Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

"John Paul" <jp_invalid@freemail.hu> wrote
> Timing belt replacement is called for every 90 K miles
> which I have
> followed religiously. My next one is due after 30 K more
> miles.

You sure it's not 90k miles and six years, whichever comes
first? And possibly shorter for severe conditions? That's
what it is for a lot of early 1990s Hondas.

Do you have the owner's manual? It will state the exact TB
replacement frequency.

Though your car's symptoms do not sound like TB problems.

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

"John Paul" <jp_invalid@freemail.hu> wrote
> Timing belt replacement is called for every 90 K miles
> which I have
> followed religiously. My next one is due after 30 K more
> miles.

You sure it's not 90k miles and six years, whichever comes
first? And possibly shorter for severe conditions? That's
what it is for a lot of early 1990s Hondas.

Do you have the owner's manual? It will state the exact TB
replacement frequency.

Though your car's symptoms do not sound like TB problems.

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

"Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote
> "John Paul" <jp_invalid@freemail.hu> wrote
>> Timing belt replacement is called for every 90 K miles
>> which I have
>> followed religiously. My next one is due after 30 K more
>> miles.
>
> You sure it's not 90k miles and six years, whichever comes
> first? And possibly shorter for severe conditions? That's
> what it is for a lot of early 1990s Hondas.
>
> Do you have the owner's manual? It will state the exact TB
> replacement frequency.

Just located the maintenance schedule via Autozone.com's
excerpts from the /94 Accord factory service manual. It's
90k miles/6 years for normal service, and 60k miles (no time
limit) for severe service.

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

"Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote
> "John Paul" <jp_invalid@freemail.hu> wrote
>> Timing belt replacement is called for every 90 K miles
>> which I have
>> followed religiously. My next one is due after 30 K more
>> miles.
>
> You sure it's not 90k miles and six years, whichever comes
> first? And possibly shorter for severe conditions? That's
> what it is for a lot of early 1990s Hondas.
>
> Do you have the owner's manual? It will state the exact TB
> replacement frequency.

Just located the maintenance schedule via Autozone.com's
excerpts from the /94 Accord factory service manual. It's
90k miles/6 years for normal service, and 60k miles (no time
limit) for severe service.

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

"Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote
> "John Paul" <jp_invalid@freemail.hu> wrote
>> Timing belt replacement is called for every 90 K miles
>> which I have
>> followed religiously. My next one is due after 30 K more
>> miles.
>
> You sure it's not 90k miles and six years, whichever comes
> first? And possibly shorter for severe conditions? That's
> what it is for a lot of early 1990s Hondas.
>
> Do you have the owner's manual? It will state the exact TB
> replacement frequency.

Just located the maintenance schedule via Autozone.com's
excerpts from the /94 Accord factory service manual. It's
90k miles/6 years for normal service, and 60k miles (no time
limit) for severe service.

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

"Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote
> "John Paul" <jp_invalid@freemail.hu> wrote
>> Timing belt replacement is called for every 90 K miles
>> which I have
>> followed religiously. My next one is due after 30 K more
>> miles.
>
> You sure it's not 90k miles and six years, whichever comes
> first? And possibly shorter for severe conditions? That's
> what it is for a lot of early 1990s Hondas.
>
> Do you have the owner's manual? It will state the exact TB
> replacement frequency.

Just located the maintenance schedule via Autozone.com's
excerpts from the /94 Accord factory service manual. It's
90k miles/6 years for normal service, and 60k miles (no time
limit) for severe service.

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

Michael Pardee wrote:

> That's the Elephant Containment Unit <8^P No, wait! It's the Engine
> Control Unit. Honda tucked it under the driver's seat for you (I believe
> that's where it is in the '94 Accord) because they needed someplace to put
> it.

If that version of Accord is like the 1990-93, the ECU is under the front
passenger side foot well, accessible by removing the carpet.

The 1986-89 Accord has the ECU under the driver's seat.

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

Michael Pardee wrote:

> That's the Elephant Containment Unit <8^P No, wait! It's the Engine
> Control Unit. Honda tucked it under the driver's seat for you (I believe
> that's where it is in the '94 Accord) because they needed someplace to put
> it.

If that version of Accord is like the 1990-93, the ECU is under the front
passenger side foot well, accessible by removing the carpet.

The 1986-89 Accord has the ECU under the driver's seat.

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

Michael Pardee wrote:

> That's the Elephant Containment Unit <8^P No, wait! It's the Engine
> Control Unit. Honda tucked it under the driver's seat for you (I believe
> that's where it is in the '94 Accord) because they needed someplace to put
> it.

If that version of Accord is like the 1990-93, the ECU is under the front
passenger side foot well, accessible by removing the carpet.

The 1986-89 Accord has the ECU under the driver's seat.

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

Michael Pardee wrote:

> That's the Elephant Containment Unit <8^P No, wait! It's the Engine
> Control Unit. Honda tucked it under the driver's seat for you (I believe
> that's where it is in the '94 Accord) because they needed someplace to put
> it.

If that version of Accord is like the 1990-93, the ECU is under the front
passenger side foot well, accessible by removing the carpet.

The 1986-89 Accord has the ECU under the driver's seat.

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

John Paul wrote:
> This car still runs great with 240 K miles in it but recently I had
> some bad episodes which makes me wonder.
>
> The first episode was about a month ago when I was driving at night in
> a heavy downpour and I ran into a deep puddle that I could not see in
> time. The puddle may have been about axle deep at its deepest point
> and the engine suddenly stopped. When the car itself stopped rolling
> it was still in the puddle but in only about ankle deep at that point.
> Fortunately my electric circuits seemed to be OK as I was able to use
> the emergency flashers. As I was ready to phone for some help, I
> decided to see if I could start it. Well, the starter seemed to have
> plenty of power and after several cranking attempts I was able to
> restart the engine and except the initial spongy brakes everything
> seemed to be fine.
>
> I still have no idea what caused the engine cutoff: water getting to
> the ignition circuits or perhaps into the air intake? I always thought
> Honda's electric circuits were pretty well insulated from moisture,
> with tight rubber boots, etc. But maybe somebody has a better insight
> into this.
>
> The second episode was about 10 days ago when the normally 30 minute
> home commute turned into 4 hours because of a snow storm hitting my
> area just at the afternoon commute time. At the end of four hours I
> could not even make the last two miles on the side streets so I had to
> leave my car overnight at a supermarket parking lot for two days till
> the side streets were good enough to drive it home. Later that day I
> drove the car on the freeway and I noticed that the temp. guage was
> moving really fast to the top that I never noticed before. So I
> quickly pulled off at the nearest exit and checked my coolant at a gas
> station. Sure enough, the radiator was almost empty as I could pour
> about 3 quarts of antifreeze mixture into it. Since then I've been
> watching any leaks in the cooling system but could not notice any and
> its level has been holding in the radiator after several days. I still
> wonder though if I was driving with low coolant level and high engine
> temp during some of that long 4 hour commute but I was just not
> looking at the guage. The car is still running fine but again it makes
> me wonder.
>
> It makes me wonder especially as I noticed the unusually heavy fogging
> in my car after the engine warms up and especially when I turn on the
> heater. I get a lot of condensation on the cold windows, even on the
> rear window. The condensation does not seem to be pure water but feels
> slick like the antifreeze. What is puzzling about it though that I
> don't seem to be losing any coolant as far as I can see in its level
> visible in the radiator opening. I also see no drips on my garage
> floor. It's a real mistery to me.
>
> I am taking my car to a shop next week but would appreciate hearing
> any insights from those of you having had more experience with cars
> than I've had.
>
> Thanks for reading this long post,
>
> JP
============================================

Filling the rad isn't enough. There's a reserve bottle that needs to be
filled to MAX, since you've got lots of air in your cooling system. Fill
it to MAX again in a day or two since it will go low as air is displaced
from the heater / block / rad. No tap water. This is in your owner's manual.

'Curly'

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

John Paul wrote:
> This car still runs great with 240 K miles in it but recently I had
> some bad episodes which makes me wonder.
>
> The first episode was about a month ago when I was driving at night in
> a heavy downpour and I ran into a deep puddle that I could not see in
> time. The puddle may have been about axle deep at its deepest point
> and the engine suddenly stopped. When the car itself stopped rolling
> it was still in the puddle but in only about ankle deep at that point.
> Fortunately my electric circuits seemed to be OK as I was able to use
> the emergency flashers. As I was ready to phone for some help, I
> decided to see if I could start it. Well, the starter seemed to have
> plenty of power and after several cranking attempts I was able to
> restart the engine and except the initial spongy brakes everything
> seemed to be fine.
>
> I still have no idea what caused the engine cutoff: water getting to
> the ignition circuits or perhaps into the air intake? I always thought
> Honda's electric circuits were pretty well insulated from moisture,
> with tight rubber boots, etc. But maybe somebody has a better insight
> into this.
>
> The second episode was about 10 days ago when the normally 30 minute
> home commute turned into 4 hours because of a snow storm hitting my
> area just at the afternoon commute time. At the end of four hours I
> could not even make the last two miles on the side streets so I had to
> leave my car overnight at a supermarket parking lot for two days till
> the side streets were good enough to drive it home. Later that day I
> drove the car on the freeway and I noticed that the temp. guage was
> moving really fast to the top that I never noticed before. So I
> quickly pulled off at the nearest exit and checked my coolant at a gas
> station. Sure enough, the radiator was almost empty as I could pour
> about 3 quarts of antifreeze mixture into it. Since then I've been
> watching any leaks in the cooling system but could not notice any and
> its level has been holding in the radiator after several days. I still
> wonder though if I was driving with low coolant level and high engine
> temp during some of that long 4 hour commute but I was just not
> looking at the guage. The car is still running fine but again it makes
> me wonder.
>
> It makes me wonder especially as I noticed the unusually heavy fogging
> in my car after the engine warms up and especially when I turn on the
> heater. I get a lot of condensation on the cold windows, even on the
> rear window. The condensation does not seem to be pure water but feels
> slick like the antifreeze. What is puzzling about it though that I
> don't seem to be losing any coolant as far as I can see in its level
> visible in the radiator opening. I also see no drips on my garage
> floor. It's a real mistery to me.
>
> I am taking my car to a shop next week but would appreciate hearing
> any insights from those of you having had more experience with cars
> than I've had.
>
> Thanks for reading this long post,
>
> JP
============================================

Filling the rad isn't enough. There's a reserve bottle that needs to be
filled to MAX, since you've got lots of air in your cooling system. Fill
it to MAX again in a day or two since it will go low as air is displaced
from the heater / block / rad. No tap water. This is in your owner's manual.

'Curly'

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

John Paul wrote:
> This car still runs great with 240 K miles in it but recently I had
> some bad episodes which makes me wonder.
>
> The first episode was about a month ago when I was driving at night in
> a heavy downpour and I ran into a deep puddle that I could not see in
> time. The puddle may have been about axle deep at its deepest point
> and the engine suddenly stopped. When the car itself stopped rolling
> it was still in the puddle but in only about ankle deep at that point.
> Fortunately my electric circuits seemed to be OK as I was able to use
> the emergency flashers. As I was ready to phone for some help, I
> decided to see if I could start it. Well, the starter seemed to have
> plenty of power and after several cranking attempts I was able to
> restart the engine and except the initial spongy brakes everything
> seemed to be fine.
>
> I still have no idea what caused the engine cutoff: water getting to
> the ignition circuits or perhaps into the air intake? I always thought
> Honda's electric circuits were pretty well insulated from moisture,
> with tight rubber boots, etc. But maybe somebody has a better insight
> into this.
>
> The second episode was about 10 days ago when the normally 30 minute
> home commute turned into 4 hours because of a snow storm hitting my
> area just at the afternoon commute time. At the end of four hours I
> could not even make the last two miles on the side streets so I had to
> leave my car overnight at a supermarket parking lot for two days till
> the side streets were good enough to drive it home. Later that day I
> drove the car on the freeway and I noticed that the temp. guage was
> moving really fast to the top that I never noticed before. So I
> quickly pulled off at the nearest exit and checked my coolant at a gas
> station. Sure enough, the radiator was almost empty as I could pour
> about 3 quarts of antifreeze mixture into it. Since then I've been
> watching any leaks in the cooling system but could not notice any and
> its level has been holding in the radiator after several days. I still
> wonder though if I was driving with low coolant level and high engine
> temp during some of that long 4 hour commute but I was just not
> looking at the guage. The car is still running fine but again it makes
> me wonder.
>
> It makes me wonder especially as I noticed the unusually heavy fogging
> in my car after the engine warms up and especially when I turn on the
> heater. I get a lot of condensation on the cold windows, even on the
> rear window. The condensation does not seem to be pure water but feels
> slick like the antifreeze. What is puzzling about it though that I
> don't seem to be losing any coolant as far as I can see in its level
> visible in the radiator opening. I also see no drips on my garage
> floor. It's a real mistery to me.
>
> I am taking my car to a shop next week but would appreciate hearing
> any insights from those of you having had more experience with cars
> than I've had.
>
> Thanks for reading this long post,
>
> JP
============================================

Filling the rad isn't enough. There's a reserve bottle that needs to be
filled to MAX, since you've got lots of air in your cooling system. Fill
it to MAX again in a day or two since it will go low as air is displaced
from the heater / block / rad. No tap water. This is in your owner's manual.

'Curly'

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

John Paul wrote:
> This car still runs great with 240 K miles in it but recently I had
> some bad episodes which makes me wonder.
>
> The first episode was about a month ago when I was driving at night in
> a heavy downpour and I ran into a deep puddle that I could not see in
> time. The puddle may have been about axle deep at its deepest point
> and the engine suddenly stopped. When the car itself stopped rolling
> it was still in the puddle but in only about ankle deep at that point.
> Fortunately my electric circuits seemed to be OK as I was able to use
> the emergency flashers. As I was ready to phone for some help, I
> decided to see if I could start it. Well, the starter seemed to have
> plenty of power and after several cranking attempts I was able to
> restart the engine and except the initial spongy brakes everything
> seemed to be fine.
>
> I still have no idea what caused the engine cutoff: water getting to
> the ignition circuits or perhaps into the air intake? I always thought
> Honda's electric circuits were pretty well insulated from moisture,
> with tight rubber boots, etc. But maybe somebody has a better insight
> into this.
>
> The second episode was about 10 days ago when the normally 30 minute
> home commute turned into 4 hours because of a snow storm hitting my
> area just at the afternoon commute time. At the end of four hours I
> could not even make the last two miles on the side streets so I had to
> leave my car overnight at a supermarket parking lot for two days till
> the side streets were good enough to drive it home. Later that day I
> drove the car on the freeway and I noticed that the temp. guage was
> moving really fast to the top that I never noticed before. So I
> quickly pulled off at the nearest exit and checked my coolant at a gas
> station. Sure enough, the radiator was almost empty as I could pour
> about 3 quarts of antifreeze mixture into it. Since then I've been
> watching any leaks in the cooling system but could not notice any and
> its level has been holding in the radiator after several days. I still
> wonder though if I was driving with low coolant level and high engine
> temp during some of that long 4 hour commute but I was just not
> looking at the guage. The car is still running fine but again it makes
> me wonder.
>
> It makes me wonder especially as I noticed the unusually heavy fogging
> in my car after the engine warms up and especially when I turn on the
> heater. I get a lot of condensation on the cold windows, even on the
> rear window. The condensation does not seem to be pure water but feels
> slick like the antifreeze. What is puzzling about it though that I
> don't seem to be losing any coolant as far as I can see in its level
> visible in the radiator opening. I also see no drips on my garage
> floor. It's a real mistery to me.
>
> I am taking my car to a shop next week but would appreciate hearing
> any insights from those of you having had more experience with cars
> than I've had.
>
> Thanks for reading this long post,
>
> JP
============================================

Filling the rad isn't enough. There's a reserve bottle that needs to be
filled to MAX, since you've got lots of air in your cooling system. Fill
it to MAX again in a day or two since it will go low as air is displaced
from the heater / block / rad. No tap water. This is in your owner's manual.

'Curly'

Re: 94 Accord LX concerns
 

On Sun, 21 Jan 2007 07:28:50 -0700, "Michael Pardee" wrote:

>The Honda coolant is not as critical as the power steering fluid or the ATF,
>but it's pretty cheap insurance against water pump seal trouble. Being
>premixed, there is also no concern about it being diluted with tap water,
>which is a very bad idea. Aftermarket thermostats, on the other hand, have
>earned a reputation for flaky operation. I gave up on them about a decade
>ago.

Well, I'm afraid I did not have a choice at the time when I found my
radiator almost empty and use tap water to mix with the Prestone
antifreeze as premixed one was not available. I'm taking the car in to
my mechanic for 240 K scheduled maintenance (same as 60 K) and tell
him to drain the cooling system and refill it with premixed coolant.
As he deals with all kinds of Japanese cars, not just Honda, I am
making sure he is going to use Honda brand ATF which I bought
yesterday at a nearby Honda dealer's part store. I also bought new
spark plugs there and oil filter. As before I'll have him use the
Castrol 5-30 oil that I provide as he normally uses Chevron brand.

From the answers so far I have not seen many that addressed the
possible source of coolant vapor getting into the passenger
compartment and condensating on the cold windows. My first thought was
a heater core leak but that does not explain how the vapor gets in
with the heat turned off. I figure it must be a very small leak if it
does not create noticeable drop in coolant level or drips under the
engine. I'll see what the mechanic might find tomorrow but if he
suggest replacing the heater core I would hesitate to take that route
due to the big labor involved with it. In that case I might try first
to put that "Liquid Aluminum" radiator silant powder into the coolant
and see if that helps. On the other hand some of you would probably
say that it could hurt more than help. Any thoughts about it?

JP