97 Accord LX 244K miles

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- Patrick Callaghan
  
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posted
17 years ago

Mon, Dec 25, 2006 6:49 PM

I have a 97 Accord with 244K miles on it. I have no service records with it but I did talk to the original owner. She says the timing belt was replaces at about 190K. Nothing else but oil changes in the 8 years she had it. Now I seem to have a water pump leaking, ripped CV boots with noise, and leaky oil tubes or cam holder seals. I have already replaced the radiator & hoses. Is this car worth sinking the money into it? I would do most of the work myself. Maybe not the timing belt/waterpump. The car runs & starts well with no oil usage. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Pat Callaghan

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- Greg Campbell
  
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posted
17 years ago

Mon, Dec 25, 2006 9:23 PM

Well, what condition is the body in? It sounds like the engine has much more to give, if the rest of the car doesn't fall to pieces around it!

If you do your own work you're looking at what, maybe $4~500 for two decent axles, a pump, belts, etc? That's around two months' payment on a financed replacement.

Oil in the spark plug holes is a nuisance. Mine aren't too bad (yet), and I can simply swab out the afflicted hole every few weeks. If the engine starts to miss at low revs, I know I've been lazy...

IMO, if there are no other serious issues, I'd be inclined to give it at least one more refresh.

-Greg

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- JXStern
  
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posted
17 years ago

Mon, Dec 25, 2006 10:09 PM

That's a lot of miles, but not a lot of years.

If you can do the work yourself, it's about a tossup, I think.

I gather the price was right, so you might want to fix it up, drive it for a few months, then sell it off at a modest price to at least recover your expenses, or longer if it seems to be going well.

J.

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- jim beam
  
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posted
17 years ago

Tue, Dec 26, 2006 3:15 PM

it's worth fixing imo. if you're worried about the health of the engine, do a compression test, but if as you say it burns no oil, it should be good.

buy yourself the factory repair manual from helm.com, a pulley wheel holder tool, and a ball joint separation tool. you should then be set to go with all these repairs. also go to tegger.com for lots of advice and useful info on what to do and how, including tools.

re leaky seals, you may need to repair them, but maybe not. different oils have different qualities of seal conditioners. try a better brand of oil and see if that helps. [castrol gtx worked for me.]