203BB2

I've recently got a h23a1 92 prelude , great car with great power but as all cars they have their problems , im posting to tell u what I have came across needing to change

Intake manifold gasket
Idle air control valve
(Which fixed my vacuum leak and idle surging)

Oil leaks from valve cover, camshaft plug and oil pan (be careful oil pan bolts may b rusted and break!!!!!)

I had a overheating problem which occurred more often with headlights on which then I changed
Thermostat
thermostat switch
made sure connectors to thermostat housing had clean connections and redid my grounds mainly in the engine bay
That's fixed it for me
That's all I came across so far
Btw rev limiter is at 71k 😏

Northernlightz

Oh just wait, it never ends. I can't even keep track of all the times I've gone to Honda, the junkyard and local parts stores.

You might as we'll go ahead and replace every coolant hose on it, as we'll as the water pipe. Once you undo them and put them back on, they will only last for so long before they crack from the twisting motion of removing an ancient hose. The funnest one is the heater hose from water pipe to the firewall. Take my word for it. I thought I could get away with only replacing a few vital ones, but I was mistaken. Don't get me wrong they're great cars for their age; just takes alot to get them back to proper running order.

I would move onto suspension and steering afterwards if I were you.

Btw you will need a balancer shaft seal retainer when you change all those seals around the timing belt area. I listed the part number in a thread here last year. It won't come up on the Honda database unless you give them the part number. Oem seals only.

203BB2

Yea I forgot to mention I had a snapped tie rod and im suspicious about my steering rack after I changed tie rods inner and outer I still get a clunk making somewhat sharp turns,

My lower radiator hose does feel weak but haven't had any problems with leaking coolant

And rear driver caliper is not engaging
Some people sadly dislike bb2's because of all the complications but at the end of the day it's gona end up rare to find one . I only have one other prelude in my hometown

Northernlightz

It could be your axle is shot.

The coolant hoses I'm referring to are the ones from the water pipe, oil cooler, iacv, fitv (just changed one and it was a bitch,) heater core and thermostat housing. Some you can get hose cut to length, some you'll need oem molded hoses.

The rear calipers always seize up over time. My mechanic who used to work for Honda told me about it. Best to get rebuilt ones or rebuild them yourself if you can.

Yeah despite the headache they are great, underrated cars imo. I blame publications for the bad rep on these cars. Sad really.

203BB2

Most likely could b the axle , the boot is pretty torn up.

Yea I c the hoses your talking about I was hoping that those don't go bad they go into some pretty tight places

Yea I'm not that that worried about its just a read caliper I just won't park on hills

Any other common problems they have ?

Northernlightz

I would just replace it, one less thing to worry about.

Yeah the hoses around the thermostat housing and back of the block are a bitch. There's one that's shaped like a horseshoe and one literally right beside it that goes to the fitv. You have to remove the horseshoe shaped one to access the fitv one. Have a beer ready after hahah.

Had the car for just over a year now so I'm still learning about it. Main problems I've had are:

-DRL relay (replace or solder)

-Main relay (pop the relay out the bolted down box and slide new one in)

-Nasty main ground wire end (cleaned with vinegar and salt then dipped I'm baking soda water, tape up exposed wire)

-The usually iacv cleaning, throttle body cleaning, replace off valve.

-Check intake box. Mine had a small cracked off peice from rubbing against the battery everytime it's removed. Reposition battery to give more space. Battery tray may be rusty.
-Climate control and shifter lights

Other things were just routine maintenance and done for ease of mind.

203BB2

Got a point , sounds like I should just them all at the same time . Avoid going back and forth like 4 times

U got a bb2?

Yea I was thinkin it would have some electrical problems when mine started with the cooling fans not turning on . Changed my temp switch -ddnt work- , changed my terminals and cleaned up my grounds to bare metal and that pretty much did it for the most part.
I still over heat once a while
-if headlights are on (doesnt happen as often as it did after cleaning my grounds
-idling after being drivin for most of the day (still haven't figured this one out)

I took out my cruise control and was just thinking to wire the fans to that switch

Northernlightz

Yeah I have a bb2, just over a year now. Pretty much took care of everything besides some body work. The thing spent alot of time in the shop. Glad I have a cool mechanic that does solid work. Just waiting for it to warm up a bit more so the paint can cure overnight properly.

Not too sure what would be causing those electrical issues. Maybe it needs to be traced back further in the harness?

Thermostat?

203BB2

Yea body work is usually last . Having it run properly comes first, I do most of my own work to the car . Clean work to , no shortcuts

Electrical problems are always tricky ' I've replaced pretty much both my temp. Sensors and connectors, thermostat, and my terminals (negative terminal has 2 separate grounds like oem) . And my fans work most of the time but when they don't that's when I start overheating

Im just going to make one of my fans (Condenser fan) run off of the cruise control switch until I get the time to trace my harness

Northernlightz

How's your prelude coming along? Just got my suspension taken care of finally and had an alignment done. Working on some body work now.

203BB2

Sadly I got into a accident. Pushed my lower radiator support in which pushed my torsion bar for my driver wheel back now it's touching my fender and splash guard

Debating on getting the frame pulled back to spec or swapping engine into another prelude shell

Either I'm paying for the frame fix or I'm paying for a area and the equipment to swap the engine myself

203BB2

Moment of silence

snobordboy

Unless you have some odd sentimental value to it, I would just let the car go, and get something else. You have seen some of the fun that crops up with an older car, especially as they get up there in mileage.

Now if you have a close family member or friend who has all of the equipment, and time and desire to teach you how to do the repair properly, it might be worth fixing it up. Sadly, this would really be a labor of love, as the car doesn't look to be in the hottest of shape, they are not rare enough to be collectable, and the H23 is not a highly regarded engine compared to the vtec variants.

Northernlightz

Damn, sorry to hear that.

Swapping the engine into a shell would probably be your best bet. At least you would have a partial parts car.

ednroc

are thermostat housings the same for '88-'91 prelude 2.0 si