Old Honda, New Owner........

Hello all,

I just received a white 1995 Honda Accord, the EX I believe.
It has only 77,000 miles on it and had the entire A/C replaced just over
a year ago.
The records show a regular service every 3 months for oil/filter and a
complete tune-up at least once a year.
The timing belt was replaced at 60K miles, and it has almost new Pirelli
P5 tires on it. This was grandma's car.

Anyway, it is a great car so far, with fantastic gas mileage. It makes a
nice companion to the 1991 turbo Miata with no A/C that has been my
daily driver for almost 5 years.

I am going to upgrade the cassette player stereo to something that takes
CD's, and I would like to do some basic upgrades like replacing the
shocks, but nothing too advanced or expensive. I can do most of the
labor myself.

Suggestions? Are there any specific problems to look for on this year
model Accord?

Oh yeah, it has steelies that will be replaced with alloys, most likely
Honda OEM wheels, when the tires wear out.

Thanks!

Pat

 

Good cars. I have the UK equivalent to the 94-97 Wagon EX - I've just
passed 188000 miles and it still drives very well.

How long ago was the timing belt? Remember there is a time limit on these
as well as a mileage limit. Given it looks like you have a nice condition
car here it might be a wise precaution to get the timing belt done.

There are guides online to how to get the console out to change the stereo.
The original speakers were not great so you may want to change those at the
same time.

If you get an exhaust buzz at about 1800 rpm it's usually a crack in the
manifold behind the heatshield, but it can be welded and stays fixed for a
long time.

If the SRS light shows it can be reset with a paperclip (don't pay $ to the
dealer). If it happens regularly then have a look at battery condition.

Use silicon lube on the window channels if you have power windows - it will
save you the cost of a new window regulator later.

Otherwise this model seems very reliable to me...

Buy or download a shop manual - it's invaluable for some more obscure repair
sequences.

You can often pick up decent condition Honda OEM alloys from ebay or
scrapyards as people take their OEM alloys off to replace them with
aftermarket alloys.

Enjoy the car!
Al

 

Look above.

 

That doesn't say WHEN, it just says the mileage. Timing belts need to
be changed at a specific mileage/age, whichever comes first.

 

Can't imaging what they would be "tuning" once a year. I think grandma got
taken for a good chunk of her pension money by the local dealer.

Timing belt interval is 6 years/90,000 miles on that vintage Honda.

Anti-lock brake system is problematic on mid-90's Hondas. ABS was an option
in '95, so it might not have it. Look for a second fluid reservoir for ABS.

In any event, make sure the brake fluid is changed every 3 years (regardless
of mileage) in both the main brakes and the ABS system. If it has ABS, it
needs to be exercised periodically. Find a dirt road, run it up to about 60
& try to lock the brakes for as long as it will chatter.

 

The timing belt was replaced on this car in 2005, and I just noticed
that this is the LX model, not the EX.
I'm not sure what difference there is between the two. This Accord has
cloth interior and came with steel wheels, so I am guessing that it was
a base-line model with minimal options?

Thanks for the information. Time to go lube the window tracks. No
exhaust buzzing noises or SRS light problems so far.

The overhead dome light bulb and the wiper blades need to be replaced. I
can't find anything else that doesn't work properly yet, though the
stereo needs to be replaced soon just so that I can listen to something
besides the radio or cassettes.

I will take up Al's advice on the speakers too. I already have a pretty
nice set of JVC speakers that may fit, as well a a decent Kenwood
stereo/CD player that came from a wrecked Miata that I stripped down.

Thanks again!

Pat

 

Only 6 years, ouch! If I don't hit 120,000 miles by 2011, (belt was
replaced in 2005), I will probably make that more like 7 or 8 years.

No ABS on this car, I found that out a while back during an emergency
stop. I just received the car, but have been driving it on and off for
about 4 years.

I am good about replacing the brake fluid every 2 to 3 years. I work on
a decent number of vehicles and it amazes me how many cars are out there
with brake fluid that is over 10 years old.

There is a thick folder of regular interval service records for this
car, and it is nice to see completely clear brake fluid in the
reservoir, unlike the very black brake fluid that I drained out of a
1996 Maxima a few weeks ago.

Is this 1995 Honda 4 cylinder engine an interference or non-interference
design?

Thanks!

Pat

 

doesn't the "L" stand for "luxury" and "E" for "economy"?

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

 

No. On the US models, DX was the base, LX was the middle & EX was the top
of the line in the mid 90's

 

Interference IIRC, and I think there are two belts (on my Wagon anyway).

Al

 

I would check out the Crutchfield web site for a nice replacement
receiver. They come with all needed install instructions and adapter
harnesses for your car model.