Hello all. I'm new here to Honda-Tech and was hoping maybe some experienced Honda folk could advise me as I'm fairly new to working on a Honda. My previous vehicle had 33" mud tires if that tells you anything.
My 89 DX Hatch is really starting to show its age. In the last couple months i've probably dropped at least $600-700 in replacement parts in the thing and it's looking like if I want to keep it I'm going to have to spend a good bit more. It's got a 1.5L D15B2 with almost 250,000 miles on nearly everything. It still runs pretty well for the most part but as soon as I fix one thing, something else needs to be replaced. I could list everything I've fixed and done to it but not sure if it's relevant. I can list them if need be. It's a daily driver. No performance mods at all.

I suppose my question(s) to you guys is/are: is it worth keeping? Are there upgrades I can do when I replace parts that don't cost much more than stock parts? I'm looking for the best way to keep it going reliably and as cheap as possible ideally, and hey if I can upgrade it in the process that's cool too. Thanks ahead of time guys!

 

At 250,000 miles, things are gonna need to be replaced anyways. A honda is always worth keeping if its a daily commuter because itll save you alot on gas, especially the stock dx dual point engines! And when everything is replaced with new parts, it can last you many more miles in the future if well maintained.

What have you replaced so far?

 

it is worth keeping...now look at the little car..its so cute looking and saves alot of gas

 

Yeah it definitely is good on gas! Has to be my favorite feature! I've gotten 42 mpg a couple times in this thing. So as far as what I've replaced...
In the last month and a half: valve cover gasket, timing belt, t-belt tensioner, water pump, camshaft seal, crankshaft seal, alternator and belt, all main power and ground cables, heater hoses, radiator hoses, thermostat, front brake hoses, outer tie-rod ends and bellows/boots on the rack, re-greased the steering rack, foam taillight gaskets replaced...
before that: took out all the seats and carpet and did a major cleaning, fixed leaks in the body all the way around, new front brake rotors and pads, air filter
before that: plugs, wires, dist. cap and rotor, ignition switch, pcv valve, fuel filter
before that: left rear wheel bearing assembly and prob other things I've forgotten

Still to come: ball joints, rear brakes and rear brake hoses, all engine mounts, all suspension bushings, new exhaust, new tires, update to r134a and recharge A/C (after putting the compressor back on) new dryer for A/C, new front seats (not necessary but really would be nice) and whatever else i discover in the process of replacing these things...it never ends

 

and the engine has a miss it that i can't seem to track down after almost a year... so there's that

 

Well thats a high mileage 22 year old car for ya lol. But in the end, after u do all that you wont have to mess with it again for a while.

Also, doing all the labor yourself really helps when it comes to money

 

42mpg- ahh, those were the days. My 33-35mpg sounds wimpy now. lol. If it's a DD then, yes, it's worth keeping.

Brakes lines are bitch. Nice seats are a must, you can swap seats from just about any Honda/Acura in there.

Most engines with 250K have a miss. Drive it till it dies and put in another engine. They usually run $200-500 for that model.

 

Yeah doing the work myself has saved a ton of money for sure. I don't wanna think about how much it would've cost to pay someone to fix everything i just replaced, especially considering how much cleaning I had to of all the parts i took off just so i could see what i was doing.
And 42 mpg is def my record. I usually get around 36-38 if it's running like it should. That miss is about to drive me insane though. I'm gonna check my timing soon and see if that might be it. Maybe there's a small animal living in there or something...who knows

 

Oh and on the swap thing, I seriously considered and researched doing some kind of swap (whole engine or mini-me) in the last month because my timing belt broke and I was concerned that i might have trashed my head and valves, but thankfully everything was ok. Valve lash was still within spec even. I think that maybe the d15b2 isn't an interference engine like i thought it was. I still haven't totally ruled out the mini-me idea...

 

All honda engines are interference type engines, you just got very lucky

 

sounds like you're doing basic maintenance on it, those things wear out after a while. i'm doing something similar to my sedan. I'd keep it up, perhaps swap in a newer jdm d15b non vtec if you wanna stay with mpg's or rebuild yours

 

Is it throwing any codes? Getting good, timed spark? Injectors working right? Is there any compression loss? If there is do a leakdown test to pinpoint the loss of compression.

 

Look for a good used engine and transmission from JDM wrecker. Pull your old drivetrain out when it finally kacks out, and keep driving. The one real nice thing about these cars is the aftermarket is so vast and the parts are real cheap.

 

Yeah, EJ1_CRIS I do believe I have someone to be thankful to that I didn't have a trashed engine. I was at cruising speed when my t-belt broke too so my rpm were somewhat up too.

lazlong, it's not throwing any codes at all. It has in the past, but i fixed those problems and yet it still misses, albeit intermittently. Like today it was fine, didn't miss at all until this evening. It seems to be worse with the hot and humid 90 degree weather we've been having this week. Weird thing is that it didn't miss at all for the first week after running with the new timing belt and everything but now it's back. My spark is good, but I do need to check my timing, which i'll have to take it somewhere for that because i don't have access to a light. I'm gonna replace all my vacuum hoses as well just to eliminate that as a potential issue. They're original like most everything else. Injectors and compression still need to be checked as well.

1990ed, aftermarket parts are definitely plentiful, but in my limited experience with salvage parts around here is it's very picked over and hard to find things for a good price that are in good shape. Maybe i'm going to the wrong salvage yards.

 

DCRB, i suppose it is pretty much maintenance, but it all hit at pretty much one time which was slightly overwhelming. I just priced some parts from rockauto yesterday for some of the things i need to replace in the next few months and I'm at $400 so far, not including suspension bushings and exhaust and tires.

I guess this is where i'm wondering what i can upgrade while replacing things without spending too much more than i already will have to. Any tips guys?

And thanks again for helping a newbie out!

 

I'm in the process of "restoring" my 90 DX hatch as well, it's to be expected with a car that at the very least is 20 years old...I just need to stop buying old cars.

 

steadman, you mentioned difficulty finding salvage yards with parts that you need, now, this isn't 100% or anything, but if you search a few general parts you might be able to find out some new yards that have donor cars for you.

car-part.com

I'm sure some guys on here could give you some ideas of other trims and even models that might have some interchangeable parts (or parts you could use to upgrade). I'd list some but I'm also new to the '88-'91 scene!

 

These guys are the absolute cheapest around. They have yards all over. You can check for a yard near you and inventory on the web. And, at least around here, they are stocked full of EF's. http://www.picknpull.com/default.aspx

Try one of the online OEM dealers for new parts (I mean the originals lasted 20 years, right). Like one of these: http://www.hondapartscheap.com/southbay/jsp/home.jsp http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/

 

Thanks for the info guys. Those are some useful sites for sure. I wish there was a pick n pull near me though. The closest one is like 5-6 hours away at least. And those OEM part sites definitely help. The local dealer here is about twice as expensive on parts.