Honda - Accord :: 1988 - Rusted Out Engine Cradle
Jun 25, 2014
I took my car in to the shop to get an oil change and fix a scraping noise from a rear brake (just a bent backing plate), and when I went to pick it up the guy basically advised me to avoid putting any more money into the car as it has severe corrosion on the engine cradle. He went on to tell me to start looking for a new car. Fairly inevitable given its long life (nearly 170k miles) and exposure to harsh winters. Basically most of the front suspension is also in pretty bad condition.Thing is, I'm a grad student who drives this thing about once a week for <5 miles on average, and I don't really want to deal with the hassle of replacing my car at the moment. I'd like to get some more input into how long I can keep safely driving it under these conditions.
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I have a great running 1994 Accord LX with 140k miles, but plan to trade it in within the next 12 months. It has the following two flaws that I'm trying to decide whether or not to repair:
(1) Muffler is rusted out inside (but sound doesn't bother me)
(2) Very minor oil leaks at two different engine gaskets
Should I invest in either of these repairs or just ride it out?
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I been having occasional problems starting my 1988 honda accord. It also sometimes dies when im stopped for too long. The problem has gotten worse more recently. The engine will rev and struggle to start. After it dies out i often have to let it sit a while before im able to start it. As i am trying to start it im smelling gasoline.
I thought for sure it was the fuel pump so i had it replaced and is still giving me problems. Today i had to give up and come back to it later. It is fuel injected... What the problem might be?
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I took care of a vacuum leak on this car but I still have an Idle issue on a cold start it doesn't wont to idle at all once I get it warmed up it idle's in park and Neutral fine as soon as I put into drive it want's to die I can keep it going by letting of the gas and then pushing the gas peddle again and take of quickly. Stopping at red lights I have to hurry and put it into neutral or it will die having the ac on makes it worse.
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I've got a 2000 Accord. I recently started hearing and feeling a hard knocking/clunking noise at the front-center of the car during the correct after a left turn. My trustworthy mechanic told me the subframe is rusted out on the right side and that it isn't safe to drive until the subframe is replaced (he also said he's seen several of these this last year). He suggested that the cause is that the hose leading away or down from the air conditioner is too short, and leaks directly onto the subframe. There is no recall on this problem currently. I've done some Internet research and there is some buzz about this, but not as much as I was hoping for.
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This is a carburetor model of the 1988 Honda accord I fixed the vacuum leak, and it is not gummed up from ethenal I still have Idle issue where the car wants to die unless I keep it revved up and when up put it in drive it wants to stall out but i can keep it going by letting of the gas and them giving it more gas. Does the carbonated model have the Idle air control valve and a fast idle valve or is that just on the fuel injection engines. Because every one on line claims this is the areas to look at but I can not find them on my 88 Honda where they explain to find these valves.
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I just replaced the auto transmission in my 1988 accord and upon first restart the car will not idle. I has been sitting for about 6 months while I replaced the trans, but was a daily driver prior to that. The car initially starts fine when cold, but shortly after startup starts running very rich and dies. Restart after this requires the throttle pedal to be held down. Engine will start after some cranking - but will not run under 2500 RPM and is obviously very rich. I've rebuild carbs before so I'm thinking about picking up a rebuild kit - just wondering if there could be other parts of the fuel control system that might be at fault.
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I am going to fail State safety inspection due to a problem with my brakes. Months ago when I was trying to get it through emissions testing the mechanics looked under the truck to see where the brakes were leaking. All they told me was the rear lines are rusted through and need replacing.
From my reading I believe the lines are 3/16" line and I think they go around the back of the fuel tank and up the frame rail. Correct?
My questions are, what length line do I need (I am not a hard-line expert, but I will try). I want to order some ss line so it won't rust through again. Is the system made of small sections threaded together? Or is it one long section? And what else would I need/want to replace along the way?
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My 98 Bonneville has some rust on the engine cradle mount. Is there any repairing this? If not, how long should I expect the car to go for until this causes problems? The mount that sits in front of this one is still intact.
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My mechanic tells me I need the intake manifold gasket replaced (check engine light on, engine surging, running very rough). How much damage can I do to the car by doing this repair myself and screwing it up? I've done lots of repairs on my car before -- brake pads, rotors, replace oil pan. I also have a copy of the manufacturer's shop manual.
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I was driving my car to school and right before I got to a busy intersection the speedometer dropped off and then my engine shut itself off, the radio and dashboard panel still had power and were working fine, the driving panel had lights blinking like I had the car in the on position without the engine going. I had to put my car into park and then start it up again.
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6 Months ago, when entering a carwash, the engine on my 1999 Honda Accord stopped immediately as the underbody spray hit the car. I rolled it back, tried a few times, and it started and ran as though nothing happened. Earlier this week, during a rain storm, I drove through a puddle and again, the engine immediately stopped and I coasted to a stop.
Both times electrical components in the car continued to work (wipers, lights, windows), but I tried to jump it just in case to no avail.I had it towed to a repair shop where they said that all the harnesses were wet, so they dried it out and was able to get it to run again. But they couldn't tell where the water was coming from. There is also an issue with the center panel fuse (radio and power outlet); it shorts out whenever replaced with a new fuse (not sure if this is related to the main issue...).
I called a Honda Dealership repair center to see if this was something they had heard of before with this model/year, and it was new to them. They also said not to bring it to them since their diagnostics wouldn't discover anything if it was running.
The car is running fine now, but I'm always going to expect it to stop unexpectedly.
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I have a 02 Honda accord which is leaking oil from behind the engine. Where could it be coming from?
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Yesterday after I turned off my car I got out and saw that the car was still running. This lasted a minute or so that seemed like an hour or so. I got back in the car, turned the key to start it again, and then turned it off and it stayed off. What could cause that in a 1997 honda accord ex.
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I have a 1988 accord LX with 225K miles. 2 or 3 days ago I noticed a very large puddle of tranny fluid under the car. Upon inspection, the fluid is coming out of the tranny case above the shift cable. The spot looks almost like something has punched through from the inside, but the car drives ok...
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I recently left my car parked at a park and ride over the holiday weekend while traveling to visit some family, and when I returned the car would not start as quickly as it had been prior to me leaving it. The car is an '03 with about 165k miles on it, battery replaced about two years ago. I do travel quite often for work, but have never noticed a drop off in crank time until this past weekend.
I did have the serpentine belt changed almost three months ago. (not saying that is in any way related to my current issue, just giving a bit of history on car maintenance). What I should have checked, (starter, battery, etc)? Should I not leave the car idle for more than a couple of days with such high miles on the engine?
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I just started noticing a noise coming from my 2009 Honda Accord tonight. I was on my way to my buddies bar. When I accelerate past 2500 rpm I notice a noise coming from the engine (or at least what seems to be the engine). Also the Oil pressure light comes on at this point. It (the noise and light turning on) happens when I get to about 2500 rpm, If i keep it below that nothing happens. If I am below 2500 rpm there is no unusual noise nor is there any light.
I left my car at my buddies bar because I did not want to risk driving it back. I checked the oil and I think there was little oil in the engine although I refilled it recently (It was dark when I checked it, I am checking it again tomorrow with a second opinion).
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My question: was there some some OBD code or light I should have expected (that didn't show)? What did the flashing Check Engine Light mean?
At 10:30pm last night, I picked my wife and bro-in-law up from the Logan airport, and on the way to drop BIL at his house, I saw a brief whisp of steam/smoke rise from the passenger side hood/wheel-well when idling at a top-light. I exclaimed that the car was smoking, but BOTH my wife and BIL insisted that we had been stopped over a steam grate. (In 70 degree weather? I puzzled, but since BOTH said that had been the case...).
A few minutes later, the check-engine light flashed (three times, I think) and then went off. I drive with an OBD ScanTool attached on the dash, so I immediately switched it to scan the codes, but it reported "clear" / no codes! Either immediately before or immediately after, the car lost accelerating power for 1 or 2 seconds (at most), but then resumed normal driving. No other dash lights were on, though I did not look at the temp gauge.
I am a former chef and professional cook, and have a VERY sensitive sense of smell-- there was NONE; I watched attentively, and the absence of further smoke/steam seemed to support the unseasonal steam-grate hypothesis. I had also picked up the car within the last 24 hours from THE HONDA DEALERSHIP, who I had asked to look everything over to ensure another 6 months of problem-free driving. (I rejected their offer of a $249.00 "triple flush" of transmission, brakes, and pwr steering.) We have otherwise had zero problems with the transmission or cooling-- the car is old, but maintained reasonably well and driven less that 5000 mi / year. Boston driving, but not aggressive or 19 years old!
No further thought, as all seemed okay except for the brief "blip", and pregnant wife, brother-in-law, two dogs, and I all wanted to get home.Drove the 2ish miles to our apartment, with no further blips. At a stoplight about 3 blocks from home, a LOT of smoke/steam started coming out from the hood. Still no lights or OBD codes! At that point, I pulled over within 5 seconds, and noticed that the temp was pinned or nearly so (If there is supposed to be a light on the gauges, I had it all the way dimmed). Looking under the hood, the spray pattern on the hood insulator made it easy to find the split in one of the hoses connected just under the distributor (about 1.25in OD; I'm guessing coolant or transmission, based on the symptoms??).
While waiting for a tow-truck (since I wasn't even sure if it would do any damage to drive the remaining blocks to my driveway), and after things had a chance to cool a bit, my wife restarted the engine for a second so I could check if any additional fluid came out of that split, but none did. Once the temp was back down towards the low end in 20ish minutes, I drove the car about one block so I could stop blocking traffic-- it drove fine, and the temp didn't visibly rise in that 200 yards. Still, the CEL was not on (or flashing) during startup or while running, and there were NO OBD CODES.
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I've got a 2002 Accord with a 4-cylinder engine with 90,8xx miles. For a while now, its been pretty rough and buzzy (not as glass smooth as it once was). Nothing seems out of the ordinary and everything seems fine otherwise, but just the other day, I stopped at a red light and I couldn't feel the engine. I thought I stalled, but I looked at the gauges to see that it was indeed running, but as smooth as melted butter (It hasn't run like that since the car was new!). After making it back home, the car was back to its old rough and "buzzy" self. So, my question is: Is there anything that I can do to return the engine to its glass-smooth idle? Its been tuned up with new plugs, wires, rotor button, and cap, but (all with oem parts too). I had almost forgotten how nice and refined this car was!
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I have a 1998 Honda accord with 4 cyl. engine. Recently, the engine would stop at then end of the first block after 8 hours or longer of parking. I am very light on the gas pedal. I generally release the gas and let it roll for a couple of seconds before applying the brakes at the stop sign and during the time, the engine seem to throttle a bit then stops. After a restart and applying gas, it seem fine. What can be wrong with it?
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My '99 Accord has developed a bad habit of shutting itself off while I'm driving. The first time this happened was a few months ago. The engine shut off and the key light flashed, as if I had turned the key to shut the car off. The radio and lights remained on. It started again without incident.
In the last month, it has been happening more frequently. I have noticed that sometimes I am unable to get the engine to turn over the first time. This is always followed by the car shutting off at some point while I'm driving.
Today, I was unable to start my car the first few times I tried and it shut off three or four times on my five minute trip home. The radio, lights for the A/C and windows all still had power. I had trouble restarting the car after each incident but did eventually get it going again.
What the problem is? Maybe it's just time for a new car...
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