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So much trouble in the Legend . . .

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SetofAces

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I'd been missing my old '88 LS, so when it came time to sell my daily driver a week ago, I began looking for another one.

Unfortunately I bought the first one that I saw (89 coupe) come up at the local impound auctions . . . It's funny, they rolled back a couple other cars 'cause they didn't have more than one lug nut holding on at least one rim, but they didn't have a problem selling ME the legend, which nearly lost a rim as I took off in it the first time. Also, the auctioneer pushed this one out quick, so I missed a "few" problems that it has:

two windows stuck down (fixed the driver window, or rolled it up anyways; stuck on the rear one, gonna have to pull the whole track out I think . . .)

No ignition lock (had to start it with a screwdriver; just fixed this)

No keys (gonna have to have the cylinders swapped out of the door locks to match the ignition lock)

Bad axle (fixed)

Plus the usual assortment (broken driver external door handle, hood latches stuck open, broken rearview mirror etc. etc. ad nauseum). At least the main relay looks like it's been replaced . . .

The problem needing immediate attention is the headlights: I only have high beams; when I try to turn them off, I lose all the headlights, yet the high-beam indicator stays on . . . Any ideas? I'm hoping it's maybe just a relay or something, but don't really know where to start . . .
 
#3 ·
I'd first check all the fuses to make sure they are good. If they all come out fine, then I would check the combo switch. Take it apart and clean the points in there. Also make sure the bulbs on he headlights are good.
 
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Discussion starter · #4 ·
l4zy415 said:
I'd first check all the fuses to make sure they are good. If they all come out fine, then I would check the combo switch. Take it apart and clean the points in there. Also make sure the bulbs on he headlights are good.
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Yeah, that's what I was thinking, that it was a problem with the switch; I already tried replacing the relay (had the wrong one in there!) but no luck. Oh and all the fuses are good (if only it could always be that simple).

Unfortunately I have a much bigger problem now: this POS failed smog. Passed emissions on low speed but failed on high; no surprises there, nothing replacing an 02 sensor (and maybe running a little denatured alcohol if that doesn't do the trick) won't fix.

BUT it's much worse than that I'm afraid; it failed the EVAP test, and I'm not really sure where to start (beyond replacing the easily accessible lines to the charcoal canister) and I cannot afford to pay someone to diagnose it for me.

AND if that's not enough, the CEL isn't coming on -- not before startup, not at all. Looks like someone might have sabotaged it to help them sell it . . . unfortunately not the towyard that raped me for this car, so I have no recourse if I can't miraculously figure everything out and fix it.

Looks like pick'n'pull might be getting another legend soon . . . and I might be dropping out of school for lack of transportation while the lenders of my student loans begin to demand payment . . . fun thought.
 
#5 ·
Forgot to ask, have you checked your ECU for any codes? Its located under the passenger carpet of the footwell. For the check engine light, they probably removed the bulb behind the cluster. Its easy to get to.
 
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Discussion starter · #6 ·
l4zy415 said:
Forgot to ask, have you checked your ECU for any codes? Its located under the passenger carpet of the footwell. For the check engine light, they probably removed the bulb behind the cluster. Its easy to get to.
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Ok I fixed the headlights; some A$$HOLE switched the headlight and dimmer relays lol.

I'm glad that you pull codes like on other hondas under the carpet; I wasn't sure and I was thinking that you had to count blinks on the CEL itself (I think that's how my stang was, probably where I got the idea . . .)

As far as replacing the CEL bulb, could I do it without ripping the dash/cluster apart?

I'm gonna go check for codes now . . .
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
Since the seats are off, I noticed that the fuel pump is making an awful lotta racket . . . more than usual, I think it's gotten worse since I pulled the seats out. I don't suppose that there could be any correlation between a failing fuel pump and failing the evap?? I guess it seems like a stretch now that I've got it typed in from of me lol
 
#9 ·
Got get to the bulb, theres 4 screws holding the surrounding. 2 on the bottom, and 2 inside the surrounding. Then it should pop off. Unhook 6 plugs on the switches, then you should be able to reach behind the cluster where the bulbs are. The one blink means its checking for any bad sensor. If there's no other red blink, then you are good.
 
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Discussion starter · #10 ·
pulled the cover off last night and swapped some of the bulbs; unfortunately the bulbs were all good. I'm gonna have to troubleshoot it according to the manual, 'cause it's something else . . . .

Things just went from bad to even worse, I had bought a stock legend rim from the junkyard that was the wrong style, so after I found the correct one I went earlier to have the tires swapped out and the wheel balanced.

OF COURSE, when they put the wheel back on one of only 2 good remaining lug studs snapped off. Now I have to get another hub/knuckle assembly from the junkyard.

I've never in my life had luck this bad with a car, EVER. I'm gonna pull my damn hair out by the time this car is done, and that's saying something -- 'cause I have short hair . . . .
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Went to pick-n-pull twice this weekend; couldn't get the hub assembly off of a SINGLE car.

In the past, I've always used a jack to break loose the lower ball joint; never had any problems doing it this way. Of course, they wouldn't let me take a jack in the yard, so I was stuck trying to use their engine hoist -- I wish I could take the pic off of my phone of the car hanging 5 feet in the air (the hoist would only compress the suspension for an inch or two before lifting the car).

I only resorted to this after about an hour of trying to pry the lower ball joint apart (on several different cars mind you) with my ball joint seperator, which is now too twisted up to use.

So at this point I suppose my only option is to take the hub down to the machine shop and pay them $45 to seperate it just so that I can replace the lug studs . . . and my machinist says that the hub bearing is generally destroyed in the process, so that's another $95 that I don't have.

So then . . . IF I actually fix everything, IF the car passes smog, and IF I can come up with the money to register the car, I'll be into it a good $600 or so more than I could ever hope to recoup from the sale of the car -- I figure it can't be worth much more than $700 fixed up (salvage title). Maybe I'm wrong . . . Either way, this is without a doubt THE WORST car that I have ever bought . . . and I've bought about 15-20 cars in my life, most of them beaters.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
:woot:

Finally something's gone right (knock on wood) . . . I managed to cut a groove into the hub with a dremel, drill and die grinder, all the way through the disc shroud to the edge of the hub allowing me to replace the lug studs without having the hub split (which would have left me replacing the bearing). I still have much work to do though . . .

Tomorrow I will try to come up with the money for temp reg; once I do that, there's no going back (as if there still existed a chance of me bailing out of this nightmare project) until she's done and I've racked up at least 20k on her (It's a losing proposition, so it only makes sense if I get at least a year of use out of her).

Still leaves big problems: The rear window is a pressing issue, since it's supposed to rain later; plus there were a few things I skipped through to test the hub bearing (I didn't replace or reinstall any of the cotter pins on the ball joints, and the ball joint that connects the rack to the hub gave me trouble -- I couldn't get that castle nut all the way on, I may have cross-threaded it). After that, the biggest issue is getting it to pass smog.
 
#13 ·
I hate smog. If they see a single smoke come out of the exhaust, they're gonna fail you automatically.
 
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Discussion starter · #14 ·
l4zy415 said:
I hate smog. If they see a single smoke come out of the exhaust, they're gonna fail you automatically.
Click to expand...
My usual shop has been pretty lenient in the past -- like they'll overlook obvious visual fails, like aftermarket intakes without a CARB sticker -- as long as it passes emissions.

That guy also hooked me up a couple times, passing a 5.0 that I had a year ago that shouldn't have passed, and my starion (the motor is very very tired, I don't think it should've passed . . . in fact the guy asked if I was a cop before handing me my paperwork, so it's obvious he hooked me up).

I just wish he'd hook me up now, since I'm too broke to pay someone to fix it to pass EVAP and I don't know if I can do it myself . . .
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
Well, she got her first (and very likely last) upgrade yesterday; I had a BIG spectre air filter that wass on my 5.0 when I bought it last year, and I needed to replace the intake tube (was cracked). I picked up an intake tube from the junkyard (told them it was an AC duct lol, only paid $5 vs. the $37 they charge for an intake tube), and noticed that the air filter fit on the end.

Soo, I pulled the old one out, ground the ridge where the clamp goes to hold the tube to the airbox down on the new one, and clamped the air filter to the intake tube. After pulling the airbox out I put the tube on; it had to go in a a bit of an angle rather than verticle, but it fits. I love the sound of the intake now; something about the sound of a throaty V6 has always captivated me.

Well I guess that's about as far as I'm going to go with modding the legend; I had wanted to upgrade the suspension, but the little research that I've done suggests that while it is possible to lower it with accord parts, there is no way to correct the camber.

This looks like a huge issue to me.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but lowering a car without correcting the camber results in positive camber, yes? The guy that did it claimed an improvement in handling, but haw could a car handle better with positive camber? As the suspension compresses, it creates positive camber, the reason all the road racers set of their car with negative camber (so that the tire contact patch increases as the tire becomes completely parallel to the road when the suspension compresses during hard cornering). Is there no way to correct for this? And am I right about lowering the car giving it positive camber? because if that's true than the loss of traction must outweigh the benefits in quicker turn in/ less body-roll etc. from lowering the car . . .
 
#16 ·
When you lower the car, it creates more negative camber. The top part of the wheel will start to go inward towards the frame of the car. It does give better handling, but you'll wear out the tires quicker. I've lowered the front only because on the 86-88 sedan, we don't have a stiffer shock for the rear. It'll bottom out and blow the shocks in an instant.
 
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l4zy415
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