Bent valve on 1996 Honda Accord
- Thread starter DutchBrad
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My gut feeling is if it is an easy fix, the mech would have done it already instead of selling it to you cheap. It is likely there's more damage than just the bent valve (like piston or bore damage).
Unless you will swap the entire engine anyways, I'd stay away, especially if you are in the salted area.
Unless you will swap the entire engine anyways, I'd stay away, especially if you are in the salted area.
Bud_One
Site Donor 2022
Any updates...? Just curious.
Originally Posted By: PandaBear
My gut feeling is if it is an easy fix, the mech would have done it already instead of selling it to you cheap. It is likely there's more damage than just the bent valve (like piston or bore damage).
Unless you will swap the entire engine anyways, I'd stay away, especially if you are in the salted area.
Wow, people here don't listen or don't think. Mechanic got the car as some form of payment and doesn't not want to fix it or just recoup money so sold it as is. Some of these comments are wild to say the least. So he is a mechanic and didn't put money or time into it. I have friends who own shops that get cars left there because owners couldn't afford repairs or just said screw it.
My gut feeling is if it is an easy fix, the mech would have done it already instead of selling it to you cheap. It is likely there's more damage than just the bent valve (like piston or bore damage).
Unless you will swap the entire engine anyways, I'd stay away, especially if you are in the salted area.
Wow, people here don't listen or don't think. Mechanic got the car as some form of payment and doesn't not want to fix it or just recoup money so sold it as is. Some of these comments are wild to say the least. So he is a mechanic and didn't put money or time into it. I have friends who own shops that get cars left there because owners couldn't afford repairs or just said screw it.
Hello all - I just cleared 1000 miles on the Accord, currently at 217,400. I call it the Turd. Just finished doing a transmission flush (three drain and fills), I also put new plugs in it. The spark plug tubes leak oil, so I am going to keep an eye on them. I will likely remove the oil once a month or something, I am not planning on fixing those gaskets. The oil went in the cylinder when I removed the plug, so I had some pretty good smoke for a bit when I started it. The car burns no oil. The best gas mileage I have seen is 28 mpg, the lowest 22mpg. This is my daily driver right now, I pulled the insurance off my Astro. I love driving this car!
You love driving the car, you take care of the transmission and you put in new plugs but you won't fix the leaking spark plug tube seals? I will concede that it is very likely it's the o-rings under the valve train (as opposed to the easier to replace seals in the cover), but even that isn't hard to fix. I did it on my Accord last fall and it only took a couple of hours including the obligatory valve adjustment. I just checked the wells a few weeks ago and they are nice and dry.
Having oil in there will eventually damage the coil boots. It did on mine, they delaminated around the opening.
Originally Posted By: DutchBrad
Hello all - I just cleared 1000 miles on the Accord, currently at 217,400. I call it the Turd. Just finished doing a transmission flush (three drain and fills), I also put new plugs in it. The spark plug tubes leak oil, so I am going to keep an eye on them. I will likely remove the oil once a month or something, I am not planning on fixing those gaskets. The oil went in the cylinder when I removed the plug, so I had some pretty good smoke for a bit when I started it. The car burns no oil. The best gas mileage I have seen is 28 mpg, the lowest 22mpg. This is my daily driver right now, I pulled the insurance off my Astro. I love driving this car!
Having oil in there will eventually damage the coil boots. It did on mine, they delaminated around the opening.
Originally Posted By: DutchBrad
Hello all - I just cleared 1000 miles on the Accord, currently at 217,400. I call it the Turd. Just finished doing a transmission flush (three drain and fills), I also put new plugs in it. The spark plug tubes leak oil, so I am going to keep an eye on them. I will likely remove the oil once a month or something, I am not planning on fixing those gaskets. The oil went in the cylinder when I removed the plug, so I had some pretty good smoke for a bit when I started it. The car burns no oil. The best gas mileage I have seen is 28 mpg, the lowest 22mpg. This is my daily driver right now, I pulled the insurance off my Astro. I love driving this car!
Just an update on my Accord. I just crossed 220,500 miles. 4K miles of my own, I bought with 216,419. Still holding the idle up at traffic lights. I have not fixed the head. Not sure I will. The motor smoothes out right above idle. My son has his drivers license and LOVES this car. The only maintenance cost I have done since my last post was a hose clamp on the positive battery connection. My son left the lights on, the battery went dead, and the clamp broke when he jumped it. $1.50 later she is back on the road. I do pull the plugs every 1k miles to drain the oil into the cylinder. The spark plug tube gaskets are leaking, if/when I fix the head those gaskets will get fixed. In the mean time I am smoking for bugs every 1k miles or so. I love this car! Best $700 I have spent in a while. Much more fun to drive than either of the vans.
Tip from a long time bodger. Replace the clamp.Its cheap and easy. And will prevent a trouble some dark and stormy night.
The other thing I didn't like about oil in the plug tunnels on my Vigor is sand gets into the cylinders, not a lot but whatever you don't clean off of the spark plug wires when you pull them falls into the tunnel and goes from there into the top of the cylinder.
Update - this car is up to 222,350 miles. Still does not idle, but just keeps on running. So glad I bought this car, it is fun to drive.
Any pictures of the car?
Originally Posted By: DutchBrad
Update - this car is up to 222,350 miles. Still does not idle, but just keeps on running. So glad I bought this car, it is fun to drive.
Don't be so surprised the electronics work fine, it's a 5th gen Honda...
I have an Accord of the same vintage with around 270K and the same engine. Your idle problems are caused either by the Idle Control Valve (ICV) located on the back of the intake next to the fire wall, or the Fast Idle Thermo Valve (FITV) located below the throttle body on the intake manifold.
Take them both off, clean all the carbon out of them with CRC carb cleaner, make sure the 3/8 coolant hoses going to them arent plugged up with sediment, and put them back on with new gaskets. THese have everything to do with your idle speed... there is also a brass idle adjustment screw on the throttle body to fine tune once these are clean.
These get carboned up from the PCV system blowing oil into the intake. Also pop your EGR cover plate off the top of the intake runners and clean the carbon out of the passages and ports while you are at it.
God luck, let me know if you have any questions.
Update - this car is up to 222,350 miles. Still does not idle, but just keeps on running. So glad I bought this car, it is fun to drive.
Don't be so surprised the electronics work fine, it's a 5th gen Honda...
I have an Accord of the same vintage with around 270K and the same engine. Your idle problems are caused either by the Idle Control Valve (ICV) located on the back of the intake next to the fire wall, or the Fast Idle Thermo Valve (FITV) located below the throttle body on the intake manifold.
Take them both off, clean all the carbon out of them with CRC carb cleaner, make sure the 3/8 coolant hoses going to them arent plugged up with sediment, and put them back on with new gaskets. THese have everything to do with your idle speed... there is also a brass idle adjustment screw on the throttle body to fine tune once these are clean.
These get carboned up from the PCV system blowing oil into the intake. Also pop your EGR cover plate off the top of the intake runners and clean the carbon out of the passages and ports while you are at it.
God luck, let me know if you have any questions.
Pictures here:
http://i742.photobucket.com/albums/xx66/Dutchbrad/026_zpsd5057ad2.jpg
I am taking this car on a 500 mile round trip this weekend. I packed my tools, but don't expect to need them. I have put around 6000 miles on this car. The car has a bent valve from the timing belt breaking. It is an interference engine, so some parts came together. That happened at 216k. It runs great on the high way, and at idle it needs to have some gas to keep the revs around 1000 or so or it will stall. I love this car, it is the best $700 I have spent in a while... If/when it breaks, I am going to put a used engine in it. It will hit 223k on the trip this weekend. Everything works - cruise, air, power windows. Love it. I would love to find another one for my daughters to drive in a few years...
http://i742.photobucket.com/albums/xx66/Dutchbrad/026_zpsd5057ad2.jpg
I am taking this car on a 500 mile round trip this weekend. I packed my tools, but don't expect to need them. I have put around 6000 miles on this car. The car has a bent valve from the timing belt breaking. It is an interference engine, so some parts came together. That happened at 216k. It runs great on the high way, and at idle it needs to have some gas to keep the revs around 1000 or so or it will stall. I love this car, it is the best $700 I have spent in a while... If/when it breaks, I am going to put a used engine in it. It will hit 223k on the trip this weekend. Everything works - cruise, air, power windows. Love it. I would love to find another one for my daughters to drive in a few years...
If you try cleaning the Idle control valve, or adjusting the idle needle to raise the idle, the car will let you know if you have gone too far by surging up and down continuously at idle. I believe normal idle speed for the F22 is 750-850rpm with no accessories on.
Update on the Accord (aka Turd). I am a month short of owning this gem 2 years. She just crossed 225k, so I have put around 9k on it. Other than the gas line and return line rusting out last summer, it has been turn the key and go. Still have to hold up the idle speed in gear, but she is a runner! Best $700 I have spent in a long time. With the fluid changes, a set of tires, and the gas line fix, I have around $1300 in this car soup to nuts. My son loves driving it and so do I.
Originally Posted By: DutchBrad
Should I consider buying or run?
You know the answer to the question .. do it.
Should I consider buying or run?
You know the answer to the question .. do it.
Glad to see that the naysayers, me included, were wrong.
I hope that your happy ownership experience continues.
I wonder whether this thing has a bent valve at all?
I'd think that by now, the weakened valve would have lost its head into the cylinder, which would have brought the engine's life to a clattering halt.
I've seen it happen.
Even prior to that, you'd have been driving a three cylinder Accord which would have lacked any power and delivered noticeably poor fuel economy.
I hope that your happy ownership experience continues.
I wonder whether this thing has a bent valve at all?
I'd think that by now, the weakened valve would have lost its head into the cylinder, which would have brought the engine's life to a clattering halt.
I've seen it happen.
Even prior to that, you'd have been driving a three cylinder Accord which would have lacked any power and delivered noticeably poor fuel economy.
Update - I brought the car over to have a compression test at my buddy. The good news? Cylinder 1,3 are great. Not so good news - Cylinder 2,4 have valve damage, or at least will not hold much compression. The car runs great off idle, but we are thinking it is really a 2.5 cylinder car right now. Amazes me how well it runs other than idle. That is one durable engine, since it has been driven this way for nearly 10k miles. Considering changing the cylinder head, but those buggers are expensive. Part of me wants to just keep running it as is, and either fix it when it stops or get something else. If it already lasted 10k with this damage, why would it break now? I would have thought it would have broken by now... Thoughts?
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