1988 Accord DX: Hooray for free vehicles?

[Hedon]

So, I have obtained an '88 DX for free and its got some issues. I have 4 weeks and about $700 to put into it right now. I have a feeling you guys are about to become my best friends. Here are some pictures:

Interior smells of rodent

Don't know if you can tell, but there is oil in the coolant, and said coolant has a nasty habit of escaping through the tailpipe.

Anyone know what the bottom plug is? This is behind the battery tray. I am guessing it is not important.

This vacuum system can burn in hell. I assume there is a diagram somewhere around here.

My exterior shot isn't uploading, but it is a pretty standard white coupe with okay paint and a beat up rear bumper. Really nice, relatively rust free body though. Oh yeah, and over 300k miles. I am probably gonna swap in a junkyard motor. At some point, I want a weber carb kit, but right now I just got to get it going. I have a feeling this will be an adventure. If anyone near Washington state has a motor, let me know. I haven't had too much luck in local jys.

[Shawn87AccordDx]

Looks like an adventure for sure! Check out http://3geez.wiki-tv.com/ for the service manual.


My blog: http://shawnseeley.com

[Dr_Snooz]

Sounds like all you need is a head gasket (~$30). Unless there is something else going on, I don't see a need for a new engine. You're going to need that money for many, many, many other things. LOL

Welcome from California!

[King Peetis]

Good luck with your project. I would start with a gasket replacement like the good doctor recommended if you do it yourself (due to cost) and flush the shit out of the coolant system. Is coolant in your oil? Drain it to see. If so, how long has it been like that? Coolant is corrosive and will damage internal parts. Maybe not enough to matter in your case...

[Hedon]

Thanks guys. Now that I found the vacuum removal page, the prospect of doing any work on this thing is seeming a lot better. I am going to pull of the head this weekend and maybe gut the interior and clean it up a bit. I will post pictures of whatever ends up happening. I couldn't tell if coolant was in the oil, but I will be changing oil and flushing coolant along with replacing gaskets, filters, plugs etc.

[Dr_Snooz]

If coolant is in the oil, it will look like chocolate milk. I'd say get it running before doing anything else. Not to drive around, but to see if you have any other major engine issues (blue smoke, knocking, etc.) If it runs well, then I would just slap a new gasket on, have the head checked for warpage and be happy.

I'd also say, wait with any upgrades until you've logged a few thousand miles on the car. You're going to have a lot of stuff blow up before you get the bugs worked out. If you spend all your money on upgrades, it won't be there when you have a problem. Be very conservative spending money until you've found all your issues.

[Shawn87AccordDx]

I'd also say, wait with any upgrades until you've logged a few thousand miles on the car. You're going to have a lot of stuff blow up before you get the bugs worked out. If you spend all your money on upgrades, it won't be there when you have an problem. Be very conservative spending money until you've found all your issues.

Word.



My blog: http://shawnseeley.com

[Hedon]

Sounds good. Thanks guys.

[Vanilla Sky]

Looks pretty good. I just put my LXi coupe back on the road that's been sitting for 4 years, and it's had a ton of little issues pop up. I'd invest in all new belts in hoses for the sake of reliability. The rodents tend to piss on everything, and the ammonia in their urine isn't kind to rubber, so you're going to be replacing those at some point. Better to replace them now than on the side of the road. Of course the usual full tuneup should be done as well. Since you're replacing fluids, the only things you need to add are a cap, rotor, spark plugs, spark plug wires, and a thermostat.

Steam cleaning your carpet will get it clean. If you're pulling it all the way out anyway, you can hit it with a stiff brush, Purple Power cleaner, and a hose. Let it dry in the sun for an afternoon, and it should be good. Febreeze is going to become your new best friend.

[Hedon]

Didn't get anything done this weekend, guess I'll have to shoot for next week.

[Hedon]

Camera wouldn't focus on it, but I think you get the idea: the coil wire was hanging on by a thread. It had evidently been like that for a while, who needs insulators anyway?


I did sweep out the carpet and clean the plastic, and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I will just steam clean it and get some mats. The passenger seat was moldy, I am just going to go without for now haha. That was a majority of the stink, actually.

[obdriver6]

Welcome! Congrats on the free accord! Sucks about the head gasket though.