We just bought a 1998 Honda Accord LX, black. The car has 90k miles. the engine and transmission seem to be in good condition which my mechanic confirmed as well. There are no leaks. The clear coat outside is peeling and needs a paint job asap. Also I realized that the engine temperature gauge stays about 1/4 high (closer to cold), what does this mean?

The car doesn't seem to have the timing belt done, my mechanic insists that I get it done as soon as possible. What do you guys think? Should I wait till it hits 100k or am I taking a risk by doing that? Does this year Honda accord have interference or non interference engines? Anything else you guys would recommend in doing? Thank you!

 

Normal temperature gauge will be at about 40%. But it's not the most accurate gauge, so if it's CONSISTANT and reads solid & doesn't cool off or overheat while driving then I'd say it's OK.

It might be that a previous owner installed a colder thermostat. I'm not really in favor of doing that, so next time you rinse & change your antifreeze you may want to get a new T-stat.

Timing belt should be about 100k miles or 7 years. You're overdue on years. There seems to be some margin, because we hear about people who wait longer than 100k miles. But we also hear about people who have them break and bend their valves for a VERY expensive repair. "Do ya feel LUCKY?"

 

Thank you for the fast reply. I am not familiar of the term " colder thermostat" does it mean its a cheaper thermostat? Thanks for explaining the timing belt issue, I had the timing belt go out on me on a Toyota camry but luckily it had a non interference engine so no harm was done. I rather be safe than sorry so I will most likely do the timing belt soon.

Also I realized the car vibrated a little when in drive or reverse, not really a great deal but noticeable specially when my daily driver is a Lexus es300 which is very quiet.

This may sound stupid but what is difference between d3 and d4 gears? Thank you!

 

Back in the day, you could choose different thermostats with different temperatures. Maybe OK on a 65 Chevy, but not so good on modern fuel-injected cars.

If not on purpose, then maybe the thermostat has just gotten old & begins opening at the wrong temperature.

Check the seals around the crankshaft, camshaft & balance shafts. Anything leaking should be replaced. Some people say replace em all anyway, but I'd leave alone the ones that don't leak.

Also possibly the tensioner pulleys (can't get their bearings separately).

D3 allows the trans to shift automatically through 1, 2, 3.
D4 allows the trans to shift automatically through all gears 1, 2, 3, 4.
Leave it in D4 all the time - very little need (if ever) to use D3.

 

For the vibration, check or have the mounts inspected.

 

Thanks for the help guys!

 

Can I get a ride on the topic? About the thermostat...I have the same temp condition with FirstAccord. Constant at 1/4 (40%).
[IMG]https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/forum/
My question is- during A/C is ON, both fans (rad and fan) switches off with an interval of about 10-15 seconds only. Is this but normal or too often that can cause me a higher fuel consumption. My FC now is only hitting at 5-6 kms/li on city driving and 10-11 kms/li on highway driving. Or do I have an out of range thermostat that causes a faster ON/OFF interval on the fans and affects my FC? Or my FC is just normal for a 2.0 non-vtec engine?

 

Diorel, your temperature looks good. When FirstAccord said 1/4, I pictured MUCH closer to the blue band. That blue band comes up to about 10% or 15%.

AC cycling every 15 seconds sounds too fast to me. Possibly over-charged with refrigerant? Or maybe the expansion valve is blocked? What is your fuel consumption if you leave the AC turned off? Possibly there's other things wrong with your AC? (I'm not the best AC expert around here.)

 

Yes that's what I meant by 1/4 with the blue being zero, so this is normal? I always thought that the needle had to be in the middle?

Also I usually put one can of seafoam in the gas tank when I get my oil changed on my other cars. Is it ok to do this on the accord?

Thank you!

 

With Seafoam - some people love it and swear by it. Others think it could cause damage. I have 2 or 3 cans of it in my garage that I have had for probably 3 years and have never gotten around to trying it. Plus I don't want to anger my neighbors with huge plumes of white smoke.
I just realized I am talking about sucking about 1/3 of the can into the intake through the PCV valve and putting the rest in the gas tank. You are talking about putting the whole can in the gas tank. Hmm....