I have a 2001 Honda Accord EX-L 4 cylinder with 154,000 miles. I bought it used in March 2003 with 35,000 miles. I'm a little concerned that it may need another transmission soon. Also some minor concerns about the engine.

Current symptoms:

Transmission:
- two days ago it wouldn't go into 3rd gear at 45-60 MPH. The engine would stay about about 3K RPM and not downshift. This only happened on one trip across town. Hadn't happened before or since.
- P1739 Check Engine Light code. Apparently related to the transmission
- Honda put in a new transmission in June 2005 at 71,084 miles. Afraid it may be time for a new one soon. Don't think they'd do it again.

Engine:
- pinhole sized coolant leak around head gasket. Discovered during recent timing belt change. Mechanic said it's probably been there a long time. Stop-leak may be all that's needed. Decided not to spend $$$ to tear it down and replace head gasket. Pictures at this link:
http://gallery.me.com/rickstrobel#100094
- no heat from vents unless at driving speed - mostly cool air at idle. Coolant reservoir is at max. Similar problem last year was resolved by cooling system flush and fill (I think).
- everything else about the engine is fine.

CEL codes: P0141 P1259 P1739

Recent problems, repairs and maintenance:
- main seal failed a few days after an oil change. This was about three months ago. Oil pressure light came on, drove about two miles. Upon stopping learned that all oil was completely gone.
- Had main seal replaced, new timing belt, new water pump, new brakes - about $1,100 total.
- New tires, $516 for Michelen MXV4 Energy's all around
- New battery five months ago

I'd be happy to keep the car for a few more years. I've just put close to $2,000 in repairs and maintenance items. A little leery that it may be needing another $2,000 - $4,000 worth of repairs and am toying with the idea of trading it in or selling it to Carmax before it blows up. It's the transmission that concerns me the most. My brother-in-law put about four in his handed-down 98 Accord EX-L 4 cylinder. Although my wife had a 98 Accord until recently that we put 65,000 miles on (bought it at 110,000 and sold it a few months ago at 175,000).

If anyone could help me clarify my thinking on this I'd appreciate it!

 

You need a third clutch pressure switch, you can get one for about 20 bucks online and it'll take you ten minutes to install. I'd recommend changing your transmission fluid while you're at it, that'll set you back another 20 bucks and about 20 minutes of your time. If you don't want to do it yourself, I'm sure a shop would charge you $70.00 or less for all of that work.

That leak doesn't look like a head gasket to me. Generally a head gasket leak will have coolant travelling down your block from gravity, not upward travel. That looks like your waterpump leaked onto your timing belt which sprayed the coolant upwards. I could be totally wrong and it might be your head gasket, but I doubt it.

It's also not a very good idea to use radiator stop leak. Every winter I get floods of Jeep Grand cherokee and Accord owners complaining that their heaters only work in higher RPMs. The majority of the time this problem stems from radiator stop leak in the system. The stop leak will seep into every little crevice in the cooling system and hug the walls which severely restricts flow of coolant. When it gets in your heater core, it'll seal off all the walls and coolant will usually bypass the core unless you're in a higher RPM which createst a higher pressure of coolant that forces its way through the heater core.



Have you ever used radiator stop leak in your system? I'd remove the heater hoses from the engine and blow a little bit of compressed air through one of the hoses until all the crap blows out the other hose, then put the hoses back on, fill the cooling system, and see if it gets better.

P0141 You need a rear oxygen sensor ($60-$80 at auto parts store)
P1259 VTEC malfunction. Check your oil level, check your VTEC solenoid for anything out of place (broken wire, broken sensor), have a mechanic test your sensor. This could be a number of things, but usually never a big problem.
P1739 Third clutch pressure switch.

Okay, I think you've found the answer to your P1259 problem.


If your heart is set on getting rid of it, then I would get rid of it, but I think you've fixed most of your major problems already. I personally don't like Accords (or Hondas) very much, but if you're really attached to the car, I'd fork out the $100-$300 to repair the remaining items. You've already fixed the big stuff, you might as well take care of the little details.

 

Thanks for that very helpful reply - this place is great!

P1259 VTEC malfunction:
The check engine light did not come on following the main seal repair or after it. I only noticed the CEL recently. Could the P1259 just be a "residual" code from the seal failure three months ago, and clearing the code is all that is needed?

Internal coolant leak:
I guess I'll just let that ride. The water pump was replaced when we did the seal, timing belt, etc. Also, I'll not put any stop leak in, as you recommend.

Heater: Can I remove the heater hoses from the engine when it's cold without draining the coolant first? I've got an air compressor and would like to try this fix.

P0141 Rear oxygen sensor:
Where is this item located? Rear of the engine or rear of the car? Is it a pretty easy DIY or better left to a pro?

P1739 Third clutch pressure switch:
So would this explain that one event where it wouldn't shift at near highway speed? And not symptomatic of a transmission about to fail?I'd love to tackle this one myself, but like the oxygen sensor, I don't know where to look or how to get to it. Should I try to find a traditional service manual for this car? Is there a good online resource that has lots of diagrams and procedures available to the non-pro?

Keep or sell: I'm glad to spend a couple hundred bucks and keep it. My fear is (was) that I'm headed for thousands more in repairs. Maybe that's not the case.

 

It could be a hard code that's stuck in there. I would clear the code and continue driving; if the code returns then you've got a different problem. Start by inspecting the wires that go to the solenoid, it's possible that someone may have unplugged a connection and forgot to put it back on or a wire has broken off. If everything looks gravy, I would pull the solenoid off which is only held on by a few 10mm bolts, then clean out the screen behind the solenoid using carburator or brake cleaner. After cleaning, put it back on, clear the code, then drive around. If the problem still persists, I'd run down to a mechanic and have them test the two electrical components on the solenoid with their scanner.



I don't normally drain the cooling system when flushing a core, but I raise the car up on jackstands and put a drain pan directly below the area the hoses are located because anti-freeze will come out when you pull the hoses (not a lot of coolant, but I don't like mopping floors).

When blowing air through the heater hose, be sure to do it very carefully. The heater core is a tiny radiator and you don't want to overpressurize it if there's severe blockage because you could damage the core. Add a small amount of air to one hose and if the core is clean, it'll just blow out the other side. If the core is clogged, you'll feel a restriction and hear a bubbling sound as the junk in there starts to free itself. As the junk inside starts to flow out, you can gradually add more air until it starts flowing out freely. Sometimes I'll get a garden hose afterwards and let clean water flow through the core until I see clear water coming out of the otherside. If the core appears to be clean, it's probably not because the remaining stuff is caked into the walls of the core and will probably fall off some other day.

Location depends on your car.

If your valve cover has a section on it that says "U-LEV" and this area is green, then it's easy beans and on your exhaust manifold. You'll see two sensors, the one you need to change is the one on the bottom.

If your valve cover doesn't say U-LEV on it, then it'll be on the bottom of the car screwed into the side of your catalytic converter.

Removal is easy, I would drive the car around to get it hot, then spray some WD-40 on it and use a 7/8" or 22mm open ended wrench to remove it. They have special sockets to remove it and if you've got one handy, I wouldn't worry about getting it hot or spraying WD40, but if you're just using a wrench, it might be a good idea to make it easier to remove.

I don't use service manuals, I use a computer program that has diagrams, so I can't really help direct you on how to change the clutch pressure switch, but maybe this will help:


The part you need is #13 in the diagram.