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What do you REALLY know about the '91-'95 Legend?

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    What do you REALLY know about the '91-'95 Legend?

    I drove a nice example of one today, only 102,xxx mi. and looks great. So I did some research at acura-legend.com Should have done that before going to look at the car.

    Apparently these have an Achilles' heel --- they are prone to blown head gaskets.

    The situation is all but unknown to first owners, most of whom probably traded them in at 100K so no recalls were ever done.

    But what seems to happen is that a few mild overheats will kill a gasket, and replacing them is a bitch, and an expensive one even if you do it yourself.


    "Hold on" you say --- "any car could blow a head gasket if you let it overheat. Whatever you read is probably just the vocal minority overreacting." Well, check out that forum and tell me what you think.

    Many cars (such as the CB7) will survive a mild overheating without issue --- say you get a leak in the radiator, t-stat goes bad, some fluid winds up in the overflow because it was a hot day, etc. etc --- normal stuff that happens to all cars.

    The difference with the Legends seems to be each normal event such as the above is a potentially critical danger. Many owners drive theirs not knowing there's a small gasket leak. Others get it misdiagnosed. And so forth.

    I'm sure many of you have known people who never had an issue with their Legend, but it seems widespread enough that I'll not pursue it for myself.

    Give me another good CB7 and I'll be happy.
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    #2
    My friend had a 90 coupe.
    The car was SOOO SEXY...black, black leather, dropped...



    How much was the seller asking for the car?

    Interesting...perhaps the headgasket design is weak for the 6 cylinder motor...




    1990 Accord Lx F22a1(Daily) SOLD - will be missed
    1990 Prelude Si B21a1 (Fun car!)

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      #3
      Well, this one was a '92 LS sedan, auto with everything. White. Not a single dent or ding anywhere, Interior wasn't mint but was fine (no rips in leather). Appeared to be well maintained and the owner had the t-belt done.

      Only anomaly was that each outside edge of the front bumper cover was off the clip and the front passenger fender liner was gone. The seller pointed the latter out to me first thing but said he got the car that way. I pointed the bumper cover out to him and he said that was always that way too.

      I didn't have any reason to doubt him but how can you have a bumper cover put back on and not, you know, put it on all the way?

      Anyway, he's asking $6K but would only go $5800. For a nearly mint low-mi. LS that's not too outrageous; all of the normal "$2500" Legends I saw had questionable histories or obvious problems. I imagine a really nice one could still be had for $3500 or so. That is, if you don't mind replacing the head gasket eventually.
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        #4
        yeah, I actually wanted one for a while back a couple of motsh ago. they are rpone to head gasket problems as well as a bunch of electrical problems, otherwise intercourse cars mang!

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          #5
          BWA HAHA welcome to my world. the world of Blown Head Gaskets!!

          Claire - '92 Mercedes-Benz 500E - AMG&Bilstein Treatment - The Wolf in Sheep's clothing.

          Alice - '97 BMW 540i6 - Dinan Tuned. - Low Profile Weekend Warrior.

          Felicia - '11 Ford Fusion - Luxury Package - Daily.. daily.. ugh.


          Originally posted by JoshM
          Okay to do: "I'm sorry I broke your mailbox, here's $100.
          NOT okay to do: "I'm sorry I fucked your sister, here's $100.

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            #6
            I have not known about a lot of problems with the 2nd gen.

            Plus, keep in mind that that is a small sampling of total owners, much like CB7 tuner.

            Not saying, it isn't a problem, but with it being a common Acura, you would expect more widespread info if it was really an epidemic.

            The C series V6 in the 1st generation legend (C25/C27) was one of the toughest engines Honda ever built. I had a tech friend of mine who had a customer that ran out of oil in the middle of nowhere, so they decided to drive it as far as they could (probably in the desert in the summertime).

            The car made it over 70 miles with no oil. He said it was in dire need of a rebuild, but it did make it and was still running.
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              #7
              I dunno. I spoke with a Honda/Acura tech I know today. He hasn't seen but very few second-gen Legends and so hadn't heard of a head gasket problem.

              But then again, he did say somebody with a radiator leak came to him --- sure enough it needed head gaskets too. He said the guy had no real money so they worked out a compromise --- re-wire both fans to always be on and remove the t-stat. He said the guy drove it for at least another 6 months that way.

              And yeah, he said the earlier 2.5/2.4 was one tough hombré. On that said just make sure oil changes are regular. Let them go too long and old oil will clog the lifters, ruining them. He said if you ever hear a first-gen clatter by, that's bad lifters and it's been abused with few oil changes.
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                #8
                I've always liked the look of the 2nd gen Legends. I've considered getting one in the past. Co-worker has a '93 bought with the same mileage. Heard good things. When I get more space to have an additional car, I was considering a '94 Vigor (with the G25A1) in great shape. Just saw a nice one online that was tempting me quite a bit.
                '92 Accord LX Sedan--Bordeaux Red Pearl --OEM--279k Daily Driver
                EX Lip & Alpine OEM single CD Player. No more useless pocket!

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by deckeda
                  I dunno. I spoke with a Honda/Acura tech I know today. He hasn't seen but very few second-gen Legends and so hadn't heard of a head gasket problem.

                  But then again, he did say somebody with a radiator leak came to him --- sure enough it needed head gaskets too. He said the guy had no real money so they worked out a compromise --- re-wire both fans to always be on and remove the t-stat. He said the guy drove it for at least another 6 months that way.

                  And yeah, he said the earlier 2.5/2.4 was one tough hombré. On that said just make sure oil changes are regular. Let them go too long and old oil will clog the lifters, ruining them. He said if you ever hear a first-gen clatter by, that's bad lifters and it's been abused with few oil changes.

                  Yeah, an interesting note on the 1st gen Legend, is that the Honda oil filter has an anti-drainback valve, which keeps the oil in the lifters for the pushrods, which are hydraulic.

                  Yes, that's right, the first gen has pushrods for the exhaust valves. It is actually a very interesting setup.

                  Anyway, that valve keeps oil in the lifters, which prevents them from having to self adjust when the car is started. Without the valve, they will spend a few minutes rattling like a paint can and then when the lifters re-adjust, it will suddenly stop, like someone turned the rattling off.
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                    #10
                    I discovered they had head gasket problems years ago. I remember this chick I knew had a white sedan, probably a 93 with over a 100k and it smoked like a chimney!
                    "the J32a2 should be considered one of Honda's masterpieces..." Honda Tuning, July 2006

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by owequitit
                      Yeah, an interesting note on the 1st gen Legend, is that the Honda oil filter has an anti-drainback valve, which keeps the oil in the lifters for the pushrods, which are hydraulic.

                      Yes, that's right, the first gen has pushrods for the exhaust valves. It is actually a very interesting setup.

                      Anyway, that valve keeps oil in the lifters, which prevents them from having to self adjust when the car is started. Without the valve, they will spend a few minutes rattling like a paint can and then when the lifters re-adjust, it will suddenly stop, like someone turned the rattling off.
                      Ah, that does shed some light on that car! I could totally dig a first-gen Legend 5-sp coupe with leather. But then who wouldn't!
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                        #12
                        I had an 87 Sterling which had the Acura Legend engine. It had overheating problems. I managed to fix it by replacing it with 100% coolant. It only overheated in the summer. Besides this, it ran good, but the mileage was rolled back when I bought it.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by deckeda
                          Ah, that does shed some light on that car! I could totally dig a first-gen Legend 5-sp coupe with leather. But then who wouldn't!

                          Yeah, they are really sweet cars. The 2.5L has a 2 stage TB (almost like secondaries) and is apparently a real little screamer.

                          I am partial to the second Gen GS Six speed though.
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