Sup dudes;

Got my sisters ex-car, after she bought a new car. I inherited a 1996 Accord EX coupe, that forest greenish color. Awesome car, why? Because its clean, running strong and it has 311,000 miles on it, and it feels like its got another 60,000 miles left in it at least. A lot of Long Island highway commute miles to the city and back by previous 1 and only owner. That owner friend of my mom, kept the 96 Accord well maintained on a proper schedule its whole life, then donated to my sister a year or two ago, and now down to me.

Car has had its problems but seems well, since my sister got it 2 years ago when it runs it always has a burning rubber/plastic smell kind of, subtle but I've noticed it back then and now that i have it, after car is turned off within 5-10 min that faint burning smell goes away, just cant pin point if its burning rubber slash plastic type smell, or oil, brake or some other fluid just dripping on the engine and burning off, but whatever it is, it is faint and has been occurring for 2 years now and the car keeps trucking.

Only other minor sign of age of 311,XXX miles is a slight oil leak, that makes us check the level every day, to be safe, and if i crunched the numbers id say since we got this Accord, checking the oil leak every day, it drips 1-3 ounces of oil every 36 hours, and we have to put 3/4 of a Quart every 7-10 days, but really, this road warrior is riding smooth still and strong, and has made me become a Honda enthusiast based off the simplicity of this car yet the durability as well...

The slight oil leak of 2+ years and the burning rubber smell while the motors been running of 2+years is irrelevant! lol although any opinions on those vague problems i will be listening to those opinions and will check out quality leads from you motor heads hah



Here's where I'm looking for HELP!!! slash ingenious back-yard-do-it-yourselfer takes $10 in supplies and a brilliant innovation to bolster the car up and make it feel twice as strong lol, here it is, gimme

I'm no mechanic and would classify myself as a novice, but i do do the oil changes, the brakes, the sound systems, detailing, air filter, spark plugs, above the average dude...

What I'm asking for is obvious feedback and things of that nature, what you thinks, what you knows, about my situation mechanically, and not, just even what you'd do as simple and as miniscule down to, "Hey Kevin, swap the OEM windshield wiper motor for this brand/type of windshield wiper motor, and your windshield wipers will work forever, in any condition, they'll never let you down" even just as down to as dumb and simple and plain as that, I'm like a sponge right now and i want it all, i want to pretty much make sure this thing keeps trooping right up to 650,000miles. Even though I may not know much, I'm smart, and i tinker a lot and it all becomes easy for me faster than you'd think, i just need certain guidance. Hence.. the vague and in adequate descriptions of the burning smell and slight oil leak my cars only problems are (also, other than approaching 315k)haha

But I've yet to pop the hood yet even, so i may be able to identify the things I'm seeking just as easily as i may never locate certain problems.

But the advice! i am curious of is what you true longtime Honda Accord junkies would advise to me who's starting from scratch with this high mileage Accord, in which i only got a 100 dollars right now, but I'm asking for you dudes out there to tell me where you would start with a $100 budget, this 311,000 mile accord that is working fine as an everyday car since day 1, that what would y'all recommend I do to reinforce/improve/make sturdier/make the car work less hard on itself cause of grudge or bad grease build up in areas of engine function??????? etc... basic stuff, start with kindergarten stuff and we will work up through the mechanical school system, but cheap, easy fixes or easy part replacement to help ensure that 311,000 miles is just the beginning of this Accords journey.


I know I am a scatter brain I won't even proof read this I realize I just rambled non sense, with no real car vocabulary used in my rant.... but based off the vague retarded stuff I said, right now, if i went to my local part store, I just wanna know what are 10 15 20 etc.. dollar parts that is gonna help keep this car fresh and running smooth and strong like it is and are parts and methods that are just gonna help preserve this legendary trooper...

If you're a nice enough guy and wanna troubleshoot with me or something like that, ask me questions, i know i make no sense, and i will try and answer and describe what you don't understand I'm saying about the car or what the problem is, paint a simple picture.

I just wanna do the right thing for once, and keeping this gem of a '96 Honda Accord EX Coupe running, because as a all around car enthusiast no car have i ever owned has impressed me like this 311k Accord running as the everyday driver its been since the get-go.

I know, I'm gay... i accept full responsibility, i never posted a thing in my life, despite it...
Give me your thoughts and fixes and mending's and Honda Accord bolstering up, your old parts that need to be checked urgently and possibly replaced asap, tricks, and opinions, and help, let me hear what ya think....

Thanks for even reading what i wrote if ya did ha way too much, sorry readers.

P.P.S. this car is an everyday driver, average 5-10 miles a day, friends, bars, work, all close by, but through your opinions and things to reinforce in the Accord i eventually want to feel comfy going to visit friends who live 2 and 1/2 hours away, straight shot no traffic[70mph] the whole way, right now, i would go but i do feel like long road trip has me holding back, and yea i guess i finally realized, i wanna make upgrades and repairs from beginner to advanced mechanics so that despite the deterioration of 311,000 miles, after my labor, i wanna feel confident i can visit friends in college at some point and the all live max 3 hours away and minimum 1 and 1/2 hour away, and i don't wanna be set in the back of the mind as i cross over Manhattan that im still worried of a breakdown just because smells, and age of car is bugging me, so please,

someone start molding me into a car refurbish-er lol

 

Welcome to the forum, sounds like you got a great car.

As for the smell is it something you smell while driving or you can only smell it outside the car?

And the oil leak, I would put a piece of cardboard under the car at night so you can get an idea of where the oil is coming from and then we can go from there.

 

Thanks man, yeah the cardboard has been on my mind lately, to start and see wheres its coming from, it's like a quarter maybe 2 quarters size every morning not concerned immediate, just cause its so little and I'm on top of it 3 times a day just to be over concerning.... smell is only from outside the car, my boy says its the brakes, but its the faint smell has radiated off the engine faintly for over a year now so its not brakes in my opinion lol...
but since you might be my only replier to this thread live2rice, what would you do with a hundred bucks to get started on replacing parts that are original from day one till now the 311k miles on it, what stock simple cheap easy parts that have seen 300k miles would you do quick replacements on i.e (hoses, distributor, exhaust manifold) are those places you'd start, i just opened hood, looks pretty clean, its a vtech, looks like new alternator poss radiator, only thing that alarms me is what i think looks like the exhaust manifold is pitted out, with holes, could be that smell im smelling thru the manifold rust holes... but yea what would you start replacing or checking on how they're doing part wise, some hoses look new some look stock, is that like the most basic fix slash way to get started on helping to make this car work easier, what about all this chemical cans i see to poor into the oil reservoir and it helps clean and lubricate cylinders and fuel injectors out, and chemicals for the radiator to help flush it and also seal up ****** in the radiators armor, etc i know millions of those chemicals are out there that "say" they do millions of different things, but i don't know if they actually do good cleaning out of engine parts internally, But! that is not at all what I am specifically talking about, chemical cleaners , but it was just an example of the cheap fixes and reinforcements I'm looking to do all over this whip, and to start now, and with the easiest cheapest materials, like i wanna do the exhaust manifold now bc after opening the hood for the first time its, clean and spacious and the only thing that looks rotted out like you'd think a 311,000 mile Honda would be is the exhaust manifold, and i could do that if the part isn't sky high anddd if guys like in this forum website can provide me with diagrams or just word for word directions then for the first time ill start replacing an exhaust manifold, like today. lol but all you car junkies out there peep in to these paragraphs I'm spewing, understand i am a kid, and then please, like i asked, tell me where the 1st Grader steps are to toughening this car up and replacing stock parts that have 311k on them and make the switch to ensure this awesome longevity

 

My question would be do you know the last time the timing belt was replaced? It is recommend every 105k miles or every 7 years, whichever comes first. If the timing belt fails then the engine implodes and would either need to be replaced or rebuilt.

My next question would be when were the spark plugs last replaced? They are cheap and easy to replace and can help the engine run a lot smoother and get better gas mileage.

As far as the exhaust manifold goes its typical for one to be rusty, especially at that age. As long as its not leaking(which it would be very loud if it was) I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I'm guessing it looks something like this:


Also a new exhaust manifold would likely cost more than $100, and usually isnt the funnest thing to replace when everything is all rusted.

 

Touche that helped tremendously, gonna find out about the timing belt, unsure, bout that, bout 5 months ago spark plugs and distributor cap, i believe its called, was replaced after a plug connector popped off and it was mis firing, after new cap and spark plugs and wires, everything went smooth again.... Yea thats what my manifold looks like only with a couple holes straight thru, could the huge holes in the manifold case a smell of some sort that im smelling outside the car? and i got nothing but time so i might take the manifold endenvour on down the road... timing belt, how much does that fix cost, slash better to let someone else do it or could i?

 

If you could post a picture of your manifold it would help me understand better what you mean by holes.

As far as the timing belt goes, its not cheap. Parts wise you would be looking at $150-200. Its also a somewhat complicated procedure that most novices don't tackle themselves, but it could be done. There are plenty of write ups out there on how to do it. The only thing to remember is if it is done wrong then it can cause a lot of damage.

To pay someone to do it I would think you would be looking at $400-500.

 

for a $100 bucks, I'd say go with the suggestion of spark plugs and check out where that oil leak is coming from.. you do want to replace the timing belt but dealer costs about 650 for the process.. I am sure you could find craigslist mechanics that'll do it for around 300 to 400 or so as stated by the dude with the sickass blue accord..

i'd definitely go with fixing that oil leak.. and yo that's one hell of a write up, i presume you're good at writing lengthy essays..

 

Are Honda's rates that high? I paid less than $400 to have the Volvo dealership change the one on my V70 and Volvo is normally insanely high priced.

 

yeah buddy.. soon as i become less of a novice to this fix it myself attitude, bc i know i can, ill have photos etc things like that so that you smart honda dudes can see and even better gimme advice and opinions... but so far great help, things that meet the eye as i just filled up on some oil, is new alternator , new sparks and the wirings to the spark plugs caps and distrubutor cap is new as well, but now im pissed bc last night i tried installing a deck i had in my closet bought the correct wiring harness couldn't get it to work, ran out of daylight so in the morning i was left with re installing factory radio and center console, a 20 min procedure, but after everytthing got put back to exact how it was, now the factory radio wont work just constantly says "cOde" in the display, and it leaves me A) pissed i want the factory radio working until my crutchfield order comes in a few days and i have the new deck and harness and mounting kit and master sheet instructions, aka no music till i get my crutchfield order, and B) now concerned i did something wrong, bc aftermarket radio didn't work, now factory radio doesn't work, feel like i ruined something, ... heard that a stereo factory or aftermarket wont work unless negative cable is disconnected from car battery at first before installation then install oem stereo or after market and then connect car to car batter and that resets stereo?! any truth to that simple but madness technique bc i never did that in the past and my jeep and acclaim all took the aftermarket deck as soon as i clipped harnesses in them with car electric still flowing they worked from the getco so idk, if battery disconnect is the proper way to intiate and or reset a stereo like damn im a noob haha

 

Heed the advice about timing belt changes. Get those maintenance records and find out when the timing belt was last changed.

The oil pressure light switch can leak and drip onto the exhaust pipe. Pretty common problem. A new switch is $10 - $15 at an auto parts store. Easiest to use a deep well socket to R&R, but it can be done with an open end wrench, 1/8 turn at a time. Take the oil filter off to get at it.