mdma

Here is what I have.

Engine:
1991 Honda Civic DX hatchback.
5 million series 4g Civic/CRX SiR B16A motor equipped.
Y1 close ratio 5-speed cable transmission.
Raxles.com CV-shafts.

Suspension:
Koni Sports (yellows).
Stock SI disc brakes.
No P/S.


Story:
My wheel bearing on the passenger side was going out.
I immediately took my car to the shop to get it serviced.
I left it there overnight.

He gave me a call back the next day stating that he can't replace the wheel bearing since the front passenger spindle needs to be replaced because of the housing for the wheel bearing was cracked or something. I said okay.

After he is done replacing the spindle on the passenger side, I came by the shop to pick up my car. He later added and said the wheel bearing on the driver side is also in need of replacement. He jacked up the car and showed me by wiggling my front driver wheel. I told him I have a brand new wheel bearing at home originally for the front passenger. I gave it to him to replace the wheel bearing on the driver side. He replaced it.
Next day, took it to the alignment shop.

The alignment people said my car won't drive perfectly unless if I get a camber kit and have them installed. I asked why, and they said older Honda's like these don't come with OEM cambers where you can adjust. They said they can align it and they can get it as perfect as they can. I went right ahead and had my car aligned.

The service for my wheel bearing he did on my front driver spindle is perfect!
But the spindle he replaced on the passenger side has some tire sticking out of the fender. About Half an inch I must say? It's not sticking under the fender and wheel wells like my rear wheels and front driver side.

It does not drive straight whatsoever and tug to the right.
I took my car out to a different shop, they stated that the person ordered the wrong spindle for my car and installed it. Is this true? It was from a CRX SI.

Later, I took my car back to the mechanic that serviced my car and complained.
He addressed to me that this car doesn't have the original motor, and I'm running aftermarket suspension. The front passenger tire sticking out is nothing and he told me to swap my front two tires and see if it tugs to the right anymore.
(I KNOW THIS IS BS. AND I DID WHAT HE ASKED AND DROVE "UN"-STRAIGHT BACK TO HIS SHOP)

Why when I purchased my car, it drove straight like a dime and handled like a dream!

He later still blamed it on my Koni suspension and my motor swap.
He is stating that he is not liable and there's nothing he can do.

So, are CRX/Civic Hatchback spindles different with the DX/STD/SI trim?

What should I do in this situation and I want to fix this car.
Should I order both front spindles of a certain type of model and start fresh? I don't know the history of this car. I am not for certain if they are running the original spindles.

The car has 75k miles..

hatchet_honda

with the exception of sedan models the front spindles should be same on civics/crx 88-91. whered he get the spindle from anyways? id wanna see where the original part was cracked or whatever prevented him from replacing the bearing. your tire should not be sticking out further than the others. something is wrong. that is true about the alignment tho. theres no factory adjusting ability with the oem upper balljoints. dont see why youd need a wheel alignment after just changing a bearing anyways.

4drEF

EX, HF, and STD will be different, but all others are interchangeable.
If he had put on one of the 3 odd ones then there would have been many more issues.

Where did he get your 'new' knuckle (they aren't called spindles on FWD cars)?
If he got it from a junk yard then there is no guarantee it was a good park to begin with.

89si-lsvtec

i had the same issue when i bought the car it had a b16a in it and when i went to change the axles with the da ones it wasnt a comfortable fit come to realize i had hasport axles for the stock d-series spindle so being that i already paid for b-series axles i went to the junk yard and got dc2 front knuckles 80$ for both sides and installed them but u will need front cambers for alignment or else they tires will tow out real bad and just get new outer tie rod ends while your at it and you will be set ti crack vtec in a straight line lol good luck!

mdma

I'd like to personally thank you three for taking your time reading my post.


He purchased my front passenger spindle at a junkyard called olstens.
My original 'defective' spindle is long gone.

Alignment was needed because the front passenger spindle was replaced..

Jockone

Check with the junkyerd if he asked for the right knuckle.
Si and Dx should be the same.I dont think any of the 88 91 knuckles will make the tire stick out.

jdmboyef9

If you have a swap then it's possible that he didn't remove the dust cover to make the integra axles fit, however I dodn't think this would cause the same problem. Is the car lowered, if so how much? the camber kit is not needed unless your car is lowered.

KINGVEM^^ED6

iTrader: (1)

seems fishy

hatchet_honda

i juss dont see your knuckle cracking or whatever he said...if he got the part from an std or hf then your axles wouldnt even fit in the hub. i asked about the alignment cause if the tie rod ends were untouched adjustment wise and the cars not lowered at all your alignment should be unaffected. your shocks and having the b series in there isnt gonna make that wheel stick out like it is. you gotta find out exactly what car the knuckle came from

mdma

He replaced my spindle with a CRX Si one.
I even saw the receipt from the junkyard.

And yes! Now that you mentioned it. There is a brake dust cover.
When he put in that new spindle and I asked him what is that cover once I picked it up, he told me that is a brake dust cover.

Do you think that caused the tire sticking outside the fender?

4drEF

Brake dust cover is fine.
The dust seal in question is a large washer type of thing that goes on the wheel bearing on the inside of the knuckle. That axle goes through the dust seal before it engages splines. With swap the axle presses into the seal and binds causing the axle to completely jam and not rotate.

I have no idea why this seal is even coming up in this post. It has nothing to do with your wheel sticking out UNLESS your mechanic left it on and did something really weird to compensate for the axle pressing into the dust seal. I don't think there are any possible adjustments you can do to make this happen though.

hatchet_honda

i gots a question. did he just replace the knuckle with one from a junkyard without putting a new wheel bearing in first? id def take this car back to him and have him inspect if that axle dust cover is still in there or not. hell maybe he didnt even seat the bearing in all the way who knows. have you tried jacking up the car and looking at this prob yourself?

mdma

Yes, he did replace it with the one from the junkyard.
He replaced my whole spindle; whole new system included with a wheel bearing from the junk yard.

I tried jacking up the car. I don't see anything irregular..

Will be posting pictures today, thanks for the comments guys.

Much is appreciated.

Jockone

A couple of years ago a kid brought me a knuckle for his CRX to replace the one on his car and it had a similar problem to what you are having,it turned out the knuckle came from a Del sol and the top of the wheel stuck out quite a bit from the fender.
Don;t know if that could be part of your problem or not,pics of your car will probably help.

dc5itracer

Most likely its a eg knuckle not a 88-91 crx/civic piece eg/dc knuckles sit farther out then ef knuckles and your axle might not be seated in all the way either since eg/dc axles are slightly longer just an idea

hatchet_honda

soo you have a junkyard bearing? wtf? thats kinda dumb. and like someone said it def could be the knuckle is from an eg not a crx. around here they label egs in the junkyard as civic/crx as well. idiots

mdma

SUPPORT IS POWER.

Thank you all.
Clearly, the junkyard sold me and labeled their knuckle as 88-91 Civic/CRX with a 92-95 Civic/Delsol.

Thanks for the tips, and here are a few pics of my car. ;D

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6853969_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2082832_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._8031883_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6854902_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...9_776387_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6389242_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3305911_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._4377703_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3655061_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5068297_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2052377_n.jpg

dc5itracer

Might as well get the other eg knuckle too wider is better lol

mdma

Question.

Does anyone know if the 88-91 Sedan knuckle would work on the 88-91 Civic Hatchback?

dc5itracer

The sedan ex knuckle is actually recommended knuckle to use when doin the OEM big brake setup

4drEF

Would work, but if you are just replacing ONE then "no".
It has a larger brake caliper and disc. You brakes will be mismatched and that's bad bad bad.
Then, your wheels may not fit over the larger disc.

sde780

"front cambers" do not affect your "tow"...

In educated terms, a camber kit is only going to change your camber, not your toe setting when getting an alignment done


LOL I clicked through the pics thinking you included one showing your problem, but I guess not

Jockone

Glad you found the problem.