New to Prelude's

[91si4wsRichA]

I’m a new Owner to a Black 1991 Honda Prelude SI 4WS 5speed that I Purchased this week. I have been looking for something to drive back and forth to work to save gas. I can now park my Jeep TJ that gets 12mpg going downhill. I think I fell into a great deal after my prelude research online. With a budget of about 1500 I have seen a lot of junk on Craigslist. So when I showed up to look at this car for 1299.00 I expected the same junk. I was surprised to find this car in really good condition. It has 185000 miles, drives great and a lot of power. Interior is almost perfect. The exterior is black and has the normal clear coat issues but No rust. Yes a little old lady owned it and was the original owner. I have to do a few things to get it back in line. I have done the Tune Up and will be replacing the Muffler and changing valve cover gasket.

I have some questions about the following.

I want to change the oil pan gasket, how hard is this? I just replaced the one in my 2004 Chevy Burban, Just 1 cross member and about 25 bolts. My concern is how much is in the way of the Prelude Oil Pan? when underneth what else should i be concerned about.

Timing belt, when should I be concerned about the changing of this belt. I’m not sure if it has been changed.

A/C doesn’t work. Is there something that goes out on the Prelude’s condenser or compressor? Is this a R12 or R134 system when built? Just would like to know where to start.

Color paint code. I can’t find the color code number on the door. It’s black and that’s about all I know.

Thanks in advance Richard A.

[spiffyguido]

A 4WS model? Nice find. Looking forward to seeing pics.

The oil pan gasket isn't that hard to change. There is a cross member in the way, but I believe it can be easily removed. You may even be able to remove the oil pan without removing the cross-member.

You do need to be concerned about the timing belt. If you don't know when it was last changed, and have no way to find out, you're going to have to inspect it. Since you're changing the valve cover gasket, you'll be able to have a quick look at the timing belt. The inspection steps for the timing belt are detailed on page 5-29 of the 1988 service manual (see manuals section at top of the screen). If you're able, I'd suggest changing the belt out in the near future unless it has been recently done. A snapped belt is a sure-fire way to a potentially ruined engine.

Uggh...AC problems. There's a lot of things that could go wrong. If the system can be turned on and the light on the AC button glows green, you might just need to have the system recharged. The stock refrigerant is R12. There is a troubleshooting guide starting on page 15-30 of the service manual. You can start by working through that.

If it's the stock black, that color is called 'Granada Black Pearl' and the code is: NH-503P.

Hope that helps!

[91darkness]

the refrigerant that is standard now is r134a, you will probably need to get the system flushed before it is recharged.