NY_2_OC

Hello everyone,

I have had civics for almost 10 years now and I wouldn't buy any other make other than Honda from now on.

BUT unfortunately I have not been able to learn as much as I wanted to about the mechanichs of them. As I plan to do a motor swap on my EK further down the line.

POINT: I want people's advice on how you guys have become savy about the ins and outs of civics. Now obviously if some of you are mechanics you have an unfair advantage. Or if you have been working on honda's since you were 4 yadah yadah yadah.

I want to know what are some suggestions of means of information other than civic manual. Or whats a good starting point for someone who isn't in a shop 5 days a week. If a manual is it...so be it.

Even though I have had civics since 16-17...Im a nOOb. But I want to learn so Im not talking out my culo.

Thanks, I appreciate everyone's wisdom and input.
I hope this post does't annoy any1...Im just trying to learn and not be so much a noob.

95ProjectEJ1

iTrader: (5)

I would honestly start out with a manual and a somewhat decent set of tools... maybe a $200, Craftsman 263 piece mechanics tool set. Grab a Helms manual and start doing simple things like brakes, oil changes, shock installs etc.

The easiest way to learn is to get over the fear of trying something for the first time or by yourself. If you have friends that know alot about Honda's I would ask them to supervise you during your repairs if you are uneasy.

Bejita

How did I learn???? Even if you ask I cant tell you "how". I just did. When I have a problem. I search the hell out of it and try the solutions I read about.

If I do a major upgrade or repair like an engine swap or a tranny repair I research the hell out of it and get prepared as much as possible, then I just get in and do it.

The right tools are probably the reason I don't need to ever take my car to a shop.

nix94delsol

if you want the truth, get on here and attatch yourself to a forum

i like being able to win arguments in studyhalls about cars =P just yesterday i proved to some kid his SOHC stealth wont go 173MPH N/A and no motor work

read as much as possible

projekt-sol

jump into the work you pay the shop to do.. do your own oil changes.. if your unsure research.. then if your still unsure and have friends who are into hondas ask them to watch you and make sure you dont mess anything up.. but do all the work yourself.. thats the only way your going to learn.. sitting back and watching someone else do all the work for you wont teach you anything.. if your friends start jumping in..tell them your trying to learn and would like it if they would step back and watch.. make sure you dont mess it up.. but remeber it is almost always reversable.. with unbolting a few bolts you can do alot.. have fun and dont be scared.. only way to learn

rleonekc

There's alot of useful information on this site, as well as some kick *** people that are very smart and helpful. Other than that, the main way to learn is hands on

3lo

rtfm

confucioussae

iTrader: (1)

Buy a tool set, and a helms manual. Everything else can be found in FAQ's/writeups. If you have any questions, they've probably been asked and answered before.

Most importantly

LEARN TO SEARCH

jbfw

ditto to everyone's responses...I've only been driving for 2 years, and only started working on my own cars this past year...I got started working on my civic by buying a beat up 91 hatch, pulled the motor, rebuilt it, and got it up and running...I had lots of setbacks through the whole thing, but did everything with the proper tools and helms manual...just buy a beater and go to town on it!

Luserkid

I guess im the only one (so far to post) that has taken auto shop class. I took about 3.5 years of auto shop (.5 was classroom over rules, then 3 years hands on). That taught me the basics of the basics, about tools, safty, some parts and what they do. What i know today i, to put it simply, learned from my expletive ups. In my eyes thats the only way to learn.

What i have done with other people is bring some people on board with some work i have done and let them watch and help. Then after a swap or 2 or certain things when they want to do their own thing and i think they are able to do it i lend them my tools and just watch over them. Whats really funny to me about this thread is that me and my friends (including one that did his own swap with this way today) were just talking about this, they were asking me why i dont open a school/teaching type program to give people a chance to learn what they want. I hope to do this within the next few years as i grow more. Anyway reason i mention that is if you become cool with a shop that you trust and they trust you, then you could ask if you could be a shop bitch. Theyll probably put you at the bottom of the barrel, like just cleaning while their doing cool things (right Justin (95project) ) but seriously its a great learning experience that way, if they get really comfortable with you then they might ask you to lend a hand.

Sorry thats alot longer then i planned but i wanted to say that about a thread like this. But number 1 way of learn is by your own mess ups because you learn what went wrong, why it went wrong, and how to fix it.

NY_2_OC

Thanks, everythig you guys said makes sense. I kinda was expecting that, but the auto shop class and helms manual + tools sound like the way to go.

Knowledge is power...and this site a lone has alot of knowledge with everyones input. Thanks again...I will keep you posted on my progress

95 honda8

I had my friends Help me when I was working on my car an I would help them and you ust pick alot of stuff up

blu eg22

Based off of what everyone else said you can't go wrong. Personally, i just like taking things apart and putting them back together. I'm still learning when it comes to mechanics but I got started just by reading my manual over and over and then just looking over the different parts of my car that I read about. The things that the manual doesn't cover are within the forumn if you search and ask the right question.

95ProjectEJ1

iTrader: (5)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Luserkid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...Theyll probably put you at the bottom of the barrel, like just cleaning while their doing cool things (right Justin (95project) ) but seriously its a great learning experience that way, if they get really comfortable with you then they might ask you to lend a hand. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Hahaha... it's not the "bottom of the barrel". I love to clean. Luserkid FTW!!!!


Once you get a manual I would find out what you would like to replace/fix/upgrade and just read over that section a few times. Each time go over it in your head and visualize everything. Make sure you have the proper tools for the job.

With the way I am, I would be sure to take note of anything that says to "replace" and have those on hand. If you ever get stumped you can always ask questions here and people can help you through other problems that may occur.

EkLanta

To start with. what do you know and how well can you do it? Honestly i learned from messing things up. and thats isn't a good way. plus i work at Toyota so its quite easy to learn. just watch people and ask them to teach you how they fix it. you can't learn anything with out asking.

thesmogman

As everyone stated a manual is a must. I rebuilt my first motor with one when I was 17 and it actually ran great.
If you can find a junkyard and disassemble one there. Hands on experience is a key so you can connect the manual to the motor.

There are basic car classes at community colleges and they are pretty cheap too.

I did my first motor with cheap *** tools and a borrowed torque wrench. What was fun was pushing the cherry-picker a quarter mile to my garage from a friends house.

Honda motors are one of the easiest so you have that going for you.

95vxtealhatch

Most of what everyone here has said is the truth about learning to work on your own car. I recommend a factory service manuel from honda. It has pictures and step by step instructions on what to do and it has tons of pictures.

Your gonna need a floor jack, and a set of tools, The common sizes are 10mm,12,14,17,19, and i forget the driveshaft size. If you had a wrench and socket set with in the these sizes, short and long sockets with short and medium and long extensions you can do just about anything.

Goodluck. oh and research whatever your doing to an extreme degree.

Bazza

heres what ya do....

basically take apart your whole car and put it back together so you know how to do it all... if you dont know how to take something off ask someone and im sure theyll tell ya... read the books on the car/cars you have. search the site if you have questions (best way to go)

so after youve done all that youll be close to knowing what your talkin about when you talk to people !!!

also when i was in highschool (3 years ago im 21 now) i was in shop classes all 4 years and would be able to bring my car in and do **** to it....

then ive had a few jobs at dealerships.. and oil changing places basically anything with cars... its been a fun time and ive learned so much by doing everything myself with the help of people/the sites/manuals. its a great thing to know how to work on your car...