There is also an Autolite spark plug rebate of $2/plug. See rockauto's website promotions/rebates page.

good luck

 

Yes, first tune-up ever. I love my car, though it may have rust and lots of things that need fixed. I wouldn't mind being the last owner.

 

if your car has all original parts, you might also want to consider a new distributor rotor($8 ebay), new plug wires($25 ebay), new fuel filter($10 ebay), and clean/tighten your FITV, IACV, and PCV valve with carb cleaner. Also you can scrub the battery terminals and distributor cap terminals with a wire brush. these are all maintenance jobs that are easy to do yourself and will help your car run smoother.

 

If you still have the OEM spark plug wires on your car, leave them. Those wires seem to last forever.

I would inspect the distributor cap and rotor. If the contacts look worn out, then I would replace the cap.

I wouldn't mess around with the fuel filter unless your car is having problems running.

Clean out the PCV valve, because that is pretty simple. Clean out the bore of the throttle body and both sides of the throttle plate with throttle body cleaner. There is a screen on the IACV that can get clogged up with carbon over time. I wouldn't open the FITV unless you are having idling problems once the engine warms up.

 

I wish I knew if the spark plug wires were OEM. I do know the previous owner.

I was thinking it would be nice to replace things that really need replacing (for the working poor), like a partial tune-up (new spark plugs, oil change).

I do get the surging idle problem if I start my car, then press and release the gas pedal (it eventually stops once my car warms up). Saw a video on YT where this man screws down FITV with a flathead screwdriver, because they become loose over time. I sometimes notice when I am at a stop light, etc., that it will idle a little below 1000 RPM, then it will drop down to about 500 RPM (And I worry it will die). But later the RPM (and needle) do go back up to just under 1000 RPM. I have other things I would like to fix but I will leave for other threads.

Thanks for all the help.

 

Yes, I noticed when I changed my spark plugs yesterday, that there was oil in two tubes. Is that because a gasket or seal in the head has gas bad?

 

Orings in the valve cover

Just buy a valve cover kit and replace it all.

 

The car will run for a long time w/ oil in the spark plug wells, so it's not a "do it this week" kinda need (for the working poor).
When I got the '93 at 182,000 and changed the plugs like you're doing, I think there was oil in 3 of the 4 wells. Was running OK.

So tell us, you originally asked about plugs - what plugs did you get and are they working OK?

 

I bought the NGK V-Power Copper Spark Plugs (ZFR5F-11). Car is running fine. O'Reilly says that these plugs should be gapped to .044, just like on their website. There is still some sputtering when I start the car, but it was worse before I replaced the spark plugs. It goes away sooner (sputtering) and doesn't happen when the car is warmed up (I used my camera to record the sound and will post hear soon in an attachment when I can make the video short enough to upload to forum). I noticed that my car is idling below 1000 RPM, about 800 - 700 RPM. I need to adjust the timing I think and maybe that is why I am get the metal pinging sound when I try to give it a little extra gas from the pedal (As i tried to describe in another thread about that problem). Although another member said it could be loose catalytic converter heat bolts. Need to check next time I borrow my friends jack and jack stands.

I do need to replace the exhaust system when I can afford too, so it is noisy from where the exhaust had broke apart from rust. I bought a piece of inch long exhaust pipe from O'Rielly last year to slide into both ends of exhaust where it broke as a temp fix (so my exhaust isn't hanging/scraping). I want to call this salvage yard I have been buying some parts from, to see if they can find an exhaust (they say they try to keep Honda's and Subaru's in their yard because they are popular around here) that is rusty or holey.

Sorry for the long reply. Thanks to all for your replies and for taking the time to read and help me.

 

Looks like the valve cover gasket sets aren't pretty inexpensive. Glad a lot of things I can fix/replace, etc., aren't expensive for these Honda's.