I might be picking up a 1990 accord this week.
I still don't know much of the car's info.
are these cars bullet proof? anything to look for?
I might be picking up a 1990 accord this week.
I still don't know much of the car's info.
are these cars bullet proof? anything to look for?
No specifics, but a buddy of mine has a 5 speed and it seems to be holding up pretty well. The older hondas aren't know for breaking down :D
5 speed or auto? I'd actually really like a 5 speed sedan if I could swing a second car... they aren't fast but I find them oddly fun to drive. Very rewarding for some reason.
Depends on the car really, I mean the auto tranny's tend to hold up well if you change the fluid regularly. Depending on miles, your going to want to change the timing belt and water pump.
The aftermarket is good, not as big as for the other honda models though, but you'll find some good deals out there for shocks, engine mounts, etc. All the basic goodies to make it run and feel like a new car.
I personally have noticed in the accords like the other honda's, switches sometimes go with weird results and no warning. What I mean is a power window switch working one day on the drivers side, the next only working on the passengers side. The easy fix being to change the master control on the drivers side, little things like that. They are more reliable then the other makes of similar years.
Pickup a service manual when you can, or buy a cd of the manual on ebay for $5.
check out honda-tech.com when you get a chance.
Damn near bulletproof. The biggest things to watch out for on these cars are APC and Pep Boys, botched stereo installs and neon light kits, and really bad lowering springs.
Just check for rust ahead of the rear wheels and make sure the sunroof drains are clear if it's an EX.
As has already been touched on, watch for rust. The engines are pretty solid, and the transmissions are pretty solid if fluid changes were consistent. The nice thing about this chassis is that a lot of people pull out perfect drivetrains for swaps. Finding a stock motor that you can hear run before pulling for $100 is pretty common.
There's a '92 in our family that's been passed around to various people since, well 1992. It has had spotty maintenance, one partial A/T drain and fill, two timing belts, a rebuilt starter and currently runs pretty much like new at north of 180K miles. I never really cared for the car myself, but I have to admit it is like the Energizer Bunny.
My mother's '90 SE coupe ran for quite a long time with minimal maintenance. The automatic was meh and had to be rebuilt, but the engine was fine. The body was a rusty pile of crap before it finally went to the big parking lot in the sky, though - it rusted everywhere after a life in MD and PA.
The power steering will have you biting your fingertips to see if your hands are asleep, though - that car had less steering feel than anything else I've ever driven.
Be sure to use Honda fluid in the automatics. Regular ATF will make it eat itself. Only other two major issues are rust and upper rear ball joints popping out if you don't catch the wear in time.
Oh and check inside the distributor cap for red dust. That means its time to find a new distributor before it dies. Honda had a bulletin/recall for this but it was one time only and its no longer applicable due to time.
I had a '92 during hs and college and on seperate occasions it was t-boned by a Suburban (not my fault), rear-ended by a Jeep (not my fault), and launched off the road, into someone's yard (my fault). Needless to say in 6yrs of my unforgiving ownership and 170K total miles it only required a radiator, slave cylinder, cv boot, and fuel main relay (very common issue that makes the car difficult to start in the heat)....oh and body work from the above.
My sister also had a '90 that recieved nothing more than 1 oil change per year. and still went 200K + before it was broken into and vandalized beyond repair.
They are not the most exciting thing on the road but they are tough as nails.
ended up getting the car
1990 accord lx 140xxx miles auto
one thing I noticed while putting the car into park is that the rpm's rise and fall....what could cause this?
It took a tree to kill my 230K+ '88 accord.
If the rpm's rise and fall at idle, then its most likely that your intake air control valve needs cleaning or to be replaced. Its not hurting the engine, but can be quite annoying.
Do you know if the timing belt was replaced recently? Its maintenance schedule for replacement of it and the water pump are at 100k or there abouts.
Andrew
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