Introduction Time
Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 7:40 am
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)
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)