AM I MAKING A RIGHT CHOICE ?

[wurlycorner]

Also, short journeys won't break the main relay - but if it's already broken they will make the problem obvious!

Yes, that's what I meant, it won't break it but it generally only tends to show up then - breaking down mid journey is very very very very (get the picture ) rare but it does show up on short frequent journeys.

I guess the difference is on a long journey, the relay heats up, the joint gradually opens up and the resistance goes up but you need less current to maintain the relay in a closed state than to pull it in in the first place, so it stays in place. When you switch it off though, the joint remains partially open (high resistance) and doesn't pass enough current to bring the relay in (until it's cooled down again and resistance has dropped).

[Doobie]

I am getting around 35mpg out of my 2.0i auto on mainly short 10-20 mile trips but I rarely give it beans and just cruise about which is what the car is best for IMHO. 70mph is 3100 rpm so pretty relaxed and the Prelude is a very comfortable place to be. The only complaint I would have is the turning circle is rubbish.
It is so much better than a Peugeot though.....

[Donald]

the gearbox sump plug is on the side of the gearbox, you just undo it and take it out to release the old fluid, then put the new oil in through the same place.

[Lude-baz]

So short journeys will tend to have more wear on the main relay causing it to fail also like stop n starts will have same effect, lol what ever happens I know u guys be here for me to talk to so that one less thing to worry about I can't wait to get insured on it I keep looking in to the drive way think mmmmmm when is next month going to end and my insurance be due, lol

[h10ndr]

You forgot to mention the coil in the distributor. .. these go at about 10yrs / 100k miles

[Lude-baz]

So the distributor cap, and coil pack will need doing all I got was old mot's but I dnt want to throw money at it yet il do the full service and gear oil and see what more it need I can live with the odd squeak, I learnt from my peugeot not to throw to much money at it, baring I'm mind it 19 years old hope it serves me better than the peugeot, also is the cv boot easy to change as mind does have a rip ?

[mercutio]

don't worry about the gearbox oil just yet buddy just service the car drive the car see how the gearbox is doing sometimes they are better left well enough alone

[Lude-baz]

How would I know when to replace the gear box oil, and is it easy to so the cv boot on these being a auto I'm worried about the drive shaft coming out the box but would it have to be in neutral for it to pop out the box, also is it worth replacing it just the boot that split or just drive it till it starts to make a noise then replace all shaft, just don't want to start spending money on it b4 driving it,

[mercutio]

pull the dipstick in the autobox if the oil in there is dark brown and smells burnt then it will need changing but saying that if the box is changing smoothly I am not sure if its worth doing 4g autoboxes hardly ever fail

[Lude-baz]

What do you guys think about my cv boot there is a spilt so shall I leave it and replace the whole shaft once it need replacing, as I don't want to spend money in it till I really need to so any thoughts how much a shaft will cost and how long this one will last its making no noises at the moment