First post here on this forum although I'm pretty active on a Honda Shadow Motorcycle forum; hoping you guys will be willing to help me help my dad, and I thank you in advance. My 75 y.o. dad had some questions for me about his Accord, yesterday. They concern some fairly expensive maint. His 2001 Accord LX 6-cylinder has 180,000 miles, and he says he's hoping for 350,000. He maintains it very well, but do you ever hear of Accords going that far (it's an Arizona car)? He's going to get the timing belt changed soon and has been told he needs to change out the water pump at the same time--true? He's been told even changing the spark plugs and wires is a hell of a job and beyond the capabilities of average or less DIYs--true? He's also been told it's important to get the valves adjusted about now. He says it runs strong, no smoke, no oil usage; if he wants the thing to run another 200,00 miles is it necessary to adjust the valves now? Can anyone steer me to a downloadable repair manual?

Just out of curiosity, how many miles will a well maintained Accord go in its life?

Thank ya, Jon

 

1. When changing the timing belt, water pump should generally be replaced to avoid duplicate labor if the water pump goes out later. Timing belt tensioner may need to be replaced too. Certain oil seals are sometimes replaced at the same time, since access is there.

2. Spark plugs replacement may only be slightly difficult for some of the spark plugs near the firewall area. The 2001 has individual ignition coils, so there is no need to change out any traditional spark plug wires. See attached images from owner's manual regarding changing the spark plugs on the V6.

3. If the valve clearance has not been checked in a while, that is a recommended procedure every 105,000 miles or 7 years according the manual.

4. Well maintained Hondas have been seen to last 300,000 - 500,000 if there are no problems with the transmission, etc. Some Accords similar to your dad's have been known to have automatic transmission problems though. I am on my third Honda, my previous one was at around 300,000 when I gave it to my nephew for free, it is still running.

 

Just about a month ago news story of an insurance adjuster in Maine who had his '93 Accord go 1,000,000;
story listed his replaced parts and they were d*mn small and few. Honda gave him a new Accord.

I've never met anybody who's checked any car valve adjustments; guess I only know slackards.
Bet your Dad will make his mileage goal ...

 

Thank you for your time and thoughts on my questions; I passed the info onto my dad. He'll be able to talk to the mechanics as if he knows a little bit about the process; that never hurts. I think he has some question about whether he needs to take it to a Honda Dealer or if an independent shop/mechanic could be trusted/maybe cheaper to do the job. I know on that Motorcycle forum I frequent they hate the thought of taking a bike to the "Stealership". Does that same bias prevail here? Jon

 

There are good independently owned shops out there. Best bet, if there is one that specializes in Honda/Acura.

How far away is Tucson from you?

 

Ya know, Tucson is not that far away and it is a nice town to visit. Why; do you know of a whiz bang mechanic down there? Jon

 

Sent you a PM.

 

Desert Honda? I would love to have him touch my car.

 

Hmmm....

 

Yes, that is exactly what I sent him.... ....the link from his signature.