What's the difference between the 2? My Maintenance required light came on about a month ago, I got it checked and it was $750 worth of work. Including the 105k check. Hopefully the problem now won't be anywhere close to that. Oh it's a 99 LS by the way.

 

My Maintenance Req. light came on when it was time for my 3000 mile oil change. After I got that done, it went off.

 

the Maintenance light comes on every 7500 miles

 

You got hosed dude sorry. They check timing and such things like you would on a tune up- you basically paid 750 dollars for a tune up and for the dealer to push a little button thats located under your driverside dash to shut of the maint. req light. Don't beleive me--look for it a little square button. The CEL is different that tells you when you have something wrong with a component on your car. The Maint. req. is there to remind you the owner that you should do the routine maintenence that is suggested by Honda when you reach a certain mileage. Hopefully they told you " man hate to do this but you are going to need LSD.. We will put it in for 750!"

 

the maintenance light will come on to after a certain amount of miles, just to tell you that you need to change your oil and look at your maintenance schedule.

$705 is alot of mulla to be dropping for a maintenance light. What did they do?
Change the oil/filter, valve adjustment, tranny fluid, spark plugs?

All of the above are things you probably could have done yourself and saved that cash.

The Check engine light or other wise called CEL can be something more serious. depending on the code. If you do a search on the forum there is a way to figure out why the CEL is on. A certain amount of flashes will help you diagnose the probelm. And hope it isnt something too serious.

If you haven't got one now I suggest getting a helms manual if you plan on doing any work on the car yourself. It is a good guide and will help you out.

Hope that helps.

 

Oh no that was one of the the things I had done. I also go new brake brake rotors and pads.

 

It seems that the check engine light is just staying on. It doesn't flash or anything.

 

Do a search on how to extract the code.
I cant remember off the top of my head.. but it isnt jsut going to flash at you...

 

There is a Srs on your passengers side by your ecu put a paperclip in it to route the electricity back into itself and your code will flash long = 10 short =1

 

Alright thanks a lot guys (and girl). Looks like its my catalytic system.

 

np i had the same code about 1 year ago. cat was clogged

 

Alright so here's another question. If my cat is bad, how come my machanic will charge about $600 to replace it? When I can find the part on Ebay for about $50, and install in in a short amount of time. Do they replace something else besides just the catalytic converter? If not, and it's just the cat, I assume this is a very simple job that could be done in about an hour and will make my CEL go off and pass smog?

 

Whoops, I said "cel go off", it has already gone off, I mean "turn off".

 

Get High flow from ebay. I have to do that too. My car runs like **** because my cat was clogged and I pounded the insides out ( straight pipe ) There is no way my GSR would pass smog now. OEM cost about 400 I think maybe more from Honda. I know the factory ones are expensive.

 

Are you sure your cat is bad, or your o2 sensor? what was the exact #/wording of the code?

The $35-$50 ebay catalytic convertors are just resonators, you won't be able to pass smog with it. But you can find an OEM cat for cheaper by going to the junkyard, ebay, or looking in the classifieds (most cats last a long time) or you could go non-OEM and buy either a carsound or catco high flow or regular OEM replacement (make sure it's CARB exempt) for around $150.

If you need an o2 sensor, it should also be less than $100 for a NGK or other decent OEM quality brand. Just shop around online.

If you do go with a universal cat, you will need to pay a muffler shop to weld on flanges for you and make it the correct length. Just take them your old cat as a model.

 

damn, these shops are killing you with these prices dude... go for fixing the cat problem yourself , unless you need it welded

 

Since you live in Cali, and have to pass emissions, you will need a real cat. Since it seems you don't do much for yourself on your car, call some local muffler shops and have them quote you a price on purchasing and installing a cat, it will be much less than the dealer, probly around $125-$175.

Do yourself a favor and make some friends that know how to turn wrenches or buy yourself a Helms manual and get to know your car. I didn't have much experience turning wrenches myself, but I bought the Helms and have done all repairs myself, included internal engine work. For $700, I hope they changed your timing belt at least.

 

The exact numer was 67. On teamintegra.com is says "Catalyst System".

 

The actual code is 'Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold'. I think that could mean either an o2 problem or a cat problem. It's pretty expensive to troubleshoot by buying new parts - so see if you can borrow someone else's catalytic convertor and try it with your o2 to make the CEL go away, and then take your cat to someone else's car with a functioning o2 and see if the CEL comes on. You could also get a voltmeter to test your o2 and see if it's at least getting power to it. I doubt that though, because if your o2 was shorted out, I think it's on the same fuse as your speedo, and you would probably notice that.

 

I've had my car over 3 years, and have always done my own repairs and maint. When I need a reference I use my Hanes manual, but I've been seeing these clips from the Helms and it looks to be a real kick *** manual. I checked their site, and there are several books for my car. Which one exactly is the one to get?

 

you want the 'Service Manual', it should be like $62.

 

What exactly does the o2 do?

 

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