I cant say I'm surprised but...

**stillsohc87** · 07-18-2011, 06:25 PM

I cant say I'm surprised but rather more relieved that these cars have such a loyal following. I no longer feel irrational for lusting after my newly acquired LX-i. I have been driving (and repairing) my 1992 Civic HB DX-i for the past 6 years, she has well over 350,000 miles on her, and many many modifications (sans the original block). A couple weeks ago, on my way out of the driveway, suddenly the clutch pedal stuck to the floor! as i was careening towards the rear bumper of my mother-in-laws car (downhill sloping driveway), I mashed the brakes, and to my utter disbelief, straight to the floor with NO resistance. Luckily I keep my rear drums adjusted and was able to E-brake with an inch to spare. Situation Avoided. My love for the EG couldnt outweigh the frustrations I have been having with it, and I decided to park it when my friend mentioned to me that his dad was paying someone to tow away his old Accord. Naturally, "whats wrong with it?" was my first question. And down the rabbit hole I began to tumble. The car is a 1987 Honda Accord LX-i 4dr, champagne over brown cloth, 5spd, fuel injected, A20A3 (i think). It has power locks and windows (something i had to put in on my civic) and a sunroof, AC, and cruise (3 things the civic lacked). It has a little bit of "honda cancer" on the quarter panels, but less than 4sq inches on either side. My friend's dad had parked the car due to a leaky radiator 2 years prior to my acquisition, so to get it out of his driveway, i installed a radiator, and then ended up replacing all of the coolant bypass lines, heater hoses, and upper and lower radiator hoses and t stat (dry rot here in this humid climate happens faster than youd think). I then had to put in 2 new wheel cylinders, and shoes and drums. car drove out of his driveway, and 77 miles before the shit hit the fan. A lousy main relay left me stranded on my 2nd day of ownership, 3 days later my dizzy took a crap. It was in desperate need of a tune up anyways, so i replaced everything in the ignition system (DIRTFT) and now the car runs GREAT. leaks a bit of PS fluid, and despite a new Valve cover gasket, it still appears to leak oil at a slow rate around the valve cover, but i really need to steam clean the engine bay and hunt for leaks. Needs a compressor cuz the clutch is very noisey and pops the RR Defrost fuse when u turn it on. And Im getting a code 12 EGR PGMFI light, but im hoping to solve all my little issues with this forum and hopefully bring this baby back to life in time for its Antique birthday. Im absolutly enamored with the way this car drives and handles, I hope to do a swap in the near future, but first Im gonna get those 219K mile struts and springs changed out. I look forward to learning all I can about this awesome little car, and all the cool people who have come to love em too. Nice to meet yall!

Randy

**lostforawhile** · 07-18-2011, 06:45 PM

welcome, when you replaced the valve cover gasket, did you use sealer at the four corners of the head? you probably also have a leaking dizzy o ring, common problem and easy fix

**stillsohc87** · 07-19-2011, 04:46 AM

apart from some copper spray, i didnt put anything on the gasket. are you suggesting something like RTV silicone? and I put a new dizzy o ring on when i had to swap out the dizzy. mine appears to be leaking on the serpentine belt side of the engine bay, more so than the dizzy side. the ps pump is covered in fluid, but the rez is topped off and hasnt moved at all since i bought the car. on a side note, were these cars manufactured w/o power steering? Is it possible to buy a non-ps rack?

***2drSE-i*** · 07-19-2011, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by stillsohc87

apart from some copper spray, i didnt put anything on the gasket. are you suggesting something like RTV silicone? and I put a new dizzy o ring on when i had to swap out the dizzy. mine appears to be leaking on the serpentine belt side of the engine bay, more so than the dizzy side. the ps pump is covered in fluid, but the rez is topped off and hasnt moved at all since i bought the car. on a side note, were these cars manufactured w/o power steering? Is it possible to buy a non-ps rack?

The valve cover gaskets will leak if you don't put some RTV or something in the corners, very hard to seal up otherwise. The PS pump could be leaking slowly from internal seals, not a big deal at all. As for a non-ps rack, the short answer is no. They were made without P/S in other countries, but it is nearly impossible to source a non P/S rack. Welcome to the addiction

**lostforawhile** · 07-19-2011, 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by stillsohc87

apart from some copper spray, i didnt put anything on the gasket. are you suggesting something like RTV silicone? and I put a new dizzy o ring on when i had to swap out the dizzy. mine appears to be leaking on the serpentine belt side of the engine bay, more so than the dizzy side. the ps pump is covered in fluid, but the rez is topped off and hasnt moved at all since i bought the car. on a side note, were these cars manufactured w/o power steering? Is it possible to buy a non-ps rack?

you shouldn't have sprayed the gasket, you put just a little rtv in the four corners of the head, where it goes from square to round at the cam caps, don't tighten the valve cover too much either, it seals like an O ring, if you tighten it too much you smash the gasket

***Dr_Snooz*** · 07-19-2011, 08:06 PM

Welcome!

**J. McNeal** · 07-24-2011, 05:02 PM

Strange enough, if I knew the horrid process ~my~ car went through before I found it, I would happily tell you how they managed to get rid of the power steering, however, all I ~do~ know, is, it has none, and drives well enough, however, 3 point turns are a damned nightmare, and lord help me if I have to turn around in a tight space.

Welcome to the forum!!!