Recommendation-1989 Honda Accord

[Toneloc]

Hi everybody. This is my first post, so why not ask a legit question. I'm looking for suggestion's on which oil products to use on my Accord. I currently use Mobil 5,000 5W30 and a fram (yikes!) filter, but I am looking for something that will quiet down my Valves a little. Just for a little background info, the car has never seen synthetic oil, so I don't think I want to start now, after 126,000 miles of use.

Also, what are the good OTC fuel and oil products/reconditioners that you recommend? I don't know if it makes a difference, but this car is Carbureted, not fuel injected.

Thanks, ahead of time!

 

[Mokanic]

First, you need to have the valves adjusted if they have not been done in the last 60K. Older Hondas need regular adjustments and will burn a valve if they are neglected. Choose your favorite 5W30 or 10W30;change it regularly and you won't have any oil-related problems. If you want to stick with dino oil just buy whatever is on sale and your Honda won't complain. Now, the Fram in my opinion needs to go in the garbage. A good filter just isn't that much more.

 

[TurboJim]

Have you adjusted the valves? Has the timing belt been replaced at least once? Does it consume any oil?

It's easy enough to pull the valve cover off and have a look inside. You may or may not be a candidate for AutoRX.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Valve Adjustment followed by some Havoline DS, Pennzoil, Valvoline or Quaker State.

 

[Dr_No]

NOTHING wrong with FRAM!!! Where is proof that oil leaks past carboard endcaps?W hen has a filter ever blew up? or media borken? When has it caused a problem?
The only lower side to the fram is the nitrile anti-drainback. I'm tired of orange can slammers
Sure fram is pricy, well that dosent mean that isnt a good filter. DO NOT be afraid to use it.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Oh and as for oil filters, I've had good luck with simple SuperTech filters, keeps my insolubles nice and low, and my Honda (Acura) likes the Napa Gold air filter which kept the silicon nice and low. Best of luck!

 

[Mokanic]

Quote:

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NOTHING wrong with FRAM!!! Where is proof that oil leaks past carboard endcaps?W hen has a filter ever blew up? or media borken? When has it caused a problem?
The only lower side to the fram is the nitrile anti-drainback. I'm tired of orange can slammers
Sure fram is pricy, well that dosent mean that isnt a good filter. DO NOT be afraid to use it.

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Sir, I have replaced several engines that Fram paid to have replaced becouse the orange death can collapsed inside and the engines lost oil pressure. How is that for evidence? I have also seen several 5.0L Ford engines that Fram bought for the very same problem. Maybe you are tired of people slamming Frams but that's not relavent to the issue at hand. I kinow many people have run them without issues but I have seen enough first-hand to choose not to roll the dice with the cardboard piece of [censored]. My advice was simple; a good filter such as a Purolater Pureone or even a Motorcraft isn't that much higher and don't have a track record of buying engines. To their credit, Fram wasted no time in delivering a check when the faulty filters were produced. It almost seemed like they had been through it many times. Have a nice day and buy all the Fram filters your heart desires.

 

[TurboJim]

To their credit sounds as if Fram at least stands behind their product. I've seen a couple of defective Fram filters but it didn't lead to engine failure.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Off-topic but I was at the Wal-Mart lube center yesterday recycling some oil & filters and the young tech actually laughed at me for using the SuperTech and told me to spend a few extra cents for the Fram. I tried telling him I prefer not to use Frams because of the cheap cardboard endcaps, then he was just saying they were nice because of the grips. -shrugs- What would you rather have, a well constructed filter, or a grip? I think he needs to get a grip

 

[Toneloc]

Timing Belt was replaced last month. I havn't had the valves adjusted in a while so that may be why its doing that. The car doesn't burn or leak any oil. The car doesn't smoke. I had the valve cover off when I changed the timing belt and everything was clean to the naked eye. Thanks guys!

 

[Toneloc]

Oh, what I meant to add is that my driving schedule is pretty weird. I have maybe one trip over 15 minutes a week. The rest are very short. I know that the oil will deteriorate faster with my driving pattern, so I usually change my oil every 3,000 miles. Is this OK?

 

[ThirdeYe]

Yes that would be fine. I used to drive very short distances all the time, and I would drive that car really hard, and just change it at 3k (usually 8-10 months) and it was still nice and shiny clean under the oil filler cap when I sold it and ran perfect without burning any oil.

 

[Mokanic]

Quote:

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Timing Belt was replaced last month. I havn't had the valves adjusted in a while so that may be why its doing that. The car doesn't burn or leak any oil. The car doesn't smoke. I had the valve cover off when I changed the timing belt and everything was clean to the naked eye. Thanks guys!

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By all means get the valves checked by a good tech or if you are pretty handy buy yourself a decent shop manual and some feeler gauges and do it yourself. It's not difficult if you take your time and follow the instructions closely.
The old iron block Accord motors would run 350-400K with simple care.Faulty PCV valves will cause poor idle and oil consumption on these models so keep up with that. The carb may look intimidating on the car but they are pretty reliable as long as you keep a good gas filter on it. If the filter fills with trash it will get in the carb causing poor idle concerns. There are still tons of these old Accords on the road which is a testimony to durability of those cars. Whatever your favorite oil is will be fine in those engines.

 

[Brogy]

Not to steal the thread or anything, but my 94 accord is pretty noisy too, you can hear a ticking, dont know if the valves have ever been adjusted or not, it has 136k miles, is it neccessary to do on this model year? I know on my toyota it wasnt in the maintainence plan.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Yes, it's necessary with the 1994 as well.

 

[CharBaby]

I gona love this one!
I just recently sold my daughters 88 Accord with 340,000 + miles on it. Never replaced the head or intake manifold gaskets, only the valve cover gasket. This had the same motor and carb that yours(Toneloc) had. I purchaced this car new in 88 and it was indestructable[sp]. I changed the oil and filter every 3000-5000 miles using any dino motor oil(5/10W30) and any oil filter including FRAM but mostly Puro Prem Plus. I loved this car. Great MPG and really hauled @$$ for what it was(98 HP 109 lb tq). Also, it was an auto tranny and never had an issue with it. ATF is also easy to change using anything DEXRON... Yes, get the valve adjusted. Use only Honda PS fluid, and anything DOT 3 brake fluid. This was the most amazing car I have ever owned. Paid $14,280.00 after tax and it was the best money I ever spent on a car. Use any 87 octane fuel and the car really liked 85 octane in the mountainous areas. Got even better MPG the lower the octane(I don't know why!). If you have any other questions, PM me and I will be very happy to guide you if I can! I know these cars quite well except electrical because I never had any electrical issues. No real issues of any kind to speek of as the matter of fact.

 

[odessit]

In most cars higher octane will result in slightly lower MPG unless the car was specifically designed for higher octane, no mystery here...
I also had that tank - '89 LXi, the only car I ever enjoyed.
"gave it away" when alternator broke at 150K.
What is funny, I saw IT

on the road 6 months ago.

Obligatory recommendation for Auto-RX to clean/recondition engine.
Obligatory recommendation for Techron Concentrate fuel cleaner, not a bad idea to change fuel filter.

 

[TurboJim]

Actually there are two fuel filters - one in the rear driver's side wheel well and another, much easier to access, under the hood.

 

[z917990]

I absolutely agree. Get the valves adjusted. I do mine every two years and what a difference it makes! The engine runs quieter, smoother and gets better gas mileage. Glad to hear that the timing belt has been replaced; many people have no clue about that. Finally, may I suggest a slightly thicker 5w-30 like maxlife. I know that some folks have put thicker oil like GC in their Hondas and have complained about sluggishness and lower gas mileage. My experience, however, is the opposite. My 2.3 litre '99 Accord just loves the thick stuff and after 95,000 city miles, still gets over 28 MPG on 87 octane gas. The NAPA gold or a Honda A01 (not the a02) filter sound great, too. Just a few thoughts. Thanks.

 

[Brons2]

Quote:

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Hi everybody. This is my first post, so why not ask a legit question. I'm looking for suggestion's on which oil products to use on my Accord. I currently use Mobil 5,000 5W30 and a fram (yikes!) filter, but I am looking for something that will quiet down my Valves a little. Just for a little background info, the car has never seen synthetic oil, so I don't think I want to start now, after 126,000 miles of use.

Also, what are the good OTC fuel and oil products/reconditioners that you recommend? I don't know if it makes a difference, but this car is Carbureted, not fuel injected.

Thanks, ahead of time!

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I got 260K out of my 3rd gen Accord using mostly 5w and 10w30. I did use 20w50 when I first moved to Texas, which made it feel more sluggish.

as for the valvetrain, buy a flat feeler gauge and adjust the valves! it's not hard.