so:( :burn: , SPEED OPTIONS PLEASE, oh yeah I'm gonna get the tune up again or should I :confused: ...

[1988starter]

As long as they did a full tune up meaning change all fluids plug wires plugs and filters you should not need a new one. As for the gasket decreasing peformance that is something I have never heard. But expect the car to be a little slower when it is warmer out. If you have an auto try doing a flush and refill with Honda ATF and also clean your throttle body. You may also want to get an intake system for staters try a 92 civic short ram cut about 3-5 inches off the filter end and it should fit nice. here is a pict of an AEM one I bought from www.nopi.com but it would be probably be cheaper to get a no name brand of ebay I just like the K&N filter that came with this one.
http://images.cardomain.com/member_img_a/304000-304999/304085_15_full.jpg

Here is a pict of my 90 integra cai it was a lot more work to fit but the end result was nice. Also I live in mendon NY about 30 min south or roch so if you need help I am sure we can get together.
http://images.cardomain.com/member_img_a/304000-304999/304085_8_full.jpg

[meangreenLXi]

:super:, cool I was just lookin at some of your pics earlier today...I had the wires and plugs changed, along with the distributer and rotor. They did change the fuel filter also. I'm not sure what other filters could've been changed. Is this considered a full tune up

[1988starter]

If they did all that you probably do not need another tune up but defantly get some throttlebody spray and clean that bad boy you may also want to replace your PCV valve it may be cloged (look in the how to). Your ignition coil could also be going I would suggest getting an accel super coil if you are thinking about replacing it about 30 bucks once again check ebay and the how to section.
You may also want to get 2.25 inch pipe with a decent muffler dynomax super turbo is a favorite on the board. So to start with speed do this

Intake
2.25 inch exhaust
header (save the extra money go Ceramic)
accel coil (any time)
Cam
MSD ignition
peformance clutch if 5 speed
underdrive pulleys
Ajustiable FPR
and come back when that is done

[1988starter]

you may also want to look here
http://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14843&highlight=peformance+how+to

[meangreenLXi]

Great, I need a starting point, thanx for the info. I'm gonna start on it this week. I'm at work that's why reply's are so infrequent. Lookin at the site now for more tips...

[meangreenLXi]

I've got an automatic... :mad:

[88' Accord Ltd]

5 speed swap!! :D

[1988starter]

go to the dealer and get some honda ATF I think 6-8 bottles then go home drain it out and rill it up run it then drain and fill again because when you drain an auto tranny not all of it goes out that way you can dilute the old fluid but I highly recomend honda ATF it seems to work the best.

[meangreenLXi]

Transmission fluid :confused: ? I went to a shop and the guy told me that once your car's milege gets past 70G's you can't do a fluid change, I've got 142G's

[1988starter]

Well I have never heard that one before

[infecto]

I would say if the tranny was having real problems not to change it. But if the tranny seems alright I don't see how changing the fluid coudl cause any problems.

[meangreenLXi]

I do have a little hitch in it when I let off the gas, the problem got better by 50% after getting the valve cover gasket replaced, now the hitch is smaller and I know to let off slowly, so it's almost unnoticable. I was reading a post that said it could be the motor mounts?? So not sure yet if it's mounts or tranny..

[CARBurn]

Originally posted by meangreenLXi
Transmission fluid :confused: ? I went to a shop and the guy told me that once your car's milege gets past 70G's you can't do a fluid change, I've got 142G's

I've heard of this kinda of. I know pep boys would not change my manual transmission fluid in my 87 because my car had 200k+ miles. I believe 70k and above is considered high for them to change it. I ended up changing it myself.

[meangreenLXi]

So If I drain the tranny and refill, I should get better performance or smoother running :confused:

[Mike's89AccordLX]

Well it will be better for the car overall. I've read on here that Honda MTF can be better than other oils. They said it was a noticeble difference so I went out and bought some Honda MTF today b/c I will change it when I finish the CV shafts tonight hopefully.

[meangreenLXi]

where do i get it? Honda dealer, pepboys, advanced auto??? The fluid. Oh yeah, i'm a newbie.. what is "MTF" is that manual transmission fluid. I have an automatic, so i need ATF, if I'm on the same page...

[meangreenLXi]

okay i see up above from 1988starter, go to honda dealer and ATF, that's where I heard it before...Thanx 3gers

[Mike's89AccordLX]

Honda dealer is the only place to get it. For a full change you will probably need 3 quarts of it. And it's about $5 for each quart. Well MTF = Manual Transmission Fluid, If you have and Auto the you would need ATF.

[1988starter]

Here is my experience with honda trannys and trust me it is a lot. For honda manual trannys get 1 bottle of lucas transmission stuff it helps beyond belief for syncros in our old trannys in fact i still use it in my rebuilt tranny then fill the rest with Honda MTF. For automatics just use Honda ATF but make sure you run it after you fill it once and then drain it again to dilute the old stuff. In my experience it helps shift much smoother and it goes into gear from park with less clunking.

Here is the lucas site i am a huge fan of all their products I use their manual tranny stuff and their engine stuff I also use the fuel inkector cleaner stuff. http://www.lucasoil.com/

[Mike's89AccordLX]

I've also heard that if your tranny has a problem then Lucas will make it more aparent (meaning it will go out faster) The guy that told me this was a Lucas dealer. He said if your tranny is fine the it will keep it running great.

[meangreenLXi]

So it should be no problem, if i just use the ATF and do the drain-fill-run engine-drain-refill?

[1988starter]

I can not see it being any problem just do what you just said it is something many people here have done.

[meangreenLXi]

Any help with what a bad tranny is like :confused: the characteristics of a bad tranny, how does it or doesn't it perform, any noise, shake, rattle or roll to it.

[Mike's89AccordLX]

not shifting correctly. slipping etc...

[meangreenLXi]

I'm trying to figure out the hitch that i have, once i was riding with my girl friend and she was pissin me off, i turned a corner and kinda gunned it, not thinking i just took my foot off of the pedal and (it seemed like the engine hiccupped) it hitched and she said what was that.. I don't know, it always happens when i take my foot off the pedal. I try to slowly take my foot off the pedal and that lessens the hitch. I've learned to do it so it doesn't hitch as hard. I have to drive it and ride out the acceleration smoothly releasing the pedal to keep it from that hiccup. Anyone know if this is the tranny or the torque converter :confused: ?

[Mike's89AccordLX]

It doesn't sound like the tranny at all to me. Sounds like the fuel delivery. Fuel pump going out? I don't know if that's a sign for that, but can anyone else help us figure this out?

[meangreenLXi]

Oh yeah, my engine light comes on before i can make it 1/4 mile with my foot on the pedal, i was thinkin i needed to change the oxygen sensor. That makes the cruise control useless for me because I try to take my foot off the gas to let it breath. I believe the air fuel mixture, is probably off, since the sensor probably hasn't been changed in the car.

[Mike's89AccordLX]

Maybe there's something wrong with your injectors or something. That's got me cunfused.

[meangreenLXi]

Hmmm, okay but that's the whole of it. Nothing else is wrong. Thanx for all the info, I'm sure someone out there may drop a post and your insight gives me more ammo for when I see a specialist.

[1988starter]

look under the seat and flip the little door down and count how many times the LED blinks that will tell you why the check engine light is coming on look the the faq section for codes.

[Mike's89AccordLX]

Damit now I feel like a retard. I don't know how many people I have told that to before and I just didn't think of it. Also when you find out how many times it blinks do a search for ECU codes or ask us and I'll search for the link that I know of.

[meangreenLXi]

Cool, like a computer error code. Looked under the seat and didn't see a door but will look more thorough on the way to work and I'll also get the engine light to come on.

[1988starter]

it is like a little plastic flap the you just pullon and it folds down

[meangreenLXi]

Is it on the 89 LXi, I didn't see it under drivers side or passenger. I only saw the seatbelt thing uder the drivers side..

[1988starter]

yes it is on an 89 lxi

[meangreenLXi]

Okay, I'm gonna find it. I looked saturday afternoon for about 10 min, but nothing. I will look again Memorial day morning and find it.

[Sabz5150]

Originally posted by CARBurn
I've heard of this kinda of. I know pep boys would not change my manual transmission fluid in my 87 because my car had 200k+ miles. I believe 70k and above is considered high for them to change it. I ended up changing it myself.

Its just motor oil. I tell ya what... put some synthetic in your tranny and that thing will shift like silk :D

-5150

[CARBurn]

Originally posted by Sabz5150
Its just motor oil. I tell ya what... put some synthetic in your tranny and that thing will shift like silk :D

-5150

Thanks for the info.

[thundertank]

hey man i wouldnt put synthetic oil in an automatic tranny. just drain the fluid and fill it. then drain it and fill it one more time. also as far as the "hitch" goes, it sounds like a motor mount. because when you let off the gas it puts stress on the engine and it sounds like when your letting off your motor mount is making a noise. check the two down below and the dogbone one on the top of the engine to the top left. one way to check them is to have someone sit in your car and have them shift into drive or reverse and hold the brakes and press the gas a little to see if the engine moves or tweaks. thats what it sounds like to me. i could be wrong though. i would at least check though. does it make any popping noises when you take slow corners?

[meangreenLXi]

No popping sounds, it used to and i got the CV shaft changed. I do use synthetic oil. Not really a sound more or less you feel it when I take my foot of of the pedal, a jerk like from the engine. If that makes sense. You feel the hitch, the sound isn't all that loud, you get a small whiping effect from the car.

[thundertank]

yeah man deffinately check your motor mounts. especially the top dogbone one.

[joker2]

Finally, someone else knows the power of Lucus products....... I use their products for everything on my car, even when my auto. tranny was on it's last leg...... I put it in and that thing ran like I didn't even have a tranny problem..... Just listen to the guys here, they won't stir you wrong..... By the way, when looking for the little flap on the ECU, make sure you slide the drivers seat up as far as it can go, that way you'll have a better view of the ECU....:D

[meangreenLXi]

Cool, because I've looked under the seat for 30mins at a time twice and I'm sure it's not there. Is it connected to the seat or the floor board? I looked at the bottom of the seat and didn't see anything. MY model is USA version. At night I had a flashlight and didn't see anything or a flashing light, is there a fuse I should check out? to make sure it's lighting up.

[iamvandemon]

for manual tranz.. whatever ou use just make sure it is a FULL SYNTHETIC...

synths can withstand higher temps without breaking down

[joker2]

The ECU is covered by a square piece of plastic, on the floor, that should be the same color as the other plastic pieces in the car....... You might want to look under your seat in the day time if you have a dark interior...... Once you find the ECU look on the side facing you and you should see a little plastic flap, pull down on it and you'll see a little bulb that will flash when your check engine light comes on.....:flash:

[1988starter]

it is their look from the back seat to the front

[meangreenLXi]

Okay, the light blinks constantly with a 2sec pause between blinks.

[joker2]

OK, you need to count the blinks and then go to the code sheet, here on the board and that will tell youu what's wrong........:flash:

[meangreenLXi]

Okay, the light blinks constantly with a 2sec pause between blinks. Where do you read about the beep codes.?

[joker2]

http://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=185

[meangreenLXi]

DOUH! Okay I'll look it up on the search.

[meangreenLXi]

http://tech.hybridgarage.com/tech/codes.html Here's the code listing, now I just count how many times that it blinks? How do I know when the blinking starts over or ends?

[joker2]

The pause is where the blinks start and finish.......:smokin:

[1988starter]

good stuff now what did it saw the problem was

[meangreenLXi]

At work now, I won't be able to get at it until around 6pm. Hey thanx for the help guys. As you can tell I'm green(meangreen) at fixing my own car.

[joker2]

Don't worry, we all were like that at one time.........:wave:

[thundertank]

hey green from the way you explained it "the light blinks constantly with a 2sec pause between blinks" it sounds like its your o2 sensor. the primary one. i could be wrong though they are good to change anyways if you havent replaced it or cant remember how long its been since you have.

[meangreenLXi]

Yes, I believe that's the problem as well. The sensor has never been changed. The original owner wrote in the manual all oil changes and service dates and I'm the second owner. This part hasn't been replaced.

[hondacowboy003]

Hey,
I recently, well about 18 months ago, became the owner of an 88 Accord LX with a 2.0 L and a 2bbl carb. Now this is MY first Honda, and I have absolutely fallen in love with the little bugger. Yesterday the timing belt went out on it. I have been told that the Honda motors use zero clearance heads and that when a timing belt breaks or jumps a cog the valves end up getting bent. Is this true?
Also I have noticed that my carb has began to act up on me (sluggish acceleration, stalling, hesitation) I havent replaced the fuel filter as of yet but will most likely do so when I change the timing belt. I recently moved to the midwest and the gasoline out here is 10% etyhanol, would that cause any type of degration in the carb's internals or is it just time to rebuild the carb? My car has 177K miles on it.
Thanks for any help. :)

Hondacowboy