Honda Car Forum

Hi everyone,

I'm getting a new car next week which my sister has owned for the last 6
months, a 1992 Honda accord LXi which despite its age (300000+ ks) has been
running very well until now. The problem it has now, is it's only firing on
3 cylinders, and I have to drive it 250 miles home before I can get it to a
garage to be fixed, is that going to do any more damage to it? or just gonna
be a pain in the ass to drive? Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Ben

On Sun, 09 Apr 2006 01:35:03 GMT, "Ben_M" <u20663@uwe> wrote:

>Hi everyone,
>
>I'm getting a new car next week which my sister has owned for the last 6
>months, a 1992 Honda accord LXi which despite its age (300000+ ks) has been
>running very well until now. The problem it has now, is it's only firing on
>3 cylinders, and I have to drive it 250 miles home before I can get it to a
>garage to be fixed, is that going to do any more damage to it? or just gonna
>be a pain in the ass to drive? Any advice would be appreciated.

Your catalytic converter will overheat.

youre probably going to need a whole new engine and to get the car hauled to
a garage. i wouldn't attempt to drive it because the engine will probably
blow on the way. it has lost compression in a cylinder which is bad news.


-jeff


"Ben_M" <u20663@uwe> wrote in message news:5e7f009ccc75f@uwe...
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm getting a new car next week which my sister has owned for the last 6
> months, a 1992 Honda accord LXi which despite its age (300000+ ks) has
> been
> running very well until now. The problem it has now, is it's only firing
> on
> 3 cylinders, and I have to drive it 250 miles home before I can get it to
> a
> garage to be fixed, is that going to do any more damage to it? or just
> gonna
> be a pain in the ass to drive? Any advice would be appreciated.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Ben

"Ben_M" <u20663@uwe> wrote in message news:5e7f009ccc75f@uwe...
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm getting a new car next week which my sister has owned for the last 6
> months, a 1992 Honda accord LXi which despite its age (300000+ ks) has
> been
> running very well until now. The problem it has now, is it's only firing
> on
> 3 cylinders, and I have to drive it 250 miles home before I can get it to
> a
> garage to be fixed, is that going to do any more damage to it? or just
> gonna
> be a pain in the ass to drive? Any advice would be appreciated.

Take it to a closer shop to be repaired.

Ben_M wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm getting a new car next week which my sister has owned for the last 6
> months, a 1992 Honda accord LXi which despite its age (300000+ ks) has been
> running very well until now. The problem it has now, is it's only firing on
> 3 cylinders, and I have to drive it 250 miles home before I can get it to a
> garage to be fixed, is that going to do any more damage to it? or just gonna
> be a pain in the ass to drive? Any advice would be appreciated.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Ben

Question #1: Is there compression in the cylinder?

Question #2: Is the spark plug good?

Question #3: Is the plug wire good?

These can be found out easily.

If all are good, then I suggest disconnecting the injector wires to the
offending cylinder and immediately getting it to the nearest shop or
person where more info can be found. Preferably, by tow truck.

At 186,000+ miles, it may still have some life left in it, assuming your
sister changed the oil on time regularly. I say this because I have a
sister, and she ruined a perfectly good honda by not changing the oil
when she should have..


Marco

Ben_M wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm getting a new car next week which my sister has owned for the last 6
> months, a 1992 Honda accord LXi which despite its age (300000+ ks) has been
> running very well until now. The problem it has now, is it's only firing on
> 3 cylinders, and I have to drive it 250 miles home before I can get it to a
> garage to be fixed, is that going to do any more damage to it? or just gonna
> be a pain in the ass to drive? Any advice would be appreciated.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Ben

for the sake of a few bucks, you can replace the plugs and probably fix
the problem. then the drive home won't be an issue. otherwise,
disconnect the injector on the plug that's missing and drive it like
that so you don't damage the cat.

jim beam wrote:
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>>
>> Ben
>
>for the sake of a few bucks, you can replace the plugs and probably fix
>the problem. then the drive home won't be an issue. otherwise,
>disconnect the injector on the plug that's missing and drive it like
>that so you don't damage the cat.


Ok, thanks a lot for all your replys, but I probably should have mentioned I
know nothing about cars. :-P I'm a bit concerned by some of your comments
because my sister is still driving the car to work and back every day. :P
Is it pretty much likely to be a write off? Thanks for all your replys.

Ben

--
Message posted via http://www.carkb.com

Ben_M wrote:
>>> Hi everyone,
>>>
>[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>>disconnect the injector on the plug that's missing and drive it like
>>that so you don't damage the cat.
>
>Ok, thanks a lot for all your replys, but I probably should have mentioned I
>know nothing about cars. :-P I'm a bit concerned though by some of your comments
>because my sister is still driving the car to work and back every day. Is this no good?? :P I've been talking to her and she says it's still running smoothly but just with 25% less power obviously, oh and if you run the revs too low it doesn't handle that at all, which I'm guessing is to be expected with only 3 cylinders.

What do you think? Is it likely to be worth repairing? I'm willing to throw
$1000 at it.
>Thanks for all your replys.
>
>Ben

--
Message posted via http://www.carkb.com

Ben_M wrote:
>>>> Hi everyone,
>>>>
>[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>>know nothing about cars. :-P I'm a bit concerned though by some of your comments
>>because my sister is still driving the car to work and back every day. Is this no good?? :P I've been talking to her and she says it's still running smoothly but just with 25% less power obviously, oh and if you run the revs too low it doesn't handle that at all, which I'm guessing is to be expected with only 3 cylinders.

>>Thanks for all your replys.
>>
>>Ben

--
Message posted via CarKB.com
http://www.carkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...-cars/200604/1

Ben_M via CarKB.com wrote:
> Ben_M wrote:
>>>> Hi everyone,
>>>>
>> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>>> disconnect the injector on the plug that's missing and drive it like
>>> that so you don't damage the cat.
>> Ok, thanks a lot for all your replys, but I probably should have mentioned I
>> know nothing about cars. :-P I'm a bit concerned though by some of your comments
>> because my sister is still driving the car to work and back every day. Is this no good?? :P I've been talking to her and she says it's still running smoothly but just with 25% less power obviously, oh and if you run the revs too low it doesn't handle that at all, which I'm guessing is to be expected with only 3 cylinders.
>
> What do you think? Is it likely to be worth repairing? I'm willing to throw
> $1000 at it.
>> Thanks for all your replys.
>>
>> Ben
>


Well,

No-one can have any thoughts without some history on the car to help.

Has the oil been changed in the past 6 months?

Can you take it to a shop and get a quote on repairs? Remember my 3
questions earlier? The answers will speak volumes on what needs to be done.

If it is a spark plug, then be prepared to spend $2.00 to fix it.

If it is a plug wire, then empty your wallet to the tune of $20.00.

If there is no compression, then you may be spending close to $1000.00
if you can't repair the cylinder head yourself. Caveat: If there is no
compression, and the cylinder head is fine, then you may need to replace
the engine.

Double caveat: If the damage is due to oil starvation, replace the engine.


More info needed. Have a mechanic look at your car asap.


Marco