Hi I just recently purchased a auto- 93 prelude si.
was wondering a few things, first off the transmission shifts a little rough from 1st into 2nd- is that a problem I should check out?

second the suspension seems fine but while going over bumps or making right turns I can hear some metal scraping on the right side (most likely the upper right side what could this be?

third there is alot of white smoke coming out of the exhaust but I dont see any leaks what could be the problem?

lastly, being a real n00b to cars, well just go into it, what are maintaince should I run immediately to restore the car into good running condition, if you could give me some detail information it would be greatly appreciated- thanks

 

First off, welcome to honda-tech, and more importantly, the great wild world of cars!
Secondly, it would help to diagnose these things if we knew mileage/shape of car

transmission-autos in hondas are crap (and slow) you may just need a fluid change and a new tranny filter (?) I've only owned 5spds so I'm not too familiar with the autos

suspension-doesnt really give a good grasp, is the noise from the front/passenger wheelwell? Could be any number of things, I'd start with the CV joints (halfshaft), and make sure all your ball joints are good.

exhaust-white smoke out the exhaust, probably means your rings are going bad on your pistons (burning oil), not good, just depends on how bad it smokes. There are some additives that claim to help this problem....just do research and go from there

maintnence-(as stated above-need mileage of car) timing belt/waterpump, belts, flush other fluids (ie-oil, power steering, transmission, etc)

Congradulations on the buy, my first 'lude was a '93 Si, 5pd, and I drove it to over 200k before my mechanic bought it from me (distributor was the biggest thing I ever replaced)

K

 

yeah I forgot to add a few details, the car has 143,xxx miles on it and the car is clean with no accidents. Yeah it seems like the noise is coming from the wheel well.

 

Is the smoke white or does it have a blue tint? If it is white it isnt oil its coolant. Which means you probably have a bad head gasket which is very likely with the amount of miles that you have on it. But it is also very common to have some blow by on the rings also. So the question is what color is it really. Then you can fix the problem.

 

its definitely a white color. How much would it cost me to repair, or is it possible for me to repair myself?

 

Definitely has to be your cv joint/shaft. Check your cv boots for wear.

 

The factory replacement for the h23 was about 75 bucks if I remember right. I recommend taking the head off with the intake still attatched. It is a pain in the *** to tighten the bolts on the bottom side of that intake. It will take two people to lift out. If you plan on doing much work on this car I recommend buying the honda prelude manual from honda not from autozone or carquest. If you cant find one I could scan the pages out of mine with the head gasket replacement and email them to you.

 

yeah can u please email them to me? tai.n.dang@gmail.com
it is greatly appreciated.