Hello H-T. My name is Steve, I'm back in a Honda! I haven't had a Honda in almost 5 years now since my 1999 Civic Si (RIP) and I miss it!
I drive a modded 2007 350Z HR, have my first car a VW MK4 GTI in parts and under project car status, and now we have my new Accord.

2002 Honda Accord 4cyl auto : 180km
-Heated Leather Seats
-Sunroof
-A/C works



Plan is to just go over it and make sure it's 100% up for some long commutes and the battles of the daily grind. I work at a Honda dealership, so I'm going to try and see if one of the tech's can put it up on the hoist sometime soon and take a quick once over on it.

Things to look into/fix before winter

• Sold Interior Clean - Nothing terrible, just 16 years of dirt/grime
• Valve Cover Gasket - Looks like it's leaking there
• New Plugs, Air Filter, Oil & Filter, Fuel Filter
• Transmission Clunks when going from Park -> D4....... Motor Mount Problem?

Please give me a heads up and comment about any normal maintenance I should be doing or considering before starting to drive it every day.
Also, I like modifying all my cars, so if you know of any good little Accord mods, I'd be very interested!

 

Yesterday morning I spent a few minutes on the Accord.

I removed the bug deflector and sunroof visor, took off the CAA sticker, cleaned the Engine Bay, and swapped in a hood prop holder.



I cleaned out the dirty license plate area after this picture


Sprayed the Engine bay with a degreaser and cleaned all the gunk off

This interior is my next project. Everything is in good shape and functions. Just needs a good clean.

 

I have an 02 Accord, 4cyl auto, purchased new.
When you have it up on a lift:

Check for rust on the rear part of the front sub-frame. pass side.

There may also be rust on the rear brake lines where they pass
under the center of the car. But that would require removing the plastic
cover, which you may not want to do.

I do a drain and fill of the trans fluid every 25K miles. Not a flush.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. I work at a Honda dealership, so I talked with one of the guys here who has an older Accord and works in parts. He had mentioned something about the brake lines being routed under the gas tank? I'll have to take a look when on the hoist.

I take it the subframe's on these cars suffer from the winter?
You mentioned changing the trans fluid. I assume you just swap out with a New bottle of Honda trans fluid?

 

The rear brake lines are covered by a plastic cover which traps salt and moisture.
Mine were rusted out, this is under the center of the car, not by the fuel tank.

Yes the rear part of the front sub-frame, pass side. I had to replace mine due to rust.
The area builds up salt in the winter, then the ac drain drips on it.

When I do a drain and fill, it's about 3 qts. I use Honda trans fluid.

 

Awesome! Thank-you for all the info! That's probably what the guy at my work was talking about. In your last post, you mentioned I probably won't want to remove that plastic cover.
I guess all the bolts etc snap when taking it off?

Ok, I'll be sure to check subframe there, and I'll be sure to grab a few quarts of Honda trans fluid soon.

 

There are 5 lines above the plastic cover. 2 rear brake lines and 3 fuel lines (supply, return and vapor).
All 5 lines are clipped into the plastic. So some thing(s) may be damaged when you remove the plastic.

 

here's to hoping the P.O. did it

 

I gave the car a good interior detail and ended up removing the spoiler. The base was all cracked and smashed. If I could repair it I'd put it back on but it's beyond repair. It looks like the previous owner took a caulking gun and shoved the tip into the crack in the spoiler and just filled the hole with a black silicone of some sort. I've been struggling to get it all off.







I took a razor blade and shaved it down, but I still have a little left I can't get rid of. Any tips?

 

Sometimes acetone will get things off. It might be worth a try.

 

I'll give it a shot. I think I might just try my luck at finding another silver trunk lid at a wreckers.

 

Works for me. I keep a spare trunk and hood.

 

Went out scrapyard digging today and hit jackpot! Local scrapyard had a 2002 Accord in Silver that was pretty clean bodywise.

Grabbed this rust & scratch free trunk lid without a spoiler for $40

 

A FEW UPDATES:

Had the car checked for a Pre-Safety, did pretty good, it needs;

• Valve Cover Gasket
• Rear Upper Ball-joints
• Rear Pads/Rotors
• Rear Sway Bar Bushings
• 3rd Brake Light Bulb

I just re-connected the harness for the 3rd brake light bulb and it worked fine, it was disconnected from the factory because of the spoiler.

Ordered everything up from RockAuto, it should be in sometime next week.

 

Nice, makes me miss driving my 02 accord, which is currently sitting in my drive awaiting repairs. Hoping to button up my civic DD so I can get to work on the accord.

 

Thanks alot! I'll have to take a peek at your Accord.

Just got my winters put together tonight. A tech at work swapped a set of used winters onto these alloys I bought off an Accord Coupe trade-in.

 

Took some time to peel off the Pinstripe Decals, Looks much cleaner without.

Before:

After:

 

New trunk on. Need to take some time to clean off the left-over adhesive.

 

looking good. Any thoughts on different wheels / tires?

 

Not at the moment.I just want to get it plated and ready for winter within the next few weeks. Maybe later down the road I may lower it a little and put on a set of 17x8's or something
buuut....
for now, the fancy parts go on this thing


My parts from RockAuto came in the other day. Hoping to get started on that this coming weekend.
-VC Gasket
-Rear Sway Bar Bushings
-Rear Brakes
-Rear Upper Control Arms w' Ball joints

 

very nice, looking good.

 

chewwy,

If I had joined the forum sooner, we could have just traded cars. See, my '02 came without the things you wanted to get rid of. LOL. See I want a spoiler, pen stripes, and bug deflector.

Your car looks good though and has about half as many miles as mine. Keep up the good work and take of that beauty of yours.

 

thank-you, slowly working away at it.

Thanks. I think I'd rather just swap a trunk lid though ha ha...

Got a few things done recently:

• Finished my VC Gasket
• Oil Change
• Transmission Fluid Flush
• Repaired the loose heatshield
• Replaced rear Swaybar Bushings
• New Rear Pads/Rotors

I cleaned up the valve cover before putting it back on, I'm happy with it.


I did not do the Rear Upper Ball-joints. I'm going to leave those for the tech at work.
I also noticed the Passenger Rear Wheel wouldn't spin free and was getting significantly hotter than the Driver's Side. Going to have the tech diagnose/replace the caliper in that corner while he's in there.

Should be on the road within the next few weeks!

 

Your valve cover looks good, a job I have coming up at some point.

You may have a bad rotor/pad dragging. I had that issue last summer but I replaced the rotors and pads. I ended up getting 2 mpg increase in mileage!

I assume your Honda has ABS then? I have rear drums and no ABS.

 

Thanks, I cleaned it up and just ran a wire wheel over the letters to shine em up a bit.
I replaced the pads/rotors with new pads/rotors, and cleaned everything up really well. I had issues with the caliper compressing when I was putting it back on the rotor.
Yes, ABS & Discs all around.