Hi...and questions

[Algordo]

Hi.
I'm Al, I'm in Brissy.

So I just bought a 1992 Accord dirt cheap. This thing is pretty average to look at. The last owner seemed to enjoy bumping and scraping it, or more likely, couldn't drive.

Underneath the bumps and scrapes though, seems to be a good car that was well cared for by someone for a good 17 years, according to the service book. This was likely the first owner, it was likely their pride and joy and was then passed on to a series of owners who couldn't give a ****

So, I was going to give it a new mudguard, new bumpers, tidy up the paint and give it a deep clean. It seems worth it because it was so cheap and it's a nice car really. A good old classic. Cruise, central locking, windows, all work well and the interior is very good under the crumbs and dust.

What has scuppered me, is that it's not running right. So now I'm wondering weather to bother.

So It idles lumpy, stalls out and is down on power. There is a fair amount of 'blow through' from the oil cap. I got the compression tester on it and I'm seeing 60psi in 3 and 4. 1 and 2 are good.

So I'm thinking head gasket. There is no oil/coolant cross contamination and no blue/white smoke. Although the exhaust does stink like its too rich and the cat can't cope.

210k on the clock by the way. These engines (F22A?) should see a lot more than that right?

I may just pop the head off and take a look. Hopefully it's the gasket between 3 and 4 cylinder and nothing else. In which case I'll stick a head gasket on it, do the cam belt while i'm at it and hopefully should see a fair few more K's before further work.

So the question is.

How tough are these engines? Given the symptoms, what's more likely? A blow between 3 and 4 pots, or worse? burned valves? rings fudged? Shall I bother, lol.

[antony]

Save this Accord,i think its well worth it...

[curtis265]

My suggestion is to get an accurate costing of the following
1. A new engine - H22 or F22. the H will cost more but it's got a few more ponies for more push me in car

2. Repairing the existing engine - this could be a long and onerous task if you don't have an experienced opinion to work with... But if you don't have 2 left hands like me then you might be alright..

3. any body repairs for things that annoy you too much

Then decide from there if it's worth the sentiment (something only YOU can and should decide)

In terms of symptoms, 60PSI is really bad. Are you sure you did it right? I think you may have ignition issues too if it's stalling and then smelling rich... Are you burning a lot of oil?

also shoot a PM to user "Jasemas" as he has deep knowledge on the accord

[Algordo]

Thanks guys.

I do like the car. Mechanically it is well, other than the engine. The auto box behaves itself, breaks, bushes, suspension etc all good.

In terms of costings. It's just parts and my time. I can bolt bumpers and guards on no problem, sort out paint work etc.

Yes I did the compression test correctly. Wet testing showed no real difference so I'm assuming the rings are serviceable.
Now I haven't done a head gasket on one of these engines before, but I have done many on other engines of all sorts of configuration. I would hope this would be relatively straight forward. It seems a pretty simple beast really.
The terrible compression in 2 pots is telling me that head has got to come off anyway. Weather there is further issues with fuel/ignition or not. It's either gasket or valves surely? Got to pop it off and take a look I recko . :/ Won't cost me anything to do that (just time)

What I find in there will decide what I need to do/ buy I think. Before I go buy bumpers ect. :)

I'm sure I'll have more questions on the way.