Hi all,

My 98 Accord V6 is just about to reach 100k miles and I asked my mechanic to write up a 100k service list. I'm looking for your thoughts about a few of the items - what do you consider necessary? Is there anything that screams "do it yourself!"

So, here's the list
1. Fuel induction service, including top engine cleaner and fuel system cleaner ($109.95)
2. Engine coolant flush ($79.95)
3. New OE NKG spark plugs ($191.34)
4. Plenum gasket ($62.80) "Intake plenum gasket will need replaced at same time as spark plugs, followed by 3 part fuel service"
5. Timing belt kit (with water pump and tensioner assembly) ($707.86)
6. Ignition wire set ($88.09)
7. Honda ATF trans service ($101.96)
8. Bleed flush brake system ($49.98)

My thoughts:
- What is "fuel induction service"? Most of the cost of that one is in parts which makes me think I might be able to do it.
- I drained/filled coolant at 90k. Will they have to do this anyway in replacing the water pump?
- I changed plugs at 90k. The service manual didn't say anything about a "plenum gasket", and I'm not sure what that is. Looking up the part number they listed (MS96167), it looks like an intake manifold gasket kit. Is there something I need to do as a maintenance item?
- I am going to have them do the timing belt - it's beyond me right now. I hear a lot that you might as well do the water pump too, but I haven't heard that about the tensioner. Good to do that now?
- I thought I've read that the stock ignition wires last quite a long time, and I'm not getting any rough engine/mis-fire behavior. So, I'm thinking that's not necessary?
- ATF I did one drain/fill at 95k. I'm not sure anything was done before that.
- Brake fluid "bleed flush" is not something I've done. Best to replace all the fluid? Or is this a top-off and bleed kinda thing?


I know that's a lot of questions. I'm seeing this 100k service as a good opportunity to learn more about my car, do what I can do save some money and get in wrench time, and leave the hard stuff to the shop.

Thanks for your input,
Tyler

 

I'll take your list item by item

1. I have never really bought into the fuel induction service, like the "cleaners" etc. A new fuel filter would be a good idea, not sure if that is part of his service or not.

2. You will lose coolant when the water pump is done, and you may want to do this at this mileage and age.

3. If you just changed the plugs 10k miles ago I wouldn't pay someone $200 to do it again.

4. I'm not sure about the v6s, maybe the intake has to be taken off to access the spark plugs? Maybe that is why he wants to replace the gaskets. Other than that I wouldnt replace a gasket that isnt leaking.

5. Yes definitely do the timing belt, water pump, and tensioner.

6. Not necessarily a bad idea to replace the wires, it is something very easy to do yourself if you wanted to.

7. Wouldn't change the tranny fluid if you just did it 5k miles ago.

8. Not a bad idea on the brake fluid, as if its original its 16 year old brake fluid, which can get water in it which can rust your lines.

Overall the prices don't seem bad.

 

Thanks. There is no gasket removed to do the plugs and I tend to agree that there's no reason to replace a gasket that isn't leaking.

Timing belt, water pump and tensioner are definites. I'll probably have the shop do the brake fluid too. I'll do the wires, maybe pour in a fuel system cleaner for good measure. I think the rest is unnecessary.

 

Fuel system cleaner is a waste of money as well. Make sure they use a Honda type coolant.

 

Will do. I just flushed and changed coolant back to Honda coolant recently, so I'll make sure they are aware.

 

Rear sparkplugs are more difficult to get to than the front ones, but if you did them 10k miles back, you didn't have to dismantle the intake manifold, so why do they need to ????

Fuel system cleaner ... 100k miles on 1998 might be a lot of short trips during it's history? $3 for a bottle of cleaner from AutoZoned isn't a big purchase. Even if it IS probably a waste.

Antifreeze & brake fluid are 2 things that get overlooked commonly. (You got the antifreeze already.) Antifreeze has anti-corrosion stuff that gets "used up" over time.

Brake fluid absorbs water from the air over time, making it corrosive. Easy to forget that one during the routine maintenance.

ATF is not very old... but how clean/dirty was it? You want to establish a drain/fill interval so it never has the chance to get very dirty. Every 30k miles???

Honda factory sparkplug wires seem to last forever. If you can change sparkplugs yourself, then you can take off the wires & wash them (soap/water no solvents) & put them back on in the proper firing-order.

 

I agree on the spark plugs and intake manifold.

As for my driving, most of the miles are highway miles as my daily commute is 40 miles each way. The first 20k was probably all short trips as it was a granny car.

I'll definitely do the brake fluid (or, rather, have it done since I'm willing to pay $30 to not mess with and have to dispose of brake fluid).

When I changed ATF, it was the first time I've ever seen AT fluid so all I can say is that it looked quite a bit different than the new stuff. I know for a fact it has not been changed in 70k miles prior so I was going to drail/fill maybe once more, then stick to the 30k mile schedule.

As far as spark plug wires go, are there two ends to wash on each wire? Honestly I'm not even sure where they connect to on the non-spark plug end. All I've ever done with them is remove them to change the plugs.

Thanks for your comments.

 

The sparkplug wires all come together at the distributor, but before you remove them you need to make sure you can get them back on the same way. Draw yourself a picture of the 6 terminals of the distributor showing which wire is on each post. Whatever you need to put em back the same way. The wires are all different lengths too, so keep that in mind.

ATF doesn't have to get dirty like engine-oil, so if it looked very different than the new stuff then you can do a couple more changes. The torque converter doesn't drain, so you can only drain about 1/3 of the total fluid. Drain & fill, then drive around (5 or 10 miles) & repeat. Or drain & fill again a couple weekends in a row if you don't feel like doing it all in one day. When it drains out reasonably clean, then you can go to the 30k intervals. (I'm not a big auto-trans guru, so hope someone else chimes in too)

 

Thanks for the tips. I've also seen suggestions to only take off one wire at a time and replace it before moving on, to eliminate the possibility of replacing them in the wrong spot.

I hate to dump fluid after 10 miles of driving because it's not inexpensive, but I suppose it's a "pay me now or pay me a lot more later" when it comes to transmission care. I probably should accelerate another drain/fill or two before getting on the 30k schedule.

 

Very informative ! Thanks !