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So, getting another vehicle of this vintage with an automatic wouldn't be an option - it would have to be this car, but, sentimentality has its limits I guess and rationally thinking it would be better to put the money toward a new car with an automatic transmission.
Too bad, because I was looking forward to making the 20 year mark with this car and I had visions in my mind of telling people 30 years from now (when I would be 90) that I bought this car and have owned it for 50 years. I came of age of course in an era when a 3 or 4 year old car was already pretty much a piece of junk, and my dad's car was always breaking down (I have plenty of memories of walking home with him on freezing winter days from miles-away
breakdown sites). It's remarkable how much more reliable cars are nowadays.
I'll try the suggestions with the mt and clutch fluids to see what kind of a difference they make, but it's possible that my days with a stick shift, after 40 or so years, may be over if my foot continues to bother me.
Thanks again - this forum is a great resource.
Yeah, I completely forgot about the electronics hassle of the swap as well.
If in fact the synchros are bad, that's only what they call a 'small parts rebuild" and shouldn't cost anywhere near the cost of a transmission swap---and besides, with the transaxle out for a rebuild, the clutch is just sitting there, waiting to be swapped out, at very little additional labor cost.
I've replaced synchros in the past, and while the synchro itself (which is kind of a clutch) was new, the gear it meshed with was smooth and polished, so the friction of course wasn't what it was when new, but still better than the old synchro. There are springs inside that have many miles and will have lost some of their flex - replacing these will make the transmission operate much more like when it was new. It is customary to replace all the seals in the transmission / crankshaft to reduce any oil seepage. The expectations should be that the transmission will be much improved, and will give you years of service, but not exactly like when new.
I agree with you that this series of cars were one of the best ever built - I'm not sure that any new car you get will be an improvement over these. However if your foot is causing enough problems that you can't do the manual shift anymore, then consider putting the money towards an automatic.
and the clutch on that one doesn't cause as much of problem for my foot, though I do still kind of feel it).
To address an earlier question, there has been no grinding of gears or other noise, and gear shifts take place successfully and without any slipping. Moving the shifter seems more rigid or less fluid than it once was, but it has never failed to shift gears while the car is in motion. The only time I have had a temporary difficulty in shifting into gear is when starting up in the morning or for the first time in the day, usually on cold days. I have just attributed this to the cold and the "old girl" being a bit "arthritic" due to age. After no more than a few attempts everything works ok. This doesn't happen all the time - most of the time it doesn't occur.
Truthfully, if service personnel hadn't mentioned something to the effect that the transmission would likely fail, I wouldn't have suspected something of the sort. Makes me wonder on what they based these predictions (the cars were in for routine servicing or for other issues, not anything clutch or transmission-related).
Sounds like a dose of synthetic transmission fluid might just perk up the old car, especially in the cold weather.
As for the clutch, that should/could be tested by an experienced mechanic.
Is there "free play"--that is, how far down can you push the pedal with 2 fingers before you meet resistance (measure in inches or fractions of an inch)
If you deliberately went up a slight hill in 5th gear and low RPMs, thereby lugging the engine and making the car struggle, would the clutch slip on you?
If either one is failing the clutch may not be releasing correctly.
This will cause the transmission to be hard shift in gear. this will eventually destroy the synchronizers
I can try the hill/5th gear test tomorrow when it's light. Do I try to shift to a lower gear at some point while going up, or just see what happens in 5th gear? And to make sure that I am understanding slippage in the same way you are, what should I be experiencing if the clutch does slip?
My conception of slippage is that essentially the car seemingly goes into neutral and the engine starts to race, but the car won't stall like it would if the gears were still engaged - am I understanding that correctly? or do I have that wrong?
As for free play in the clutch, there should be perhaps 1 to 1 & 1/2" of pretty much no resistance. You should be able to press it down with your pinkie finger.
When my car was new, I check the oil at 30,000 miles and the transmission oil was still clear. I checked again at 80,000 miles and it was black. There is no reason for it to get black in the transmission, so obviously I had waited too long to change it. The oil should always run clear.
If you drain your transmission oil, check to see if it is clear - if not, then it is definitely due for a change-out. If it is black, it probably needs to be changed twice - once to get rid of the black stuff, and then again at 3000 miles to change it again.
The second thing to consider is using a full-synthetic oil. The 'weight' of the oil depends upon where you live and the type of driving you do. If you live in Arizona then you need a slightly thicker oil than if you live in New York.
Since you mention that it gets harder to shift when it is cold (it is never cold in Arizona), then you can choose to use a lighter weight synthetic oil. There are synthetic oils in the 5W-20 range that *better* film and shear strength than a petroleum 10W-30 grade (the recommended grade).
Why a full synthetic? Petroleum oil is a mix of heavy and light 'fractions' that 'average' to 30W. The manufacturer more tightly controls the range of viscocity in a full synthetic which means there are less 'heavy' (and less 'light') oils in the mix. Heavy grades of oil cause the gear shift to be hard to engage when cold.
Comparing synthetic 5w20 motor oil to a petroleum 5w30, or 10w30, will have better film and shear strength, but won't be hard to shift on a cold day. It is also the reason that a full-synthetic is more expensive because of the tighter control on the product. There are 'hybrid' products that are a mix of petroleum and synthetic - they are less expensive, but aren't what you want here. Look for the text "full synthetic" on the bottle.
Mobil1 is one example brand but there are others. JiffyLube doesn't generally carry these because of their expense - Wal-Mart does (in fact they have their own generic brand of full-synthetic). Why does the Honda recommend 30W? It's cheap. It may be just fine for a new car, but a high-mileage transmission may need some help.
What you will see is that the gear shifting will be improved (cold or hot).
Make sure that all the other mechanical items in the clutch mechanism are tuned up too: change out the hydraulic clutch fluid so that it is clear to help the clutch operate smoothly.
The clutch 'slave' cylinder connects to the clutch lever via a 'ball' type bolt. This connection needs to be greased (water proof grease is best) so that the motion is smooth. Driving through the rain tends to wash the grease away and put grit in its place (and makes noise too), so make sure this operates smoothly. The other end of the clutch lever is inside the transmission bell and it too has a connection that needs to be grease, but is very hard to get to, so I'd ignore it.
If you try these things you may find the clutch may operate smoothly enough to get you by. I've been driving this way for 10 years now and it is still working well.
Looking at my records, the transmission oil was last changed in December of 2011, a bit under 5000 miles ago at Valvoline. The notation says that 10w30 conventional motor oil was used. The Valvoline web site says that they also carry Synthetic motor oil, so I can try getting that put in. I'll try to implement some of the other suggestions as well.
It snowed last night here in upstate NY, so I may not get get to try the slight uphill in 5th gear test until they get the road cleared off, but I will report back on the results of that as soon as I can.
Thanks again - you guys have gone above and beyond with your help.
I take it this is a good sign .... that the clutch may not be too far gone and that some of the other measures proposed, like the synthetic oil might possibly make this easier to shift then (and hopefully easier on my foot)?
You might still have pressure plate issues, but I'd certainly try synthetic transmission oil before doing anything else.
You were getting 400 miles to the tank, and then the distributor timing was adjusted (?). If I understand you correctly, it sounds like you adjusted the timing mark to Top Dead Center (TDC) by rotating the distributor assembly, not just a simple cap remove and replacement (?).
If that is so, then you ought to get poor mileage. It should run smooth and drives good, just the gas mileage will drop significantly. To make up for possible delayed timing you might have to depress the accelerator slightly more to make up for lost power. You probably wouldn't notice that but could measure it in reduced gas mileage.
There is a procedure for adjusting the timing. Normally with electronic ignitions, the distributor body does not need to be rotated or adjusted as part of an ordinary distributor cap replacement.
You can usually find the parameters for adjusting the timing on the inside hood of the engine. Depending on your model car, the ignition is usually set to a few degrees before or after TDC, typically with the vacuum line to the distributor plugged, and using a timing light. I have found it easier to take a little white fingernail polish (with the tiny brush) and mark the flywheel at the TDC groove, the advanced ignition mark on the flywheel (there is one), and the index pointer to make it easier to see under the timing light.
Following the procedure (which you can look up on Google), you need to have the engine at idle and warmed up, vacuum line plugged (if this applies to you), and using a timing light rotate the ignition point to line up with the flywheel ignition mark. Sometimes you have to jumper the computer. I forget if this model is 5° Before TDC or after - it is listed on the inside hood - but you must follow that.
If you are always burning premium fuel, you can advance the ignition mark *slightly* ahead to get more power. You will also avoid knocking under load with premium fuel.
However if you are like me buying the cheapest gas, you must not advance the ignition mark at all, or you will cause knocking in your engine under load. 'Knocking' is really damaging to the piston rings and is not desirable at all. In fact, with the cheapest gas, if you hear knocking under load (lugging the engine), you will want to slightly *delay* the ignition mark if anything to preserve your engine. Just depends how you drive - if you drive normally and not agressively, setting the timing on the mark is best with the cheapest fuel.
Remember, you are really not setting the actual ignition point in your engine (that went out with carbureted engines), you are really establishing the synchronization of the ignition system to the engine under preset conditions. The computer actually controls when the spark occurs and can vary dramatically during the operation of the engine - you really have no control over this. All you can do is "synchronize" at idle when the spark is supposed to occur, and let the computer control it from then on.
You can't do this without a timing light, because you can't tell when the electronic ignition sensor has 'closed' and fired the ignition. If you don't have an ignition light, go to one of the big auto supply stores and they will lend/rent you one to complete the task.
If this is not your situation, take a look at the ignition wires. It is not as likely that this is the problem, but there could be cracks or shorts to ground. They were disturbed during the ignition work and might be a factor. There is an ignition module that can fail also, but as you have indicated the car appears to start and run smooth, so I'd double check the ignition timing.
I have a humming sound coming from the heater fan blower. Funky noise. The blower fan is known to wear out the brushes in the motor - perhaps it is a failing fan? It makes noise anytime the fan is on (car doesn't have to be moving). Honda doesn't carry replacement brushes (you can get them from a RV dealership - they must be 12V brushes).
Front of car could be unbalanced tires, or tires with delaminating treads. Swap front tires to rear to see if noise changes. Does the steering wheel vibrate at freeway speeds? Could be unbalanced tires, but could also be the ball joints (a car with 200k miles needs new ball joints). You can't tell when the ball joints need to be replaced by 'wiggling' the tires, but there is a symptom you can try: when you depress the brakes while in neutral coming to a stop, does the noise reduce or stop? That's ball joints.
The noise sounds like it is NOT sensitive to any power being applied. Does it get worse with power applied? If no, then it is in your 'rolling gear' - things like driveshafts (Constant Velocity Joints (CVJ)), wheels, ball joints. Have you inspected your CVJ boot condition? If they are broken, eventually the grease leaves and the joints wear out, resulting in a humming sound (but it gets worse with power applied).
Confirm your wheels are balanced, tires are newish, and then replace the ball joints (it's time).
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You might need a voltmeter.
Start the car, disconnect the battery negative cable, if the car keeps running the alternator is working, if it stops the alternator is most likely dead.
Have checked at Auto Parts Store, its free
Works for me.
Save money, search for coupons codes especially Advance.
1. Radiator
2. Bad contact on instrument illumination
3. Left rear window won't roll down (don't know if it is a switch or the motor)
4. Missing/broken coin compartment, driver's side door light cover
5. Switch for sunroof coming off, not sure if it is working right.
I'm in LA,CA and plan to replace the radiator/thermostat/hoses today and change all fluids.
Not sure where to get reasonably priced hardware (coin compartment/light covers, etc.- don't need to be new)
Not sure how to approach the electrical items (2, 3 and maybe 5).
Looking for some good advice on how to approach these items (any good guides/links for these types of things out there?) and what I should make sure to do soon given that this car has been neglected for the last 80k/4 years.
Thanks in advance to all the knowledgeable folks out there.
Chris
I know it's been a long time for you, but did you ever figure out the cause of all these problems? I have the same things going on. It's clearly electrical..
Thanks!
190,000 Miles
Just replaced my clutch/pressure plate/throwout bearing.
It was 2 AM, forgot to grease the throwout bearing before I put it all back together :surprise: . I have a bit of a squeaking noise, assuming it is the bearing, it goes away when I engage the clutch, comes back a few seconds after I let go.
A. How severe is this if I do not go back in and grease it?
B. If I do not, will it eventually stop squeaking?
Thanks everyone.
Well hard to say from this distance but going by your symptoms, I'm wondering if your rear brakes are so worn down that they exceed the normal reach of the rear wheel cylinders, thereby allowing air into the master cylinder. This would also affect your ABS and your emergency brake.
That could be another problem entirely. Bearings need to be installed just right. I guess first thing you need to do is determine if it is the front wheel bearing that is the source of the squeal (a friend could listen as you back up or go forward)...and then deal with that problem...and then pull off the rear drums and look at the condition of the brakes.
I don't think any repair shop would attempt to rebuild the ABS control unit, no. Your car should have the OBD-II diagnostic system, so the ABS module can be scanned for trouble codes.
yeah you could do that, but again, I'm not sure a shop would accept that liability. How do you know it's not working? Have you given the brakes a good slam to test the ABS? Remember, ABS won't work on surfaces like gravel.
1997 honda accord, speedometer works when it wants to. already replaced the speed sensor. any other ideas on what it can be?
It's been a while since I've had a problem requiring forum help, and the layout looks a bit different since last time, but hopefully this is still the right forum to seek advice in.
Anyway, my 1995 Accord LX 4-door which I purchased new in October of 1994 has a curious problem - a couple of days ago the instrument panel "brake light" warning came on. Sure enough, on checking it out the passenger-side light was not working, though the driver side and rear window ones were. Since all these are on the same fuse according to my manual, but 2 of the 3 are working, it appeared a slam-dunk that this was a case of a burned out-bulb.
Accordingly, I went to the parts store and purchased a 2-pack of bulbs (the thinking I guess is that if you have a burn-out of one bulb, the other is probably not too long for the world either). I replaced both bulbs and expected that everything would be honky-dory, but unfortunately the passenger-side brake light still doesn't work.
The emergency flashers, which are on a different fuse but use the same bulbs, do work. Ergo, the bulb is not the problem after all. But then, what is causing the brake light on that side to not work?? I'm not particularly knowledgeable about electrical circuits, but I would think that if the wiring to the bulb were somehow compromised, it would blow the fuse and none of the 3 brake lights would work.
Any insight into or help with this problem would be much appreciated.
I think I misspoke about the emergency flashers using the same bulb - I think that it's the rear taillights that use the same bulb. When you turn on the headlights the rear taillight on the passenger side does come on, but the same bulb doesn't light when you depress the brakes without the headlights turned on.
Actually, now I'm thinking I may have just replaced the wrong bulbs, lol. On taking a closer look, there are 3 bulbs back there, and one that I didn't replace looks kind of cloudy ...ach, what a stupid I am! Sorry to subject my dumbness onto the forum.
The car is a 95 LX 4-door purchased new by me in October of 1994. It has about 185,000 miles on it. Recently the odometer has stopped working properly - both the trip odometer and the one that records overall mileage.
They both stop at 99. I can reset the trip odometer at that point back to 0. Still, neither will move at that point, but if I press the reset button another zillion times or so they will both eventually start working again, for another 99 miles. It hasn't happened, yet anyway, that they would start working again on their own without my doing anything to the reset button
I am assuming from the fact that several minutes of hitting the reset is what seems to get them going again, that the problem lies with the Trip odometer, not the overall odometer. That is, once the Trip odometer gets going again, the regular odometer starts moving as well. And when the trip odometer hits 100 again, they both stop. I can't be entirely sure of this theory however, as both of them, coincidentally reach the (just shy of) 100 mark together, but I think the trip odometer is the problem.
If this analysis is correct (or even if it isn't) does anyone have an insight into what I need to do to fix the problem? I'm thinking that perhaps something (dirt, whatever), might be jamming the mechanism of the trip odometer, preventing it from getting past 100, which then, because of some interconnection, will stop the overall odometer as well.
Since I only use this car around town, I don't really need the trip odometer. So I'm thinking that if that could just be disabled or disconnected somehow from the regular odometer, such that the latter continues to run and make it past the 100 hump, that would be an acceptable solution as well.
I'm assuming that I'll have to remove the panel to get at the mechanism involved.
Thanks for any advice anyone would care to offer.