I'll give the background on this car. I got ripped off on this deal, I bought a 92 Honda accord with 277k miles for $1550 a few weeks ago. I don't feel the car is worth that given what all is wrong with it. My stupid self was in a hurry and didn't get it checked out, and actually believed the guy that lied to me about what was wrong with the car. He said he knew the right tire needed bearings and the a/c needed charged. Here is the list of problems (a/c doesn't work, brakes are bad, antenna is broken and stereo does not work, it idles at about 500 rpms, the muffler sounds like it has a hole and if I drive over 60 it feels like it misfires(drops out) and then comes back.)

I tried to work the brakes myself and realized that the right front brake pad was completely down to the medal so I needed to replace it. After trying that, I realized that the piston on the caliper would not go back in, and the rotors probably needed replaced. Also, when trying to take of the rotor to see what size it is to get new ones, we couldn't get the nut to come loose on the hub assembly.

So I bought and installed a new caliper and put on the new pads. The car still makes a whrring noise while driving. So I figure I will take it to a local brake and allignment shop and get a free estimate. They now are telling me that it is $1200 worth of repairs. They say I need both front bearings replaced. Both ball joints need replaced, and the left side CV Joint needs replaced.

So my question is with all that is wrong with the vehicle, I don't think it is work $1200 in repairs. Would it be reccomended to do the installs myself if I rented the tools from Autozone. I'm not a mechanic, and brake pads are about my extent of work I have done. They say bearings are a big job because of how the rotors are behind the hub and it is a pain to do. What about the balljoints or cvjoints? Is that a hard job to do, I really don't have any other options as it is my daily driver. Any ideas?

 

It sounds like this accord was neglected. A basic tuneup might fix your 'misfires'. Get new spark plugs (NGK OEM spark plugs), wires, distributor cap, and rotor. When was the timing belt changed? That will be a big job. I would definitely change the oil and coolant. Maybe replace the thermostat (~$15), and get this from the dealership.

To begin with, you should remove the air intake tube and thoroughly clean the throttle plate and the bore with throttle body cleaner. The idle air control (IAC) valve can get plugged up with carbon buildup and cause idle problems. Clean this out with throttle body cleaner. This should help with the idle problems.

The EGR ports are likely plugged. Google T2T013.pdf to get a detailed procedure to clean the egr ports.

You can do most of the repairs yourself and save yourself a lot of money. You will need to find a machine shop to press in the ball joints and bearings. You basically will have to remove the entire knuckle to replace the suspension parts you mentioned. I would replace the rotors since the hub/bearing assembly will have to be removed. I got my rotors and lower ball joints from a honda dealership. Honda makes quality rotors (Brembo rotors are good too) and hondas lower ball joints were a lot cheaper than O'Reillys. I bought the new CV joints from O'Reillys and was happy with their quality and price.

As for the luxury stuff. The antenna is pretty simple and cheap as long as the antenna motor runs. You might need to enter a code to get the radio to work. Does it get power? You should check the radio fuse.

 

Good info PAhonda, a relative of mine had all that you mentioned done to her car (1994 Accord 200k miles)a year ago. I went further and cleaned the engine with half bottle of Sea Foam and a full bottle for the gas tank.I also haveused some Lucas for the fuel system. The car ran great and was much smoother with the new wheel bearings on the front.

I'm still driving my 275k miles '98 Accord with most of the original parts like bearings, cv joints, and front rotors and rear drums. I had to spend $$$$ for a new cat convt. and egr valve8 months ago because Ifailed emission test(about $800 including labor), but the car runs better and also mpgis betternow. Unfortunately Ihave to drop off my Accordto my mechanic tonightdue toslow radiator leak for the past 6 months.

Good luck duvalla08. Seems like your car was not well taken cared of. That is a tough choice you have to make

 

Thank you for your responses. The owner said the timing belt was recently replaced, but I don't believe anything else the guy told me so far.

As for the bearings needing pressed, if I buy the bearings and assembly together will I still need it pressed? Not sure what you mean?

As for the radio it works, I probably just need a new antenna, the radio comes on and tunes to a station, it is just static with a little noise. That wasn't even a big concern, just annoying that there are so many problems with the car.

Any ideas on getting the A/C fixed? I tried the bottle of refigerant from autozone, and it i looks like it is already full so the problem of it just needing filled was a joke. Also when I turn the air on this black stuff comes out of the vents. Any idea what that is?

Thanks again. Adam.

 

Mold spores?

 

if brake pads are the extent of your mechanical repairs, you are in for a crash course if you plan on replacing balljoints, wheel bearings, and cv shafts yourself without any of your own tools. But if you do try and do it its a great learning experience, i didn't know anything about this stuff until i had problems with my cars.

I think wheel bearings run $40 each, and a left cv shaft should run $60 after thecore charge.

You could probably save about $800-$900 doing this yourself, based on your estimate of having a shop do the repairs.

...with 277k on that car, the bolts you need to remove for these repairs are going to rusted/seized up pretty good, recommend usingliberal amounts of penetrant to avoid snapping/stripping bolts. Also, buy a haynes repair manual from autozone or someplace cause it will guide you through repairs step by step

good luck

 

the car is definetly worth having even with all the repairs that need to be done to it. the crash course in DIY is always a good thing as it saves $$$ by not taking it to a shop (no offense to the mechanics here).

 

You can probably buy the hub/bearing as one unit. It will be a lot more expensive. You can buy a new bearing and reuse the original hub. A machine shop will use a press (a large hydraulic vice) to push out the hub from the worn bearing, then push on the new bearing. It will save you a lot of money.

You should never try to add freon until you verify the pressure in the system. Start with the easy stuff. Turn on the A/C. Do both radiator fans come on? You should also see if the a/c clutch engages the a/c compressor pulley when you turn on the a/c. The clutch is the metal plate in front of the pulley. It does not spin when the a/c is off. It should engage and spin with the pulley when you turn on the a/c.

 

Take the upper timing belt cover off and have someone slowly crank the engine using a 19mm socket on the crank pulley. Check for cracks/missing chunks/stretching/etc. OR if he has a receipt for it that would be legit as well. The timing belt is not something I would take someone's word on as it's expensive to get done and I doubt he paid to get it changed. Timing belt is the most important thing to look at right now before you have a $1500 metal art piece in your driveway.