Hi.
I have a parts hook-up and a friend to do whatever repairs need to be done.
He is a master tech but frankly we all have our own lives to live and tend to and he cannot be at my beckon call.

Which doesn't really bother me because I would like to learn to do a much as I can to my HONDA.It would definitely behoove me to be "IN TUNE" with my car so, I do not have to be the air head trying to imitate odd car noises.

So any help you all could give me would be great.

Below is a list of highest priority issues/concerns/repairs.
If anyone has words of wisdom and or a direction to send me that would be FANTASTIC!

THANKS IN ADVANCE
Casi.

I have a 93 Accord not sure if it is a DX or EX -
QUESTION #1.) Does that matter whether it is a DX or EX?
How do I find out?

#2.) I would like to learn to check my own brakes (rotor too WHY NOT!) and change/replace them.
I have been told for years it isn't that hard. So why not, right?

#3.) The door handles have officially fallen off both front doors from the inside.
How should I approach this task? Replace door skins? or just reattach handles?

#4.) The previous owner wired up the fan to the headlights. So the fan stays on always but only if the headlights are turned on. HOW DO I TACKLE THAT?

#5.) I imagine this is definitely not a job for me at this point but the EXHAUST is VERY noisy and SMELLY.
My kids love the sound of the exhaust and while I do appreciate "THE HONDA SOUND" the noisy exhaust I have is definitely not deliberate.

I am not sure if I am in over my head here , but I sure would like to give as much as I can a shot at fixing/repairing myself. Help me out if you can.

 

Get the 93 shop manual from the spooner link I posted in the online manuals thread in the DIY section. That will provide a bunch of information on how to repair your car.

The trunk will have LX, DX, or EX on it. If the valve cover says V-tec, then you have and EX. The VIN number will tell you if you have an LX/DX/EX as well. 1HGCD753... If you tell us the bold number (8th number in VIN), then we can tell you what model as well.

The brake pads and calipers are pretty simple to inspect or replace. The rotor on the 90-97 accords are a pain to replace.

It all depends on how the handles fell off. If they are broken, then you can replace the handle. You will not have to remove the door panel to replace. We can give you instructions on how to do this.

Getting the car back to its original wiring will depend on how the car was rewired. Follow the two wires from the fan to see how the fan wires were cut and spliced in. You will also have to find the original wiring that goes to the fan.

When you do this, you will have to figure out the original problem of why the fans were wired like this in the first place (temp sensor, relay, or wiring problem).

A loud exhaust can come from holes in the pipes or the muffler. The rotten eggs smell can come from a bad catalytic converter.

 

#1 (assuming you're in USA)
EX has a sunroof and rear disk brakes
LX & DX have rear drum brakes
I forget but maybe DX does NOT have airconditioning??
(They have different wheels too but a previous owner might have changed that)
And... sometimes it matters & sometimes it doesn't. If you ask about the rear brakes it matters. For the door handles it probably doesn't matter.

#2
Does the car have aluminum wheels with enought open space between spokes so you can SEE the brakes directly? The rotors (disks) should have smooth shiny surface where the braking action happens. Deep grooves are not good.

#4
Gawd, there's a zillion different ways for the P.O. to have wired that up. That's a whole lot of work figuring out how many wrong ways that can be hooked up.

#5
Exhaust is ugly messy work but not intellectually difficult. Remove the old pipes & bolt on the new ones. Sounds easy, right? But the old ones will be rusted in place and might just need a sawzall or dynamite to remove. But the most important thing is to securely support the car before crawling underneath. Get yourself a good jack & a strong set of jackstands to support the car. Using the tire-changing jack can result in a lot of blood when the car falls down onto you.

We could use some background before we decide what YOU can handle. What's the biggest mechanical repair you've ever done? Changed your own oil? Changed a flat tire (installed the spare)? Changed the drive belt of a lawnmower? Removed the engine from a 68 Chevy?

 

I so did not expect such thorough replies to my original post and so quickly.

I am so excited to work with all the info. I was given.

#1.) DX/LX/EX

Quote:

The trunk will have LX, DX, or EX on it. If the valve cover says V-tec, then you have and EX. The VIN number will tell you if you have an LX/DX/EX as well. 1HGCD753... If you tell us the bold number (8th number in VIN), then we can tell you what model as well.

I did think to scope out a newer Honda the other day and noticed the DX/LX/EX emblem on the body part of the back end while the "ACCORD" was on the trunk. I have the "ACCORD" on my trunk but where there SHOULD be an indicator of DX/EX/LX there just is stick stuff like it was picked off. So. Here is up to the 8th number on the VIN as you requested.
1HGCB765

#2.) BRAKES-ROTORS

There is crappy hubcaps on I think they looked plastic-ish and silvery.
I will go take a peek tomorrow and pop them off and take a gander at the braked & rotors. (Great place to start. eh) As far as the back rotors being a "pain" what kind of issues would I run into, just to have a heads up.
I have looked up a how to step by step rear brake repair/replacement on ehow.com or something and took notes and high lighted questions I had. So. If you think I could be ready at some point, I'm ready.

#3.) HANDLES

Would it help to have a picture of the handle area, to maybe figure out where I should start?

#4.) I can get a hold of the P.O. that is not a problem. What should I ask or whatever to get it hooked back up properly. The P.O. did mention that a fuse was blown and that he couldn't find another fuse to run it to so he wired it up to the lights. (side note from me: that seems like more work to me, but I AM VERY NEWBIE TO AUTO REPAIRS)

#5.) There is not an egg smell, just like exhaust is leaking. Being the car for 30-45 mins I SMELL LIKE EXHAUST it's horrible.

Quote:

We could use some background before we decide what YOU can handle. What's the biggest mechanical repair you've ever done? Changed your own oil? Changed a flat tire (installed the spare)? Changed the drive belt of a lawnmower? Removed the engine from a 68 Chevy?

The biggest mechanical repair I have ever done.
Well. I followed directions in the manual to assemble a generator.
I have added fluids and checked fluids, (washer, radiator, oil) used jumper cables a time or two. I have done a spare tire. Swapped out a battery.
I disconnected a gps/fuel switch that Mike Albert had on a car of mine that would shut power off to the fuel pump so you couldn't start it =D

Oh, I have taken my vacuum apart a few times to replace a belt and unclog it.
But as I said mainly "THE MEN" handled this area.
When work has been done, I would watch and ask questions fetch tools and towels etc. I am teachable and I am to a point where I want to know how to do more than put in gas and drive it.

We can take baby steps.
I'm smart and with some help I think I could do quite a bit and save some cash-ola.


THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!

 

1.) You have a 4-door automatic EX. Just verify by looking at the valve cover on the engine. It should say V-tec. You car should have a sunroof as well.

2.) The rotors do not slide off when you take off the caliper like on most cars. You have to pull out the whole hub/bearing assembly to take off the rotors. It is not hard to do, but it is more involved compared to the normal setup that you probably saw on ehow.

There is a DIY writeup about hub over the rotor replacement in the DIY section.

3.) Post a pic of the handles. They are pretty simple to remove and would be a good place for you to start.

4.) Ask the P.O. to give as much information as possible. Was a fuse blowing, or was it a relay? Which fuse, etc.. Repairing the wiring will probably be simple. Take a picture of the wiring, and we can give you an idea of what you are up against. If you do not have a digital volt meter, buy one. They cost ~$10 at sears or wal-mart.

5.) The leak could be coming from anywhere in the exhaust system. Look for holes in the pipes/muffler. Try to listen for the source of the loud exhaust to get an idea of where the problem is.

Replacing exhaust parts is easy once you remove the rusted bolts which could be a pain.

 

90-93 accords DO NOT HAVE VTEC AT ALL. The ex has the f22a4 engine. all cb7s have f22a engines...none of them are vtec!!!!!!!!

The way you can tell what accord you have is by popping the hood and looking at the engine code. look at the pic I posted in the pic that is the location of the engine code

ALL CB7 ACCORDS DID NOT COME WITH VTEC...not even the ex.

I don’t have time to read all this thread I will come back when I can to give my input

 

1.....car is 93 accord LX...

2.....replacing frt brakes is very easy to do,, if you want to tackle the rotors there is a write up in the DIY section

3........is it the inner door handles?? ( the ones you open car from inside ) OR the outer door handles ( ones you open car from outside ).if inner door handles very easy to replace , get them from dealer, need to tell them the color, remove the little cover in the middle of handle and remove the screw,, disconnect the window switch, disconnect the rod clip and push handle toward frt of car to take out...5 minute job..IF it is the outer door handles then inner door panel needs to be removed ....

4,,,,,,,,,cannot help you with the fan wiring from here,, would have to see what they did ,,,

 

Thanks for all the info again. I did take some pictures I tried to locate the label that was pictured of the engine etc. I am not sure if I knew what I was looking at.

So, after reading the post previous to this one
and another one, I think it best if I get me the repair manual and a pack of smokes and spend some time GETTING to know my cb7. =)

I took pics of the exhaust. It really just looks like someone put a tin can around it and some small aluminum wire running all over the place. AMAZING. So. I'll get a manual and figure out where to put my questions appropriately with the pics. For future assistance. ONCE AGAIN you guys ROCK.

Casi

 

Before you try prying off the plastic wheel covers, be aware that they are held on by the wheel nuts. You have to lift the car & remove the wheel nuts - then remove the wheel together with the plastic wheel cover.

The exhaust system really only comes apart at a couple places. The rear section comes off pretty close to the rear axle. Your rear muffler is part #22.

The middle section (#15) comes apart pretty much below the shift lever.

Point out where the exhaust is coming apart? This picture covers several models, but YOURS should have #15 as the middle section and #22 as the rear section.

Right here in General Tech is probably a good place for all this. The exhaust board is filled with stuff about performance aftermarket exhaust, where the General Tech board is more about fixing what ya got. Might be good to pick one of the jobs (like door handles) then make a new thread about the exhaust job & another new thread about the brakes. Look in the DIY secton for something about your front brakes. Your rear drum brakes will be sorta easy, & maybe they won't need work for awhile.

 

What would be your preferred method of payment for the manual?

Thanks for the info again.

I have my brother looking for the exhaust system he works at SMYTH.
I will have someone present while I am "attacking" the exhaust and the brakes. Once I went out and looked at wheels & brakes this morning I realized they were bolted in and would have to have it jacked up. =)