Hello everybody,
I'm new here. My name is Manuel, I'm originally from Cordoba, Spain but I moved to United States a couple of years ago to finish my undergraduate education. I currently live in Colorado. :thumbsup:
When I first came to US, I decided to buy a sedan and I ended up buying a '02 Ford Taurus. I put about 20,000 miles on it and I got tired of its poor reliability. I had to replace almost everything in the car due to corrosion, brake master cylinder, starter, power steering pump.... I even had to replace the gas tank because it was completely rusted. This is what happens when you buy a car in Wisconsin (and also when you are new in the country and don't know about the weather conditions).
Last summer, I went to California to visit some friends in San Jose. I mentioned to a couple of friends that I was seeking for a car and I thought, well, why not buying a car in California? Strict legislation and emissions and nice weather so usually cars are well maintained.
I looked through Craigslist and saw a lot of cars in the Bay Area of SF, but none that I'd buy. With a limited budget, I was looking for reliability and manual transmission. Then I saw her. 5 speed, 2.2 and 145 hp. That's enough for me. I called the owner, meet him the same afternoon and when I saw the car I knew it was going to be mine. She was looking good, a few scratches here and there, but in very good shape for a 97. The interior was also in good shape except for the driver's seat, that needs to be refurbished.
So there she is, a 1997 Acura 2.2 CL Premium 5 speed and 153,000 miles on the odometer when I bought her. Currently she is a little over 166,000.
Some pictures that I took along the year (actually a lot):
When I bought it in California
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
The first snow, in Colorado
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
Anybody recognizes this place?
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
More pictures in Colorado
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
Over Christmas I went to Chicago and I drove my CL in quite bad winter conditions. She did great, although she got a little dirty :D
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
A few months before Christmas, the check engine light went on and off every other week. It was detecting the P0401 code which meant a EGR Valve malfunction. I took the EGR valve off when it first happened and cleaned it up but the problem persisted. Tired of having that issue and knowing that the EGR ports and manifold were clogged, I followed the instructions that a guy from the Odyssey club did for F22 engines to unclog all the carbon build up in the engine.
Got in the garage, washed the car first and then I set up illumination and got started...
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
Once I dissembled the fuel rail it was really easy to get to the ports and the manifold. You can see how bad they were...
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
Then I drove back to Colorado. Flawless :thumbsup:
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
Clean!
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
Finally, a picture in Arches National Park, in Utah.
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
Sorry for posting that many pictures.
The car is completely stock. Unfortunately, recently I found out that it had a odometer rollback, so I suspect that instead of having 166k miles is more like 266k :whyme:. That is what CarFax says. However, she is running strong and hasn't given me any troubles whatsoever, except for the regular maintenance and cleaning the EGR Valve, ports and manifold.
The only "mods" that I have done is replacing the front parking lights in the headlight for orange-colored ones and replacing the stock stereo deck (yes, still had it, with manufacturing date of Nov 1996) for the last model of the Pioneer DEH-X8600BS.
Well, that's all folks! Hope you enjoyed it.:thumbsup:
I'm new here. My name is Manuel, I'm originally from Cordoba, Spain but I moved to United States a couple of years ago to finish my undergraduate education. I currently live in Colorado. :thumbsup:
When I first came to US, I decided to buy a sedan and I ended up buying a '02 Ford Taurus. I put about 20,000 miles on it and I got tired of its poor reliability. I had to replace almost everything in the car due to corrosion, brake master cylinder, starter, power steering pump.... I even had to replace the gas tank because it was completely rusted. This is what happens when you buy a car in Wisconsin (and also when you are new in the country and don't know about the weather conditions).
Last summer, I went to California to visit some friends in San Jose. I mentioned to a couple of friends that I was seeking for a car and I thought, well, why not buying a car in California? Strict legislation and emissions and nice weather so usually cars are well maintained.
I looked through Craigslist and saw a lot of cars in the Bay Area of SF, but none that I'd buy. With a limited budget, I was looking for reliability and manual transmission. Then I saw her. 5 speed, 2.2 and 145 hp. That's enough for me. I called the owner, meet him the same afternoon and when I saw the car I knew it was going to be mine. She was looking good, a few scratches here and there, but in very good shape for a 97. The interior was also in good shape except for the driver's seat, that needs to be refurbished.
So there she is, a 1997 Acura 2.2 CL Premium 5 speed and 153,000 miles on the odometer when I bought her. Currently she is a little over 166,000.
Some pictures that I took along the year (actually a lot):
When I bought it in California
The first snow, in Colorado
Anybody recognizes this place?
More pictures in Colorado
Over Christmas I went to Chicago and I drove my CL in quite bad winter conditions. She did great, although she got a little dirty :D
A few months before Christmas, the check engine light went on and off every other week. It was detecting the P0401 code which meant a EGR Valve malfunction. I took the EGR valve off when it first happened and cleaned it up but the problem persisted. Tired of having that issue and knowing that the EGR ports and manifold were clogged, I followed the instructions that a guy from the Odyssey club did for F22 engines to unclog all the carbon build up in the engine.
Got in the garage, washed the car first and then I set up illumination and got started...
Once I dissembled the fuel rail it was really easy to get to the ports and the manifold. You can see how bad they were...
Then I drove back to Colorado. Flawless :thumbsup:
Clean!
Finally, a picture in Arches National Park, in Utah.
Sorry for posting that many pictures.
The car is completely stock. Unfortunately, recently I found out that it had a odometer rollback, so I suspect that instead of having 166k miles is more like 266k :whyme:. That is what CarFax says. However, she is running strong and hasn't given me any troubles whatsoever, except for the regular maintenance and cleaning the EGR Valve, ports and manifold.
The only "mods" that I have done is replacing the front parking lights in the headlight for orange-colored ones and replacing the stock stereo deck (yes, still had it, with manufacturing date of Nov 1996) for the last model of the Pioneer DEH-X8600BS.
Well, that's all folks! Hope you enjoyed it.:thumbsup: