[BoilerGirl]

She's been a good one.

1998 Accord v6 EX (I think, it's awfully cold out to go make sure).
200,000 miles, mostly highway.
Driven hard lately - 60+ miles a day, although mostly highway. It's been frigid here and I do let her warm up in the morning.

Lately it seems we've been catching our last gear late. We cruise at around 2500rpm and I've been having to push it up to 3500 to get it to shift, otherwise it wants to cruise around 3k. I don't notice it making any noises or shifting hard.

There is also a slight shimmy when I'm at about 75mph.

The EGR went out and was replaced in the fall of 2009. It needs replaced again already. We had EGR ports blown out, belts, water pump replaced in spring of '10 before I drove it from Indiana to Wyoming and back via Kansas, over 5k miles in 3 months.


Also the D4 light doesn't always come on in the dash indicator. The car is still in gear and doing fine (sometimes I notice it when I shift in and sometimes I notice it just driving) so I'm assuming this is a minor electrical problem...


I am looking at replacing it before it becomes a money pit. However - I need to know if this sounds like a situation I need to replace NOW or if I could put another $70 into a new EGR valve and baby it until summer. There's some body damage so the trade in value probably isn't superb anyway.

I would rather make it work financially and replace it now than get stranded somewhere, as I do drive a lot and have no other options for transportation.

 

[RTexasF]

Welcome! Any car with 200K on the clock is subject to leaving you stranded, there's just too many things that could go wrong or have worn well beyond service life. If at all possible I would say replacement would be your best move. Trade in value for a car of that age & miles will be low, especially with body damage, if a dealer will take it at all. Try to establish a value for it and sell it outright. Best of luck on whichever way you decide to go. This is just one guys opinion.

When was the timing belt replaced last? Was that included in the work done in 2010?

 

[stiller fan]

She's been a good one.

1998 Accord v6 EX (I think, it's awfully cold out to go make sure).
200,000 miles, mostly highway.
Driven hard lately - 60+ miles a day, although mostly highway. It's been frigid here and I do let her warm up in the morning.

Lately it seems we've been catching our last gear late. We cruise at around 2500rpm and I've been having to push it up to 3500 to get it to shift, otherwise it wants to cruise around 3k. I don't notice it making any noises or shifting hard.

There is also a slight shimmy when I'm at about 75mph.

The EGR went out and was replaced in the fall of 2009. It needs replaced again already. We had EGR ports blown out, belts, water pump replaced in spring of '10 before I drove it from Indiana to Wyoming and back via Kansas, over 5k miles in 3 months.


Also the D4 light doesn't always come on in the dash indicator. The car is still in gear and doing fine (sometimes I notice it when I shift in and sometimes I notice it just driving) so I'm assuming this is a minor electrical problem...


I am looking at replacing it before it becomes a money pit. However - I need to know if this sounds like a situation I need to replace NOW or if I could put another $70 into a new EGR valve and baby it until summer. There's some body damage so the trade in value probably isn't superb anyway.

I would rather make it work financially and replace it now than get stranded somewhere, as I do drive a lot and have no other options for transportation.

welcome aboard.... :wave:

to answer ur questions:

with the AT, it may be time to have it replaced, before it goes out on you. you are looking at around $2000 for replacement. when was the last time that the fluid in that was replaced? the torque converter may not be working at all times. this happened with my 93 accord later in its ownership. i have been told that the thermostat plays a role with the TCU, telling it yes / no regarding lockup.

slight shimmy at 75mph: probably just uneven tire wear. have a mechanic / tire shop check the wear on the tires, to make sure they are not feathering / cupping. when was the last time that you rotated the tires?

personally, i think that you have about another 6 months of easy driving to go yet.

 

[RTexasF]

BoilerGirl,

Read this, I may have to eat my words:

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56142

 

[DonutLimo]

i have been told that the thermostat plays a role with the TCU, telling it yes / no regarding lockup.

Yes, but I can't remember if it's 140 F or higher. 75mph cruising should have the engine turning about 2500 so that checks. There are a number of things that can cause it to shift later, one being that it's cold and that's what they do until warm. If it's warmed up and does this at the end of the commute, that's not good. These transmissions don't have Honda's typical reputation for reliability. If you wiggle the shift lever does the D4 light come on/off?

Do you have the code for the EGR? There are a couple faults that can come up. If they only charged you $70 the valve wasn't replaced, they are about 200 retail. The mechanic probably only did the EGR kit which is to clean the ports and install a tube that was prone to plugging.

Good luck, they're good cars but I'd be concerned about the transmission before anything else.

 

[krott5333]

She's been a good one.

1998 Accord v6 EX (I think, it's awfully cold out to go make sure).
200,000 miles, mostly highway.
Driven hard lately - 60+ miles a day, although mostly highway. It's been frigid here and I do let her warm up in the morning.

Lately it seems we've been catching our last gear late. We cruise at around 2500rpm and I've been having to push it up to 3500 to get it to shift, otherwise it wants to cruise around 3k. I don't notice it making any noises or shifting hard.

There is also a slight shimmy when I'm at about 75mph.

The EGR went out and was replaced in the fall of 2009. It needs replaced again already. We had EGR ports blown out, belts, water pump replaced in spring of '10 before I drove it from Indiana to Wyoming and back via Kansas, over 5k miles in 3 months.


Also the D4 light doesn't always come on in the dash indicator. The car is still in gear and doing fine (sometimes I notice it when I shift in and sometimes I notice it just driving) so I'm assuming this is a minor electrical problem...


I am looking at replacing it before it becomes a money pit. However - I need to know if this sounds like a situation I need to replace NOW or if I could put another $70 into a new EGR valve and baby it until summer. There's some body damage so the trade in value probably isn't superb anyway.

I would rather make it work financially and replace it now than get stranded somewhere, as I do drive a lot and have no other options for transportation.

throw some lucas in the tranny to get another 20k out of it