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Introduction Time

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 7:40 am
by Tallrunner68
Hello all,

Brand new prelude owner here. I say owner because as of yet I haven't taken it out on the road so not yet a driver. I did test drive it and felt that for the price i could deal with some of the issues, the price being $750 for a 93 Prelude Si with 187,xxx miles on it. Some of the issues are cosmetic, things like the paint being faded and the hood not matching the rest of the car, so no real problems there. In fact the interior is just short of immaculate. Some of the bigger issues are things like the brakes feeling a bit squishy (but still stopping) and the ABS light being on. I have checked the brake fluid levels, but have yet to bleed the brakes or replace the pads or check the rotors. So maybe that will help. As i understand it Honda can run a diagnostic on the ABS system, i will have to look into that if the regular brake maintenance doesn't clear the light. The automatic transmission shifts, and doesn't seem to shift "hard" or slam into gear, but there is a bit of a lag with the changes and the car lurches forward a bit at the change. I have checked the transmission fluid and it appears to be red, which as I have seen online is not the Honda fluid. So i have some on order and am going to flush the system as well as checking and cleaning the two solenoid clusters on the transmission. Hopefully this corrects the problem or at least lets me squeeze more miles out of it. One day i would prefer to swap in a 5speed transmission for two reasons, 1. i have always prefers a stick shift, whether it be on my old Jeep or my first S10 truck that i learned on, and 2. I have read that the AT in the preludes are not as reliable. I am not sure about the accuracy of that last statement as i only have the internet to go by. Hell the car currently has 187,xxx on it, and as far as I know it may be all on the same transmission. But it is also something that i would like to learn, transmission work that is, so why not try someday. The engine itself runs pretty nicely. It would warm up and then go into a low rough idle, but i have cleaned the IACV and it seemed to have cleaned up the rough idle. Now however it will warm up and settle into a low idle and sometimes die, especially after revving slightly. I am still troubleshooting this issue. I also plan on changing the timing belt and water pump as i have no idea when the last time they were changed, but the video series on this site is a great resource and i look forward to trying it. There is a slight tick in the top end, and i believe it needs a valve adjustment, which I will use another video from here to help me with that. Hopefully by the end of all that i will have her purring like a kitten. Anything else anyone thinks i should do to keep it in working order? I am all ears and will take any recommendation under consideration based on price and required tools/knowledge. This isn't my current daily driver, but i would like it to be. I purchased it to save on gas, but i am okay with it sitting while i get it into proper working order.

Sorry for the long windedness, and lack of paragraphs.

Thanks,
Ash (male to clear it up ahead of time)

Re: Introduction Time

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:44 pm
by spiffyguido
Hi Ash,

First and foremost, welcome! We're glad that you're here. Glad as well that you've chosen to add a Prelude to your stable as a first time owner.

It sounds like you've already identified some good things to take care of from the get go. Start with the obvious things first, and work from there. We're here if you need us.

I'd start with the brakes. Get them working well. Likely, you just need to have the system bled. Be sure to follow the bleed steps and order outlined in the service manual.

Regarding the transmission: there's nothing wrong with Honda automatics. They're very good quality. Some people have reported problems with the sport shift systems in the 5th generation autos, but even those are few and far between. Overall, these are very robust cars. Get the right fluid in there, and then re-evaluate.

Re: Introduction Time

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 9:59 pm
by Jackal_Sigma6
Hi every one, I'm Dominick first time car owner and lucky for me it's a car I've wanted for the past 10 years. I own a 95 Honda Prelude the 2.2 VTec variant with a few mods already done. The funny thing is these mods where all ready in the car when I bought it so yet again I got very lucky. My grandfather and I where car hunting for me and we stumbled upon it by accident. At the end of the day I only payed $2500 when the seller want $2800. All in all it has ran great up til tonight when I decided to make a fast food run. Long story short it took a few twists of the key to start up and when it did finally start I make it to the top of the hill on my block and my entire dash cuts off with the entire car following suite. Minus the car shutting off I've had a few situations where the gauges in the dash would cut off so I figured it was a matter of time before this happened. Smoke even came from behind the steering wheel the day before yesterday. Even with all of that being in play right now the car itself isn't far from my house so silver lining the situation isn't as bad as it could be. With that said I'm thinking I need the battery replaced or the spark plugs replaced or could be both I'm not 100%. Sorry to introduce myself and throw my problems at you guys at the same time but I figured I might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone so to speak. Thank you for having me apart of this great community and I hope to make some new connects really soon. I just hope this issue I'm having isn't too serious.

-Always open to advice Dominick

Re: Introduction Time

Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 11:15 pm
by spiffyguido
Sounds like you have a serious electrical short to me. If I were you, I'd start by taking a pretty serious look at your wiring. The fact that your whole dash flickered out makes me wonder if there isn't someplace where a positive lead is shorting directly to the frame or body of the car. Start at the battery and check the major wires outwards from there. Something isn't right with your electrical system. No need to replace things like plugs and the battery yet. First find the short.

Re: Introduction Time

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 11:21 pm
by yatepa
So I do not yet own a Prelude, but I'm trying to find one. Most every selection locally has 170,000+ on the odometer, and two out of three are in need of the timing repair that these cars seem to be plagued by.

I'm getting prepared to do the work with the engine pulled from the body, as I imagine this will make doing clutch replacement so much easier in addition.

I'm wondering if there are any "special sauce" secrets that will ease the process, any hidden pitsfalls to avoid, bolts to be extra careful with, etc.

Looks like I need to do some research into the tensioner for the timing belt, but parts in general for these seem pretty affordable.

Hello folks.

Re: Introduction Time

Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 3:02 pm
by spiffyguido
yatepa wrote:I'm wondering if there are any "special sauce" secrets that will ease the process, any hidden pitsfalls to avoid, bolts to be extra careful with, etc.
Our video series on doing the timing belt will likely help you out:

videos.php