Thenderson2011

I bought this car this summer for my roommate for only $500, and he was supposed to pay me back, get it titled in his name and then we would work on it and get it roadworthy. Then he got fired, never got it titled, and I ended up getting my car seized recently, and moving back to my mom's house, so I towed the accord here and have been working on it.

So far, it was overheating a little and I was hoping that it was maybe just a bad hose. I found a big leak and fixed it, and noticed that the overflow reservoir is missing, so I capped off the overflow hose for now. It has trouble staying running when the rpms drop off low, and runs really crappy at idle. I started looking, and i noticed a bubbling at the exhaust manifold. It looks like coolant or water, I'm almost positive that its only water in the coolant system at the moment anyways. My gut feeling is that I have a leaking exhaust manifold/gasket and possibly a headgasket or cracked head. Any ideas? I haven't noticed any oil on the radiator cap, or any milky residue on the oil cap, but that doesn't necessarily eliminate the possibility in my mind.

Other than that, I have started cleaning up the engine bay in my spare time.

Video :



Engine Bay :

dquizten

Wow that bubbles up bad. I would definitely say go ahead and try exhaust gasket, at least. If that doesn't stop anything then i would say rent (from Autozone or similar) or buy a compression tester and see. That will tell you if there are more major issues at work.. Have you done spark plugs and wires?
It's really hard to tell what's happening in the engine bay when you put up pictures with filters.
(Not trying to sound like a jerk, but hard to tell over internet so here's my release hahah)
If you're going to post pictures to Instagram, Facebook, whatever go for filters. But around people who you want advice from, the best way is to make it easy for them to see aka no filters or discoloration. That's what i've found in my brief time on forums!

Glad to have you here, though, and we'd love to see some pictures of the whole car!

Doug

Thenderson2011

Alright, I will definitely start with the gasket. I haven't done plugs or wires, I've got to start working again before I'll be able to do much of anything. I still need to do an oil change and flush the coolant system.

As for the filters, I don't think I put any on it, the pictures were taken in bright daylight on my iPhone so I think that's why it looks kinda weird. I was thinking about that when I saw them on my computer for the first time. I appreciate the advice though, and I'll get some more taken when I get a chance tomorrow. Those were more taken as a reference anways for when I get it more cleaned up. I've been trying to get all the grease and gunk off as much of the motor and bay area as I can.

I'll get some more pictures of the whole car tomorrow. I need to clean it up and everything, like I said I bought it in like June for my roommate, but he did nothing with it and some things came up and I lost the car I was driving, so I decided I would try and fix this up.

Tj

dquizten

Can't hurt to try the gasket - it's probably dirt cheap at Autozone. Understood man, been there.

Haha ignore me then! It's always fun/nice to have a starting point so you can see when your hard work pays off. Even if it's just cleaning, which always feels right unless you can't continuously see improvement. Hopefully we can help get it back on the road!

If the exhaust leak isn't the main issue with the car running, I would wager some kind of vacuum leak/rotted rubber hose somewhere is.

Good luck!

Doug

Thenderson2011

I'll definitely start there. I'm pretty positive I need to replace the fuel filter and run some injector cleaner through the tank, because I think that may be part of the reason it has a rough time starting.

I have some engine degreaser, can I use this like carb cleaner to find a vacuum leak, or would that be harmful in some way?

Hey no harm done, I understand where you're coming from. I think it looks like that because I was standing in the sun and pointing the camera towards a shaded spot. Not really sure though honestly haha. But so far i've gotten a bunch of gunk off the area around the strut towers and the alternator mount areas. I've been using that degreaser and letting it sit for about 10 minutes, then spraying it with my water hose with a sprayer nozzle on it, and alternating doing that and taking the rag to the places I can get to.

I appreciate your help Doug, I hope to get it running good enough that I can drive it to town and get it tagged. It definitely has some work that needs done, the window seal is falling off, but it's a 5-speed and I think the guy I got it from said the clutch is within a year old, the clutch feels pretty tight honestly. I'm hoping I can get it running reliably and that it'll get pretty good gas mileage.

Would seafoam be good to it, or could that hurt the internal seals?

Thanks for your help brother!

Tj


Edit : I just remembered, when I first drove it home, a red light with PGM-FI started flashing. I assume this means programmed fuel injection, but what could be causing that light to come on?

dquizten

Again, Can't hurt haha and that stuff isn't too expensive.
Honestly, I've never had to do it. My best recommendation would just be google around and see how people do their vacuum leak testing. Should be fine, I would bet.
It really is crazy what a little cleaning product and some elbow grease can do!
The Fuel filter shouldn't be too bad. If you've never done one before, basically remove the fuel pump relay from wherever it may be (not sure on your car - on my Datsun it was labeled on the box under the hood) then crank the car over until it won't start. That way, the lines are as clear as they'll be and more fuel won't be spewing out (too fast anyway) when you take the filter off.

I'm sure you'll get great gas mileage once it's running right. I average 35 in my 83 and that's still carbed..

I've heard such mixed things about seafoam that I don't know what to think. I'll probably never run it myself, but I haven't had a bad experience or anything. Just personal preference.

If you can find a Chilton's or anything for your model, that might help diagnose the light. Could be a number of things related to the fuel system, I think - injector, pump, If i remember right the MAF is even linked to it. Could be just a service warning or could mean something is malfunctioning. Another thing I learned with my Datsun is to check ALL grounds. Some of the early FI systems were a little finnicky and something as simple as a corroded connection could mess things up. I found a wire brush would clean up almost anything I needed it to.

Doug

Thenderson2011

I know a lot of people use the carb cleaner, so if anything I can pick up a can of that. That's what I used to find my vac leak in my F150 I had years ago.

I remember trying to replace the fuel filter on my Ford, and it was a pain in the ***! I don't know why but I had the damnest time getting the special little tool to get the lines out of the filter. But I did it on my Kia, and it was a breeze. So I'm hoping it'll be pretty easy, either way it's nothing I can't handle.

I know that the SeaFoam is supposed to get all the carbon build up from the inside of the motor, and make it almost brand new again, my only concern is for the seals. With them being so old I don't want it to wear them away and cause more leaks. I'll definitely do more looking around before I do anything right away.

You ain't lyin, a few cans of degreaser goes a long way. It looked like it had a coat of grease and dirt that has been there since before I came to this Earth, but its coming along now. I need to get to town and go to Autozone or O'Reilleys, the local store is a little over priced when it comes to stuff like that, but it sure beats a 30 minute drive to the nearest town over.

I'm sure they have a Chilton's manual at O'Reilley's, I'll have to pick one up when I get my funds back up. I don't have a whole lot of money to be throwing at the car at the moment, I'm pretty deep in debt and am going to owe my parents quite a bit of money when this is all said and done. I got myself into a little legal trouble :/

I will make sure to check all my grounds and take a wire brush to them. I know a lot of them are looking pretty bad, I have some wires exposed past the connector that's bolted down so I will probably look into replacing a lot of those honestly. Like you said, it couldn't hurt right? :D

Wow, 35 miles per gallon is amazing. My Taurus was getting just under 25 and I thought I was doing great with that. If I can manage to get even close to 30 I'll be loving it.

Tj

Thenderson2011

So, as it turns out, you were right Doug. I didn't know it at the time, but the camera was set to add a filter to the pictures when I took them -_- My bad!!

But I pulled it into the garage today because it was raining a little bit and I wanted to check some things out. I opened the radiator and there was water sitting at the top of it, so I believe that I've fixed the leak. I let it sit and it started to get hot again. I let it get close to the top but I didn't let it get all the way to the H line, or the red zone.

I noticed that my electric fans didn't turn on, even if I turned my a/c on and the fans on. When I hit the A/C button, the light didn't come on but the air seemed cool, so the light may have just gone out in it, or the actual A/C isn't working. I'm not sure yet.

I'm wondering if since it sat for so long, and I'm sure the previous owner had it sitting and was putting water in it, if the water pump has rusted out. Would the exhaust leak cause it to over heat like it is? My plan is to fix the exhaust leak first and then move on to the water pump. I still need to flush my coolant system as well.


A small example of the sludge I'm battling :




Where I'm at so far :



And some overall pics. There is a little bit of rust around the body, but all in all I think it's a pretty straight car.





The seal around the window is coming off bad










Need to replace the hatch struts soon! lmao



She also came with 4 extra rims and some used tires. some of the tires are junk, but 2 of them could be potential spares! :D




More rust on the passenger side. doesn't seem too bad though.




Backseat where the tires have been sitting. Not in horrible shape though for an almost 30 year old car!



I need to clean her out and vacuum, but I'll get to that eventually!



As soon as she's road ready this thing is coming out. Any way I can get around the security code?



Passenger side view. Not many dings or dents so I'm happy

Thenderson2011

ead news! Either it's a blown gasket or cracked/warped head.



Now I guess I need to look into pricing a gasket and possibly find a new head in case it's cracked or warped. Faaaaaaaawk. At this rate I may be better off calling it a day and seeing if I can find a dealership that's doing one of those specials where as long as you can get the car in they'll give you a grand for it. I'm not a happy camper right now. I know I can do the head gasket, as far as getting it done, but I have a Mk3 Supra that I tried doing a head replacement on and when I put it back together, it never ran and it's at a dealership right now being worked on. So I'm not sure if I should keep putting effort into this car or not. Damn the luck haha

dquizten

Darn. that really sucks man, sorry to hear that.. Those aren't so much fun to deal with. Although they aren't terrible to do, it just means replacing more and more things and the machine shop if you want to do it right..
So - What options are you keeping on the table? Fix it or sell? Any others?

Ahh - saw the dealer option. You might be able to do Craigslist in your area and at least get what you paid for it. (as another option, although there's less of a guarantee on that one.)

Thenderson2011

Hey it happens lol. I'm just glad I noticed it now instead of later on after I've put more effort into it.

I think I'm going to try one of those "head gasket sealer in a can" remedies, and see if maybe it's just a small leak, and if that doesn't work I'm going to either try to find a dealership and get a small loan and a decent car, or try and sell it for $500 and tell them that it's got either a head gasket or head issue. I couldn't sell it to somebody and tell them it's in perfect running condition like the guy did to me.

I'm going to call the dealership that my Supra is at, and hopefully they'll tell me that it's just about done and it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg. Last I heard they had ordered a fuel pump for it, but they were only working on it when they didn't have other jobs, because I told them it wasn't a huge rush and it's kind of a project because I dont really know what was wrong with it. I'm hoping that everything works out the way it's supposed to, because generally, that's how it goes in my life lol. But I'm just going to take it one day at a time at the moment.

For now, I'm hoping to start working soon, and I can steal my little brother's 86 F150 to take too and from work, since he's 14 and too young to drive ;D

dquizten

Good to have options. Never burn any bridges haha.
That sucks. I've learned when buying cars (only bought 5, but they've all been in the last 5 years haha) to not trust anything someone says until you've spent some time with them. People can be good, but they can just as easily be bastards, especially for money.
Good luck with the Supra! I hope it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, too haha. Been there though.

Lol. That's a good call. My parents made me wait til the end of freshman year of high school to get a car. Literally missed one by a week because my mom said the year had to be over. So pissed.

Thenderson2011

A little update here :

I've been working at an amazon fulfillment center so I haven't had a lot of time to mess with the car. But i put a bottle of bars leaks head gasket sealer in and it seemed to do the trick. It idled for 20 minutes but I don't have a coolant overflow tank right now so I haven't driven it anywhere. Any ideas on where I could get one or a way I could rig one up for now?

dquizten

Hey! congrats on getting a job. it definitely helps. People slap some random crap on there all the time.. Since you're on a budget, I'd recommend googling it and looking through a few threads to see what you can find. Little, cheap things will often work. (see examples below)
Lets see your coolant overflow tanks! | DSMtuners

Doug

Thenderson2011

Thanks! Haha it's not difficult work but man it wears me out. I left early today haha.

Just to make sure that I understand right, as long as it's a clean plastic bottle i can use basically whatever? And what does my minimum size need to be?

Thenderson2011

Well took it for a test drive today. Drove good for about 15 and then the pgm fi light turned on and the temp guage went up quick from there. I shut it off when it got close to the green line and then after I turned the key forward to turn the acc stuff on it went up above the green to the red. I'm waitin on it to go back down more before I get it the rest of the way home.


Update again : I found the leak. Don't know if it's just the leak making it overheat or if there's more. I have a video of where it's leaking from, it sprayed coolant out all over the engine bay and was steaming out. I'm hoping it's just a vacuum hose that needs replaced.

Another question. Why is it that my fans turn on when the car is off, key out and all, but don't run when the car is running, or key in acc?

dquizten

Best of luck! The good thing about the rubber hosing is it's generally cheap, haha..
Wish I could tell you what's up on the fans. My best bet would be some kind of wiring issue that maybe prevents the fans from getting the signal to turn on when the rest of the electronics/car is on?

As for the coolant resorvoir, google will be your friend. I can't give you any reasonable advice other than "i've seen this done" haha.

Doug

Thenderson2011

I'm hoping that the hose is all it is too lol. I'm going to try and get some tomorrow if I have time before work.

As for the coolant overflow, I was reading that around 2 pints should be good for a minimum so I got a Rubbermaid jug that's around 3 pints I think, so it should work. Just gotta get it wedged in and zip tied down.

I'm gonna keep looking for stuff on the fan. I'm clueless when it comes to electrical stuff. Could that be the reason its overheating though? Minus losing the coolant obviously.

Thenderson2011

Okay so I let the car sit for two days and went to go mess with it yesterday, and noticed that I went from having half a tank of gas to being on E. I thought maybe it was just the guage not working but it would barely start and sputtered when I turned it on.

How could it lose half a tank of gas so quick? It has a gas cap on it, and I couldn't find any signs of a leak under the car but it's just about empty now so I don't think it could leak any more.

On a side note, I noticed my water pump was leaking coolant so whoo hoo I need a new one of those lol.

89turboaccord

To start, there is a 12 mm nipple on the water neck. Open that while filling the radiator. You want all the air to bleed out. It will overheat if you don't do that. As for the fans it could be a bad sensor. They are located on the on the water neck (where the thermostat is located).I'd fix all your other problems first though. Slide the drivers seat all the way forward and locate the l.e.d. light on the ecu. Turn the key on and count the flashes. Google the code list. This will help diagnose the pgmfi light. The part you should get for the water pump.
Head gasket (since you need one anyway)
Timing belt and tensioner
Water Pump
Lower exhaust manifold gasket.
You should replace the head bolts but that's up to you.
Replace the rest of the belts.
Unplug the harness on the driver side that leads to the head or you might have toPull all of the wires off of the intake, head and exhaust manifold. Remove all the vacuum lines carefully labeling them. Pull the exhaust off the exhaust manifold at the flange near the radiator. Pull the valve cover and plastics off the driver side of the motor. Index the crank to t.d.c. and make sure the cam is indexed as well. On the cam gear it should be labeled "up". Line that up with the valve cover bolts. Loosen the tensioner bolt and remove the timing belt. Pull the head bolts and remove the entire assembly as one. Head _ intake _ exhaust manifold. Doing it this way saves you from buying all the other gaskets. Hope this helps.