How to know if gauges were swapped to read less miles??

[Dallas]

Hi, this is my first post. I bought a 1991 prelude yesterday. So many things have happened since then, I do not know where to start.
Here goes:
1. Was told the a\c takes a while to kick in. It simply blows hot air no matter what. I confronted the owner via phone call and he said it "might need a recharge."
2. Smelt something burning on the 100+ mile drive home, so I pulled into a gas station to check it out.. It seems to be leaking oil from somewhere. I asked the owner about this and he said he just paid a shop to fix that problem and will get me the receipts.. Could be something loose or could be the head gasket for all I know. The check engine light wasn't on and the temp gauge seemed to be working so there's that, however, the fan stayed on for a couple minutes after the car was shut down and I've heard that could be a symptom of overheating.
3. When I was done inspecting the car, I decided to put some gas in it. I came back from paying(in Oregon, we pay people to pump our gas), there was gas all over the ground. The attendant claimed that it must have a leak from someone trying to cut a hose to steal gas from my car.. what the hell? 3 problems and I'm not even home yet.
4. I just received a call from the guy I bought it from(a friend of the owner who was selling the car since he wasn't available to show it) saying that he just found out that the owner swapped out the cluster to read less miles and that he lied about the work that had been done. He told me he might need me to drive back so he can show it to the police and confirm that the cluster was switched. In response, I call the owner and he was livid -saying that his "friend" cheated him out of the $2,000 I bought the car for and he had already called the police.. I called the police and they verified the title and everything checked out okay so I think he was telling the truth about not swapping the cluster out. The current cluster reads 156k and works fine. I have hard time believing that someone would take the time and effort to swap out a cluster.. only for it to read 156k.

Let me just say this before all responses: I am the type of person who makes really stupid mistakes. I am an idiot. I should have had a mechanic check everything before purchasing. In fact, I knew this. I just didn't.. do it. I really hate myself right now for making yet another stupid car purchase. My current plan is to confirm the miles somehow and make the best of this.

All this aside and I genuinely like this car. I would like to fix these problems and have a solid commuter for a few years.

-Dallas

[spiffyguido]

First, welcome to the forums. We'll try to help you as best we can.

Thanks for numbering your questions....it'll make my responses a lot easier.

1. If the AC doesn't start to blow cold air, you've certainly got a problem somewhere. A recharge might be what's needed, but be prepared to learn that the compressor or other parts are to blame. I think you'll have to do more investigation in this area.

2. Find the source of that leak and get it fixed. If it really was supposed to be fixed by a shop, I'd be marching the car right back there immediately to have them get it right. Regarding the fans staying on after the car is turned off, that's complete normal. Many Honda engines will run the fans after shut down to control the pace of engine cooldown. Nothing to worry about.

3. Fuel leak? That's scary...fix it immediately. I'm wondering if the filler hose has a hole it it, or something like that. Find the leak and get it fixed. We deal with fuel all the time, and although it's not the most volatile substance known to man, it's volatile enough to give you trouble. A fuel leak onto a hot exhaust system is a good way to light your car on fire. Plus, none of us want to see fuel leaking into the environment. Fuel is full of nasty stuff that is best kept within the confines of the fuel system.

4. It's not that difficult to swap a cluster, and people will do it make the mileage appear lower. Doing so would be a form of fraud, but that doesn't deter some people from doing such things. Many registry services have mileage recording at the time of registration. If your region offers this, it is one way you can verify that the mileage hasn't been tampered with. If the car has been serviced at a dealer, the dealers will also often report the mileage to online services like CarFax.

All in all, it does sound like there is some funny business occurring around this sale. If the owner's friend sold the car, who signed the bill of sale? I'd tread carefully.

[Dallas]

Thank you for the advice! I spoke with the dmv this morning and they told me I shouldn't have a problem transferring it into my name; and pointed me to Car Fax to figure out the mile situation.
I'll keep updating this when there are new developments and in the meantime, try to find local junk yards for parts.

[Dallas]

Well, bad news and good news?? Maybe. I think I was wrong about the oil leak. It seems to be power steering fluid instead. It is dripping from both sides of the car and the level of the power steering fluid is getting low.(The oil level remains the same) I thought I heard a spraying on the drive home today, and as far as I can tell, there is a hose to the left of the engine that isn't connected to anything. I think it only sprays when I turn so that explains why when the hood was up everything was okay. I'm taking it to a mechanic in the morning to diagnose the problem. As far as problems go, leaking power steering fluid seems like a cheaper fix than an oil leak, so possible victory for my wallet.

EDIT* I found this article on here that explains exactly what is happening with my car: http://www.harleyc.com/prelude/writeUps ... fault.html

[Dallas]

New bad news! autocheck report shows 200k on car.. looks like I paid $2,000 for this car that probably wasn't worth half that. http://www.rochesterareaforddealers.com ... e-glossary

Does anybody have suggestions on what I should do about this? The guy really did swap out the gauge cluster to read less miles.

[spiffyguido]

That's fraud. I'd be phoning the DMV to tell them what happened. They'll give you tips on what to do next.

I wouldn't bother doing anything to the car until you get this purchase sorted out.

[Dallas]

I contacted the DMV and they literally told me it doesn't matter that the cluster was swapped out. Apparently, they don't record the mileage on cars older than 9 years anyway, so nothing bad would happen when I register it.

[spiffyguido]

That's good news, I guess.

If your power steering problem akin to what was described in the writeup you mentioned, that might be a nice place to start addressing the problem. That writeup talks about a bad shaft seal on the power steering pump. If there is problems with the hoses themselves, you'll have to find the leaks and fix them.

[Dallas]

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/aut ... _b3306.png

I don't have a way upload pictures right now, so this link is the best I got.

Basically that really long hose in the top left area of the picture is connected to nothing, and is in fact pointed at(and spraying on) the aftermarket air intake. This is the source of the leak. I tilted it down and fluid came out. I think it was propped up to stall the effects of this and when I hit a pot hole it lowered and spewed fluid everywhere. I can't even tell where this thing is supposed to connect because the air intake is different from the stock one. I also think it's missing a hose completely because it doesn't reach as far as the one in the picture.

[spiffyguido]

That hose should run to one of the small metal pipes that run along the firewall. Perhaps you'll find a break in the connection there.

It is possible to upload pictures of your situation as well. If you use the full post editor (not the quick reply) you can upload attachments.

[Dallas]

Took the car to a mechanic friend today and apparently it was the "high pressure power steering line." They run about $250 and are notorious for going bad, so a junk yard find is a no go. His temporary fix was to remove the power steering belt, which needed replacing anyway. I get my car back, just no power steering until I get the cash for this part. Basically, the people I bought the car from plugged the line because they didn't want to replace it, it built up pressure and BAM! Power steering fluid everywhere.

[spiffyguido]

That's gross. Get the excess fluid cleaned up so that it doesn't dirty up your engine bay. Otherwise, you're back on the road for now. You'll be able to survive a while without power steering.