Hello, new to forum but need advice. My 1996 accord ex has 240,000 mi and is beginning to show signs of age. The body and interior are great so I want to keep the car. I just recently replaced timing belt, water pump, seals, plugs, adj. valves, etc. but I notice some oil usage, less power, some vibration, etc. My question is if I want to keep car do I plan on rebuild of my engine with upgrades for HP, or is there a better engine that would be just as easy to replace mine with, plug and play, minor mods?..also is there any advice on prolonging life of automatic transmission? I was told not to change fluid as that causes problems??? Should I change fluid? Is there an upgrade on transmission also? Any advice would be appreciated and yes i could read the entire forum but will do the detailed research after I get some quick advice to narrow down my search and research. thanks, STeve

 

Who told you not to change ATF?

I'd change fluid, but drain & fill the fluid. Don't 'power-flush' it, Hondas don't seem to like that.

 

Maybe that was it, no power flush. I will change fluid. Thanks, Steve

 

Use actual HONDA ATF-Z1 fluid; you'll need 3 quarts for each drain/fill. If it comes out dirty, plan on a couple more drain/fill cycles & drive around in-between. The reason is that only about 1/3 of the total fluid actually drains so you have to keep diluting the dirt before it gets clean.