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Rich's 2003 Honda Accord 2.4 Tourer Auto


Rich
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The steering miss-alignment would have been off a fraction. Point to note the toe angle is the only angle that's shared between both front wheels, if the numbers are not symmetrical you as a driver would need to re-position the steering to make them symmetrical, meaning the static numbers shown on the report tells me the dynamic position was LHD. Most times owners that complain of a pull it's actually a steer where they subliminally want to correct the steering position.

 

As for the vibration...... It's a hard call because of the variables.  Have you posted this on the Honda forum?

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I understand now :)

 

I'm almost certain it's going to be the inner cv joints, alot of owners have had issues but usually all the time at a certain speed or between a range. I am going to ask on TA but they seem to be having server issues ATM.

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Honda want £250 a side for the inner cv joint and you can only buy from them. There is a company in the US that sells genuine ones, which works out about £90 each before shipping and customs so I would buy from there.

 

I will do some testing though and see what happens when I put the 16" wheels on, it might not even be that.

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Yes jack the car up at the front and drive through the gears, if the steering wheel vibrates then it's the shafts.

 

What else can cause vibrations - seized suspension parts, bushes not torqued properly?

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I already know that thanks Adam :)

 

I went to my test track on the way home from work yesterday and accelerated from 40-70mph and there were no vibrations at all, car was very smooth and quiet. I did it a couple of times as well and couldn't get it to vibrate so I will keep an eye on it as it must be an intermittent problem.

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fair enough Rich.

 

you would be surprised on how many people by accord stuff from the US and expect it to fit!

 

to test the problem further:

sit at 40mph and gently accelerate to 50.

sit and 50 and again gently accelerate to 60.

again from 60- 70

 

if during those tests you get your 'shake'. its the start of the CV going. with everything, its better to replace before you need it, if you leave the issue too long then it has been known that the shafts need doing too.

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I did alot of reading on this problem before buying the car so knew about the Accura.

 

I'll try that test as well then and see what happens. It'll have to wait until the New Year if I do need the inner joints though.

 

I don't suppose you know whether there are any workshop manuals out there, mainly to find out the torque settings for the bolts etc?

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Didn't you get a 3 month warranty on the car? Perhaps you could try using this to get the problem diagnosed and fixed... I certainly would be before spending any of my own cash.

 

The conditions are I have to pay for any diagnosis and they will only pay for the first £250 in repairs to the garage who does the work. The repair bill would be £500 + labour so I might as well just buy them from the states and do it myself for hopefully under £250. That's even if it is the inner joints, it might be something else.

 

Thread lock and grrrrr tight works just fine :)

 

But bolts and nuts have torque values for a reason, you don't want to put unnecessary stress on them causing issues later on. You wouldn't do wheel nuts grrrr tight, if the studs sheared from the stress the wheel could fall off!

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I need to get some oil but can't decide what to get. I have ordered the filters from Honda but the oil is too expensive from them.

 

It seems owners use 0w30, 5w30 or 5w40 in these engines, with the latter being the most popular. Looking at the service history it looks like 0w30 has been used, which is what Honda recommend (although they said 5w40 is fine) and I'm not sure whether I should change this with the engine being use to it.

 

I need 5L so that's 2 bottles costing around £60 but I can get a 25L bottle of Millers 5w40 for £70 delivered (with a discount) - http://www.lubetechshop.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=22_27&products_id=290

 

Really I just want to do an oil change now and then get a drum next year when I do the next one and have the cash to spare, but it seems silly getting 2 x 4L bottles when 17L more is an extra £10.

 

There is obviously cheaper oils from the motorfactors like Comma but I'm not sure whether to use it in this engine :unsure:

 

Any opinions?

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Rich... 0w-30 is too thin I would always use a good 5w-30 oil or 5w-40.

 

with honda engines its important to remember that oil is its blood. keep it clean and it will stay healthy.

when I get home today I will dig out where I got my oil from as it was crazy cheap

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Rich... 0w-30 is too thin I would always use a good 5w-30 oil or 5w-40.

 

with honda engines its important to remember that oil is its blood. keep it clean and it will stay healthy.

when I get home today I will dig out where I got my oil from as it was crazy cheap

 

That's why I want to get this right and keep the engine as healthy as possible :)

 

I'd imagine you got yours from Lube Tech as well, Exol brand?

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I used Fuchs in the Mondeo and Civic, a good oil but I've noticed that's getting expensive as well. I wonder if the fact the car has 0w30 in and it being thinner is why it's using it, the level was just below minimum when I checked it so had to buy a litre to top it up. I also didn't realise you had to check it when it's warm until I read the handbook!

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I used whatever is cheap. As long as its fully synth and from a reputable supplier (right weight as well obviously). I steer clear of the castrol magnatec stuff though.

 

Currently running the Gulf racing oil in the mazda - no complaints in fact its made things run quieter.

 

Opie has a 20% off millers right now.

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I used Magnatec in the Civic last time when it was on offer at Halford - how come you don't use it?

 

Opie is still £17 more expensive even with 20% off!!

 

Well 1st thing is i trashed my big ends on my supra using this stuff. So bad memories there and based upon what i have read about magnatec also i would rather opt for a genuine ester based fully synthetic oil over one thats actually a semi synth thats been meddled with so it falls within the bounds of being called a fully synth.

 

I dont think its so much of an issue on conventional engines and tunes but i am a bit more particular on the technical specs when i have upped my power by 56% :lol:

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