Just got my sisters old car to drive while my truck is under the weather, and I'm experiencing some problems. The car has 196,xxx miles on it, and I'm wondering if you guys can give me some insight on whats going on with it.

First, the car seems to have a lot more power in the lower RPMs than up top. Giving the car part throttle and accelerating seems to be just as quick as flooring it in most cases. Is this normal with the 2.2 non vtec motors?

Second, it is an automatic car. I have checked the fluid and level is fine, but it is very dirty. The car shifts pretty hard, just hard enough that it is uncomfortable driving. If I drain all the fluid and replace it with fresh Dex III, will this help the shifting in most cases? Or is it better to not mess with it since there are so many miles on it.

Third, the A/C does not work very well. I have charged the system with a set of manifold gauges, but the cooling is still intermittent. My gauges are reading high High side pressure, and low Low side pressure. The high side line is also VERY hot, like hot enough to burn your fingers very badly if you touch it. I think the expansion valve has been replaced a few years ago, but is it possible that the A/C condenser up front is partially clogged? Or does the A/C on these models of Accords usually suck in general?

Thanks a lot, I tried searching for a lot of this information but much of it was for other models of cars.