My partners father is looking at buying one of these.

51 Plate 70k FHSH

Does anyone know of any common issues or things to look out for?

Cheers

Chris

 

The inlet cam rear oil seal weeps.

People stuffing them into 5th can bend the selectors, making engagement tricky & thrid can get scrunchy.

Oil consumption may be high, due to early-FRM bores wearing. And that oil seal.

Usual Honda brake/droplink issues.

That's abot it.

 

PM bassoctopuss

 

Hello......

We've had one for the past 4 yrs. It's now on 100k and we've done 40k in it.

1. Gearbox - 5th gear synchro is better on the post facelift (2001), but still not the strongest. Fine if driven sensibly, can be problematic if the change has been rushed.
2. Clutch - put it under hill start load. Does it groan? If so it's on the way out.
3. Timing belt tensioner. Listen to it at tickover when warm. If it sounds like a diesel, you'll need to change it and you might as well do the belt and water pump at the same time.
4. Oil leaks - as mentioned before - camshaft end seal. I also had a gear selector oil leak which took months to diagnose. Not expensive though.
5. Front engine mount - not expensive but it will be almost certainly split at 70k and makes a massive difference to the handling. Get it checked and change if necessary. Don't be tempted by aftermarket as they make the car vibrate at tickover. Go for OEM.
6. Throttle cables get sticky and are easy to change at around £60. Makes quite a difference to the driving experience


We absolutely love ours, great performance and very good economy when not being thashed. We average 30mpg in ours and I drive a lot of quick twisties, but not much town driving.

Please ask if you need any more advice. These things are cheap as chips these days and worth every penny.

 

I regularly clean the TB & pour WD40 & 3 in 1 down the throttle cable. It can be a PIA to drive, but it's true of many Hondas.

Yes, the front & side mounts can separate. I'd forgotten that. Don't do wheelspins.

They were absolutely brilliant cars in their day (the sort of reliability/longevity to make their posh rivals lay down & weep), only lacking 4WS in which case they would have been unstoppable.

Honda would still have f ucked it up & ended up with the current model, though.

 

Thanks guys

Going to have a look on Saturday. Will let you know how it goes.

 

i used to have a H22 prelude and a mate of mine has a ATR

common problems as mentioned above are 5th gear synchro, at low revs normally fine so you might have to give it some beans on a dually and try it at high revs from 4th to 5th if the owner will let you, reverse synchro's can be a issue,

my friends had the flexible rear brake pipes fail so worth a look at that,

usual recaro interior problems with drivers seat bolsters wearing,

 

Completely disagree with you on the seats.

Our Teg and S2000 both suffered from collapsed bolsters. However the ATR drivers seat at 104k has no signs of wear whatsoever (except a bit of bobbling on the alcantara).

These are identical to the seats fitted to the Mitsi Evo Makinnen edition and are by far the nicest car seats I have ever sat in.

Don't be worried by the LSD being noisy out of junctions. They all do that sir

 

Have to agree on the seats, even with the annoying auto recline function

All the major pitfalls have been covered above, I think your future father in law will be pleasantly surprised at just how well an atr can be hussled along, I miss both of mine still.

 

It is the best compromise of space, performance, handling, fuel economy and running costs I've ever driven. And the steering is superb.

And with the best now being worth no more than £4500 an absolute bargain.