I just bought a '96 accord lx and I took it to a mechanic to get it looked over. He came back with a bunch of minor-ish problems that would probably total to about $1000+ dollars, mostly in labor. I was wondering which of these repairs can I skip, which can I do myself, and which should I get him to do.
-valve cover gasket leaking oil
-low side a/c hose leak (obviously optional)
-Distributor O ring leak
-Heater Hose has some oil leaked on it/ contamination (probably not a big deal)
-left and right axle seal is leaking
-Oil leak from inside timing belt cover
-right sway br linkage bushing cracked
-front engine mount cracked
any input appreciated. Thanks

 

all of those you can easily do yourself. pick up a manual read DIY sections and look on youtube for DIY vids. the valve cover is super easy and is the cause of the oil in the timing cover.

 

Most of those are fairly simple. Then again, hard to say without knowing how mechanically-inclined you are. Even then, V/C gasket and Dist. O-ring are both pretty simple and straightforward. As far as the timing cover leak, I would disagree with the above poster, the valve cover gasket isn't necessarily the cause. Could be the camshaft seal or crankshaft (front main) seal.

 

Sorry, forgot to put this in my other post, but if oil is leaking from the timing cover and oil is getting on your belt, then that should definitely not be skipped. Oil compromises the integrity of the belt and makes it prone to breaking, and if that belt breaks you might be looking at some significant damage. The 2.2L engine in your car is an interference engine, just like virtually all other Honda engines, and you don't want to deal with that.

 

Thanks. I agree the distributor O ring and v/c gasket are easy repairs, but also the cheaper ones. He quoted me almost $300 for the leak inside from inside the timing belt cover so I will ask him to clear the ambiguity on that. I believe it is the front main seal. I am fairly mechanically inclined (also a mechanical engineering major, but that doesn't mean much), maybe I should do the v/c and distributor and leave the rest to him.