Hi
I am very attached to my Honda but almost every year I have to fix the AC - the Matsushita compressor - remanufactured does not usually last over a year - this time it lasted for 1.5 years. The rest of car still runs okay - I am on my 2nd engine with over 300,000 miles - the engine does burn oil - recently got the valve gasket cover replaced again. The mechanics said it still smokes but probably can go for another 100,000 miles if I am lucky. Some rust spots on the body - I plan to get those removed and coated with primer until I can afford a car paint. I will be sending Honda a poem about my car hoping they will give me a free auto paint job! My car never stops in a dangerous place and has saved me from a lot of potential serious accidents. It had 16 miles on it when I got it new and my Dad passed away on Sep 16 - I always feel that he watches over me/us in my car. I feel that the car has the spirit of a Japanese warrior and his real name is Honda San which means Lord in Japanese. I would like to keep this car forever but my husband is very concerned about safety - breakdowns, no airbag and also about finances. I am not sure that fixing this car is that much more money than car payments - but the AC is a recurring problem. So I wonder if you know of any portable car ACs I can use for 6-9 months in Florida. I feel if I can solve this problem I can cope with the other ones. If I cannot find a solution I would be willing to give the car to an animal charity if they will promise not to sell the car as a whole - they can sell parts and keep the money for the animals but I do not want anyone else driving my car - if they can then I can so why would I give it up. If I can have a picture of homeless animals in my car on a website and this will help them to find homes I can cope with the grief of losing my car and have some closure. I already tried one organization but they have a different way of handling car donations. The mechanics said I can take it to a junkyard and watch them destroy the car and take the cash and give it to a charity but then if the car is drivable someone can use it - I want to use it but no AC is not an option in Florida. There is a guy on one of the Honda owner websites that has a Honda with a million miles! Would it make a difference if I used a NEW Matsushita compressor? If so do you know if there are any available 1990s?
Properly done, you should not be experiencing constant compressor failures. As to what’s killing them I have no idea but can pose some possibilities.
Improper amount of refrigerant oil.
Drier not replaced.
System not properly flushed.
System has blockage leading to high head pressure.
Cooling fan problem which can also lead to the one above this.
Improper tightening of A/C belt. (IF the failures are related to the compressor clutch and not the compressor body.)
There are others but this should get the ball rolling.
@ok4450 is, as is usually the case, correct.
I’ll add, don’t paint the car. It’ll be a tremendous waste of money. Early 90’s and before Hondas rust at what seems like the speed of light. Once you see the rust, it’s too late. Even if you have the rust sanded away and primer it, etc, it will pop back up in a year or two. Rust is generally what kills Hondas from that era, barring things like wrecks. The only real way around it is to have the rust cut out entirely and to have a patch panel welded in, e-coated, and painted professionally - but even then, if the guy doesn’t do it just right, you’ll get rust there again before too long.
Had a guy in my car club get 450,000 on his CRX before the unibody rusted so badly that the car bent in half. The original engine still ran perfectly.