92 CIVIC HATCH VX

ok well my main thing is i love my car and would love to keep it FOREVER. killer gas mileage 45mpg . low insurance and paid off.


now im looking for ways to keep my car in good shape and well rust free ect...

couple problems and items im looking for to keep it stock as possible and nothing to flashy.


1. rear bumper needs to be painted has black stock replacement on it atm can not paint until rust is fixed.
2. rear rust on fenders.
3. Hatch shocks that hold it up one leaks and one broke off the window.
4. need new floor mats
5. i've looked up to see if the vx's have a cabin filter? no idea took glove box off today and did not see a slot for one.
6. i do have a carbon fiber hood on the car clear coat peals and faded.
7. front bumper replacement that need to be painted
8. i do have jdm fog lights not on the car ATM i like them still keeps style with our having a huge body kit on it.
9. soon timing belt will need to be replaced
10. a/c is broken and is the old r34 style i would like to have a/c this summer.
11. gauge cluster is broke the speed-o does not register the mph but every once in a while it does?
12. teal green not complaining to much about the color but not my favorite color thinking about getting the car prepared for paint until i have money for a new fresh color.


What I'm looking for is suggestions on getting parts and how to look for reliable places to fix and restore the luster of the 17 year old car i can do stuff i not limiting only on others to fix everything.

i know majestic honda for some parts here and there but low priced reliable places to buy this would be great.

Any info guys would great!!!

i can post pics also

jadziasman

I also have a 92 VX and it has over 200K actual miles on it. I too want to keep mine indefinitely and have had to do some of the repairs you listed. Here's my responses to your numbered items.

1) Unless you're going to paint the entire car, leave the bumper cover black. I have a red VX with a unprimed, unpainted rear bumper cover and it doesn't look all that bad. Yes, stock would be nice but its already 17 years old!

2) Honda rust on the rear wheel wells? I did a bondo repair with tin plated wire fence material, fiberglass window screen and touch up spray paint. It has lasted over three years and I will need to redo it this summer. The main thing is stopping the rust from traveling which I successfully did. Eventually I may weld in new sheet metal from Mill Supply Co. in Cleveland if I get really ambitious about it.

3) I was able to get Monroe hatch shocks fairly cheap but I don't remember if it was ebay or Rock Auto.

4) Floor mats - the OEM ones are really nice if you can get them from a junk yard.

5) Cabin filter- that's a hot one. Manual everything on this car. Except for the engine and alloy wheels the VX was really basic.

6) Carbon fiber hood, eh? Why change the rear bumper cover then.

7) Front bumper cover as well? Different color? Can you say TAXI?

8) Fog lights are nice. I have thought about buying them but have been spending money on my VX for other parts.

9) Are you going to DIY the timing belt? It's not too difficult. And you'll save at least $300 if you DIY since the OEM belt and water pump are about $100 combined.

10) I repaired the A/C on my VX and retrofit it to R134A too. It's not too hard to do but you'll need to buy or borrow a vacuum pump to do the work.

11) My speedo is starting to show signs that it will fail soon. I will use the tach and my GPS once it fails.

12) My first VX was teal. I like the dark blue and wish I had that. Red is so plain vanilla.

Always buy OEM honda if you can. I have had to replace aftermarket Advance Auto and Autozone crap so if its on the suspension or in the engine use Honda. What parts are you looking to replace? Except for the inner tie rods, I have replaced the ball joints and bushings on the front end in the past 2.5 years. Also needed a radiator. I replaced all the coolant hoses - bypass and heater hoses too. How's your LAF sensor? The CEL was on for a while and it hasn't come back on since putting a slightly used OEM NTK L1H1 on it.

BryanM.

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92 CIVIC HATCH VX

<<<<<1) Unless you're going to paint the entire car, leave the bumper cover black. I have a red VX with a unprimed, unpainted rear bumper cover and it doesn't look all that bad. Yes, stock would be nice but its already 17 years old!

2) Honda rust on the rear wheel wells? I did a bondo repair with tin plated wire fence material, fiberglass window screen and touch up spray paint. It has lasted over three years and I will need to redo it this summer. The main thing is stopping the rust from traveling which I successfully did. Eventually I may weld in new sheet metal from Mill Supply Co. in Cleveland if I get really ambitious about it.>>>

1) i agree rear black stock is fine until i get rust fixed and money falls in to my lap.

2) This is one of my top priority's does not hurt the car from running at all but for keeping the car for a long time i would like to nip this in the but!! what are the ways i can talk to company to do this with out raping. i dont need pain just a bondo and prep paint i guess

<<<<<3) I was able to get Monroe hatch shocks fairly cheap but I don't remember if it was ebay or Rock Auto.>>>>>

3) i could not find these on ebay are they called hatch shocks cause i need one really i have just one attached and the glass still holdes up but still drops down every once in a while.

<<<<4) Floor mats - the OEM ones are really nice if you can get them from a junk yard.>>>>>

4) ok i will start calling the salvage yard i only need to replace the front two which cars oem floor mats will fit only 92-95 civic?


<<<<6) Carbon fiber hood, eh? Why change the rear bumper cover then.>>>>>

6) yes it came with the car but i do have the oem one which i could have some one do the Clear coat on the hood and sell it? and put the stock one??

<<<<<7) Front bumper cover as well? Different color? Can you say TAXI?>>>
7) yeah front and back are both black but i hope i win the lottery to paint lol

<<<<<<8) Fog lights are nice. I have thought about buying them but have been spending money on my VX for other parts.>>>>

8) I had these left over from my old EG hatch

9) no i d not have a place to do the timing belt at

<<<<10) I repaired the A/C on my VX and retrofit it to R134A too. It's not too hard to do but you'll need to buy or borrow a vacuum pump to do the work.>>>>

10) i did and tried to charge it and it did not take the ac lines empty i think i got a leak i think??

<<<<<11) My speedo is starting to show signs that it will fail soon. I will use the tach and my GPS once it fails.>>>>>

11) yeah my tach works and i know what rpm is about what speed.




as far as my suspension i got old jdm suspension on it and want to go back to stock. bushings are replaced when needed. both axles have been replaced, distributor went out and started to squeal bad and replaced it out with a used one. doesn't leak oil and i did a compression check back in late 2007 and it was 170-180's all four cylinders.

xwhitchx

too fix the speedo for the time beeing, do this:

1. unplug it from you wiring harness
2. get some niddlenose and pull out the white peace in it, and keep it out
3. un clip the wires from the plug and clean the conectors.
4.put it all back to getter, plug it back in, and there you go it should work
----------------------------------------------------------------------
i had the same problem, so i when out i got a lot of speed-o sensors, and nothing worked, its just over time the conecters get all green, so just need to clean them

94EG8

Bondo really doesn't do much, if anything to help the spread of rust. It just gives salt one more thing to cling to and traps it between the body and the bondo until the bondo cracks and breaks. Rear wheel arches are not particularly expensive ($120ish a side over here in eastern canada for certafit pieces, I expect US prices to be a fair bit lower. Cut out all the old rust and weld in the new piece.

jadziasman

Monroe MAX-LIFT™ GAS-CHARGED LIFT SUPPORT 901274 are the hatch shocks I bought and I think it was Rock Auto.

Bondo repair can be a quick and non-lethal way of postponing rust if done correctly. In my case I cut out all the rust and cut the body panel into clean sheet metal and sanded to bare metal to which I applied the bondo and support material to with stainless steel screws. I think if it lasts for three years or more and shows no progress of the rust, it's an acceptable fix if you're not worried all that much about OEM appearance.

New sheet metal is the way to go if you're going to repaint the entire car anyway to make it look good again. On a 17 year old car, that's a questionable investment unless the car is in a mild climate without salted roads.

To get the A/C to function properly, you need to inspect/replace all of the old o-rings in the line and check if the metal lines on the liquid side of the system have pin hole rust spots through them - one of mine did under the insulation. I did have a good spare and my A/C works OK but I've never been happy with Civic A/C systems - too weak. My Buick LeSabre A/C will get so cool that you need a coat!

jadziasman

I just checked - Rock Auto has the lift supports for $12.05 each - you will need to search under body-exterior to find them.

And - thanks to xwhitchx for the hint on the speedo wire harness connector - I'll try it and see if it takes care of it.

92 CIVIC HATCH VX

ok thanks for the shocks what about the little plastic part on the window it kinda looked like it striped it out when i popped out


i will read that carefully again on speedo i like to see if anything is wrong with my car like if my if my MPG drop from 45mps to 35-30 i know somethings up

92 CIVIC HATCH VX

yeah rock autos got them but damn man shipping it's like 7.95 still a good deal but almost cost as much as the part lol

92 CIVIC HATCH VX

ok i got a problem yesterday i was turning a corner and i hearing a popping sound and it happens off and on. ok well today i took it in to get looked out and i was think CV but they said nothing only a small leak from the strut. then after that i drove 30 miles and now my steering would shake and when i engage the clutch the shaking stops but then comes back when i hit a bump or sometimes it will come right back after i release the clutch.

no idea? going to take the look myself tomorrow

jadziasman

Check the lower ball joint on the knuckle. It is a sealed ball joint, that is until the dust boot cracks and allows moisture and road crud to enter it. I am in the process of changing the lower ball joints on mine (again) after 50K miles this time. I bought TRW ball joints from Advance Auto and they are as the Scottish Mike Myers once said "CRAP!". The dust boots tore some time ago and the driver's side one has been giving me trouble since last November. It's really loose and squeaks. Sometimes when turning, it doesn't want to move and makes a lot of noise. And now I get a shimmy when driving in a straight line. I stopped driving my VX last Saturday for fear of it separating while on the move. I'm not gonna do that! Bought a couple of OEM Honda lower ball joints this time. It's a lot of labor to replace them too but I do it myself. It's my Friday project. I have done it before so it should be easier this time - I hope!

I don't know what "plastic piece" you're talking about on the hatch window. Can you post a picture?

92 CIVIC HATCH VX

yeah they checked the ball joints and said nothing but yeah the shimming left to right steering wheel when i a straight line is correct and and when the gas is pressed????

should i go back and have them double check something so should i just jack it up tomorrow and it's going to be a nice day so what do i look for?

jadziasman

There are two ways to check for loose lower ball joints on a Honda double wishbone front suspension.

1) lift up the car at the center lift point near the bumper and insert a pry bar between the lower control arm (LCA) and the knuckle while the suspension hangs down. If the ball joint is loose, you will be able to move the knuckle away from the LCA. A good ball joint will have almost no slack between the LCA and knuckle.

2) lift up the suspension from the bottom of the LCA and raise the car to get the tire off the ground with enough clearance to put a pry bar underneath the tire. If you can move the wheel upward with the pry bar, you have a loose ball joint.

92 CIVIC HATCH VX

i will check this out tomorrow thanks alot and if i dont reply back by tomorrow night the car fell on me and call for help!!!!

jadziasman

Method #2 is better than method #1. It is difficult to move the knuckle away from the LCA with the pry bar from underneath the car. #2 is much easier to do because you are using the ground as leverage.

So if you haven't got this far yet, use method #2. Oh, and another thing. You will need to look at the ball joint to make sure it's what's moving and not the wheel bearing. Easier if you have someone else to look at the ball joint while you move the wheel/tire with the pry bar.

If the ball joint is really loose, like the one on my VX, you can pry and look at the same time by yourself.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow, my Honda will be repaired that day!

92 CIVIC HATCH VX

damn well i found nothing that looked or moved easy still get this shake on my steering wheel but??? it's kinda like it takes time to warm up to shake and then stops for a while and then does it again lol watch out if you see a green hatch on the highway wheels might be flying off!!!

muffler man

i recently bought my cousin's 1995 civic hatchback VX. he kept it well maintained. heres a few things he did and that you might want to do. when he bought it, he had all the lower arms inspected for any rust or bends, then he replaced all the bushings (lower&upper comtrol arms and front compliance) and the trailing arm bushings. the car has 300,XXX+ miles on it so that was a must to do. to protect the car from rust he took it to get a $500 paint job at maaco. I would like to also add that my speedometer is going out also, I would just check/replace the speedo assembly, or just replace the whole tach.

jadziasman

Hey muffler man,

Are you really living in China? If so, how are you going to get your cousin's VX there? Or does you cousin live there as well? I guess VX's could have been sold or transported anywhere.

It's really amazing that Civics routinely get to over 300K miles in their lifetime. Mine has over 200K but since it was rolled back before I bought it I have no idea what the actual mileage is. My guess is in the 220 to 240K range. I have a special affection for the two I've owned. Not sure why. I just like driving them.

As I have found out, suspensions are the achilles heel of cars. My 2000 Chrysler Voyager is the next on the list for suspension repair -I just don't know what needs to be fixed yet. On my 1999 Buick Lesabre - rear struts are on the agenda to be replaced. Another fine day wasted doing that.

Luckily, the engines and transmissions have been behaving themselves on my three vehicles during the past three years. Each vehicle has over 135K miles.

92 CIVIC HATCH VX

found me a new gauge cluster for 65 dollars woot and that damn wheel problem i think might be something to do with my breaks heating up

92 CIVIC HATCH VX

ok it was my tranmission blahhh got a newer one installed now

92 CIVIC HATCH VX

ok well i guess i got a s20 b000 tranny cause it rev a lot quicker than the vx tranny my high way crusing puts me way over my v tec I'm concerned about gas mileage you think i could un hook the vtec? or get a vtec controller and move it up to 4.5k instead of the 2.8k