88 - 92 Prelude waterpump

I'm looking for a project car I can put my own time into but not sink a
fortune in parts and make a little money on it. I found a Prelude of
this body style for $900, 5 speed, 183K miles. I'm not sure exactly what
year it is but let's just say it's a 1990 model.

The guy says it needs a new water pump and since it's driven off the
timing belt says this may explain why the engine feels like it has a
missfire. It could just need a tuneup.

The car also has a dent in the door and the side moulding is gone off
the door and on the quarter panel.

Other than that the car is in really good condition for it's age. A
little dirty but the paint is near perfect condition and so is in the
interior.

I'm curious about the waterpump and timing belt replacement. I've done
this on other makes but never a Honda. One guy said he had to drop the
engine on a 89 Accord just to change a timing belt. I'm mechanically
inclined but is this one of those jobs I could do myself within a day or
do I actually have to drop the engine on this car?

I don't recall this being the case on my 86 Prelude when it's waterpump
went out. Of course that was a different model.

Also besides the dealership which always ripped me off on parts compared
to what my mechanic could get them for, where's a good place for Joe
Blow to get Honda parts from at a resonable price?

 

You don't have to 'drop the engine' but you will have to remove the motor
mount on that side. The timing belt runs around it. Just put somthing under
the oil pan to support the motor, and you should be OK.

Also, be very careful not to break the bolts for the water pump. If you
break em, then you will be dropping the motor....

PS I don't think the car running poorly has anythign to do with the timing
belt, unless its so worn out that its jumped a couple teeth. If thats the
case, you need to replace the timing belt NOW.

t

 

I just bought a muffler from San Leandro Honda (http://www.slhondaparts.com/) in
California. Great service. On the East coast, I had good luck with Majestic
Honda (http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/).

 

(http://www.slhondaparts.com/) in

I second both of these. Others have reported often on them here, too, so
they're fairly reputable.

slhonda has better shipping/handling charges and service, IMO.

 

Their prices are usually slightly higher than Majestic, though. On
several items the difference will probably balance out.

I've ordered from Majestic a number of times, and have always had truly
excellent encounters with their service. slhonda has *way* better
diagrams, though, so I invariably have both open when shopping. Yay,
tabbed browsing!

 

I don't know... those s/h charges at Majestic are pretty darned high. Even
worse, Majestic won't tell you in advance how much it's going to be, other
than a mandatory $4.95 for handling (one guesses the shipping cost). Also,
Majestic gives one only one choice for method of shipping. Slhonda gives
three (UPS ground, next day air, and 3-day) and will provide an estimate for
each mode.

I agree SLHonda's part prices (before s/h) tend to be a little higher. For
example, I just pulled up the distributor for a 91 Civic for both companies,
and prices are as follows (Majestic's are in parentheses):

whole distributor $520 ($490)
igniter $81 ($76)
coil $73.55 ($69.28)
cap $18.45 ($17.38)

And for the water pump $41 ($39)

But I don't want to split hairs. Folks should probably try both and go from
there.

To be clear, I trust you mean the drawings are the same, but the part
numbers are presented separately with SLHonda (linked from the drawing),
whereas they're all on one sheet with Majestic, and the sheet is a little
fuzzy.

 

Majestic actually doesn't include the Honda part numbers, only their own
internal "product no," which is unfortunate. Yes, the drawings are the
same, but I find those on Majestic, at least for the 94 Civic EX 5MT, to
be barely readable. Particularly the enclosing boxes that show which
parts are included with a particular illustration #. Looks like low-res
bitmaps, whereas slhonda's diagrams are sharp as vector art--AND include
the Honda part numbers.

I agree, it would be much better if Majestic offered better shipping
options. The handling fee is negligible to me--balanced by the lower
prices. Apart from my possible error in having an exhaust Pipe B
shipped, the shipping charges haven't bothered me. The odd size/shape on
the Pipe B brought me a $90 shipping charge... Truth is, the local
dealer would likely have easily charged more for the pipe than
Majestic's price PLUS the shipping, so I shouldn't complain.

 

Good tip--I didn't know this.

Agreed.

 

Looks like they want $50 for a waterpump. I figured it would be much
higher than that.
I haven't made my mind up on the car. Edmunds says the car is worth
around $2000.
The car is at a muffler shop. I was in there the other day getting some
work done on one of my other cars and
inquired about it. Aparantly the car runs but it would be nice to be
able to test drive it to make sure the
steering and suspension is in good shape. I loved my 81 Prelude. It was
a good car despite the
body rusted on it but my 86 sort of left a bad taste in my mouth with
Hondas. I was making minium wage at the time going to college
and it dollared me to death. Now I can work on cars myself and save a
buck.