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Hello,

I just bought my first car since I went back to school a couple years ago. I use it when I need to go further than is reasonable for the bus or when it's too late for the bus. I brought it to a mechanic and he inspected it, gave me a list of things to fix and I had them fixed. Among the list were new tires, new front brakes, left side axle joint, left rear bearing, valve cover gasket, and vtec gasket. All the work is done and there's a couple things left to do like smog, registration, figure out why it smells like a gas station inside (leaky exhaust / missing vent ducts?) when I drive and fix the windshield wipers. I was told that the intake is a 'short ram intake', a small radiator that works well, exhaust header, coil over suspension, and there has been a 'stage 2' clutch installed. There's no power steering, but that's OK. Any comments or tips on what I can do to keep my car running well or what could be low cost modifications would make the car run better / drive / handle better? Also, the car makes a whining noise when accelerating and my mechanic laughed and said it was the intake. Sound about right? Alright, thank you in advance for any feedback.

Have a great day,

Anthony

 
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I took my car back to my mechanic and he put in a new O2 sensor - now the car runs a lot better and the engine gas smell is a lot less - only smells like an older car usually does when I'm outside of the car - no more smell inside anymore. Now there are a couple things I'm wondering about. First the dash lights go on an off intermittently and I read that this could be because a wire is rubbing against something and losing current. Second, there is a pause in power being transmitted to the wheels sometimes when I accelerate and the engine revs a little more before the transmission seems to catch again. Is this a sign of a failing transmission? Any information will be greatly appreciated. Have a great day.

Anthony

 
Rep Power: 286

I bet you're going to be running into problems routinely with this car..

An intake likely doesn't have a distinct whine, but they're all different so it's possible. What type of filter is that, it doesn't look it's been cleaned or changed in years.

The dash lights going out is in the wiring, trace it and look for a loose connection.

What type of coilovers are they?

 
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Thanks for the feedback. I googled the whine issue and a lot of people with this kind of intake have had the same noise issue so I'm glad about that. Also, the mechanic told me that whoever had this car before me really "beat it up" so I think you and he agree on that for sure. Luckily he's a Honda / Acura independent specialist and works on all higher end cars - my car is kind of the black sheep when it's there. I'm glad to have learned my lesson now when purchasing an inexpensive car while I'm in school rather than learning it later when I have more money and more responsibilities. Where should I start dismantling the dash for the dash light wiring? Do I need to remove the steering wheel to get at the cluster? I work a lot on electric guitars and related electronics, but have no experience yet with cars. The coilovers are most likely no names - I didn't see a name brand on them when my friend was installing the new tires and brakes. One set was purple / red and the other set was blue. Also I don't think the transmission is the culprit, but maybe the engine kind of 'coughing' occasionally at low speeds and lower rpms. It hasn't happened much lately and the mechanic said the engine would be cleaning itself out now with the new O2 sensor. Maybe that was it? Maybe new spark plugs? What make / model air filter should I purchase for the car or if it's worth cleaning it how do I do that? Is it simple as cleaning out a vaccuum filter by just knocking the dust off it? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Have a great day,

Anthony

 
Rep Power: 0

I had to get some new parts to pass smog - a new CARB legal AEM intake and a stock exhaust manifold. MindBomber good call on the air filter - with a new air filter that came with the intake my car drives faster, better, and smoother than it did before, even without the exhaust headers. I saw another member ask about suspension and I was thinking about doing some suspension modifications. The car is rattles and shakes / skips when going over bumps in freeway turns and is not very smooth in terms of going over potholes etc. Mainly I'd like the car to handle better for safety reasons as well as general comfort. I noticed the list of parts here:

Koni Yellow with GC sleeves or Progress CSII coilovers, with a 22mm sway bar and ES bushings.

...are pretty expensive. The Progress shocks said "drag racing only" - are the Koni better for turns & street performance? Is there something I should start with first - like the bushing set kit and the sway bar and then move onto new shocks later? What about tie bars - I've seen them on some cars around town and they look substantial, but do they do more than a sway bar would? Also - is a 22mm sway bar for the front or rear or both? What about Tokico shocks? There's someone that offers a set for $300 here: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv...702863153.html

What do you think?

Thank you for any information. Have a great day.

Anthony