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Considering a Del Sol:things I should look out for?
Hi folks,
My girlfriend is considering buying a 1994 Del Sol from a co-worker. Unfortunately at this time I'm not sure on the trim: if it's an 'S', 'Si', or Vtec... The car has ~90k on it, original owner, garage kept. Because I do most of the work on our vehicles, I'd like to be well informed before I go to look at it. I have briefly read some problems surrounding this Honda, like leaking roof seals. I'd like to hear some things you would check for/or ask about regarding a Del Sol before buying. Any other problematic parts of this car? Also more specifically, do all Del Sol engines have a timing belt, or chain? You'll have to excuse me, b/c my only Honda engine experiance has been with an F22A1 in a '90 Accord. I hope that it has been serviced, because I hate doing timing belts: my accord was a royal PITA. Anyways, anything outstanding that has caused you grief with your Del Sol? Thanks for any/all info you can provide; I'll post back with the exact model ASAP. Cheers! -Jamie |
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#3
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Anything unique to the car can be difficult and expensive to replace. Hence the concern about the window and door rubber. Del Sols are prone to rusting around the rear wheel arches, and the car should be carefully checked for body damage or rust. If well maintained and not abused, the engine and drive train should be fine. Do you have a full service history? If not well maintained or abused (tire smoking starts, redline on a cold engine), I wouldn't touch it. A Del Sol is a wonderful car on a warm day, but a little creaky and noisy, and being low to the ground, a little harder to get into. Dan (1993 Del Sol Si) (This account is not used for email.) ) writes: > Hi folks, > My girlfriend is considering buying a 1994 Del Sol from a > co-worker. Unfortunately at this time I'm not sure on the trim: if it's > an 'S', 'Si', or Vtec... The car has ~90k on it, original owner, garage > kept. > Because I do most of the work on our vehicles, I'd like to be well > informed before I go to look at it. I have briefly read some problems > surrounding this Honda, like leaking roof seals. I'd like to hear some > things you would check for/or ask about regarding a Del Sol before > buying. Any other problematic parts of this car? > Also more specifically, do all Del Sol engines have a timing belt, > or chain? You'll have to excuse me, b/c my only Honda engine experiance > has been with an F22A1 in a '90 Accord. I hope that it has been > serviced, because I hate doing timing belts: my accord was a royal > PITA. > Anyways, anything outstanding that has caused you grief with your > Del Sol? > > Thanks for any/all info you can provide; I'll post back with the exact > model ASAP. > > Cheers! > -Jamie > |
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Dan,
Regarding the wheel well rusting: is this due to a drain located there? I was told it was serviced regularly, but I'm still waiting to see the records myself. Thanks, -Jamie Dan Beaton wrote: > Anything unique to the car can be difficult and expensive to replace. > Hence the concern about the window and door rubber. > > Del Sols are prone to rusting around the rear wheel arches, and the > car should be carefully checked for body damage or rust. > > If well maintained and not abused, the engine and drive train should be > fine. Do you have a full service history? If not well maintained or > abused (tire smoking starts, redline on a cold engine), I wouldn't touch > it. > > A Del Sol is a wonderful car on a warm day, but a little creaky and noisy, > and being low to the ground, a little harder to get into. > > Dan (1993 Del Sol Si) |
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#6
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I am not aware of a drain. The rusting appears as bubbles in a straight line just above the rear wheel opening. As long as the car has not been painted recently, careful inspection should show it. There are other rust spots (door sill, floors, "B" pillar just above the window sill) but all Del Sols I have seen with rust had rust above the rear wheel wells, so it is the first place to look. I love the term "serviced regularly". For some people, it means that they took it into an oil change place twice a year (better than not taking it in, I suppose, but hardly adequate). For others, it means that they checked the oil every time that they got gas, and added more whenever it was low! For some, it means that they memorized the service recommendations in the manual, and plan trips to ensure that they never exceed a recommended service interval. This last group can be equally hazardous to the health of the vehicle, because they can "baby" their car to the point of never taking the engine above 4,000 rpm, let it idle 10 minutes to warm up before starting, etc.. 50,000 miles of that kind of driving, and then you take it out for a good run, even fully warmed up, hit red line a few times, and head to the garage for engine repairs. This isn't unique to the Del Sol of course, but small-displacement, high- performance (and tight-tolerance) engines will suffer more from this kind of "babying". Good luck. Dan (This account is not used for email.) ) writes: > Dan, > Regarding the wheel well rusting: is this due to a drain located > there? I was told it was serviced regularly, but I'm still waiting to > see the records myself. > > Thanks, > -Jamie > > Dan Beaton wrote: >> Anything unique to the car can be difficult and expensive to replace. >> Hence the concern about the window and door rubber. >> >> Del Sols are prone to rusting around the rear wheel arches, and the >> car should be carefully checked for body damage or rust. >> >> If well maintained and not abused, the engine and drive train should > be >> fine. Do you have a full service history? If not well maintained or >> abused (tire smoking starts, redline on a cold engine), I wouldn't > touch >> it. >> >> A Del Sol is a wonderful car on a warm day, but a little creaky and > noisy, >> and being low to the ground, a little harder to get into. >> >> Dan (1993 Del Sol Si) > |
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In article >,
gmccx > wrote: I'm new to this group. Anyway, I have a 94 del Sol with 192,000+ miles on it. Just had the 2nd timing belt put on last weekend. The car runs great and I'm not easy on it either. At 100,000 miles I had a buddy of mine with me and we revved 1st gear to the rev-limiter, just to show him that it won't hurt. I get 45 MPG on the highway and can fill up for around $20.00, even with today's gas prices. No trouble with the roof seals ever leaking, but I had the '95 seals put in under warranty. Change the oil every 6000 miles or so and you'll be just fine. I plan on driving this car until it literally breaks down and then I'll do an engine swap with an Acura Type R engine. Oh yeah, one other thing. If you look under the hood, there should be a sticker that says, "Final Point of Assembly: Osaka, Japan" This is why my del Sol has lasted for so long. |
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