AI4 Problems, time to sell car?

I love my accord dearly, and I know the suggestion of ditching a 6th gen is probably taboo for this site... but, I've got some reoccuring issues that I think won't make it for the long haul. To start out with, I'll describe the car a bit. It's a 98 Accord sedan, F23A1 so with vtec but it's got the hellbound automatic . Ontop of that, it's got 106k miles (which isn't bad at all) but I think the transmission is starting to take a crap. It slips between 1st to second shift and is quite stubborn on the downshift from 2nd to first when rolling and low speeds and then trying to accelerate. Another issue which has recently presented itself, atleast in my opinion is the alternator. Granted, I do have an aftermarket sound system (hooked up correctly!!! I swear!!! ) but the lights dim alot which turn on thinks like the heater blower motor and other electronic draws. Infact the other day, I had my lights on, fogs on, and my subs thumping some techno lol. I then turned on the heater motor and the lights went really dim and then my gauge cluster actually turned off and the needles went dead then shot back to life for a quick instant. And there is one more issue which I'm not really sure what the hell it is, so I'll try to describe it. Basically when I come to a stop and then start to accelerate, I hear like a weird crunching noise, I don't mean like something bad, but sounds like something shifted ever so slightly. The motor and tranny mounts are fine, so I'm wondering could that be something with the tranny starting to go, or the trans-axle or something? Oh and the car sounds kinda funny when I go over medium sized bumps at speeds, like a clunking, but I've done some researching on that and it could be my front sway bar mounts just needing to be replaced/greased.


I apologize for the huge long brick wall of text, especially being my first post lol, I figured I'd try and knock it out in all one fell swoop. I'll post some pics of my car a little later

Oh... and any idea why I can't post in general area section of the forums? Do I have to have a certain post-count or permission or something?

Nick

Wow!, hey if JMillerF23A1 reads this, nice wheels! I've got the same ones lol. I see you've got 18's, I've got 17's and the tires are a bit smaller aspect than they should be I've also got Kumho Ecsta tires on my ADR Phantoms, also in silver+black wheel color. Small world. Your Accord is dropped though. Looks alot better sitting on those wheels than mine. Uploading pix right now.

LOL......Welcome to the site. Wanna buy some 18" Phantoms???

lol wth is this sh-t? u do like the maintainece stuff yet? change all ur belts, engine oil, spark plugs, wires, rotor, and etc

lemon....

1. get a 5 spd swap... also, when was the last time u changed ur tranny fluid?

2. get an optima yellow top battery to support all the car electronics.. ur current battery can't take it

3. wat crunching sound? only happens when u apply the brakes?

for a car with tht low mileage, i'd keep it... ur problems seems very minor imo

So...basically you'd rather trade it in or sell it than spend under $500 for some basic maintenance.

BlkCurrantKord said:

So...basically you'd rather trade it in or sell it than spend under $500 for some basic maintenance.

Click to expand...

Not to be an ***, but replacing a tranny is NOT basic maintenance. The car has been maintained well, regular fluid chances, motor and tranny. I just put some Lucas Stop-Slip additive into it and it's seeming to like it. But that's only a bandaid at this point. I really like the thought of the 5-speed swap, I am bored of the auto, but I think it would be difficult to locate a 5 speed tranny + all the other needed swap stuff where I live. I live in northwest indiana, not on the coast, so I'm kinda isolated atleast somewhat from all the resources others might have access to.


Oh, and a bit off-topic but... I can't post in any other forums nor can I mess with things like signature and avatar. Not sure why.

DarkSideAccord said:

lemon....

1. get a 5 spd swap... also, when was the last time u changed ur tranny fluid?

2. get an optima yellow top battery to support all the car electronics.. ur current battery can't take it

3. wat crunching sound? only happens when u apply the brakes?

for a car with tht low mileage, i'd keep it... ur problems seems very minor imo

Click to expand...

It's not the battery actually, I had the car taken into a shop, they said the alternator is infact going out. It's just barely keeping the battery charged while it's running. When other stuff is turned on like lights and stereo, the alternator has enough power to keep the battery atleast level (not charge it) when it's above idle. However, when something like the defroster is turned on, it's actually draining the battery while it's running. So it's not shot yet, but it's getting there. I apologize for the second post, but relating to the issue above, I don't have certain forum privileges, another being editing posts

why dont you just replace the alt?

and yes, replacing the tranny on these cars pretty much is basic maintenance.

for your real question....no, imo, its not worth selling the car for these little things.

DNick454 said:

Not to be an ***, but replacing a tranny is NOT basic maintenance. The car has been maintained well, regular fluid chances, motor and tranny. I just put some Lucas Stop-Slip additive into it and it's seeming to like it. But that's only a bandaid at this point. I really like the thought of the 5-speed swap, I am bored of the auto, but I think it would be difficult to locate a 5 speed tranny + all the other needed swap stuff where I live. I live in northwest indiana, not on the coast, so I'm kinda isolated atleast somewhat from all the resources others might have access to.


Oh, and a bit off-topic but... I can't post in any other forums nor can I mess with things like signature and avatar. Not sure why.

Click to expand...

Alternator - basic maint
Suspension noises - basic maint
Taking care of transmission - basic maint

You can't post in other sections b/c we dont want new comers asking/posting about topics that have already been covered. It makes you use the search function so we dont rip you a new one.