Let me introduce myself

[G. White]

Hello 3geez community. I have been scoping out the forum for a couple months and have decided to take the plunge. I purchased a well taken care of 89' accord lxi as my second vehicle and have been bitten by the third gen bug. Now my beloved silverado collects dust and the accord gets the garage. I have been an F-16 mechanic in the Air Force for the last 14 years and have always done my own vehicle maintainence so I know my way around the tool box. I will contribute all I can to the forum but will probably need to pick the brains of the fellow forum members until I am spun up. I attempted to post a pic of the accord---I followed the directions on the sticky but do not have the imageshack option at the bottom of my screen. If this link works please disregard if it doesn't---does anyone have any advice? Thanks to all and keep up the good work.





[IMG]http://img227.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001076ey2.jpg

[forrest89sei]

Hello 3geez community. I have been scoping out the forum for a couple months and have decided to take the plunge. I purchased a well taken care of 89' accord lxi as my second vehicle and have been bitten by the third gen bug. Now my beloved silverado collects dust and the accord gets the garage. I have been an F-16 mechanic in the Air Force for the last 14 years and have always done my own vehicle maintainence so I know my way around the tool box. I will contribute all I can to the forum but will probably need to pick the brains of the fellow forum members until I am spun up. I attempted to post a pic of the accord---I followed the directions on the sticky but do not have the imageshack option at the bottom of my screen. If this link works please disregard if it doesn't---does anyone have any advice? Thanks to all and keep up the good work.





[IMG]http://img227.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001076ey2.jpg

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/479/1001076ey2.jpg
Fixed

and :jawdrop: I love your accord sooo clean!

How Many miles does it have?

And :welcome:

[Nafs Asdf]

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/479/1001076ey2.jpg

Fixed ;)
And welcome! :welcome:

[Nafs Asdf]

omgtooslowwtfbbq o.O

[EX-ileAccord]

Welcome to the site. That thing is MINT!!

[Dr_Snooz]

Wow! What a beauty. I'm hoping that will be my "After" pic someday soon! Definitely post more pics soon.

Welcome to the forum. It will be good to have another knowledgeable mechanic on board.

[G. White]

I just clicked on my post and the pic worked. Here's a couple more.

[IMG]http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001080fs8.jpg

[IMG]http://img72.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001077hh0.jpg

[IMG]http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001078fn7.jpg

[ghettogeddy]

I just clicked on my post and the pic worked. Here's a couple more.
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/7174/1001080fs8.jpg
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6707/1001077hh0.jpg

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/593/1001078fn7.jpg

if you finish all your pics with [/IMG] it will work fine


actually what you do is use the direct code form image shack and put YOUR URL

[Nafs Asdf]

They still don't work, you need to copy this link from the image page

[ URL=http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001080fs8.jpg ][ IMG ]http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/7174/1001080fs8.th.jpg[ /IMG ][ /URL ]It should then like like this:
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/7174/1001080fs8.th.jpg (http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001080fs8.jpg)

Or right-click the image, and copy the image location then put it inside [ IMG ][ /IMG ] tags. (remove the spaces)

Will look like this:
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/7174/1001080fs8.jpg

[G. White]

Well, maybe the second set of pics didn't work. That's what I get for pressing my luck. I bought the car for $2500 with 157,000 miles on the clock. The interior is like a time capsule. New paint, tires, cv's, windshield, rack and pinion, left wheel bearing, just gave it a tune up and did the ground wire upgrade.

Thanks for the compliments

[IMG]http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/593/1001078fn7.jpg

[Nafs Asdf]

if you finish all your pics with [/IMG] it will work fine

No they won't, cause those aren't the links to the images but links to the image viewing page.

[Nafs Asdf]

Well, maybe the second set of pics didn't work. That's what I get for pressing my luck. I bought the car for $2500 with 157,000 miles on the clock. The interior is like a time capsule. New paint, tires, cv's, windshield, rack and pinion, left wheel bearing, just gave it a tune up and did the ground wire upgrade.

Thanks for the compliments

[IMG]http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/593/1001078fn7.jpg


You almost got it, now just add [ /IMG] without the space after it ;)

EDIT: or you can just click the image icon in the message box thingy and paste the location there...

[ghettogeddy]

also forget imagae shack lol
get a photo bucket account lol makes things alot easyer
plus you can go back to them alot easyer lol


www.photobucket.com

[G. White]

Thanks Naf's----I think I will leave the photos alone for the rest of day before I wear out my welcome. Thanks for posting the interior shot!

[ghettogeddy]

No they won't, cause those aren't the links to the images but links to the image viewing page.

ya i relized that after i posted lol

fixed lol
i really hate image shack lol i only use it when i need to do large pics lol

[2ndGenGuy]

WOW! That thing is so super clean and perfect. A 5-speed LXi coupe with that interior and that gorgeous exterior color... All in perfect shape. Damn that thing is nice!!!!

[codyJDM]

I'm speechless!

Your car is incredible. Welcome to the site! :welcome:

[nswst8]

Sweet looking ride, you won't be disappointed with its reliability. A couple of things will come up every now and again but after you find everthing the others missed you won't want to give her up ever.

[nswst8]

Now, lets see the engine bay.

[w261w261]

I posted this a couple of months ago in response to someone who asked how to make their car more reliable. Obviously, you are ahead of most as far as mechanical ability goes, but this does cover some of the 3G spots:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The main difference between people that have reliable old cars and people that don't is that the people with reliable ones do maintenance in advance of failure. If you don't mind being stranded every once in awhile, then you can wait for a part to fail before fixing it. This allows you to get every bit of use out of it, but at the cost of the inconvenience. Me, I go for preventative maintenance.

Many things will announce themselves in advance before they fail completely. The front end will get progressively more loose before a ball joint fails, a muffler will get louder and louder, etc. For those parts, if you pay attention to what the car is telling you, you can replace them in plenty of time.

But there are other things that won't give you any warning. Those you should replace on a schedule. Here's some from my list:

1. Timing belt. At 70k, you have to assume it hasn't been replaced, and it's now 20 years old. Do it now, along with the water pump. If the timing belt fails, you stop Right Now! Some say if the belt fails you might also bend some valves, but others here say that won't happen. In any event, if the belt is indeed age 20, it could go anytime.

2. All hoses. I think they should be replaced every four years, but others say you can go longer. Some are more heat-risked than others, I guess. You can squeeze the big ones to see if they're soft-feeling, but I just go ahead and get them all. Unfortunately, "all" includes about 8 little hoses that go to the idle stabilizer valve and idle air control valve. I can almost guarantee they've never been replaced on yours. When you or your mechanic flush the cooling system, be sure to tell him to put in Peak antifreeze or something that is bright green, not the yellow stuff. The reason is you need a nice dark coolant to check its level in the overflow bottle, which isn't so easy to see in the best of cases, with light-colored coolant it's really difficult. The water part of the 50/50 mix should be distilled, which you can buy at a grocery store. Make sure your mechanic uses it too, or uses premixed. Also, the problem with flushing with a garden hose (e.g. not distilled water) is that a good part of the flushing water will stay in the system unless you open both the block drain and the radiator drain. Most people just use the radiator drain. Therefore, if that is what you do, you really have to drain as much out after flushing as you can, then top up the system with a distilled water/coolant mix. Drain again, refill again. Check with a tester to see what the lowest temp the mixture will support. If it doesn't make it down to -35 then drain and refill with 100% coolant. Don't forget, you aren't getting the whole system when you drain. Eventually you will home in on the right mixture. It's easier than it sounds, and you will end up with a nice, long-lasting green mixture, which will pay off in your coolant not getting that rusty look for a lot longer.

2a. Clean your overflow bottle, so you can best see the level of the coolant in it. Failure to check fluids is high on the list of things not to do on old cars. The 3G does not make it easy, with a low obscure mounting point, but if you have a clean bottle and a flashlight, it's very do-able. See my posts on how to clean the bottle (take out the battery, the battery tray, the bottle, and swab it out with some phosphoric acid. Takes an hour or so).

3. Thermostat. Do with the hoses. It isn't expensive. You might as well get the temperature sensor (I think it's called the TW sensor or somesuch) that's near the thermostat too. When it starts to go the engine won't run right and finally won't start.

4. Auto tranny fluid. Use Honda OEM. Don't delay on this as there's probably some crud in there already, and a tranny fix is expensive. Manual tranny...use Honda fluid also. Change every 15k miles or so, but in practice you can probably do it when you change a drive shaft. If I get a torn boot, I myself put in a whole new shaft at that point, and I use Honda OEM. Expensive, but no problems.

5. Plugs, plug wires and air filter. Change the oil every 3k miles. Some here put in synthetic and say it makes a difference. I don't use it myself.

6. Buy a big bottle of Techron and put it in the gas when you fill up. You might want to use two bottles with two consecutive tanks of gas. Techron is the best to clean the fuel injectors.

7. Go under the car and check the rubber booties that are at the inboard and outboard ends of the driveshafts. If the boots are torn that means that sand etc. has gotten into the cv joints, and they need to be inspected and repacked with grease. Clicking during low speed turns is the symptom. The boots need to be replaced if they're torn of course.

8. Check the ball joints for wear. There are 6 of them, 4 on the front and two on the back. At 70k, they're probably ok.

9. Look at the bushings for the stabilizer bar, radius rods, and control arms. Check the steering rack for leaks, and never use anything but Honda power steering fluid, or at least fluid that specifically says it's for Honda..big trouble if you use something else. Look at the brakes and the wheel cylinders for dry rot. Replace the brake fluid, which should be done every 2 years, as it absorbs water.

10. If you're really into preventative maintenance, you might replace the main relay, as the solder develops micro-cracks. The install is a bit of a chore, but see the plentiful posts here on how to do it.

11. Take a look at the radiator. Plenty of cars have had a new one by now.

12. Does the battery have a date on it? If it's 4 years old, get a new one before it fails on you in the winter. Take the wires off the battery posts (remove the ground wire first and put it on last, the reason being that if the ground is connected and you mistakenly short the positive post to the car with a wrench, you will produce a big spark and probably blow the alternator....don't even think about what can happen if you connect a battery backwards!) Buy a battery post/clamp cleaner thingy and thoroughly clean the post and the clamps. Get a set of those red/green felt circles that go around the posts so you won't get a buildup of corrosion.

13. Take a look at the ground wires. There's one from the valve cover to the front of the car, but mainly look at the main one from the battery to the frame. Take it off, and clean the end and where it attaches. Replace the wire if it looks rusty.

14. Check the tail lights for water pooling in the bottom of the units. Their seals leak. I use gutter tape so the water draining from the trunk lid gutters goes over the tail lights as opposed to down across their inside face. Eventually the water will get high enough to short the bulbs.

15. Clean the sunroof rear drains. When they get blocked the water pools in the sunroof cutout, and when you put on the brakes you get a shower down the back of your neck. The drains are reached by taking out the trunk liners and cleaning out the plastic tubes that drain out behind the wheel wells. Use a panel-popping tool sold in auto stores to get the buttons out, using a screwdriver will make a mess.

16. Replace the pitiful sealed beam OEM head lights with Hella's, so you can use a nice replaceable bulb by PIAA or Sylvania. That way, you can actually see where you're going at night. Most of the replacement headlights on eBay are junk. Buy quality.

17. When your driver's window starts not wanting to go up, it might be the switch, as that's the one that gets the most use, but is probably the coil in the auto-drop controller, which is behind the door panel. Eventually, you won't be able to raise the window at all. There are posts on here on how to install a new one.

18. Check the tires and get some decent ones if they're worn. Get an alignment.

19. I bought a tool box and have in it a set of tools including a metric 1/4" drive socket set, all types of pliers, one of those 4 in-one screwdrivers, a spare headlight bulb, taillight bulbs (actually there's a clip for a spare tail light bulb on the inside of the covers to access the bulbs). Get some assorted spare fuses, a Maglight-quality flashlight (plus a small Maglight for the glove box). A quick tire repair kit. There's probably more stuff in there I can't remember now.

20. Buy a couple of those reflective triangles or flares, in case you get stuck at night on a dark curvy road.

21. Eventually you will leave on your headlights and run down the battery, or you will get a flat. I bought one of those jump starters / air compressors (a good one, prob cost $75) and keep it lashed to the inside of the trunk. It's bailed me out a couple of times, and I've been a good samaritan more than that. Cheap insurance, and an easy way to be a hero to those who are not prepared and would be up Shit Creek if not for you.


That should be enough to get you started. Remember, a reliable car is a product of the original manufacturer (ours is GREAT, of course) and constant diligence.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[86ccord]

omg.. clean car.. damn..

[Hazwan]

Nice clean car! :welcome:

[greentee76]

Man that thing is gourgeous! I said it before, But I LOVE that dash color combo.(Helps give me motivation to get off my lazy ass and find another in the junk yard:) )
3gs just don't look like that up here in the rust belt:( :welcome:

[Dr_Snooz]

Original Honda radio and all. I'm so jealous.

[Pico]

Welcome to 3Geez. You have a very clean Accord looks like it just came off the showroom floor

[LxAcc510]

:eek: Wow! Straight body. Straight Interior. Straight paint. DAMN! If i had that car i'd drop it and slap some oldskool meshie enkies

[G. White]

Now, lets see the engine bay.

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/6871/1001082un1.jpg




Here it is----it's very stock and quite uneventful........thanks for the kind words everyone. I am definately going to like it here.

[codyJDM]

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/6871/1001082un1.jpg




Here it is----it's very stock and quite uneventful........thanks for the kind words everyone. I am definately going to like it here.

Any plans? This car has so much potential.

[nswst8]

Alright, Its been converted to R134a. If it seems to be losing charge Its probably going to be at the Suction side of the compressor and then in the evap housing. Clean that up and change out the o-rings on the expansion valve. You'll be cool for the summer.

Your low on power steering fluid. Pressure line coming from the P/S pump is nortorious for failing $90 from Advance discount but your probably seeping some from the rack via the inner tie rods bellows.

Put in a Cold air intake. Frabricate one yourself. "LET HER BREATHE"

Get a after market header DC if you can find one. Pacesetter will work fine with moderate modification. "LET HER BREATHE"

Larger diameter exhaust "LET HER BREATHE"

These will increase MPG and get alittle more performance. Just putting the DC on I got another 50 miles per tank.

[G. White]

Any plans? This car has so much potential.

First off.....I am going to do the homemade cai. JC Whitney raised the price of the tubing to 35.99+shipping- guess I'll just have to man up and buy it. I also have a brand new MSD 6A box thats been sitting in my garage for about a year from a previous project. I could come up with a blaster or accel coil and do the ignition upgrade but I'm not sure if it will make much of a difference?

Future plans...I was thinking fat five wheels, 1.5" drop, with the front perches cut 1/2". Suspension rebuild w/ bushings, balljoints, shocks ect. (Because it is getting to that point.) I snagged the alternator off of a 95 legend a couple weeks ago...A4g spoiler painted to match. Oil filter sandwhich plate with gauge if I can find a nice place to mount it without hacking anything up. I would like to do the obd0 to obd1 conversion---I know about the ecu and the adapter harnesses involved but the dizzy is a little sketchy.

I have a hesitation problem accelerating when the engine is cold..but that is a different thread and different time.

All in all it should be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to it.

[G. White]

Alright, Its been converted to R134a. If it seems to be losing charge Its probably going to be at the Suction side of the compressor and then in the evap housing. Clean that up and change out the o-rings on the expansion valve. You'll be cool for the summer.

Your low on power steering fluid. Pressure line coming from the P/S pump is nortorious for failing $90 from Advance discount but your probably seeping some from the rack via the inner tie rods bellows.

These will increase MPG and get alittle more performance. Just putting the DC on I got another 50 miles per tank.

Phil, you have got one hell of an eye. From now on I will call you the car whisperer. I read your post and had to get a cup of coffee. Because this is going to get good.
When I bought the car, the guy from the dealership driving it got all the way to my house and a seal in the rack and pinion blew out and coated the street with PS fluid. They replaced the whole unit free of charge but now that I think of it...I had to add a lot of fluid (the honda stuff of course) when I got the car back so that means they didn't check the level after installation and ops checks.
Further investigation would reveal (from previous owner) jiffy lube stickers inside my door jam and hood. 10 bucks those monkeys always topped the PS fluid off with just what ever they had available and not the almighty Honda approved PS fluid. The elixir of the gods. Over the years it probably took its toll on the seals and prematurely blew out.

After reading your post and taking a trip to the garage, it donned on me that the flud is still dirty looking even after the self purging and my fluid addition so it definately will get flushed this weekend. Who knows what is in there? First steering wheel turn of the morning gives me a little shudder/vibration but its fine after that no noises, squealing ect. PS pump giving up the ghost? Belt tension? Rack and pinion needs bleeding????

The AC was converted by the dealership and started blowing hot air after 2 weeks. When I took off the low side cap I could see the the refridgerant seeping from the charging valve. Those guys put the conversion ports on the lines and didn't bother to change the valve cores (that the rubber o-rings fell off in my hands). So with all that replaced and my harbor freight charging manifold in hand the AC now blows cubes.

Lastly..I am thrilled to hear about the DC manifold getting you an extra 50 miles to the tank. I get anywhere from 370 to 450 miles per tank depending on how much city/hwy driving I do...and that's refueling with 1.5 to 2.3 gallons remaining in the tank. So with that header I can do some real damage to the oil companies and stick it to the man. Thanks for the info!

[nswst8]

Yeah, I agree do a flush on the p/s system. Easy day.

A/C if you start to loose pressure depending on what compressor you have (Keihin, denso) I had the Keihin that held R134a for 11 years. I believe that the compressor was still good, I just took the lazy way and didn't want to do the evaporator cleaning. The expansion valve o-ring is the weak link in the evap housing.

Now it will be dificult and expensive to locate a DC sports header. But a pacesetter will suffice with modification. But these are things that can come in time.

Oh and I forgot, "WELCOME TO THE SITE"

[Dr_Snooz]

Yeah, I agree do a flush on the p/s system. Easy day.

I had black dirty PS fluid for some time. It weighed on my mind but I had other things to do. When my pump started to hang up coming off the freeway every day, I flushed the fluid. The problem subsided. Three flushes later, it's still black, but less so. I consider that a 15k mile maintenance item. Changing a rack suuuuuuucks.

[MessyHonda]

hey...im messyhonda....and i love your coupe

[1987AccordLx-i]

first off... amazing coupe... with that many miles.. she's going to serve you well.. like most of the guys said.. keep her maintained.. thats a must.. oh yea welcome to 3geez! :cheers:

im tom btw.. :wave:

[A18A]

holy clean accord batman!!!

[Civic Accord Honda]

fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap

I CAME!!!!!!!
im going to go change my underpants now...................

[forrest89sei]

fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap

I CAME!!!!!!!
im going to go change my underpants now...................

:wtf:



CLEAN Accord, I love it!:cheers:

[1987AccordLx-i]

fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap

I CAME!!!!!!!
im going to go change my underpants now...................

wow :huh:

[codyJDM]

Seriously though, this car is so unbelievably clean. You are soo lucky to have that thing.

[1987AccordLx-i]

Seriously though, this car is so unbelievably clean. You are soo lucky to have that thing.

i agree.. never seen a 3g that clean.. especialy stock

[ZackieDarko]

I am ZackieDarko and I approve of this n00b.

I lived in Peoria for 7 months (04/05) NICE weather.

[MessyHonda]

what happen to this guy

[G. White]

I'm still around.............I get on the site every day/ just don't post that much. There's so much knowledge floating around from members that have owned a 3gee longer than I have that I don't need to throw in my 2 cents. Thanks for the compliments. You guys rock!

[Tomisimo]

WoW.. this thread must have been opened when I was in long sleep from 3Geez..
Man I must admit, Your car is NICE, IF You ever get tired of it, PM me ;), man thats clean, just some engine polish and paint, and she will be like new.. Keep on good work...
I dream of a Coup, since they were never sold in Europe..

I mean it :D

[mrma5b]

That is the cleanest, nicest looking 3gee I have seen. That thing is just begging to be preserved in a museum. Take good care of that one.

[Rendon LX-i]

thats one clean stock accord....the outcome going to be good i see it already

[King Peetis]

Im not sure how to quote yet but Dark Accord, your little post with "fap fap fap" made me laugh literally until I cried--That shit was so funny and completely unexpected---Im still laughing:bowrofl: