plug wires and distributor cap question

[hondagirl23]

I have a thread called ''Tune up and Maintance Question'' but it is getting too long and i have a related question.
I have 150,000 miles and no tune up since 75,000. I went to get the plugs, rotor, and cap today. Went to honda for rotor and cap. Honda said don't worry about cap if there are no problems. They also suggested the same for wires. I got new plugs and rotor. I am wondering if I should get the cap anyway being it has 150,000 miles on it or wait til it gives me problems? Would it be worth it, if i had problems later and had to pay to find out that it was the cap? Wouldn't this be preventative maintanance or spending money needlessly? Am i making any sense?

[BullShifter]

I would replace the cap since it's going to be off. It's not like a cap costs a couple hundred, it's cheap might as well do it.

Like I said in your other post, we rarely replace plug wires on Honda's. If they visually don't look good, dry rotted or cracked then it's time for repacement. For those you can go to any parts store that carrys NGK wires or even www.summitracing.com they're about $20 from there. Honda I beleive sells them for around $65

[woofhaven]

Changing the cap is not preventative maintenance. You shouldn't need to replace it unless there are problems.

My '98 Accord has 175,000 miles with original rotor, cap, and wires -- no ignition problems.

These are not "regular maintenance" items but items to replace when they malfunction. It is true that they are cheap, so you may be tempted to replace them anyway, as jackassi suggests, but there are probably a hundred cheap parts on the car that could wear out on you someday. How do you choose which ones to replace? By relying on what some poster in an internet forum says?

Don't start down that path -- replace the parts that are on the maintenance schedule and save your money (large and small quantities alike) for real repairs when they arise.

[deaz]

Well, the rotor in my distributor cap was looking pretty bad. So I replaced that, and figured since i was replacing that, I ended up replacing the distributor cap. Never got around to the wires tho, which I would say are about due, even though they look decent.

[BullShifter]

Originally Posted by woofhaven

Changing the cap is not preventative maintenance. You shouldn't need to replace it unless there are problems.

My '98 Accord has 175,000 miles with original rotor, cap, and wires -- no ignition problems.

These are not "regular maintenance" items but items to replace when they malfunction. It is true that they are cheap, so you may be tempted to replace them anyway, as jackassi suggests, but there are probably a hundred cheap parts on the car that could wear out on you someday. How do you choose which ones to replace? By relying on what some poster in an internet forum says?

Don't start down that path -- replace the parts that are on the maintenance schedule and save your money (large and small quantities alike) for real repairs when they arise.

Replacing the cap before there is a problem is preventative, isn't it? Why replace only the rotor?

How do you choose which ones to replace? By relying on what some poster in an internet forum says?

Some of us are experienced in this field such as me working for one of the busiest Honda service deptartment in the US as a tech and service advisor dealing with thousands of vehicles.

[woofhaven]

Originally Posted by jackasssi

Replacing the cap before there is a problem is preventative, isn't it?

That's just a silly comment. You could say the same thing about any part on the car. Why not have her replace the ball joints as preventative maintenance? Or the brakes? At least those involve issues of safety.

Originally Posted by jackasssi

Why replace only the rotor?

You should leave out the word "only," to which I respond, "Don't," unless there is something wrong with it. By the time I posted, she had already purchased the rotor, though.

Originally Posted by jackasssi

Some of us are experienced in this field such as me working for one of the busiest Honda service deptartment in the US as a tech and service advisor dealing with thousands of vehicles.

What's your point? No one is allowed to disagree with you?

The team of engineers who designed the vehicle and then developed the service schedule won't be posting their resumes here. I am willing to take the outstanding quality of the vehicle as evidence of their credentials. If they say that the water pump, rotor, and cap do not need to be replaced as PM on the '98 accord, then I am going to take their advice. Clearly, you believe you know better, but I don't have any regrets about letting Hondagirl23 know that there is alternative viewpoint, which happens to be the official Honda position on the topic.