As our cars get older and accumulate more miles, there are some things to care for that keep the car running nicely. Fortunately they're within the capability of most average-skilled wrench turners.

First, you can give your steering precision a nice boost by replacing the ball joints. Just need a BJ removal tool from Harbor Freight and 17mm and 19 mm wrenches. Eliminating the play from old BJ's restores much of the new car feel coming through the steering wheel and the car is noticeably more solid over bumpy pavement.

Second, there's a torque strut under the engine that turns to mush over time. You reach it through the removable panel for doing oil changes. The thing is pretty inexpensive and a new one absorbs a lot of jerkiness from the drivetrain.

Third, the book says spark plugs are ok to something like 100k miles. That may be true, but after I changed mine at 70k it really smoothed out the engine and gave me a boost in gas mileage. Our cars have eight plugs, four in front and four in back. The ones in front are super easy to change, the ones in the rear are underneath the windshield cowling and take a bit of fiddling. The only downside on a plug change is the factory spec plugs are strangely expensive, something like $20 each, but with the labor savings not too big an investment.

The final thing - which is more involved and expensive - are the engine mounts. Each of my HCH cars has needed new mounts, they just go to pieces over time. If you feel the car jolting and banging more than it should over bumps in the road it's a good chance you're feeling the engine and transmission bouncing around on the mounts. With new mounts the car will ride much more easily.

 

Nice summary.

FWIW, you don't need to drop $20/plug. NGK and DENSO make OE equivalent long life Iridium plugs identical to the ones Honda marks up. You can find them for < $10.