2004 Honda Accord Coupe

January 2025

I got this car on January 4, 2025. It starts, runs, shifts, but it is tired after 240,000 miles. I will replace fluids, install new brake pads, rotors, check alignment, and more as required.

1/7 New battery. The old one was ready to explode, venting hydrogen gas in a sulfuric acid fog.

The car starts. I let it run, warm up, then I changed the oil and filter.

The filter is tucked away, hard to reach. I snaked an oil filter wrench up into a space to the left of the filter, used two hands to get the filter loose, then I could spin it off.

Here is the old filter with oil wrench around it.

While under the car, I inspected the underbody. Not much rust, brake lines clean, some welds on the exhaust, as ugly as the ones I make, more welding needed, and one torn axle boot.


1/8 The key fob doesn't lock or unlock doors or trunk. I suspect the key fob battery. I got a 2-pack of CR1616's on Amazon.


I got the battery in but later I found that the key fob locks the passenger door but not the driver's door. I will have to get a new lock actuator for that door if I want to control the lock with the key.

1/12 The engine whines when cold so I flushed the power steering fluid, replaced it with Honda Power Steering fluid. I opened the P/S reservoir, found fluid level low. With a syringe, I could barely get a few drops to check for color.

See drawing below. I removed the upper hose on the reservoir by pinching and sliding back the hose clamp with needle nose pliers. I put a cap on the return hose tube by slipping a short piece of rubber hose capped with a small bolt and taped with blue tape. I put the return hose into a jar and turned the tires from lock to lock with the car on the lift. This yielded about a half pint of fluid and no more.

I knew there must be more fluid in the system so I pulled the fuel pump fuse from the fuse block inside the car near the clutch pedal. I had my son crank the engine in short bursts while I carefully topped up the reservoir with fresh fluid. Fluid ran into the container on each crank. Once the fluid ran clear, I topped up the reservoir, reattached the return hose, installed the fuel pump fuse, and had my son start the engine, again in short bursts because the fluid quickly descended in the reservoir. After about 4 cycles, the reservoir held its level at maximum. The engine runs cold now without whining.

1/13 I rotated the tires, rear to front, front to rear, and checked each tire with a bubble balancer. One wheel needed a 0.75 oz weight to balance it.

1/15 I titled and registered the car. I needed to get the car on the road for a test drive. There is a significant shudder in the front left wheel when braking. It could be rotor, ball joints, pads, caliper, alignment. The car goes with power, shifts, stops, steers. There is a slight pull to the right. The heater blower is intermittent. The car starts every time, is not throwing any codes.

I replaced windshield wipers.

I looked at the clutch push rod above the clutch pedal. I don't see any fluid leaking but the reservoir was low, so where is the fluid going? The clutch pedal engages near the floor. I'm used to a higher engagement point in the old Civics.

I bled the clutch system thus flushing it with fresh fluid. I didn't see any air bubbles. Here is the tiny clutch reservoir, to the left of the brake fluid reservoir.

The slave cylinder.

1/17-20

I overhauled the brakes. I suspected this rotor of causing the shudder when braking. The dial indicator says the rotor is true enough, 0.002" runout. Max is 0.004".

 

I changed it anyway, as well as the pads. The inner pad from the rotor above had a chunk out of it.

I removed the caliper bracket.

I renewed the bracket by pulling the caliper slide pins, wiping them clean with paper towels and lubricating the pins with silicone brake lubricant.

Here is the new left rotor with bracket ready for new pads.

The right front rotor had a rusted screw that I stripped trying to remove it with a cordless impact driver. I tried to extract the screw with a screw extractor but the extractor bit broke off, embedded in the screw... so I used extreme measures and ground off the head of the screw with the angle grinder.

Here is the new right front rotor with pads. Shiny. The red goo is CRC Disc Brake Quiet.


The rear pads were new to me, always had rear drums before. The right rear went well enough. Pry the caliper jaws off with a screwdriver.

The piston must be screwed into the bore, here with needle nose pliers, to make room for the new pads.

 

Pads go in, with new clips.

Lubricated slider pins and pad ears.

 

The left rear caliper had a very stubborn piston but I finally got the piston in far enough to accept new pads. (I made a simple turning tool by bending a piece of 1" bar stock.)

I bled all the lines clockwise from left front to left rear but first I removed as much old brake fluid as I could from the master cylinder reservoir. I pried the filter from the reservoir so I could get  a turkey baster down into the reservoir.

I sucked out about 120 mL

I continuously filled the reservoir with fresh new fluid while my son and I bled all the wheels, used almost a quart of brake fluid so I believe it was a complete flush.

Here is the left rear wheel with catch bottle hanging from a wheel stud.

I took the car out for a test drive. The severe shudder from the front wheel was gone. There seemed to be a bit of vibration which improved as I drove, about 10 miles.

I found the problem with the intermittent heater blower: the electrical connector has a broken tab so that it doesn't click into place. I secured the connector by wrapping electrician's tape around the connector and the lower blower housing. (The tape did not last long, had to replace the tape with a piece of iron wire.)

1/21 Went shopping. No problems. Big trunk. There may be a slight rumble somewhere. Brakes bedding in? Old tires? DOT code on the tires is not standard, does not end with 4 numbers indicating week and year of manufacture. New tires in the spring. I know what it's like trying to mount tires in cold weather. I wrote a song about it.

All the Fun

1/23 There is a power steering fluid leak somewhere, does not appear to be leaking at the steering rack boots or at the power steering pump. The area under the reservoir is damp, presumably with power steering fluid.

1/24. I cleaned off all the leaked P/S fluid and let the car sit all day. Later there was fresh P/S fluid under the reservoir. I pulled the reservoir off its tab leaving the hoses still connected. I put a plastic container under the reservoir to catch fluid, to confirm the reservoir is leaking.

1/25 I checked the catch bowl this morning.

A few mL a day will add up. I ordered a new reservoir. I hope this is the only leak in the P/S system!

The car pulls a little to the right, better than to the left. I measured toe with a tape measure as I have done on other cars. I will not provide that method, since it is not recommended in auto manuals. A youtube search will satisfy the curious. Before adjustment, I measured about 1/8" toe out. I extended the right side tie rod by finding the jam nut:

and loosening it:

Then I unscrewed the inner tie rod end about one full turn, to correct the toe out, and I tightened the jam nut. A test drive showed slightly less pull to the right. I measured toe again to find about 1 mm toe in, withing spec.  I'll check toe again after the new brakes have worn in.

1/26 The new reservoir arrived. I sucked out most of the fluid from the old reservoir with a syringe, to minimize spills. Hoses off the old, onto the new, clipped reservoir in place on its tab. I turned the steering wheel with the front wheels off the ground, lock to lock, several times. This is supposed to bleed the system. I started the car, topped up the reservoir while it was running.

February 2025

2/1 No P/S fluid leaking as far as I can see.

I got direct evidence and location of the reservoir leak by filling the old reservoir with water and letting it sit on the work bench. See the drops of water near the mounting slot.

I changed the plugs. I removed the cap nuts from the spark plug cover. No big problems. Like other Hondas I have worked on, bolts and nuts usually break free and spin off by hand.

I did one plug at a time, starting on the passenger side coil. I unplugged the connector to the coil, then removed the coil bolt.

The coil.


I blew compressed air into the spark plug hole to clear it of any dust or debris that might fall into the cylinder.

With a spark plug wrench, ratchet and extension, I loosened the spark plug until its threads were clear, then pulled out the plug with a rubber insert inside the spark plug wrench. Plugs old and new.


The old plugs look like they have plenty of life in them but I don't know how old they are. I'll keep the old ones for emergency spares. Or make jewelry out of the platinum and iridium metals.

I measured each spark plug electrode gap with feeler gauges before I installed it. These are supposed to be the correct gap. If not, return the plug, says the manual. All the plugs were correct.

The old plug was easy to unscrew. Then I lowered in a new plug, let it drop the last couple inches. I screwed the new plug in, starting it carefully so as not to cross thread the plug. Then I tightened it to the torque spec in the manual.


Then I replace the coil, insert and tighten the coil bolt. Here I tighten the second plug coil bolt, according to torque spec.


I did the other plugs the same way, then replaced the cover.

I started the car to verify that everything worked. Starts.

The odometer reading, for my records. I'll need new plugs at 342400 miles. The Trip odometer A shows the miles I have put on the car so far.



2/4

This 20-year old rims look 20 years old.

I sanded the bumpy inner surfaces with an air sander while wearing an N95 mask, until it was smooth enough. The front had lost some plating and was somewhat pitted at the edge of the rim.

I wire brushed away all the loose plating.

I washed the surfaces with Dawn detergent solution, rinsed well with the hose, set the wheels in the sun to dry. When dry, I primed the wheels one at  a time using cardboard cards to minimize overspray.


After the primer dried, about 10 minutes, I sprayed Rustoleum Wheel paint. First wheel done.

 All four wheels.


2/5

Wheels on.


2/7 I found black goop behind the boot of the slave cylinder! Could this be why the clutch engages so low?
Here is the old cylinder with a 10mm line wrench ready to detach the hydraulic line. I sprayed PB Blaster on the rusty line nut, let is sit for a time before trying to turn the nut.


I used extensions and a universal joint to remove the 12mm mounting bolts. A rag keeps brake fluid off the engine parts.


Here is some of the goop inside the boot.

Old and new cylinders. Also shown, silicone lube for the end of the push rod.

The new cylinder, lubed and ready to install.



Installed. I was puzzled by the 17mm nut under the hydraulic line fitting. I had to put a wrench on that nut as I tightened the line nut. Repair instructions referred to roll pins required for installation.


It turns out the new cylinder came with small, hollow roll pins already installed. See the two holes below the 17mm nut in the picture.


My son and I bled the clutch system twice before the clutch pedal worked again, and it still engages low. The clutch works, feels smoother but still stiff.