Mechanic or DIY?

[bscanlan]

So I have some leaking oil. I have looked at this sites many "how to" and informational threads. Now I have to decide do I do the work myself or pay big bucks for my mechanic to do it. I called him and said I had just bought an '88 Accord and that I had an oil leak. He proceeded to describe to me where I was seeing oil on the ground, he explained all of the procedures (i.e. oil filter base) that folks here have done and tied to the leaks I am seeing. So he knows these, specializes in foreign cars, and I have had him work on my 300zx with great results. So...I can't decide if I should buy the belts and gaskets and dig in, learning hopefully with no big errors, or pay him and have it done in a day or two. He says: timing belts, drive belts, valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, filter base gasket/o-rings, and a couple other o-rings = $600. Just curious what you all think, and is there enough info on 3geez to allow my to give it a go. I am so torn on this one because I have not done drive or timing belts before. Thanks.

[A18A]

If you're confident in your ability to fix it, have the tools (only need the basics to do must stuff on these cars), and can allow for some longer-than-expected down time on the car (just in case), you can give it a go yourself. Heaps of info here if you search around. people here are helpful too if you're willing to put in the effort.

[bscanlan]

Thanks for the encouragement. I really want to do it myself I am just concerned that I could really screw up timing. Other than that I feel good. I will likely start to order gaskets and seals soon for a good freshen-up, then I will hi the board hard for how-to help!

[DBMaster]

I became a bit lazy in the later years. I had never taken the car to a mechanic until 2003 when I knew it needed a new oil pan gasket. I'm glad I did because the shop is GOOD. I used them for a number of jobs until wrecking the car. Honestly, for all the stuff you list $600 is a hell of a good price. The oil pan gasket was something I just didn't want to tackle without a lift.

[Dr_Snooz]

The best thing to do is download the manual (http://honda.roadpwnage.com/manuals/pages/usdm-accord-1989-full.php). Then sit down with it read the directions for any repair you want to do. The manual is absolutely outstanding and will outline all the important details. After reading, you will have a pretty good idea of what tools you need and if anything is beyond your abilities, (eg: requires a press or special tool or something).

My feeling is that it is always better to DIY because it empowers you.

[bscanlan]

Yes, I see both sides. But I have to remind myself that I bought this car to tinker and learn on, not to dump money into to finish as quickly as possible. Probably going to hondapartsnow.com or majestichonda.com today to get some rubber :D Thanks for allowing me to bounce some ideas off y'all.

[Civic Accord Honda]

Fallow the manual, get a basic metric tool set, a big breaker bar (a $30 electric impact gun from Harbor Freight comes in handy but not needed however if you can get one i would)
Then dig in. After awhile you may learn you only look at the manual for torque specs and timing marks because theses hondas are that easy. There alot like Tinker toys and legos. Just take your time and your be able to do it!

Trust me when i got my 3g back in 06 I was scared to change my spark plugs. now Things like engine swaps, head gaskets, transmissions , clutchs etc are a cake walk to me

[2ndGenPreludeSi]

If I was you, I would do the easy stuff... Valve cover gasket, dizzy o ring, oil filter base if your skilled, haha. Then if it's none of those, I would let a tech change stuff like the pan gasket, or shiz under the timing cover. I just finally decided to track down my oil leaks. It would drip on the exhuast and smoke. It got to the point that it was leaking like a quart a day. I actually stopped driving it haha. You should try and find out where it's really coming from though. I regret just throwing all kinds of gaskets, and o rings at it to find out it was the damn rocker cover haha. Of course it was the last thing I tried... Doesn't leak a damn drop now!

[DBMaster]

I didn't mean to discourage any DIY stuff. I still did the vast majority of my own work even after finding a good mechanic. As you get older and have kids sometimes time is worth more. I have an electric impact wrench and it didn't have enough power to loosen the crank pulley bolt. Both times I changed the timing belt I paid a guy at a local shop $5 to break it loose for me and then hand tighten it for the drive home. The second two times I just paid my mechanic $200 in labor to do the work and I provided the parts. ONLY use genuine Honda water pumps. Gates belts are fine as well as Bando (the OEM brand). I can't really speak for other brands.

I am not sure, though, that a timing belt job is going to instill confidence if you haven't done a lot of mechanic work in the past. Leave that one for later and build your confidence with some of the smaller jobs. We're here to answer questions if you run into trouble. When I was younger (age 15) the first job I ever did was replacing the fan clutch on my 72 Pontiac. Eventually, I was not afraid to tear into it. The Accord almost seemed exotic in 1989. It was my first brand new car and all those hoses and wires under the hood were very intimidating. I just knew I would never know what all that crap was for. By the time the first decade had passed there was pretty much nothing that scared me. The nice thing about finally finding a very knowledgeable Honda specialist was that sometimes I could bounce stuff off him for free before tackling a job. There were even times he did work for me that he would tell me other things that needed to be done, stating, "I figure this is stuff you can do yourself." Man, I am going to miss that. Danny does not work on Mazdas!

[bscanlan]

Thanks for all the help folks. I just started to tear into things today. I did my 300zx suspension (i.e. bushings, refinish and undercarriage paint) over the winter last year so I feel moderately capable. I do not need to drive the car for many months, so I am going to get moving on the engine so I can find the oil leak(s). It is fun already.

[bscanlan]

This is just so much fun. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae199/bscanlan/thesagabegins.jpg

[Civic Accord Honda]

that car is clean! i love the garage. keep us updated

[ecogabriel]

As said earlier, download the service manual and study thoroughly what you may need. That is especially true for the timing belt; incidentally, I did what it is recommended here and replaced ALL front engine seals (cam, crank, oil pump) when doing the timing belt. Seals were leaking, and oil pump seals were as hard as hard plastic

All the other stuff is eminently doable. Start with the oil filter base gasket; when that leaks, it leaks big time! My car was doing less than 100 miles on a quart of oil (that bad it was leaking)

[Dr_Snooz]

This is just so much fun. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae199/bscanlan/thesagabegins.jpg

Oh boy. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but there aren't going to be any oil leaks behind the rear wheels. I think we need a member to go over to this newb's house and help him find where the engine is. LOL

[bscanlan]

Ah, you got me! I am used to working on my Z...where is the engine again? Really though, I am going to redo the entire car, shocks, springs, bushings, clean and refinish the undercarriage in chassis black. It is weird though, not worrying about the "rear end" leaking. :uh:

[bscanlan]

Moving all future pics and info on my build to the "projects" section. Thanks for all the replies and info. This site is invaluable.

[lostforawhile]

So I have some leaking oil. I have looked at this sites many "how to" and informational threads. Now I have to decide do I do the work myself or pay big bucks for my mechanic to do it. I called him and said I had just bought an '88 Accord and that I had an oil leak. He proceeded to describe to me where I was seeing oil on the ground, he explained all of the procedures (i.e. oil filter base) that folks here have done and tied to the leaks I am seeing. So he knows these, specializes in foreign cars, and I have had him work on my 300zx with great results. So...I can't decide if I should buy the belts and gaskets and dig in, learning hopefully with no big errors, or pay him and have it done in a day or two. He says: timing belts, drive belts, valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, filter base gasket/o-rings, and a couple other o-rings = $600. Just curious what you all think, and is there enough info on 3geez to allow my to give it a go. I am so torn on this one because I have not done drive or timing belts before. Thanks.

you are from Amheart? cool!!!!! know where Ashtabula is?

[lostforawhile]

Oh boy. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but there aren't going to be any oil leaks behind the rear wheels. I think we need a member to go over to this newb's house and help him find where the engine is. LOL

I think he's probably going to check over the entire car, being from that part of Ohio it's a good idea to check for rust holes etc anyway, it's possible he also may have a muffler bearing leaing oil at the back, the salt is tough on muffler bearing seals

[DBMaster]

Play nice, amigos. There's always a chance that a rear suspension dampener (AKA strut) could be leaking.

[bscanlan]

Yes sir Lost, Amherst. We g to Ashtabula annually for wine trips. Maybe in year or two the Accord will make the trip. Gonna be a lengthy build though. Want to go over the whole thing including a motor pull and moderate rebuild. My first project of this type but in the end...she'll be mint! Like my other baby. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae199/bscanlan/Jackstands.jpg

[lostforawhile]

I was born and raised in Ashtabula not much left there now aye? , make sure you check the rear blinkers for leaking blinker fluid, it tends to rust the body,hopefully yours isn't rusted, I spent more time then I want to remember fixing rust holes up there, usually if the bodys are rusted through on an Ohio car it's spray foam chicken wire and stolen street signs to fix it until the rest of the car falls apart, you could fix it right but if it's that far gone it's usually not worth it. I hate salt, let me repeat myself I HATE salt

[derolph]

I just wrote a very long post and when I was ready to finally post it, my login had been timed out and all my post was lost. So, I'm not going to re-write the hole thing now. Simply put, I explained what I experienced in replacing an oil pan gasket on my 88 LX-i. It was a nightmare. Part of the problem is that the oil pan on these models have a hose section that connects a pipe on the oil pan to a crankcase breather box on the engine.

[lostforawhile]

I just wrote a very long post and when I was ready to finally post it, my login had been timed out and all my post was lost. So, I'm not going to re-write the hole thing now. Simply put, I explained what I experienced in replacing an oil pan gasket on my 88 LX-i. It was a nightmare. Part of the problem is that the oil pan on these models have a hose section that connects a pipe on the oil pan to a crankcase breather box on the engine.

it's just held on with regular hose clamps it's nothing but a regular piece of rubber hose, the trick is to drop off the pan,clean it and glue the new gasket on with gasket tack first, you need a little sealer on the block around the bearing caps but thats it

[lostforawhile]

if you write a very long post,best to do it in notepad first as the system sometimes times out

[derolph]

it's just held on with regular hose clamps it's nothing but a regular piece of rubber hose, the trick is to drop off the pan,clean it and glue the new gasket on with gasket tack first, you need a little sealer on the block around the bearing caps but thats itIt's a very stiff hose; it might was well have been PVC tubing. Perhaps I could have heated it someway to try get some pliability. Of course, I removed the clamps. But, cutting the hose was the only way to get the hose off the ribbed end of the pipe.

I had fairly good instructions (found online) printed for the procedure. For installing the oil pan, it said to install the oil pan first and then install the hose. I'd like to see someone install a hose that has a 7/8" inner diameter and is thick to two tubes that are only about 1 inch apart.


if you write a very long post,best to do it in notepad first as the system sometimes times outYeah, I do that sometimes or I at least copy the text typed on the forum web page before posting. Unfortunately, I forgot in this case.

[lostforawhile]

It's a very stiff hose; it might was well have been PVC tubing. Perhaps I could have heated it someway to try get some pliability. Of course, I removed the clamps. But, cutting the hose was the only way to get the hose off the ribbed end of the pipe.

I had fairly good instructions (found online) printed for the procedure. For installing the oil pan, it said to install the oil pan first and then install the hose. I'd like to see someone install a hose that has a 7/8" inner diameter and is thick to two tubes that are only about 1 inch apart.

Yeah, I do that sometimes or I at least copy the text typed on the forum web page before posting. Unfortunately, I forgot in this case.

you just replace that hose when you take it off as it hardens with age, with a new piece of hose it's easy to put on