Very VERY new to Honda's

[Euchreguy]

Hello, I just bought my very first Honda a couple weeks ago. It is a 1989 Accord LX Sedan. I was never a Honda fan before but I am in LOVE with this 3Gee. I sell new cars and I bought my Accord for $500 after a couple traded it in to our dealership. Originally, I bought it as a beater car but now I can't IMAGINE beating on this wonderful machine. The car is in GREAT shape, it has only 125,000 miles on it and it had the full rustproof/ undercoating package put on it when it was first purchased. The previous owner had even put in a new clutch within 3 months of trading it in.

The previous owner's son had been in an accident with it and had wrecked the passenger's side front fender and headlight but they have been replaced, however, it does have a rebuilt title on it because of this. The paint on the headlight and fender do not match the rest of the car. The paint is starting to bubble a little bit over the wheels which I have heard is normal. The interior is CLEAN!! With all original parts from the radio to the floor mats. It even has the original owner's manual and maintenance schedule.

I need to do some exhaust work on it on it as the exhaust is 20 years old. I also am thinking I want to replace all of the belts. I was thinking of a kit like this...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Timing-Belt-Kit-Honda-Accord-86-87-88-89-LXI-DX-LX-2-0L_W0QQitemZ110339299131QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_ Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item19b0bc173b

I Want your opinions on it though. Also, do you have any other suggestions for this I should do to the car?? My primary goal is to make her a reliable machine and then my secondary goal is to turn lots of heads. I don't have any pictures of her yet but I will get some soon, she is gold with the brown interior. Please let me know what you think.

[w261w261]

Hi, and welcome to the site! Like you, but 8 years ago, I sort of stumbled on my Accord, and like you, quickly came to appreciate how special it is.

I wrote the following in response to someone who wanted to know how to make their car reliable. I believe you should take care of the reliability stuff, and then go for the "turning heads" stuff. After all, you don't want those heads to be turned looking at you broken down on the side of the road.
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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. If you can convince him when he flushes it to use distilled water that's good too. It 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.

[Euchreguy]

Thanks for the past and the advice. As stated previously, I am in the process of making her reliable I need to replace most of the exhaust... I now I need a new flex pipe and probably everything from the cat back too. I suppose that will fix a lot of the problems I am experiencing with it now: the ungodly noise and vibration, and the lack of power in first gear. I agree with the preventative maintenance and I am going to have my mechanic replace all the belts, hoses and fluids. Do you recommend getting the transmission fluid, coolant, and brake fluid flushed or just drained and replaced? I have heard that on older cars if you flush them you can loosen up some "crap" that might not get all the way out and you might have problems. I am not very mechanically minded myself and so your opinion is invaluable to me. Please let me know.

[Dr_Snooz]

Welcome to the site! Sounds like you have the 3g bug and that's a good thing. The good news is that 3gs are among the most dependable cars ever made. I drove mine for hundreds of miles without oil and it got me home without complaint. You really can't kill one, but if you neglect belts and hoses, you're asking for a tow. The cooling systems tend to be ignored and can have a lot of trouble by this age. Listen to what the car is telling you, ask us for help when you need it, and you will have a very reliable, economical and fun car.

Oh, and we need pics for sures.

[MessyHonda]

welcome to the site