New Prelude owner doing some maintenance work, opinions needed. - Honda Prelude Forum

klager01 · 04-16-2010, 06:56 PM

Hi everyone!
I'm now a proud owner of an 01 SH. The car has had one previous owner and it has been very well maintained with 163k on it.

My boyfriend (videogmike) and I have gotten to work planning what immediate needs the car has and how we plan to get them done on our own time with out breaking the bank. We've decided that the highest priorities are replacing the timing belt, tensioner and water pump and all the seals as well as changing the ATTS fluid. So I'd like to hear from you all:

The timing belt etc; is this a big undertaking for someone who has never done it before with a overly ambitious (and complete novice)girlfriend & helms manual? What are your suggestions for parts? The car has a minor engine whine and we're hopping that its something with the timing belt and it also might be leaking some oil from somewhere so we def. want to do the seals.

The ATTS fluid... has never been changed as far as we can tell from the maintenance history and we've heard some back and forth about whether or not to even do it if its never been done. Thoughts?

So thanks in advance for the feedback and any general Prelude wisdom you wish to share!
(also feel free to lecture me about forum etiquette etc, I'm totaly new to this

)

dontbuyprelude · 04-16-2010, 08:03 PM

im 17 and i changed my timing belt all by myself. my previous car history was changing spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor, oil changes, cv boots. nothing very complicated. i just brought my laptop into the garage and looked at the helms while i did it. i would set aside 2 days to do it. timing belt is very possible for you to do. i had the most basic of basic hand tools. if you have 2 people doing the belt things should go somewhat smoothly as this is your first time. Overall, when I was done with my belt, i realized how easy the whole ordeal really was. keep in mind im a rookie.

ATTS fluid. i would definitely change it. its a simple procedure. refer to the helms. by changing my atts fluid, i found out that i had about only 3-5oz fluid in there. you may or may not have a similar surprise. Change it.

also, do your cam seals, and crank seal. you might wanna change your balancer belt as well. i left mine off. be SURE to get the MANUAL tensioner. the autotensioner is begging to fail. the whine you hear is likely the autotensioner.

has the t belt never been replaced before?

chris112818 · 04-16-2010, 08:03 PM

Id say if your handy with a wrench go at it, and you have a helms of course i did my timing belt water pump everything with almost no mechanical knowledge including my rear main seal job and clutch/ flywheel change. just read through the helms a couple times before hand then fallow it and never get ahead of yourself. I have also done a clutch work on a sh (mines a base) atts is a pita but really isn't all that hard. As far as i know it cant be bad to change the atts fluid as long as you put the right stuff back in of course. Have fun and plan for extra time just incase and have some extra funds incase you mess anything up. o and look up how to do a manual tensor conversion i hear the auto tensors are prone to failing.

Kronn 98SH · 04-16-2010, 08:04 PM

Parts: all OEM, no exceptions

ATTS fluid: It's suppose to be changed every XXk miles, according to the Helm's manual.

Congrats on the new purchase of a great car.

chris112818 · 04-16-2010, 08:05 PM

haha looks like dontbuyprelude beat me to it

dontbuyprelude · 04-16-2010, 08:05 PM

^ha ha 7:03 we posted but im first^

lviii · 04-17-2010, 04:18 AM

Congrats on your SH - and good choice

. I purchased mine used with over 120k and it runs like a champ . . . smooth idle, great gas mileage, etc. I'm going to share the list of things I hit - this isn't to encourage you to do all of this right away, but to remind you of some of the standard maintenance you will want to eventually address if needed.

-air filter
-fuel filter
-clean egr valve
-spark plugs and plug wires
-distributor cap, rotor, and o-ring
-pcv valve and grommet
-valve cover gasket/gasket kit
-primary and secondary O2 sensors
-all fluids (power steering, oil, coolant, atts, clutch, tranny)
-BG44k fuel system cleaner (optional but effective)

Like you guys, the belts,tensioner, and seals were my first and foremost concern, so I knocked those out right away. For the basic maintenance stuff, I went with OEM parts purchased through a dealer with wholesale prices (at least 25% or so off). I see you're in MD so I'll mention that I go through magauto.com which is really Mechanicsville Honda in Richmond, VA. The guys there seem to know their stuff so you can ask parts questions over the phone. Plus, if you order online, you get free UPS ground for orders over $75.

Keep in mind that Ludes tend to consume/burn oil between oil changes, so make sure you're checking your oil level periodically - I just do it when I'm getting gas nowadays and add oil as needed.

klager01 · 04-17-2010, 04:48 AM

Thanks for the help guys!
I've heard most people on here saying they are switching to manual tensioners, the auto will likely fail but how often do you have to go in and retension??

Has anyone had the Greddy super strong timing belt or are we all of the OEM persuasion? Mine was done at aprox 85k, I know I'm ahead of schedule but it cant hurt right?

How difficult is it to change the rear main seal with out taking out the entire motor??

fastkill · 04-17-2010, 07:46 AM

i did my rear main seal and it was a pita. from now on when dealing with that damn thing my moto will be if it aint broke leave it the **** alone. I had to do mine twice because it never sealed correctly and continued to leak oil. you don't have to remove your motor but just the tranny and flywheel/ clutch assembly. this will leave you ample room to work. some people say you can just pull it out with a flat head or a seal remover or something but no matter what i tried it wouldn't come out so hopefully if u try it u have 100 times better luck then i did.

klager01 · 04-17-2010, 01:17 PM

Thanks for the heads up fastkill
Btw: Glad to see I'm not the only one thats likes gold rims on EBP. I've heard so many people groan when I say thats what I want for mine, yours is proof i'm not crazy.

chris112818 · 04-18-2010, 02:52 AM

haha fastkill i couldnt get that sob out either i just bought the whole right side assembly that holds the seal from honda already lubeb up and everything took the old one off stuck the new one on with some honda bond of course... And klager i usually go all oem but i had heard that the Greddy Carbon-Kevlar Timing Belts were amazing and so far im happy with it