1999 Accord 233,544 vehicle miles 3,831 on oil

[Market525]

Here is an interesting analysis for you Honda fans out there. The car belongs to my neighbor, and I have maintained it from time to time. This is the highest mileage Honda that I've had experience with, so I was curious what the wear numbers would look like. Here goes:

Blackstone did the analysis. Oil was NAPA brand dino 5w30, with 1/2 qt of Havoline dino 5w30 added toward the end of the run. Filter was NAPA gold. Engine is the 2.3L VTEC 4 cylinder. Car was her father's for the first 150-160K, and it was all road miles put on pretty quickly. The car now has 233,544 miles on it.

Now / Universal Averages
Aluminum 2/3
Chromium 0/1
Iron 4/7
Copper 1/4
Lead 6/5
Tin 0/1
Moly 53/75
Nickel 0/0
Manganese 0/0
Silver 0/0
Titanium 0/0
Potassium 1/1
Boron 12/52
Silicon 7/10
Sodium 2/9
Calcium 1961/2157
Magnesium 11/143
Phosphours 627/741
Zinc 810/881
Barium 0/0
Sus Viscosity @210
Should be 56-62 Actual 58.4
Flashpoint
Should be >365 Actual 360
Fuel
Should be Antifreeze & water were zero
Insolubles
Should be
TBN was 4.3. Oil change interval was 3,831 miles. Blackstone notes that their Universal averages were w/ approx 4,800 miles on the oil.

I'll also note that she has been driving around with the check engine light on for awhile now. The two codes point to a shot catalytic converter & oxygen sensor, which I think shows up plainly in the report. This problem has finally been repaired, thanks to my harping on her.

Opinions and / or comments anyone? Think the engine has many miles ahead of it? Thanks, Steve

 

[TooSlick]

The insolubles of 0.4% after 4000 miles indicate a fair amount of blowby, which is to be expected. Other than that, the engine looks to be in good shape.

If you could convince her to run an AutoRX dose in here, I'd bet you could get those insolubles down a bit and improve the compression as well.

TS

 

[Cutehumor]

is she still putting a ton of miles on car just like her dad did?

 

[Market525]

No, it is now a commuter / student car. I'd guess 20 to 25,000 per year now. Still amazing to look around under the car - completly dry oil pan, axle seals, front engine oil seals, etc. The last GM car I was under w/ 106K was cover in oil due to several oil leaks.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

My cousin has a 97 Accord with 67,000 miles on it, it's like new, clean and dry under the hood. A little pitting of the aluminum parts under-hood, but very clean, no leaks or seeps, engine has been getting Mobil 1 OCI about 5K/yearly. Loaded, and retired at 53, she doesn't drive it much. Paint looks like new to this day. Interior flawless.

If the Japanese/Asian carmakers got something right, it was the complete elimination of dissimilar metals in contact with one another. Maybe they sold US a lot of counterfeit bolts and fasteners, but they certainly never used them after about the mid-seventies or so..

I bet that 99 Honda has lots left to it.

 

[Market525]

TooSlick,
I just got the results of a Blackstone analysis back from a 2002 Accord, same 2.3L engine, but w/ only 75K. I've had the valve cover off, and it is absolutely spotless inside, which leads me to believe the car had good routine maintenance. My point is - that car too had insolubles of 0.4! I thought the report on the 99 w/ high mileage was pretty good .. but I must be missing something on the insolubles issue.
Steve

 

[buster]

Market, any makeup oil? If the oil was changed regularly, the engine will be clean. It could be that the piston/ring seal isn't all that good which could be causing some blow by. TS might be able to give you a better answer.

 

[CharBaby]

My 1988 Accord with a carb. (just sold) had 340,000 + miles on it using dino oil and 3-5000 mile OCI and there were no leaks and was very dry underneath. Neither the engine nor the tranny were rebuilt. Recently pulled the valve cover and it looked beautiful in there. Had to replace the oil pan a couple of years ago due to a mishap. Looked great there as well. Wonderful engines!

 

[doubleshockpower]

I had a '01 Accord 2.3 EX automatic, that car did 36-39 mpg going 80 with the air on. My wife put a couple bad dents in it so I sold it, bought a new '03EX 2.4 and it's even better but the mileage is more 32-35ish, anyway these new Accords are brilliant for the money....can't wait for the '08 models.

 

[buster]

Quote:

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anyway these new Accords are brilliant for the money

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They really are. I have an 05 Ex Coupe with the 2.4L. Car is extremely smooth at high speed. Handles well too. It's no wonder they sell so many Accords. I'd much rather have the V6, but the 2.4L is still a great endine.