So, it looks like i'm buying a 1992 accord...

[suspiciousmind]

It's currently owned and driven by a self-proclaimed "mechanic" and it sounds like it's been well taken care of.

The car has a lot of miles...288k but, from my experience with hondas, it has quite a few left in it. Never wrecked and completely stock.

Question is, he says he recently did an oil change with castrol 10-30 which is what he always uses for everything. I'm thinking rotella t6 would give it a little more protection. My daughter's going to be driving it and i'll never know when i'll be able to service it so, with t6 in there, i think i'd not worry so much for 500 or 1000 miles.

He says there's a very minor oil leak at the front of the engine which i suspect to be a cam or crank seal but other than that, the motor's fine.

Any suggestions?...comments?

 

[JHZR2]

I dont think Id worry about 500 or 1000 miles on there either. Our integra was very easy on oil and never consumed or dropped a bit (granted ours rusted out 100k earlier than what yours will have).

My suggestions - look at other rubber parts which tend to rot. Check CVs, etc.

Is it an MT car?

I really wouldnt sweat 10w30 in there, if using a quality brand or syn.

 

[TomYoung]

I think that the Castrol oil will be just fine and that any additional protection offered by Rotella is immeasurably low. I think you may be focusing on the wrong things. My questions

1 . How much life is left in this car? Is there not perhaps a similar car available with 150k miles?

2. Can you make sure that your daughter keeps the oil topped up? That is what will take this car out.

3. Is it cheap? I really hope this transaction is in triple digits.

Best wishes

 

[volk06]

I would use Maxlife or M1 HM with that many miles and since your daughter might put quite a few miles on it before you get a chance to change it.

 

[Mark_S]

I've used Mobil 1 HM 10W30 for years. I change every 7,000 to 8,000 miles. If the Accord were mine, I would do the same.

 

[suspiciousmind]

Originally Posted By: TomYoung
I think that the Castrol oil will be just fine and that any additional protection offered by Rotella is immeasurably low. I think you may be focusing on the wrong things. My questions

1 . How much life is left in this car? Is there not perhaps a similar car available with 150k miles?

2. Can you make sure that your daughter keeps the oil topped up? That is what will take this car out.

3. Is it cheap? I really hope this transaction is in triple digits.

Best wishes


We can only guess how much "natural" life's left in it but, my daughter's been known to bring them to a violent early demise.

I'll ask her often if she's checked it...take it from there.

It's into four digits but, have you priced used hondas lately?? I believe they've doubled at least in the last six months.

 

[Panzerman]

I would stick with the Castrol 10w30. Changing oil to a synthetic oil, especially a diesel grade oil with higher cleaning potential, with that many miles, may clean out alot of gunk, loosen seals etc...(not that there should be, if he changed oil regularly, with a good oil like Castrol). Still I would stick with what he was using with that many miles, oil leaks may become rampant and the small leak may get alot worse. If anything switch to a Castrol High milelage. 10w30 is a excellent grade, regardless of what some people think, it is a split between heavy and thin oil.

 

[JC1]

I would switch to full synthetic. An Accord can last for 1,000,000 Miles. When I sold my 94 Accord it had 415,000 KM on it and ran like a champ.

How rusty is the body? Usually the rear wheel wells rust out first. I would ask when the timing belt was last replaced. Enjoy the new old car! Accords rock esp the older ones.

Regards, JC.

 

[suspiciousmind]

Originally Posted By: JC1
I would switch to full synthetic. An Accord can last for 1,000,000 Miles. When I sold my 94 Accord it had 415,000 KM on it and ran like a champ.

How rusty is the body? Usually the rear wheel wells rust out first. I would ask when the timing belt was last replaced. Enjoy the new old car! Accords rock esp the older ones.

Regards, JC.


I don't expect much rust since it's a local car...he's had it for eight years...and it rarely snows here.

I've been a synthetic purist for thirty years and i don't think i can change that.

This would be my eighth? Accord....yep, they rock. The last one my daughter had had about the same mileage when i sold it and, last i heard, it had changed owners twice....still going strong. I had run t6 in that one too.

 

[rcy]

If it's an automatic, a common leak point is the oil cooler, which mounts to the block and the oil filter in turn mounts to it. The rubber seal is well known to dry out and leak. It's an easy fix.

Cam or crank seal is also common as you've already surmised.

However, this leak will be at the firewall side of the engine, though it may run down and appear to coming from elsewhere.

 

[jtfmdyk]

Best car I ever owned. Original owner and I kept it until last year. 375,000 plus miles and running great when I got rid of it. Was using maybe a half qt. between oil changes @ 7,500 intervals. Probably due to a little pan leakage, valve seals, or rings. Three brake jobs, original clutch, couple radiators. That was about it for 19 years. Drove it with enthusiasm to the last day. If everything is in good working order I would buy with confidence and expect many years and miles from it. Some of the best work Honda did before going soft and boring.

 

[rcy]

+1. That generation of Accord was over engineered. I had a 90 and 92 and Mom had a 91. I loved the fact that the headlamps were made of glass and not plastic that turns brown and cloudy after 3 years.

 

[fdcg27]

Actually, the plastic headlamp lenses used on my two Accords are still crystal clear.
The glass lenses used on our two '86 Civics, OTOH, were rock magnets.
The glass is part of the assembly, and requires repalcement of the entire headlamp assembly.
I replaced the first in November 1986.
We had taken delivery of the car new in May of that year.
Replacement required removal of the tiny grill as well as the front bumper assembly, but wasn't really difficult or time consuming.
The part was around fifty bucks from the dealer with a decent discount.

 

[suspiciousmind]

Thanks guys... I went and did the deal a short while ago. Wife drove it home and i followed her in my miata. No smoke at all (she pushed it pretty hard and i couldn't hardly keep up) ...it has a few small cosmetic issues but nothing stopping it from being a reliable, around town commuter.

 

[suspiciousmind]

Anyway, he said he's been running the castrol 10w30 for 3k to 3.5 k oci's. I haven't been inclined to use castrol dino in a very long time.

I'll leave the castrol in for 3k or so and think about it in the meanwhile....no point in shocking the system yet.

Thanks for the input and, i'll try to remember ro revive this thread when i finally do something.

 

[spackard]

I have a '92 Acura Vigor, currently 229k miles.
One thing that I chased for a long time was oil in the spark plug tunnels. I didn't know there are tunnel seal O-rings below the rocker arm assembly, sealing upper spark plug tunnels to the head. EricTheCarGuy has a video on youtube on removing the rocker arm to replace the seals, if you notice oil at the bottom of the spark plug tunnels.

 

[yonyon]

This car has a 2.2L engine?

The previous owner being a mechanic and all, ask him how old the timing belt is. Also, take a look under the distributor cap. If you see any corrosion (usually blue or green) in there, replace the cap, rotor, and rubber seal. If there's any oil in there, throw a new or reman distributor in there before it does a 'died on road' sort of thing. With a decent timing belt and distributor the fluids full this thing should be able to run forever.

Don't forget to check your upper ball joints for play though. With that kind of mileage they shouldn't be trusted until they're checked.

 

[ChrisW]

Drive-train and power-train is pretty solid on the accords. But with most any car that old I always worry about suspension bushings and tie rods and ball joints as someone mentioned above. With the advent of so many less quality made in china ball joints and bushings, I really only trust moog products for Hondas when working on them. Then there's things like wheel bearings and axle boots. Brake lines. Etc.

 

[Zeus103363]

My mom had a '91 white EX accord and the whoke family loved that car. We drove the heck out of it. Castro is all it ever got and it seemed to like it too. I believe she drove it till 265k and traded it on my current car, a 99 white EX accord, which is at 189k and still kickin! Got t love thoes cars!

 

[yaris0128]

If that Accord was in good running shape I wouldnt hesitate buying it with that mileage. Especially if it was a 5 speed. One time there was a this 89 Honda CRX HF being sold at a dealership in my town that had 400k on the clock. I really wanted it and checked it all out and it was in better shape and running stronger than a Civic I had at the time with 150k. Amazingly well taken care of car. The only thing wrong with it? The price. $3000 firm for that? NO!