Hello All. (please exuse the spelling im not the greatest speller in the world)

I'm currently in school to become a mechanic(and now ASE Critfied in alldata) my accord is my daily driver and i have a few questions that i can't seem to find Via Google/alldata/shop manual and such.

a Little History on the car.
After my truck died,i was stuck with otu a car. so a frind of mind gave me the accord. It had a problem with the kick back cable(it was frozen) so i ended up cutting it(as per the guideance of my Teacher who is a Master Tech and been in the field for almot 30+ years) now the RPMs don't want to go past 3k in D4 (when it hits about 2.7kish the tranny slips). If i need to pass someone or pick up quick i drop it to D3(or as my teacher calls it Passing Gear) The Car it self is in good running order expect for a few quick fixs. she has low milage and a few "blemishs" on her. she has low mileage(at least i think she does for that year) ((see Sig)) now i have a todo list for her. (oil change CV boot brake pads upper balljoints both sides transmission filter change). The Power steering doesn't work( not hte pump i forget what its called but its under the car and has 3 lines running in to it)

now on to my questions.
1. She came with 3 Stock Black Steelies(2 of which are on the rear and one in the trunk) and two sliver Steelies (which i bleave are not honda made)((will post pics of them later if i can ever get the digtal camera to work)) now i want to eather A replace all 4 with something that matchs the 4x100 pattern or B find another black Steelie. Now which would be better finding one more black steelie(which i been looking for almost 3 months now and no luck) or something that matchs the 4x100 pattern. (which i also would like a list to what used that pattern)

2. Is there Any long term affects by letting my foot off the gas and dropping her down to D3 with out pushing the button in? then putting back in D4 the same way as i did to go from D4 to D3?(or engine brakeing)

3. Are the JDM tail lights any differnt then the USDM ones?

4. anything else i should look out for that hasn't reared it's ugly head?(aside from the normal wear and tear basicly common problems only found in that model year)


thank you for takeing time to read my posting.

One More thing i love my 3rd Gen,imo its the last gen that had any unique look to it..the pop ups are probly the BEST thing about it.

It had a problem with the kick back cable(it was frozen) so i ended up cutting it(as per the guideance of my Teacher who is a Master Tech and been in the field for almot 30+ years) now the RPMs don't want to go past 3k in D4 (when it hits about 2.7kish the tranny slips). If i need to pass someone or pick up quick i drop it to D3(or as my teacher calls it Passing Gear).

I'm not a mechanic, so correct me if i'm wrong, but I dont believe that cable would cause the tranny to slip.

Why do u drop it to D3? Will it not downshift on its own? If not, then you're going to need to service the transmission. I know you said you were going to change the filter, I'd recommend doing that asap and see if this resolves the problems that you're having..atleast for a short time so you can save up for a new tranny.

If it's slipping at 3k in 4th gear then it could be resolved through servicing, I wouldn't change out the fluids just the filter. If this doesn't go away, could it be a Torque Converter issue? I doubt it, but like i said i'm no mechanic (i'd have to consult with mine lol)

EDIT: Grats on the car BTW!!

frist of all thank you for the reply..

secondly the kick back cable causes the tranny to shift up. it down shifts fine, if i take my foot off the gas around 2.5k it will shift like normal. (ie sotra like driving stick) the car TRYS to upshift on its own (as if the kick back cable is still there) its fine as long as i don't put my foot to the floor and if i need a little more get up and go just dropping to D3 gives me a little boost. but while in D4 it slips a bit in a few gears,but once im going it never goes over 3 grand and the tranny is fine. its just foot to the floor from a stop. i been lifting my foot off the gas a bit when i know its about to shift.

I would just do your service that you had planned on doing, sounds like it could use it. I've seen similar problems that were that were resolved with it.

EDIT: I wouldn't change out the fluid, just the filter as you had stated earlier. Most people make the mistake of changing out tranny fluid which any knowledgable mechanic will quickly advise against. I'm guessing you already know this though since you're studying to become one.

yup i knew that..:thmsup: im fact im waiting for our checks to come in to do that,(we get checks at teh start of a new term for last terms work.)

Dang they pay you to take classes? Sign me up!

Dang they pay you to take classes? Sign me up!

we work on REAL peoples cars...Hell,we worked on vairus rides from a 85 Benz(freaking tank that thing was) 00 focus,06 Range Rover,A LOT of beaters(as in only thing holding the cars together is rust and a lot of hope) a 00 Jeep TJ,02 Mazda 626. We get a lot of diffrent makes and models. im glad i decided to go back to school,(as of oct 08 i graduate in april 2010)

the school owns a prius a Acura NSX and a R 34(sady the R34 was riced,while it puts out 600hp it has a fiber glass sub incloseure in the trunk..)

pics of hte NSX and R34
http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/9485/1000599ex5.th.jpg (http://img501.imageshack.us/i/1000599ex5.jpg/)
http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/5720/1000598it4.th.jpg (http://img501.imageshack.us/i/1000598it4.jpg/)
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/Z3R0_117/n1246446397_317395_484.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/Z3R0_117/n1246446397_317396_1013.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/Z3R0_117/n1246446397_317397_1509.jpg

even though both cars have been riced out,they both haul ass..

(we sotra "borrowed" the NSX one night for a quick spin up the street and back,we took it on the highway and got to 110 in thrid and we where barely hitting 5k i beave..)

ok enough of the off topic chit chat lets get back on to taking about my baby :P

What size wheel/tires do you have on the car now? When brand new the DX/LX's came with 185/70 R13's and the LX-I's had 195/60 R14's. In 1990 the Accords went from 4-100 to 4-114, but the late 80's to 2005 Honda Civic's used the 4-100 bolt pattern. I'm not sure about the rim widths and offsets, but you might be able to find something from that range of Civic that might help you. I had a set of 2000 Civic EX 14'' wheel covers on my original steel wheels and they fit perfectly. Good luck with the car, I wish I had a project car to work on, that's what I miss about my 3rd gen, there was always a little something that could be done to help restore it to tip top shape. I'm sure it won't be long before your car will look like new. I dug up a pic for inspiration.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y268/buster133/88DXsedan.jpg

i have 185/75/13 in hte rear and im almost sure the fronts are 175/70/13 in the fort..its not really a big size differnt but its enough so where the fronts look smaller..