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Rich's 2003 Honda Accord 2.4 Tourer Auto


Rich
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It was ok on the 5 mile drive to work this morning, apart from the dodgy gear changes between 1st and 2nd (which I think is a solenoid issue).

The car is level to the eye but I haven't measured the arch gap yet. Both springs are there on the rear and I can't move them, they don't feel loose. Mind you if the top coil had snapped off the tension probably means I couldn't move it anyway?

The sound was like a shotgun going off or something popping back in to place. Definitely wasn't from the dryer.

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Doing the finger test on flat level ground I can get 3 in each arch gap but the OSR is slightly tighter than the NSR. The car drives fine though and I can't feel any difference. 

I'll see if I can get it jacked up at the weekend although I won't have much time. It was so much easier having a day off in the week!

If I do notice the end has snapped are they easy to replace? Do you clamp the springs with the car down, undo the shock bolt and then raise the car to remove it?

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Could something have hit the car? I mean like a nut dropped from a bird or something? Makes a hell of a crack.

Or maybe something kicked up by a vehicle in another carriageway? Field nearby with farm machinery in? In Formby up here loads of people complain about their cars being hit by farm machinery kicking stuff out of the fields.

Just guessing obv. hoping it's nothing to do with your car.

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If they are OEM coils and not lowering coils then they will need compressing..... Saying that on some cars if to undo the damper and then jack the car up then the damper length will remove the load.

If the bottom of the damper is fork shaped then they are an arse to remove/ fit.

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I've had things hit the car before - stones, a pigeon etc and while the noise has been loud it was more of a dull thud than this bang. It was like it came from within the car so with the position of the springs it could've been those. It's still driving fine so I'll check them when I get the chance.

I remember buying some Mondeo struts once that came off a daily runner when it was being broken. I only wanted the springs but on one of them the coil had snapped at the top. I told the guy I bought them from and he had no idea at all that he'd been driving with it broken.

I've been looking online for a DIY guide Tony but can't find any. My concern is I undo the shock and the spring pops out! It's not fork shaped and looks like this:

SANY0002%252520%252528Medium%252529.JPG

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Ok thanks, will take a look and see if they're broken first. The FIL changed the ones on his Fiesta yesterday that has the same setup. He said he removed the shock first (he was replacing that too) and then compressed the spring to remove that.

I also smelt eggy farts from the exhaust again, I smelt it before Xmas but was hoping it was a one off. So my CAT is probably on the way out!

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  • 9 months later...

Well I never did find out what that noise was! Passed the MOT today and they didn't spot anything like a broken spring. Drives fine too.

I had to fit a new battery a few weeks a go as it seems my short journeys were killing the other one. After leaving the car for 2 days it would struggle to start. I really need to start taking it for longer runs now and again to keep the battery charger.

Also a big thanks to @Geoffers for some advice he has given me when it came to testing the battery.

I also did the oil change last week, 3 years since the last one!! I have only done 5k miles but it was black so lesson learnt. I have also switched to 5w40 from 5w30 to see if it helps with the amount it uses.

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  • 1 month later...

So I got to work earlier and as I got out of the car I was met by that familiar smell of binding brakes! :banghead: It's been 5 years since I replaced the rear calipers and hoses so I'm hoping they just need a clean up and it's not the piston! My low mileage is definitely not helping! It's a good job I'm off work for 2 weeks after today.

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That was the first thing I did although I knew which wheel it would be. I've been smelling a slight heat smell after a spirited drive but it wasn't a binding brake one so assumed it was just working hard. The wheels were never hot to touch.

There are a couple of flooded areas on the way to work, plus the usual spray and with the rear being quite exposed the brakes get hammered. TBH I was surprised they lasted 5 years without me needing to clean them up again. Hopefully it's just the slider pins and general crap. I just need to try and drive the car home now but it's only 5 miles so should make it!

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Took it easy going home yesterday, mainly 30 limits with a short 60 stretch and used minimal braking. The wheel was cold when I got home and no smell. So hopefully I've caught it early and nothing is badly seized. Just a pain having to do it in this weather!

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  • 10 months later...

You know what, I can't remember if I actually cleaned the rear brakes up from my last post but they've been fine since!

Passed the MOT on Wednesday. Despite some battle scars on the bodywork he said the car mechanically is in great condition.

I did 155 miles, mainly at 50-70mph on motorways and dual carriageways. This only returned 23mpg, which is down a little. Usually it would do 26-27 on a trip like that. That cost me £40 with petrol now being £1.46 a litre! ☹️

The oil change is due, which I'll be doing in a couple of weeks and I'll replace the air filter. I've only done 2k miles in the last year. I changed the oil to 5w40 last year which has been ok but I'm now going to switch to 0w30. A 20L bottle is just under £70 delivered (with a code) and will do me for 4 years. 5L bottles are £26+, even more from places like ECP, so it'll leave me plenty for top ups too.

https://www.lubetechshop.co.uk/product/optima-fs-0w30-fully-synthetic-engine-oil-acea-a5-b5-a1-b1-api-sl-cf/

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Would it really drop that much? That's not good in a 2.4L petrol! They are determined to get petrol and diesel cars off the road aren't they.

I've switched to Esso E0 in the MX5 but I doubt it's worth it for the Accord. The extra price paid for Supreme fuel won't give me that many more miles. Maybe I should try a tankful and see though.

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That's just bonkers! I've only put petrol in the Accord twice since the change and not even a full tank. I do 10 miles a day going to work and back so didn't notice any difference the first time but I did on Wednesday when I was literally watching the fuel guage drop like a stone!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well I put some v power in the car, 24 litres costing £40. I got 95 miles from it which is about 18mpg!

I checked my invoices earlier to see when I gave it a full service with plugs etc, it was in 2014 at 100k miles. It's done 130k miles now.

The plugs should be replaced at 25k mile intervals, the auto gearbox oil at 50k miles or 4 years, so it's 7 years old. Then the air filter and oil. I'm going to order everything and get it done. The first coolant change was also due 5k miles a go so that should be ok. It has been losing it gradually for a few years so I just top it up.

The car has only done 5k miles in the last 5 years so I'm trying not to spend too much on it. Especially when it's only worth £500 now. It won't be long before the tax costs more than what it's worth!

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  • 11 months later...

I did all of the servicing I mentioned above but need to change the gearbox oil again. I had enough left from last time so used that as a flush to do a few hundred miles and then fill with the new oil but I didn't get around to it in the summer!

The MOT was yesterday and it passed but with a couple of advisories this time. My MOT garage has a new tester and he's more thorough!

A cut in a tyre needs to be monitored. That must've happened on the way there as I removed all 4 wheels on Monday and checked them over.

Foggy headlights, so I need to polish them again, it's been a few years since I did those.

Front brake pads are low but I knew that anyway. I replaced the discs and pads 8 years a go so will do both again. The discs have a slight lip on them so I don't think it's wise to fit new pads on to them.

I had to seal the plastic door lining behind the door cards as they were leaking water in to the footwells but other than that it's been ok. Hoping to keep it going for another year.

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18 hours ago, eddie said:

Sounds like the Honda has plenty of life left in it - roll on 200,000 miles! What do you use to polish up the headlights?

It's done 133,000 miles now. The bodywork will be gone before the engine. The tester did say the sills are quite rusty and will probably need work done on them in a couple of years. I won't be paying out for that though as it's not worth it.

I used my rotary polisher with some fine polish and fine wet/dry paper to run them down first. You need to add regular protection otherwise they go cloudy again like mine have. You can also buy kits that you use with your drill, which seem to work well.

5 hours ago, liner33 said:

Is it any better on fuel ? 

About the same as it used to be, 21mpg around town, slightly more on a run. I use Esso Supreme E0 now and nothing else. It's never been an economical car though and I've only done 2500 miles since the MOT last year so I don't do a lot in it.

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3 hours ago, adam_r said:

21mpg seems very low for the 2.0 petrol Rich. 

My old saloon got ~35mpg round town and could stretch to 48mph on a motorway run

It's a 2.4 petrol automatic so it's never going to be great. I've always got low 20s around town since I got it 9 years a go. I suppose a sensor or two may be old but I'm not going to start replacing parts on a whim.

Didn't you have a diesel Accord, not petrol?

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