1991 Honda Accord SE Automatic w/ 91k miles in Blue Green Metallic

[Danager4792]

Hello everyone, my name is Dan and I am from Memphis, TN. I am 30 years old. My first car at the age of 16 was a 1994 Honda Prelude 5-Speed. After selling that car, the Honda itch still stayed with me. Roughly two years ago I purchased this car. It was always garage kept and worked on by Honda specific shops. The previous owner always used Honda OEM parts, and practically babied it. A paint pen has never even touched the car. It will always be my goal to keep this car 100% stock but I have done a little bit of updating. 20% tint all around, aftermarket radio and Rockford Fosgate speakers, and LED headlights.

[Danager4792]

I am currently in the process of learning how to upload images on this specific site, so bear with me on quality etc.

[Corrosion]

It looks very nice. I don't see any rust at all on it. I wish I could say the same thing for myself.

[UnicornHondaSE]

Oh snap! Another nice Brittany Blue Green survivor. For 91K miles it looks to be in excellent condition.

Salt belt states really need to force their government to stop salting the roads and killing everyone's car. I don't understand why the north Midwest and northeast can't switch to sand like the PNW uses.

Anyway, if you are not sure when the timing belt was replaced I suggest having that service completed ASAP.

I am currently waiting for parts for the front suspension. Last month I did a basic rear suspension update with Koni shocks, Tein springs, KYB hats and bump stops, dust boots, and rubber cushions and insulators. It made a noticeable difference in driving, and it also has a nicer stance.

I would bet that at 91K miles your Brittany is feeling quite sloshy and loose.

As for photos, you will probably need to pay for an upgraded membership, since if I recall correctly there is a photo size and upload limit. Or use an independent file host. I use Flickr.

Enjoy the Accord!

[SSMAccord]

This looks like an excellent survivor! I’m glad to see it’s in the hands of someone who wants to keep it in pristine shape.

[Danager4792]

Oh snap! Another nice Brittany Blue Green survivor. For 91K miles it looks to be in excellent condition.

Salt belt states really need to force their government to stop salting the roads and killing everyone's car. I don't understand why the north Midwest and northeast can't switch to sand like the PNW uses.

Anyway, if you are not sure when the timing belt was replaced I suggest having that service completed ASAP.

I am currently waiting for parts for the front suspension. Last month I did a basic rear suspension update with Koni shocks, Tein springs, KYB hats and bump stops, dust boots, and rubber cushions and insulators. It made a noticeable difference in driving, and it also has a nicer stance.

I would bet that at 91K miles your Brittany is feeling quite sloshy and loose.

As for photos, you will probably need to pay for an upgraded membership, since if I recall correctly there is a photo size and upload limit. Or use an independent file host. I use Flickr.

Enjoy the Accord!

I definitely noticed your Accord when I was making an account. I said "there's no way another one like mine is on here, and it looks better"
Do you often get compliments at gas stations and parking lots? I sure do and it never stops. I can't complain. I am about to add a post to this thread describing all of my recent troubles.. most importantly that I'm getting 12.3mpg city. Stay tuned.

[UnicornHondaSE]

Yours is pretty nice looking, congrats. Your drivers seat despite having more mileage than my bro's, looks in much better condition.

It would be cool to see them side by side. My bro has come out to his Accord and found notes on it asking to buy it. lol. This happened twice last summer, he saved one of them. When we drive it I notice many people looking at it, and when we take it to cars and coffee here, many people smile and say, I remember this car.

Check the vehicle classifies here, I just found and posted a real gem for sale.

[Danager4792]

In the past year I have had quite the surprises and troubles. I suppose it was just general maintenance creeping up and possibly old age.

6-8 months ago I had the original alternator and A/C compressor die within a two week span. That was fun. Both were fixed along with new belts.

5 months ago the driver side CV axle boot started leaking. The axle was replaced.

4 months ago the fuel gauge stopped working. The fuel sending unit went out. Thankfully it had it's own access panel and was seperate from the fuel tank. I replaced it myself with an OEM part.

2 months ago I noticed that I was getting 11mpg city.(No check engine light) I checked the spark plugs and they were covered in oil. The day before driving to my mechanic's house to address this, antifreeze was leaking out of the water pump weep hole.
A lot of parts were replaced to help the mpg. New water pump and timing belt, valve cover gasket(Felpro), spark plugs(NGK V Copper), plug wires(Denso OEM), Fuel filter(WIX), o2 sensor(NTK). To top things off, when the mechanic was driving my car back the ignition assembly went out. The lock cylinder and assembly were replaced as well.

I recently checked the MPG and it was 12.3mpg city. I drive like a grandma. I set my trip meter and then I check it the next time I fill up. I was at an 1/8th of a tank with 136 miles on the dash. It took 11 gallons to fill the tank up.

I did the "ear" test on the fuel injectors and they all have a pulsing vibration to them. That doesn't mean one isn't clogged though. No fuel spill around them.

The only clue I have right now is oil leaking from where the distributor meets the engine. I took the cap off tonight and all of the contacts were covered in corrosion.The rotor had some wiggle/movement to it. No oil was in the distributor. I have a oil seal kit on the way with a new cap and rotor.

Things I have not done are clean the EGR valve or replace the PVC. Could a catalytic converter fail at 91k miles? I am open to any suggestions!

[Danager4792]

Yours is pretty nice looking, congrats. Your drivers seat despite having more mileage than my bro's, looks in much better condition.

It would be cool to see them side by side. My bro has come out to his Accord and found notes on it asking to buy it. lol. This happened twice last summer, he saved one of them. When we drive it I notice many people looking at it, and when we take it to cars and coffee here, many people smile and say, I remember this car.

Check the vehicle classifies here, I just found and posted a real gem for sale.

Yes it would be super cool to see both cars side by side. I also have had someone leave their number under my windshield wiper blade wanting to buy it. The note is hanging on my fridge as a reminder to take care of the car. I will check out your ad!

[UnicornHondaSE]

Wow that's a lot of stuff to fail all at once, but I suppose when it rains it pours. These cars are thirty some years old now so the rubber parts and even some electrical parts will need replacement. It could be due to moisture. Is it humid in TN?

I would perform a compression test and see where the numbers are. That and replace the fuel filter if you have not done so. If you really wanted to clean out the engine you could do the sea foam engine cleaner, but I would check compression first.

Does it have good acceleration, or does it feel sluggish?

Another thing is that the previous owner may have used the 87 cheap fuel, and drove like Miss Daisy, causing a build up of excess carbon.

I would change the fuel filter and put some Lucas Oils fuel system additive to the fuel tank and then see how it runs after that. If you are still getting poor m'spg then I would do a compression test, that would give you an idea of the health of the piston rings. Then the next step would be a leak down test which tests the valves if they are leaking.

[Danager4792]

Do these engines prefer 89 or 93 fuel?

it is very humid here in TN during summer and entering fall. About 60-70% humidity most of the time.

Fuel filter was replaced two months ago.

i’ll go ahead and add the Lucas fuel system cleaner to the gas tank. I’ll do a compression test here soon and post the results. Thanks again for the insight.

[UnicornHondaSE]

My personal opinion on fuel is that I never use 87 and I rarely use 89, only if it's the only thing available and I'm in the middle of no where on a road trip. Premium fuel only for my cars because it is a matter of quality and purity. And often times I will put a bottle of Lucas Oils octane booster in the tank even with 93, especially on the Civic Type R.

It's like with anything else, you get what you pay for. There is a reason why hardcore motorheads will run only race fuel, especially for forced induction cars, turbo or supercharged, if they have an engine they want to last, or if they have an expensive forged internals engine, because the more pure refined fuel is a safeguard against knock. It's a more controlled clean burn / combustion.

I believe that many EGR valves get super clogged because of low octane fuel.

[SSMAccord]

Looking at the list of things you’ve already replaced, I would clean the EGR system and replace the PVC valve as the potential issues. A compression test would also be insightful. Also, have you checked for a dragging brake? Little issues like that can also affect fuel mileage.

[Danager4792]

Looking at the list of things you’ve already replaced, I would clean the EGR system and replace the PVC valve as the potential issues. A compression test would also be insightful. Also, have you checked for a dragging brake? Little issues like that can also affect fuel mileage.

Thanks for your reply. Compression checked out really good. 175psi across all cylinders. I also took the EGR valve off and did some inspecting. Carbon build up was inside the valve, but nothing major. I cleaned it anyway. Took a look at the EGR port that had minor carbon build up and blew air through the two holes with an air compressor. Nothing was clogged. Have not replaced the PCV valve yet.

I ended up replacing the distributor last night (embarassing story) Let's just say that during the compression test I let the plug wires lie on the intake manifold, which made them arc and fry one of the sensors in the distributor. Anyways. I also did the ignition timing with a timing light. The car idles and revs SO much smoother now. Hopefuly a weak and dying distributor was one of the major culprits.

[UnicornHondaSE]

175 psi compression, awesome! Glad you got some smoother idle out of the unintentional mishap with the wires. -thumbs up- The timing light probably helped also.

For the egr valve, I poured a little bit of seafoam in that passage in hopes to clean it out a bit, and I replaced the gasket.