shes got heart Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Hey all I just joined this forum... you can find my introduction in the intro section. Anyways I have an 89 Accord LX-I. It's an automatic. Can anyone tell me what engine size this car has? I am pretty sure that it is a 4 cyl just don't know the CI of the engine. A few problems I have had with it so far are.... it's got an oil leak somewhere I think coming out of the manifold. The oil burns off on the manifold and smokes pretty bad. I've been told it might need a new manifold gasket.. not sure if I'm saying that right. I am new to these cars. And the car won't shift into second til after it passes about 3,000 RPM it doesn't slip.. it also moves in and out of 4th and 5th gears on the highway while driving around 60 to 70 mph. My dad said it might be a vaccume hose or something. Also it's not getting the gas mileage I expect out of a 4 cyl motor. I put 8 gallons of gas in it and got about 175 miles out of it and it was nearly empty when I put gas back in, fuel light wasn't back on yet though. I don't know how far it will go before the fuel light comes on so I didn't want to test it and run out of gas. If I do a tune up and do fresh plugs and wires change air filter, fuel filter ect. will I get better gas mileage? Also the driverside has been in a collision and the headlight keeps going up and down even when the car is turned off. My boyf got it stuck up high enough to where it won't do that now. I'm not sure if it's a wiring problem or not. But I don't know how to disconnect the motor so it will just stay up. (although I would prefer to fix it so both headlights can go up and down like they should) I would like to rebuild the motor sometime as it has 203,000 miles on it. I know thats not too bad for a Honda. Would it be cheaper to rebuild the motor I got.... or I was thinking of getting a salvaged motor out of a newer Honda that has better power like maybe a vtech. Which would be better? And what motor's will fit in this car? I know thats a mouthfull! I hope some of you can offer me help! Thanks all! Megan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannaBstuntin Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Wow that's alot. Well I believe you've got the A20, which is 2.0L 4cyl. I think you're best off running the engine till it dies, then swap it, because it should have a lot left in it. But if you want to build or swap now, then there should be plenty of info that you can search for on here. Otherwise, post up specific questions, because there's plenty of people on here who have done swaps and builds before. As for the tune up, you should def get better fuel efficiency than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shes got heart Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 Cool thanx, was planning on running the engine til it craps out on me. Which your right that could be awhile. I will do the tune up when I get the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kegger Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Full tune up, check all of your vacuum hoses, and replace the VC gasket first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleanGSR Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Definitely do the full tune up. You say it has an oil leak out of the manifold.....you have two manifolds so which one? INtake or exhaust mani that it's leaking out of? Is there oil in the crease between the head and the block? If so it's your headgasket or possibly warped head. If it's leaking through one of the manifolds, I'd guess valve seals (somebody can confirm or correct this), but that's the only way I can think of for oil to leak through those areas. There shouldn't be oil in the either manifold in the first place, so it's not a manifold gasket (though that might need replaced too if covered with oil). Do you actually mean manifold or do you mean valve cover? Anyway, specify where exactly the oil leak is at. Have you considered doing a compression test and/or leakdown test? Both of those could tell you a good bit about your engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shes got heart Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 Opps meant valve cover. I'm not EXACTLY sure where the oil leak is coming from I just know that it's burning off on the valve covers and causing a lot of smoke come out from under the hood. It also makes it smell like that in the car. The guy I bought it from said he put a quart of oil in it about every 4 weeks. We put 2 qt's in the day after we bought it and we've had it for one week now. I am going to check the oil today to see where it's at. My dad mentioned to me last night that we might do a compression test. He also said we might not have to rebuild the whole motor if the pistons are still good just do an overhaul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleanGSR Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Opps meant valve cover. I'm not EXACTLY sure where the oil leak is coming from I just know that it's burning off on the valve covers and causing a lot of smoke come out from under the hood. It also makes it smell like that in the car. The guy I bought it from said he put a quart of oil in it about every 4 weeks. We put 2 qt's in the day after we bought it and we've had it for one week now. I am going to check the oil today to see where it's at. My dad mentioned to me last night that we might do a compression test. He also said we might not have to rebuild the whole motor if the pistons are still good just do an overhaul. If it's leaking from the seam where the valve cover meets the head then that's a very easy fix. Go to autozone and get a valve cover gasket kit. Pop the valve cover off (probably 6 bots/nuts) pull the old one out and press the new one in. It will also come with upper and lower spark plug gaskets. Don't mess with the lower ones since you have to pull the rocker assembly to swap them, but change the upper spark plug gaskets to keep it from leaking oil into the plug areas. Be careful when putting the valve cover on to not overtighten the nuts that hold the VC on. The studs are weak and will break easily if you're not careful....they don't need to be super tight, just snug. Fix the above first and then see where your oil problem is. After you fix that problem, clean up the oil with a degreaser and water.....that way you can see if there is still a leak somewhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shes got heart Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 Awesome thanks CleanGSR I hope thats all it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleanGSR Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Awesome thanks CleanGSR I hope thats all it is No problem. Keep us updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shes got heart Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Hey guys we are planning on doing the vc gasket replacement next week. It's burning up oil fast. What all parts do I need for a full tune up? I'm thinking spark plugs, plug wires, oil filter, oil change, fuel filter?, what else am I missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRG7 Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 cap and rotor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shes got heart Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 cap and rotor I didn't even realize non carbed cars had those..... :lock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondahunter Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I didn't even realize non carbed cars had those..... :lock: new cars don't have distributors but not too far back fuel injected cars were using distribs. ohh btw spell it vtec some people will beat you up over that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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