Going to look at a 5th gen Prelude any suggestions of what to look for?

kmancrx · #1 02-23-2005, 09:17 AM

I am going to look at a used 98 prelude SH. It has 77k miles. The guy is the second owner and bought it with 70K miles. He said he is selling it because he needed something bigger. He is asking 9200$ but he said it needs a new hood because he dented it up during a snowstorm here in NC. He said we could work something out if I liked it. Is there anything in particular that I should look for as far as problems in a prelude of that year or for the 5th gen preludes in general. He has an intake and headers and exhaust on the car. Will these mods detract and or make the engine life in someway shorter? Does this sound like too good of a deal? Most people wont let go of an SH for under 10 grand. I was hoping for 8500$ or so. If I like the car I will probably have it compression tested and looked at by my mechanic. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I like the preludes but I dont have enough money to be putting a new engine or transmission in one 6 months down the road either. (Like when I got duped into buying a used 300zx that had a bad engine) .

Also what will need to be done at the 80k maintenance? The guy said that the timing belt didnt need to be changed till 95k. I think that is bull does anyone know?

240SXLude · #2 02-23-2005, 09:48 AM

i was told the timing belt doesn't need to be changed till 110k.

Anyways like i've told people that are looking for preludes. My only advice is to drive a couple. Cuz I drove a 2001 prelude with 50k on it and it drove like crap compared to a 97 with 112k.

Maybe its just me but i would feel funny buying a car off someone thats willing to sell it after only putting 7k on it.

kmancrx · #3 02-23-2005, 10:37 AM

He said on the phone that at the time he really wanted the car. But after having it he needed something bigger that could fit four people comfortably? Is that a good reason?

kmancrx · #4 02-23-2005, 08:34 PM

I test drove a 99 base model at a dealership. I liked it but they were asking a bit too much for my wallet. It was a fun car to drive. I am going to see the other guys on Sunday probably. If anyone has any suggestions of things to look for please post.

I also drove a 2001 Integra LS 5sp. It was fun too. The prelude had a bit more go but the Integra was still nice.

crv-tec · #5 02-23-2005, 09:01 PM

If you want to mod it, don't get an SH. With their ATTS and OBD-2, you can't do anything until you go obd-1 and get the ATTS option out... a friend of mine has a 98 SH, while its a good car, the future possibles are expensive as you must pay to get that shit out....

predude · #6 02-23-2005, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmancrx

Also what will need to be done at the 80k maintenance? The guy said that the timing belt didnt need to be changed till 95k. I think that is bull does anyone know?

check out my ride below, its a 1st gen prelude. the best car i ever had. its got about 300k miles and timing belt hasnt been changed since new. believe it or not but thats no bull man.

Phunyguy · #7 02-24-2005, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crv-tec

If you want to mod it, don't get an SH. With their ATTS and OBD-2, you can't do anything until you go obd-1 and get the ATTS option out... a friend of mine has a 98 SH, while its a good car, the future possibles are expensive as you must pay to get that shit out....

- check out my cardomain link. it would have been more worth it to just buy a base model with the hell i went through. but you can buy mine for 6700 with all the work already done. i just want to get rid of it because I can't afford it anymore. my loss = your gain.

kmancrx · #8 02-24-2005, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crv-tec

If you want to mod it, don't get an SH. With their ATTS and OBD-2, you can't do anything until you go obd-1 and get the ATTS option out... a friend of mine has a 98 SH, while its a good car, the future possibles are expensive as you must pay to get that shit out....

I dont care to mod it much. I am looking for something fun yet reliable. Basic mods are already on the car. Intake exhaust and headers. He said that the first owner had a v-tec controller but he took it off. He is going to include it with the car.

BTW what sort of mods would require that the obd-2 and the ATTS be removed?

Phunyguy · #9 02-24-2005, 10:18 AM

an entire motor swap to a base model H22A4 motor - or a JDM H22A complete swap. on the SH model - everything was different down to the axles, tranny, engine block, ecu, everything. even the radiator to get rid of the cooling input and output holes for the ATTS unit. It would be in your best interest to get a base model rather than pay thousands more for the car just to take the thousands of dollars worth of parts out to put in thousands more dolllars of parts.

$0.02

llllllllll · #10 02-24-2005, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phunyguy

$0.02

just wondering whats that 2 cents means???

Phunyguy · #11 02-24-2005, 08:25 PM

just adding my 2 cents worth of information - you never heard that saying?

crv-tec · #12 02-26-2005, 01:10 PM

Or I've heard you can just swap out the h23 tranny. I've also heard a GSR ECU (p72?) would work. Bur overall your better off getting a type S. The only differences is the ATTS, and some body moldings.
If i remember correctly...

Phunyguy · #13 02-26-2005, 04:27 PM

please explain more in depth - i'm not following what you are suggesting...

OonePrelude · #14 02-26-2005, 05:00 PM

There is no Type S in the US. It was just the base model and Type SH, both use the same engine. The thing with the Type SH is it costs alot more to chance out the clutch because of the ATTS unit. The only reason to disable it is if you plan on FI. Once you start making alot of power you'll start having problems with the ATTS. All you have to do is pull the fuse for the system to disable it. You won't have to change out the ECU or get rid of the ATTS if all you plan to do is add bolt-ons.

Phunyguy · #15 02-26-2005, 09:28 PM

are you positive with those sugestions? i was under the impression that even pulling the fuse for the ATTS wouldn't matter because it is all clutch based inside and they start to slip. in fact im looking at the helms manual now.... aww lookit the little clutches - they are sooo cute... and they look so easy to break... the ATTS doesn't just turn into a sold chunk of metal when you pull the fuse - it is still a flimsey housing filled with transmission fluid, tiny clutches and springs, and other weak parts. which brings me back to my original point - the only way to go FI on a SH with a decent amount of boost is to swap in a base model engine combo (tranny, axles, etc) or just go with a base model to begin with.

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