Considering a Del Sol:things I should look out for?

Discussion in 'Del Sol' started by klijam64, Mar 4, 2005.

  1. klijam64

    klijam64 Guest

    Hi folks,
    My girlfriend is considering buying a 1994 Del Sol from a
    co-worker. Unfortunately at this time I'm not sure on the trim: if it's
    an 'S', 'Si', or Vtec... The car has ~90k on it, original owner, garage
    kept.
    Because I do most of the work on our vehicles, I'd like to be well
    informed before I go to look at it. I have briefly read some problems
    surrounding this Honda, like leaking roof seals. I'd like to hear some
    things you would check for/or ask about regarding a Del Sol before
    buying. Any other problematic parts of this car?
    Also more specifically, do all Del Sol engines have a timing belt,
    or chain? You'll have to excuse me, b/c my only Honda engine experiance
    has been with an F22A1 in a '90 Accord. I hope that it has been
    serviced, because I hate doing timing belts: my accord was a royal
    PITA.
    Anyways, anything outstanding that has caused you grief with your
    Del Sol?

    Thanks for any/all info you can provide; I'll post back with the exact
    model ASAP.

    Cheers!
    -Jamie
     
    klijam64, Mar 4, 2005
    #1
  2. klijam64

    John Ings Guest

    In Pennsyvania? Check the floorboards and doorsill for rust if it was
    driven in winter!
    It's due for a belt on milage and way overdue on time (belts need
    changing every 6 years). If it hasn't been changed, a scary price
    quoted by a dealer may be the reason it's for sale.
    DelSlows were a damn poor replacement for the hatchback CRX in my
    opinion!
     
    John Ings, Mar 4, 2005
    #2
  3. klijam64

    Dan Beaton Guest

    Anything unique to the car can be difficult and expensive to replace.
    Hence the concern about the window and door rubber.

    Del Sols are prone to rusting around the rear wheel arches, and the
    car should be carefully checked for body damage or rust.

    If well maintained and not abused, the engine and drive train should be
    fine. Do you have a full service history? If not well maintained or
    abused (tire smoking starts, redline on a cold engine), I wouldn't touch
    it.

    A Del Sol is a wonderful car on a warm day, but a little creaky and noisy,
    and being low to the ground, a little harder to get into.

    Dan (1993 Del Sol Si)

    (This account is not used for email.)
     
    Dan Beaton, Mar 4, 2005
    #3
  4. klijam64

    klijam64 Guest

    Dan,
    Regarding the wheel well rusting: is this due to a drain located
    there? I was told it was serviced regularly, but I'm still waiting to
    see the records myself.

    Thanks,
    -Jamie
     
    klijam64, Mar 4, 2005
    #4
  5. klijam64

    John Ings Guest

    Unibody cars are made of spot-welded sheet metal. When you spot weld 2
    or 3 downward pointing metal edges such as the rim of a wheel well or
    the lower edge of a doorsill, you create an area vulnerable to rust.
    The metal is close together along a considerable distance, but only
    actually attached in spots at intervals. Brine from the road wicks up
    into such cracks and undercoat has a hard time protecting an edge.

    The aftermarket anti-rust schemes often use a real skinny oil that is
    sprayed downward into such cracks from above to cure the problem. That
    works but it has to be redone annually.

    I don't know about a mid 90s Honda, but my 87 CRX had the most rust
    where the floor of the passenger compartment was folded down and
    spot-welded to the tubular doorsill. That's the edge visible where the
    jacking points are. The rear wheel well rims were also a rust haven.
    The carpets of a car driven in winter where salt is in use gets wet
    with brine from the driver's and passenger's footwear, and this damp
    brine-poultice can corrode the floor under it. With the car on a
    hoist, poke at the underside of the car with a philips screwdiver and
    see how many places it goes through!
     
    John Ings, Mar 4, 2005
    #5
  6. klijam64

    Dan Beaton Guest

    I am not aware of a drain. The rusting appears as bubbles in a straight
    line just above the rear wheel opening. As long as the car has not been
    painted recently, careful inspection should show it. There are other
    rust spots (door sill, floors, "B" pillar just above the window sill)
    but all Del Sols I have seen with rust had rust above the rear wheel
    wells, so it is the first place to look.

    I love the term "serviced regularly". For some people, it means that
    they took it into an oil change place twice a year (better than not
    taking it in, I suppose, but hardly adequate). For others, it means
    that they checked the oil every time that they got gas, and added
    more whenever it was low! For some, it means that they memorized
    the service recommendations in the manual, and plan trips to ensure
    that they never exceed a recommended service interval. This last
    group can be equally hazardous to the health of the vehicle,
    because they can "baby" their car to the point of never taking the
    engine above 4,000 rpm, let it idle 10 minutes to warm up before
    starting, etc.. 50,000 miles of that kind of driving, and then you
    take it out for a good run, even fully warmed up, hit red line a
    few times, and head to the garage for engine repairs. This isn't
    unique to the Del Sol of course, but small-displacement, high-
    performance (and tight-tolerance) engines will suffer more from
    this kind of "babying".

    Good luck.
    Dan

    (This account is not used for email.)
     
    Dan Beaton, Mar 5, 2005
    #6
  7. klijam64

    gmccx Guest

    In case you're still following this thread, I have owned a 95 VTEC for
    some time now and have found it very reliable so far. It's only got
    about 50K on it now though, and I have had the timing belt/water pump
    done once so far.

    Someone else may recall this more exactly, but at some point in the
    model history the roof seals were changed to a double seal with a
    channel in between. That is what mine has and it was stock on the 95.
    All I've ever done is put a little silicone grease on the seals every
    few months and it remains leak free.

    I owned an S model for a very short time before finding my one owner low
    mileage VTEC, and it was frankly a little slow for me (I drove a 79 RX-7
    for about 20 years prior). The SI seemed probably tolerable when I test
    drove one, but the VTEC would be my preference for obvious reasons.

    But then again, if she is buying something to drag race full time, this
    probably isn't the car she needs anyway. Ignore the 'delslow' comments
    as I do... it's just fine as a daily driver as far as I'm concerned and
    I generally like the dual personality being available, depending on
    whether the tac is kept below or above the 5000 mark.

    While it will likely be fine, let her sit in it and make sure the seat
    to pedals/steering wheel distance suits her. I have always wished the
    pedals were a little more distant when the seat is set for where I like
    the steering wheel.... but I'm a guy with fairly long legs.

    Otherwise, it's a high revving Honda, and they have a history of
    building engines like that pretty well.
     
    gmccx, Mar 8, 2005
    #7
  8. klijam64

    Bubba Guest

    I'm new to this group. Anyway, I have a 94 del Sol with 192,000+ miles
    on it. Just had the 2nd timing belt put on last weekend. The car runs
    great and I'm not easy on it either. At 100,000 miles I had a buddy of
    mine with me and we revved 1st gear to the rev-limiter, just to show him
    that it won't hurt. I get 45 MPG on the highway and can fill up for
    around $20.00, even with today's gas prices. No trouble with the roof
    seals ever leaking, but I had the '95 seals put in under warranty.
    Change the oil every 6000 miles or so and you'll be just fine. I plan
    on driving this car until it literally breaks down and then I'll do an
    engine swap with an Acura Type R engine. Oh yeah, one other thing. If
    you look under the hood, there should be a sticker that says, "Final
    Point of Assembly: Osaka, Japan" This is why my del Sol has lasted for
    so long.
     
    Bubba, Apr 27, 2005
    #8
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