Hi I Have a 1989 Honda Accord LXI. I just bought it off my brother for 300 bucks. It needs a bit of work and I am trying to do it myself. I have a few questions and I would like to see if anyone can help me.

The thing smokes really badly when I sit and yet the car is cool. I am thinking the overflow tank is punctured(my brother just used water not coolant and its been pretty cold around here this year). I had it flushed and filled before I took it to emissions testing but its smoking. The hoses are all new too. How easy is this to remove and replace?

2nd my headlights will not go down. I don't know why I checked my fuses and it will not work. Not too big of a deal just somthing I have been wondering about.

Also whats some cheep shocks for an Accord like this? I am driving around on 4 broken shocks and its wobbly. I am not looking for preformance its just a car to put around in.

Thanks alot.
Degen

 

you can pick up some cheap struts from most parts stores and they'll work fine for the car. i picked some up from a local store for my '88 a few years back for around 160 (total for all 4).

this may sound silly, but did you check the button on the dash for the headlights? the button is just there so you can raise your headlights and leave them up. if they still don't go down, it's possible the button is broken or the motors that move the headlights are not working. if it's the motors, you'd typically have only one headlight stuck up or down.

is the smoke coming from the tailpipe white? does it smoke all the time, even after driving the car for a long time? if it's only for the first few miles, it's just condensation in the exhaust and is normal. if it puts out white smoke all the time, i'd say check your head gasket to see if you're leaking radiator fluid there. (if it's black smoke = fuel mixture is too rich... bluish smoke = burning oil...)

hope that helps...

 

I know I am buring coolant. The overflow tank is right where its coming from.

 

ok, do you have smoke coming from the engine bay or out the exhaust?

If it's from the engine bay, then you have a leak somewhere.
If it's out the exhaust, then you most likely have a blown headgasket.

Your struts should be cheap for the older styles. You might even find them cheaper than 160 for the whole set.

I'll be glad to help ya, but I'll need a little more info. I enherited an old accord from my brother and I had to replace the struts and do a whole lot of other stuff.