Purchasing a Prelude, What To Look Out For?

[urban_s0ulja]

Hey guys
im looking at purchasing a 1994 prelude si...
is there anythin in paticular i should be looking for in this model as problems?
its done roughly 200 000kms engine has been reconditioned before as well.
What does reconditioning involve? Should i stay away from reconditioned engines?

As you can see im a total noob when it omes to cars
take it easy

any input would be great.

cheers

[watchdog]

Don't know much about the prelude in particular but I have a simple method for ANY car. Take it for a test drive and tell the owner you will be about an hour. Find somewhere that you can accelerate hard , brake hard & steer hard - any problems will reveal themselves within the hour. When you get the car back to the owner then do the more mundane checks ( lights , horn , a/c etc ) Lift the bonnet & check for oil / water leaks. One other thing - ask the owner not to start it before you get there , make sure you start the engine when its cold. Shows up problems with the starting / ignition system as well as manifold leaks that may seal when the engine warms up . Good luck

[global88]

A couple of things come to mind.

Check for oil leaks from the front seal.

Timming belt should be replaced every 100,000 km approx and is very expensive so check how far away it is from its next change.

Honda engines last alot longer than 200,000 km, has it missed services or been thrashed?

If the engines been changed chances are the tranny may be due.

Id be questioning if the clocks been turned back. Be cautious mate.

Check the owners service manual, it can give you hints if it not there or filled in. Note if it hasnt been serviced by a Honda dealer its probably got non genuine parts in it. Nothing wrong with that but use everything you can see as a price negotiation lever in your favor.

The only other thing is Honda's are very expensive on aftermarket parts, new or second hand.

What does reco mean?
The short and sharp it is with the least amount of new parts to bring the engine condition back to as near to factory tolerences as possible. That means hone the cylinders rather than bore so they can reuse the old pistons, even though the clearances will be on the loose side but still on the edge of tolerances. It also means use new bearings and avoid machineing the crank if the surface is resonable. It means reusing the old valves and just machining them back to a new surface. It means reusing the old valve springs that may have lost some of their tension.

Note that when buying a reco engine some workshops tell you that they reuse whatever they can, others tell you they used new pistons, machined the crank etc but you pay a extra premium for this.

Its never as good as factory unless you spent thousands and had it blueprinted.
It is perfecly acceptable though just it will not last as long as a factory built engine.

Your camry would have been much cheaper to run.

Having said that Hondas are great cars.

[Chimp]

i used to have a 94 model prelude si, and must admit there a nice car to drive. They hold the road really well.

The only problem i had with mine was a slight wheel vibration that i could never be arsed getting sorted out.

[urban_s0ulja]

Don't know much about the prelude in particular but I have a simple method for ANY car. Take it for a test drive and tell the owner you will be about an hour. Find somewhere that you can accelerate hard , brake hard & steer hard - any problems will reveal themselves within the hour. When you get the car back to the owner then do the more mundane checks ( lights , horn , a/c etc ) Lift the bonnet & check for oil / water leaks. One other thing - ask the owner not to start it before you get there , make sure you start the engine when its cold. Shows up problems with the starting / ignition system as well as manifold leaks that may seal when the engine warms up . Good luck

thanks mate i will keep this in mind

[urban_s0ulja]

A couple of things come to mind.

Check for oil leaks from the front seal.

Timming belt should be replaced every 100,000 km approx and is very expensive so check how far away it is from its next change.

Honda engines last alot longer than 200,000 km, has it missed services or been thrashed?

If the engines been changed chances are the tranny may be due.

Id be questioning if the clocks been turned back. Be cautious mate.

Check the owners service manual, it can give you hints if it not there or filled in. Note if it hasnt been serviced by a Honda dealer its probably got non genuine parts in it. Nothing wrong with that but use everything you can see as a price negotiation lever in your favor.

The only other thing is Honda's are very expensive on aftermarket parts, new or second hand.

What does reco mean?
The short and sharp it is with the least amount of new parts to bring the engine condition back to as near to factory tolerences as possible. That means hone the cylinders rather than bore so they can reuse the old pistons, even though the clearances will be on the loose side but still on the edge of tolerances. It also means use new bearings and avoid machineing the crank if the surface is resonable. It means reusing the old valves and just machining them back to a new surface. It means reusing the old valve springs that may have lost some of their tension.

Note that when buying a reco engine some workshops tell you that they reuse whatever they can, others tell you they used new pistons, machined the crank etc but you pay a extra premium for this.

Its never as good as factory unless you spent thousands and had it blueprinted.
It is perfecly acceptable though just it will not last as long as a factory built engine.

Your camry would have been much cheaper to run.

Having said that Hondas are great cars.

thanks mate