You’re probably right, it just drives me crazy seeing the salt covering the car. I don’t use any high pressure wash, just a light rinse with the hose. I try to touch up the fluid film throughout the winter, but it does wash off. Great product though!
Bought a Cheap Accord
- Thread starter JoeDirt41
- Start date
ok ya got me curious so I looked, and yup Bilstein does make a bunch of different shock/struts for the 97 Accord, generation CD7.. But finding them might be another challenge.
https://www.bilstein-shop.com/honda-accord-v-cd7-cd9-c-89624.html
keep the updates coming, I think we're all enjoying watching the progress
Washed the car today. It was absolutely filthy with all the snow we’ve had melting. The extensive winter use is definitely putting some wear on the less-than-amazing Maaco paint job. Still looks fine from a distance but there’s a lot of paint chips to touch up.
Unfortunately my power steering stop leak fix was short lived. It has returned, and actually seems like it’s leaking worse than before. It’s not hemorrhaging, but the level has dropped a small amount. I’m unsure if I should buy a used pump and try to reseal it, or take a gamble on another Chinese knockoff one.
Unfortunately my power steering stop leak fix was short lived. It has returned, and actually seems like it’s leaking worse than before. It’s not hemorrhaging, but the level has dropped a small amount. I’m unsure if I should buy a used pump and try to reseal it, or take a gamble on another Chinese knockoff one.
I ended up getting a used one for a 2009 CRV after a cheap aftermarket new one failed in short order and out of warranty (from Rock). The only saving grace was that it was easy to change; I didn't even have to top off the reservoir @JoeDirt41
Power steering update…
I bought a new power steering seal kit from RockAuto, this time I went with the Edelmann kit. I decided I would try to rebuild the original pump a second time, maybe I messed something up the first time or had a defective seal.
Tore it apart last night, didn’t notice any obvious defects or issues, but cleaned it and put all new seals in. The Edelmann kit had made-in-Japan seals versus the probably Chinese seals that were in the Sunsong branded kit. Maybe these will be better quality. Hoping to get it installed this weekend.
I bought a new power steering seal kit from RockAuto, this time I went with the Edelmann kit. I decided I would try to rebuild the original pump a second time, maybe I messed something up the first time or had a defective seal.
Tore it apart last night, didn’t notice any obvious defects or issues, but cleaned it and put all new seals in. The Edelmann kit had made-in-Japan seals versus the probably Chinese seals that were in the Sunsong branded kit. Maybe these will be better quality. Hoping to get it installed this weekend.
@JoeDirt41 thanks for the update, it sucks that the stop leak that you used didn't do anything.. had high hopes for it! But that's cool you found what appears to be a good re-seal kit, can't wait to see how that solves the issue. Be interesting if you tore down the bad no-name power steering pump and find out exactly how it died.
Got the resealed pump installed. Very obvious where the old pump had failed. I likely will tear it down just to have a look as @researcher suggested. I cleaned the timing cover off with some brake cleaner so I should be able to see if there is a leak pretty quickly.
Got the car washed today too. Supposed to rain all week so hopefully all the salt gets washed away before long.
Got the car washed today too. Supposed to rain all week so hopefully all the salt gets washed away before long.
hey thanks for the update.. that picture you posted of the main seal on the old pump is just falling apart! wow..
and yup spring rain, nice free underbody wash! good riddance to salt and winter
Update time! After about a week and 100 miles, the original, rebuilt power steering pump passed the white glove test- completely dry! Hopefully it stays that way.
The driver’s exterior door handle has been loose and rattles when I close the door, so I looked into that today. Pretty sure it’s been like this the entire time I’ve had the car, but it has only started bothering me recently. I popped the door panel off, and found 2 things- both bolts that hold the door handle on were loose, but also the handle itself is broken. I was able to tighten the two bolts, and that helped some but the handle would have to be replaced to make it right.
Of course, if the handle is replaced, it needs to be painted. I’m more than capable of doing paint work, especially on something small like a door handle, only I don’t know what color this car was painted. I know Ford Tuxedo black matches close enough for touch ups and would probably be good enough for a door handle, but I’d want to see a test piece before I bought a can. Supposedly there is a local shop that has a spectrophotometer and can match any color, but I’d have to look into that more. For now, I’m just gonna be very careful opening the door.
I mentioned before that I’ve been hearing a clunk/pop noise over bumps and I was suspecting the struts, but I got underneath today with a pry bar to investigate. The shocks actually appear to be fine, as are all of the ball joints, sway bar links, tie rods, and control arms. The noise is coming from the passenger side CV axle. Both joints have some play, but the inner joint especially has quite a bit. I was able to replicate the noise by flexing the joint. Relatively easy and inexpensive fix. Looks like the output seal on that side of the transmission is also leaking a bit, so I’ll change it at the same time.
While I was underneath, I discovered that the power steering rack has developed a leak. Both boots have drips. Is it possible the AT205 caused this leak? Possibly, I have no way to prove it did or didn’t. The leaks must not be very big, because I’m not losing fluid at a fast rate.
At any rate, I wanted to get clean, good fluid in the system just for peace of mind until I get around to addressing the rack leak. I have done at least a half dozen drain and fills of the reservoir, but I have not flushed the fluid. So I removed the reservoir, started the car, and with a length of hose, one on each side leading into a container, started the car and cycled the wheels back and forth until fluid stopped coming out. Then I got 1/2 a quart of new fluid, dumped it in the suction side and ran it until clean fluid came out the other hose.
After that, I cleaned the reservoir with brake cleaner and compressed air, reinstalled it and filled with Idemitsu PSF. I started it up and cycled the wheels back and forth and topped up until the reservoir stayed at the full level. There’s still lots of small air bubbles that need to bleed out, but it should be good to go now after it sits for a while.
I’m glad I did it because the fluid was still really nasty, despite all of the drain and fills.
The driver’s exterior door handle has been loose and rattles when I close the door, so I looked into that today. Pretty sure it’s been like this the entire time I’ve had the car, but it has only started bothering me recently. I popped the door panel off, and found 2 things- both bolts that hold the door handle on were loose, but also the handle itself is broken. I was able to tighten the two bolts, and that helped some but the handle would have to be replaced to make it right.
Of course, if the handle is replaced, it needs to be painted. I’m more than capable of doing paint work, especially on something small like a door handle, only I don’t know what color this car was painted. I know Ford Tuxedo black matches close enough for touch ups and would probably be good enough for a door handle, but I’d want to see a test piece before I bought a can. Supposedly there is a local shop that has a spectrophotometer and can match any color, but I’d have to look into that more. For now, I’m just gonna be very careful opening the door.
I mentioned before that I’ve been hearing a clunk/pop noise over bumps and I was suspecting the struts, but I got underneath today with a pry bar to investigate. The shocks actually appear to be fine, as are all of the ball joints, sway bar links, tie rods, and control arms. The noise is coming from the passenger side CV axle. Both joints have some play, but the inner joint especially has quite a bit. I was able to replicate the noise by flexing the joint. Relatively easy and inexpensive fix. Looks like the output seal on that side of the transmission is also leaking a bit, so I’ll change it at the same time.
While I was underneath, I discovered that the power steering rack has developed a leak. Both boots have drips. Is it possible the AT205 caused this leak? Possibly, I have no way to prove it did or didn’t. The leaks must not be very big, because I’m not losing fluid at a fast rate.
At any rate, I wanted to get clean, good fluid in the system just for peace of mind until I get around to addressing the rack leak. I have done at least a half dozen drain and fills of the reservoir, but I have not flushed the fluid. So I removed the reservoir, started the car, and with a length of hose, one on each side leading into a container, started the car and cycled the wheels back and forth until fluid stopped coming out. Then I got 1/2 a quart of new fluid, dumped it in the suction side and ran it until clean fluid came out the other hose.
After that, I cleaned the reservoir with brake cleaner and compressed air, reinstalled it and filled with Idemitsu PSF. I started it up and cycled the wheels back and forth and topped up until the reservoir stayed at the full level. There’s still lots of small air bubbles that need to bleed out, but it should be good to go now after it sits for a while.
I’m glad I did it because the fluid was still really nasty, despite all of the drain and fills.
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- Mar 13, 2024
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From your first post on this car to now, I love what you've done with this survivor, OP. We owned 96 V6 for about 10 years - bought it used - and still to this day it was one of my favorite cars we've ever owned. I'd love to have one again but you don't many of them anymore being 30+ years old now. Great car though, I really miss ours.
Glad you’ve enjoyed it, hope you’ll continue to follow along! I really love this car, it’s easy to drive and great on gas. They are quite rare to see on the road, I get excited every time I see another. They are even getting rare to see in junkyards. I’ve been checking the inventory at the local yards on a weekly basis for several months waiting for one to come in, and there’s been nothing.
I purchased a new power steering rack from RockAuto last week, went with the AAE brand. It is new, not a reman. I also bought two new outer tie rod ends since I knew there was a chance I’d damage the old ones removing them.
I began on the project today and it is definitely a patience-tester. The most difficult part was removing the flare nut fittings for fluid lines, which were extremely difficult to access. After trying a lot of different methods of accessing them with no success, I decided to remove the upper intake to create a bit more room. There’s a lot of stuff connected to it, but for the most part, it wasn’t horrible to remove.
Unfortunately I did break the cruise control cable (again) while removing it. I just barely nudged it and *crack* it snapped. I don’t use the cruise in this car anyways, but I still don’t like it to be broken, so I guess I’ll be looking for another one of those cables.
At any rate, after I got the upper intake removed, I was able to access those fittings with a flare nut wrench and remove them.
This job also involves disconnecting the steering column, which requires the steering wheel to be removed first in order to prevent damaging the clockspring. After all that was removed and done, I was finally able to remove the rack.
I got the new steering rack bolted into place and connected the lines. At this point it was getting late and I decided to call it a night. I’ll pick up tomorrow with centering the rack, reconnecting the steering column and putting the wheel back on.
I began on the project today and it is definitely a patience-tester. The most difficult part was removing the flare nut fittings for fluid lines, which were extremely difficult to access. After trying a lot of different methods of accessing them with no success, I decided to remove the upper intake to create a bit more room. There’s a lot of stuff connected to it, but for the most part, it wasn’t horrible to remove.
Unfortunately I did break the cruise control cable (again) while removing it. I just barely nudged it and *crack* it snapped. I don’t use the cruise in this car anyways, but I still don’t like it to be broken, so I guess I’ll be looking for another one of those cables.
At any rate, after I got the upper intake removed, I was able to access those fittings with a flare nut wrench and remove them.
This job also involves disconnecting the steering column, which requires the steering wheel to be removed first in order to prevent damaging the clockspring. After all that was removed and done, I was finally able to remove the rack.
I got the new steering rack bolted into place and connected the lines. At this point it was getting late and I decided to call it a night. I’ll pick up tomorrow with centering the rack, reconnecting the steering column and putting the wheel back on.
awesome! thanks for the update it will be interesting to find out how the steering feels with the new rack
it will be interesting to find out how the steering feels with the new rackGot this wrapped up today. Spent a good bit of time getting the rack exactly centered, then getting the column centered with the rack. Then centered the clockspring and reinstalled it, and then the steering wheel.
I put the new tie rod ends on; I counted the threads before removing the old ones and put these ones on in the same spot. Reinstalled the exhaust, and then finally reinstalled the upper intake manifold with a new gasket.
Obviously I have to get an alignment but it actually looks pretty good, just eyeballing it. I filled the reservoir with new Idemitsu fluid, started it up and bled the system with the wheels off the ground. It took about 2 bottles to fill it.
I flushed the system just prior to replacing the rack, and most of the fluid that was in the system drained out while replacing the rack, so I didn’t bother flushing it again, but I may go and add one of those little power steering filters on the return line if there is room for it.
Haven’t taken it for a ride yet, but I don’t anticipate any issues. Definitely a labor intensive job. The passenger side CV axle is still on the to-do list, but that is an easy job compared to this.
I put the new tie rod ends on; I counted the threads before removing the old ones and put these ones on in the same spot. Reinstalled the exhaust, and then finally reinstalled the upper intake manifold with a new gasket.
Obviously I have to get an alignment but it actually looks pretty good, just eyeballing it. I filled the reservoir with new Idemitsu fluid, started it up and bled the system with the wheels off the ground. It took about 2 bottles to fill it.
I flushed the system just prior to replacing the rack, and most of the fluid that was in the system drained out while replacing the rack, so I didn’t bother flushing it again, but I may go and add one of those little power steering filters on the return line if there is room for it.
Haven’t taken it for a ride yet, but I don’t anticipate any issues. Definitely a labor intensive job. The passenger side CV axle is still on the to-do list, but that is an easy job compared to this.
You can find a lot of stuff here but you probably already know about this : https://www.car-part.com/index.htm
It was a bit more involved than I anticipated as well. Had the flare nut fittings been easier to access and had you been able to get the rack into place without moving it from center, it would’ve been much, much easier.
I watched several videos of people replacing it, and people went about getting to the fittings different ways. One person was somehow able to get to the fittings without removing the intake, but they must’ve had smaller arms and hands than myself, because I just could not do it. Several people removed the intake, one person lowered the subframe which looked like the most labor-intensive way to do it.
I’ve kept almost all of the receipts and I’m going to put together an Excel spreadsheet and try to calculate approximately how much I have into it thus far. Part of me doesn’t want to know
Ah, yes, car-part! I use it frequently! Great source to find junkyard parts!
Personally I don't think you've spent a lot of money to get it to be working properly, not bad repairs for an almost 30 year old car! I mean compared to a new car, I'm thinking the stuff you spent money on is lower than a monthly payment for these insanely priced new cars! Plus I bet the insurance is a lot less!
I've also found parts from junkyards on ebay, too. But I ended up using Car-part before, not a bad setup.
I've also found parts from junkyards on ebay, too. But I ended up using Car-part before, not a bad setup.
I went through and added up all of the receipts I have for the car. I don’t have every single receipt, but I have most of them. The exact number is gonna vary depending on exactly what is included, but I included the initial title and tags, annual inspection and emissions testing, oil changes as well as all the parts I bought. I used a lot of rewards dollars to purchase parts, as well as shop discounts, and employee discounts, and I bought a lot of clearance items, and included all of that in my calculations. The only labor I’ve paid for was having the tires mounted and annual inspections and emissions, and I’ve included those.
I didn’t include the initial cost of the car, and I didn’t include things like fuel, brake cleaner, rags, RTV, grease, and tools I had to purchase. The total number I came up with was about $3150. It could be a hair more than that, as I am missing a few receipts, but that is gonna be pretty dang close. I paid $500 for the car, so if you want to include that, I’m at $3650.
That includes doing some repairs over (I replaced the valve cover gasket twice, replaced wipers twice, oil changed several times, and had quite the saga with the power steering pump). The most expensive single repair was the power steering rack at around $346 with new tie rod ends. So for unit costs, including the cost of the car, that’s about $215 a month, and about $1 per mile. And versus driving my F150, it’s saved me over $1100 in gas.
I still have some more repairs to do, it now needs an alignment and I need to replace the passenger side CV axle, but for the most part, there’s not a whole lot more that I’m aware of.
I was never in this to make a profit, and mostly own this car for my own enjoyment and entertainment, so I’m definitely not upset with the number. I love the car and really have no intentions of selling it. It’s worth more to me to have around as an extra vehicle versus what I could sell it for.
I didn’t include the initial cost of the car, and I didn’t include things like fuel, brake cleaner, rags, RTV, grease, and tools I had to purchase. The total number I came up with was about $3150. It could be a hair more than that, as I am missing a few receipts, but that is gonna be pretty dang close. I paid $500 for the car, so if you want to include that, I’m at $3650.
That includes doing some repairs over (I replaced the valve cover gasket twice, replaced wipers twice, oil changed several times, and had quite the saga with the power steering pump). The most expensive single repair was the power steering rack at around $346 with new tie rod ends. So for unit costs, including the cost of the car, that’s about $215 a month, and about $1 per mile. And versus driving my F150, it’s saved me over $1100 in gas.
I still have some more repairs to do, it now needs an alignment and I need to replace the passenger side CV axle, but for the most part, there’s not a whole lot more that I’m aware of.
I was never in this to make a profit, and mostly own this car for my own enjoyment and entertainment, so I’m definitely not upset with the number. I love the car and really have no intentions of selling it. It’s worth more to me to have around as an extra vehicle versus what I could sell it for.
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