JUST NEED SOME ADVICE AND ACTIONS

[Lude-baz]

Hello guys me again lol ( I hear you all say " not again") , anyway I just been thinking about my prelude today at work, my thoughts are this, my sump seems abit rusty I have pressed on the rust and it seems not totally rusted, seems abit solid would it be possible to get away with a lick of black paint to save it from corroding more, it is nearly 20 years old, also another issue I have is I been reading on auto boxes failing on preludes, mine is a 4G and the oil seen nice clean and red, my third question is how do I check if my cam belt needs replacing the alternator belt and another belt that is viable seems in good nick no cracks in them but how do I check the cambelt, the two previous owners seemed like old boys one was a doctor and the other old guy owned it for 13 years but had to give it up due to being ill and not being able to drive its only done 118000 on the clock and my brother said it drives smooth but I want to make sure the 3 questions above are ok before I drive it, as I want to insure it next month, I like Donald have owned a pug before this prelude so I am very parinoid as my pug had problems and when driving I was making sure every noise it made was nothing serious, thanks guys all advice is welcome cheers

[Donald]

The French have put the willies (or their willies) up you

Unless you have any sort of service history that can tell you when it was last done, might you not want to do it for piece of mind?

[wurlycorner]

Paint the sump if you're worried, it won't do any harm. They aren't known for rusting through.

4th gen lude boxes aren't known for going, its the 5th's that are troublesome so don't worry about that.

If you don't have any service history, you'd have to assume the cambelt is due - there's no way of looking at it and being sure it's ok. Doing it is not cheap though and you say you're not looking to sink money into the car, maybe run it for a year and then move onto a better one, IIRC? In which case you might like to just leave it and see how you go.

[Sailor]

my sump seems abit rusty I have pressed on the rust and it seems not totally rusted, seems abit solid would it be possible to get away with a lick of black paint to save it from corroding more

It's probably only surface rust. The inside should be OK, what with the protective oil coating and all, but may have sticky stuff in it. I'm with Donald: for peace of mind, why not check it out properly? Drop the sump, clean it out, get rid of the oxide bloom and Hammerite it.

also another issue I have is I been reading on auto boxes failing on preludes, mine is a 4G and the oil seen nice clean and red

If it works OK, leave it alone.

the alternator belt and another belt that is viable seems in good nick no cracks in them

You don't know how old they are, so if you're that worried, replace them. If not, just keep on eye on them.

how do I check if my cam belt needs replacing ... 118000 on the clock and my brother said it drives smooth

Smooth or not, if you've no way of knowing when the belt was last replaced (as it should have been by now), get it done. What engine is it, by the way? You might have to budget around £250.

[Lude-baz]

Mine is a 2.0i auto, I don't really want to sink money in to it if I find a better Honda prelude or i got my mind on a integra type r, so I replaced the cv boot and track rod end, I just want to keep it to basic maintence at the moment as I want to run it for a year till my insurance drops again, just don't want problems to begin before I even started lol , it's a French thing isn't it Donald, lol they make ur mind tick 24/7 like a pug bomb lol kaaaaaa booooom

[Lude-baz]

What does IIRC mean wurleycorner, sorry lol

[paul bristol uk]

If I Recall Correctly

[Lude-baz]

Thanks Paul, yeah your right wurleycorner I don't want to stick to much money in to it aslong it serves me a year or till I can get a better car il drive it as it is, I have done the main things that needed doing ie; cv boot and track rod end, I only got the car for £250 so spending another £250 on it won't be worth it as I am just thinking of keeping it a year hopefully so we all settled lol hammerite sump, leave the gear box alone, and leave the cambelt alone, mite have a sneaky peak at it tho see if it hasn't shread under cover, my French side is coming out now, pug what have you done to me

[mercutio]

I would do as you say just rub down and hammerite the sump leave the gearbox alone if you start to tart it up and you probably will painting the rocker cover is the normal starting point so when your removing that you can check the cambelt.

[Lude-baz]

True merc, just want to see if the belt below is fairly
New or in good nick, I'm In 2 minds about doing it up as I just want the car for a year till my insurance goes down and find myself a better honda or a integra type r, so I don't think il tart her up lol I got the original wheel trims on her to, but will carry on maintaining her basically as normal no hefty repairs as I don't plan to keep her no more than a year, as long as I get a year of trouble less driving il be the most happy driver ever, my pug gave me so much problems, ie; engine, exhaust, bushes, track rods, ball joints, mounts, lol the list goes on, so hope this doesn't give me problems I don't think il be driving like a racing driver in this most likely just to cruise around at normal speed and look after her, and maintain the basics that need to be done, I have been told it's not French its jap so no more worries like I had lol well I got on the bad start to motoring which was buying a peugeot for first car and forever leaving me scared for life, but hope this jap beauty can win my heart of Japanese cars, thank guys for listening to me lol I might write a book one day, PREDITOR PUG AND THE NEW DRIVER lol