Honda reliability my ass!

[Doward]

[rant]I don't believe this. Wife calls to tell me the Accord is broke down AGAIN. What is it this damn time? The bolts, that hold the radius arm in place... fell out. They fell the fuck out. What size are they? I go, and figure 'Hey, the other side is still in, I'll yank a bolt, and find out what size they are!' 10x1.25, ok, np. Now that bolt won't go back in?! WTF. Now I've got to pull everything apart, to get that damned hole PERFECTLY lined up, to get that damn bolt back in - nevermind the side that was screwed in the FIRST PLACE.

My '88 Camaro has been a BILLION times more reliable than this damn Honda. The next person I meet, that babbles on about how reliable an import is, is going to get severely brutalized.

In order to get the bolts back in, I'm removing teh wheel, unbolting the wishbone, taking down the lower balljoint, and moving the CV axle to the side, to get full access to the stupid hole. I've also taken off the nuts holding the radius arm in place, in the very front. Sound good?

[accordlxi2.0]

well then i guess i'm the one to get brutillized.....sorry to hear about that,but
your gonna have problems with your car every once in a while...
oh and ummm try owning a ford product...then you'll prbably be thankful to have that honda.....

[AccordEpicenter]

i bet somebody left them loose, ive never ever seen them come out on theyre own unless they werent tightened down properly. As for getting them back in, you can use a pry bar to line up the holes, or unbolt the nut on the end of the radius rod in the front beam, that gives you a little bit of play. Either way this shouldnt take too long to do

[Doward]

Alright, accordlxi2.0, bring it Seriously, I'm really disappointed in this car. When it runs, it just keeps going, but it's stupid things that are making me consider getting rid of it. I mean, an intake leak, or a dead starter, I'm prepared for on my Camaro, but NEVER has any part of the suspension just decided to leave the car!

I'll try the pry bar in the morning... Also, I did loosen the front nut on the radius rod.

[Vanilla Sky]

you also have to think that your car is nearing 20 years old. i gurantee you're going to have trouble out of ANY car this old. at least you don't have to worry about it just being a chevy and deciding to fuck you up one day.

i'm not saying that these are the most reliable cars in the world, but they are leaps and bound better than anything i've seen that was built by an american company in the same period.

i'm willing to bet that your problem is dirt. get some carb cleaner and clean the bolts and the radius arm well. make damn sure to torque them down as well. i'm with the others. the problem was that they weren't tightened properly last time.

[Doward]

Yeah, they'll go back in, tq'd to what? I'm going to loctite those bastards, too!

[Vanilla Sky]

40 foot pounds

[AccordEpicenter]

Id go tighter, like 80ft-lbs. If you can, burp it on with an impact wrench.

[Vanilla Sky]

that's what the factory manual specifies

[smufguy]

i have a car that has more than 40K miles that i put on in about 16months with parts salvaged purely from junkyards. and its the car that i drive right now and its a 3g all year around baby and i drive to NJ and NC back and forth atleast once in 5 months and NJ to VA every other month. I put on 300miles in about 3days and it goes thru a lot of city and highway miles. So if u wanna talk about reliability, talk to me cause i will give u endless proof. The only things that have broken in this car after i put together is the rusted junkyard radiator and a junkard rubber coolant hose.

SOrry to hear about your problem

[Not like a rock]

used cars are like girls: all messed up from a previous relationship, and its up to you to fix them.

the problems I've run into are usually based on who has owned / worked on the car before you. last year one of my rear struts busted out of the top mount. none of the parts were defective, but one of the stopper plates was missing. People take redneck shortcuts, especially if they know they are selling the car, so you have to fix the ghetto out of it and the car will treat you well.

I put about 40,000 km on my car every year (average milage on a current 3G is around 200-275,000 km), but that is after I replaced the engine and suspension, and did it right.

[AccordEpicenter]

yeah that is true, if a hack worked on them or somebody who doesnt know what they are doing, you can really screw up a honda. Thrashed/abused/neglected cars tend to be bad news nomatter if its a ford or a honda...

[paso100]

I look at it this way: I've decided to keep the car and fix WHATEVER goes wrong with it. But first I had a compression test because I didn't want to have to replace/rebuild my engine.

Now anything else that goes wrong is cheaper to replace/fix and that problem is taken care of. I'd rather do this than make monthly payments on a new vehicle for 4 or 5 years, plus higher insurance and immediate drop in value after purchase.

Also, I think in terms of systems instead of individual parts. If you're replacing a ball joint, inspect/replace/fix the rest of your suspension while you're at it. This gives me peace of mind. And I like the idea that whatever I replaced will give me another 100,000 miles of use—if done right.

This way of thinking only works because I LIKE the car to begin with and enjoy working on it. I imagine if you hate a car, you'll hate working on whatever goes wrong with it. But do you hate it enough to make payments on something else? To each his own.

[Blkblurr]

[rant]I don't believe this. Wife calls to tell me the Accord is broke down AGAIN. What is it this damn time? The bolts, that hold the radius arm in place... fell out. They fell the fuck out. What size are they? I go, and figure 'Hey, the other side is still in, I'll yank a bolt, and find out what size they are!' 10x1.25, ok, np. Now that bolt won't go back in?! WTF. Now I've got to pull everything apart, to get that damned hole PERFECTLY lined up, to get that damn bolt back in - nevermind the side that was screwed in the FIRST PLACE.

My '88 Camaro has been a BILLION times more reliable than this damn Honda. The next person I meet, that babbles on about how reliable an import is, is going to get severely brutalized.

In order to get the bolts back in, I'm removing teh wheel, unbolting the wishbone, taking down the lower balljoint, and moving the CV axle to the side, to get full access to the stupid hole. I've also taken off the nuts holding the radius arm in place, in the very front. Sound good?

I'm a good person to reply to this because unlike most of you on this board, I've owned my 89 SE-i since it was new. No previous owners. This car has been the most reliable and dependable car I've ever owned. I had never replaced anything on the car due to failure until the car had 180,000 miles on it. The only exception is the exhaust. I replaced the first one at 135,000 but I consider exhausts normal wear items like tires and brakes. The new system is guaranteed for life since I bought it from Honda. BTW, my Accord was built in Marysville, OH so it's not an import. It's has more American content than most US branded cars. If someone treats a car like shit it will cause you problems. Hondas just allow you to do it longer before they get you back.

[Doward]

LOL< I like the way you put that.

Bolts didn't fall out. They SHEARED off. Class 10.9 metric bolts, sheared clean. wtf? Breaking out the easy out, to get the bolt out, then new ones in.

[newaccorddriver]

i have a car that has more than 40K miles that i put on in about 16months with parts salvaged purely from junkyards.

Junkyard parts eh, how good are junkyard engine mounts? im thinking about picking myself up a few of those bad boys.(being 17 unemployed and a thrifty mechanic i cant spend too much money on an old car)

[AccordEpicenter]

your wife hit somthing

[FyreDaug]

your wife hit somthing

Or it was tampered with, but I highly doubt the latter. Was there any other suspension damage?

[gp02a0083]

oh and ummm try owning a ford product...then you'll prbably be thankful to have that honda.....

uhh not all ford stuff is bad, hell my fathers's 94' f-250 is in the same condition it came from the factory and only has 40k miles on it, but most of the trucks are build a bit better than the ford cars. ive owned a 88 mustang never had a problem with it , my 1986 442 never have a problem with it, the hatchie allmost never has a problem

guess soem people have bad luck with cars , u know if u talk to them they feel better

[accordlxi2.0]

not trying to start anything here...but most of my family memebers own a ford...or own a ford...and have problems with them...

[AccordEpicenter]

Ford builds their trucks much better than their cars. Their cars are absolute nightmares

[Vanilla Sky]

well, their new trucks aren't holding up worth a damn...

/back on topic, guys

[smufguy]

Junkyard parts eh, how good are junkyard engine mounts? im thinking about picking myself up a few of those bad boys.(being 17 unemployed and a thrifty mechanic i cant spend too much money on an old car)

well i have never replaced my engine mounts and they are in perfect shape with 207Kmiles on the clock. If you wanna get a motor mount from a junkyard, i would suggest that you go to a junkyard where they might give you a warrenty on it. This only applies to the front mount, since its hydraulic and will sometimes crack. But the other two are just rubber so u can go to a pick and pull yard and get it pulled out on your own. Oh, get a jack with you so u can pull the mounts out.... esp the rear and front.

[AccordEpicenter]

i break motor mounts all the time

[Blkblurr]

I've owned Fords and GM products before Hondas and I had so many problems with them I was scared to by another. My wife convinced me to look at Hondas and have owned nothing but Hondas ever since. I take very good care of my cars and still had numerous problems when the Amerincan brand names. I would love to feel confindent in buying US brand cars but experience has taught me not to.