ray559527

Hi i recently bought a honda del sol 95 si 1.6L dohc

i bought the car from a mechanic who bought it from a police auction

i want to change out all the fluids since i dont know what the previous owner ran in the car. Im a noob with cars so im not sure if this is a good idea or a bad one or a worthy one. please give me some advice

my question is what type/brand name fluids should i run? i was at an autopart store lately and i needed power steering fluid. the guy told me to only use honda oem power steering fluid since other power steering fluid might ruin the lines etc. I was wondering should i just run all oem honda fluids or should i use another brand name because it will enhance the performance? i want to do whats best for my car.

also i was wondering what fluids cant mix with other brand names? im not sure what fluids can be mixed and cant be mixed. i dont want to put in different fluids unless i know it can be mixed, so i can save myself from a future diaster.

please give me some advice since i am unsure upon what to do

thanks

0mtber

iTrader: (2)

Use oem honda fluids for the power steering. Visit your local honda dealer.
Coolant, it's not a big deal to run prestone 50/50 etc.
Engine oil, run what ever standard oil you wish.
Tranny fluid, use factory honda mtf fluid.
Brake Fluid: standard brake fluid will work

Concerning how to flush the fluids, ask the parts department for a printout of the helms manual pages

OilyTech444

Welcome to the del Sol. I have a '93 1.6 SI SOHC. Bought it with high mileage. Previous owner ran Pennzoil 10-30 exclusively. Almost lost engine to oil passage clogs within 1500 miles.
Changed to Mobil 1 HME with K&N filters immediately. Problems straightened themselves out with time. I credit Mobil 1 with saving the engine. Period.
Use it and you won't be sorry. I promise.
Of course, with any high mileage engine, there were other problems, but the very basic problem of baseline lubrication was solved.
ALSO......I have never before done any repair work on my cars, but the Honda has changed all that. So far brake master cylinder and EFI system repairs are under my belt. Very soon will be a new left drive axle and new rotors and pads for the front wheels. The del Sol is relatively easy to understand and work on. In many important areas, it is built like a tank, but still maintains it's basic agility and light, strong feel. Milreage in the high 30s doesn't hurt, either.
You can't possibly go wrong with Mobil 1 or other high grade synthetic. Forget all the old wives' tales about switching types!!
Your del Sol will tolerate all kinds of abuse, but I urge you to investigate and correct faults of the previous owner.
For example, my intake manifold was so dirty with oily, sandy crud that the PCV hole was almost blocked when I changed the valve, and the engine still ran almost normally. BUT, don't let stuff like that continue, and your 1.6 DOHC will see you through many enjoyable miles!
Honda also makes some dynamite fluid for it's own 5-spd. or auto. Their own fluids also work best for power steering, etc.

ray559527

thanks for the info, i appreciate that

Thanks, yea im planning on changing the engine oil very soon. I already ordered royal purple synthetic with a k and n oil filter. a mechanic told me to go with that combo. i cant wait til i change it and see how much better it will run.

i definetely want to change all the fluids since i dont know what the previoius owner put in it and if it will mess up anything internally

i recently had a problem with the car. my powersteering line broke. i had it changed and fixed last week. not knowing i needed honda power steering fluid i put in stp since that was what was avaliable at the gas station and i needed it at the time to get to where i was heading towards. so when the mechanic fixed the line, he filled what i had left of the stp power steering fluid. it wasnt enough so i had to go to an autoparts store to buy more. i asked the guy at the front what is the best for my car. and he said there is a honda power steering fluid for your car. so i ended up buying that and just filled the rest with honda power steering fluid. so i had mostly stp and a little bit of honda power steering fluid in my car. (i didnt know that my car should only run on honda power steering fluid at the time)

well a week later which was 2 days ago. my power steering line broke again. having to get to my destination with a broken power steering line, i went to an autoparts store and the guy told me to use nothing buy honda power steering fluid. so i ended up buying 4 bottles so i can take it to another mechanic which is one of my moms friend. Im not sure why my power steering line broke again. There was a language barrier between me and the mechanic so i wasnt sure exactly what he was saying. from what i understand is that one of the reasons might be, whoever was the last mechanic might have installed it bad and thats why it busted on me again. i did have stp power steering fluid in it and a little bit of honda fluid. maybe thats another reasons.

so right now the mechanic is fixing my car and i went to walmart to buy honda power steering fluid. as i was there i saw they had prestone power steering fluid for honda and acura. So at the time i was thinking ok that will work for my car because its for honda. Then i did some reaseach not too long ago. found out prestone honda power steering fluid isnt oem honda fluid. some ppl said dont use that stuff and other ppl said its fine. I dont know what to think. The mechanic is fixing my car now. im not sure if i have time to change it since the dealer ship is closed right now. So i need to know is prestone power steering fluid for honda and acura ok for my honda del sol? should i flush it out and just buy some genuine honda power steering fluid?

also what could be the reason why my power steering line broke on me again?

any info would def help.

thansk

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Honda fluids are at Honda dealers. No where else. None of their fluids are anything like the walmart. Only thing walmart is good for is oil, so stick to that.