amej8

I just passed 215k last week and I'm preparing to do a 2nd major maintenance now. I found a local mechanic who seems very trustworthy. He's a part of a local forum and a lot of people know him. I just had him install 2 e-brake cables yesterday and everything went smoothly. He even bled my rear brakes and put in a little fluid at no charge because the brake pedal was really squishy after the install. Actually, he ended up having to take a bleeder screw out and cleaning it with a pick because it was clogged. He was surprised to see how the bleeding worked on a Honda and actually learned something. I helped out too so it was a good experience for both of us.

With that being said, I'm looking for some feedback on what I'm looking to do. Here are the parts I am looking to replace:
- Coolant (complete flush and fill). It's never been done before.
- Timing belt
- Water pump
- All belts with the exception of A/C. I'm just going to have him remove everything. None of it works and none of it has worked properly for years. It worked for a summer a couple years ago and then it stopped again. So screw it, I'm just going to get rid of it. It only gets to be 90-95 here with high humidity. What's the big deal .
- Oil pan gasket

Stuff I was planning to do on my own that I have done before:
- Distributor cap
- Distributor rotor
- Spark plugs
- Spark plug wires
- Blow out air filter (aftermarket)

Before going further, let me remind you that the car has been driving all year round since it was bought. New York State loves to use salt for the winters. I try to go to the car wash and do the underbody spray every couple weeks every winter to try to keep rust minimal but obviously there is rust in the bay and underneath the car. I was even surprised he got the bleeder screws to work.

Now... For the water pump, I was planning on buying a new o-ring and bolts as well. Should I buy the connecting pipe and associated o-rings as well? Or do you just change the pump most of the time. If I don't have to get the pipe, I don't want to. It's just more money to spend that I'm not supposed to be spending. Is there anything else I should get relating to the water pump? I did the thermostat 2 years ago and it's working perfectly. Car warms up SO much faster with a new one.

Regarding the oil pan, should I get hardware for this as well? It is literally soaked in oil. Something is definitely leaking on the bottom of the engine. I am thinking it is the oil pan gasket.

Regarding the timing belt, should I buy anything else other than the belt itself? Does the tensioner or whatever else normally get replaced with the belt? Any bolts I should get too? Anything else?

It looks like there is oil coming from near the distributor as well. What gaskets are there that are usually changed? I'll probably change that too if I have to. And if that means taking the valve cover off, I'll just re-use the gasket that's on there now unless it falls apart when taking the valve cover off. I bought a new gasket 2 or 3 years ago and I used the red colored high temp silicone gasket crap or whatever. Stopped all the leaks I had before.

Should I replace the fuel filter? It's never been done before. There isn't any hesitation in acceleration, the car doesn't have problems starting, it has no problems priming and doesn't sound any different than it did 6 years ago, I never have problems with the car turning off when stopped, etc. Like I said, if it's something I don't have to do, I don't want to do it. I'm trying to do the bare necessities as far as major maintenance goes.

Is there anything else I should consider doing or replacing? Thanks guys. Sorry for the long read.

2/22 edit -

Replaced (all with Honda OEM):
- Timing belt
- Timing belt tensioner
- Water pump
- Camshaft seal
- Valve cover spark plug seals
- Valve cover gasket

Also performed:
- Coolant flush
- Valve adjustment

The car is much quieter and runs smoother now!

vtechjunkie

iTrader: (2)

My .02 is that you should do all the components to the part at the same time. It sounds as though you have all the bases covered. I would run some BBK engine cleaner, or some Seafoam through the motor before the flushes. Just for good measure. Check the front and rear main seal, oil pump, and the water neck o-ring. Tensioners don't usually go bad, but if it doesn't cost too much more, or doesn't spin freely, change it. These are all really questions you mechanic should be able to answer though.

EJeff8

There is a forum somewhere in the 92-00 threads where this guy does a complete stock overhaul. You need to find it. It'll have all you need.

macson

Don't forget the PCV valve!

amej8

Ah, forgot about that little guy! Does it make a big difference in changing it? Like the other things, it's never been done before.

macson

Might smooth out your idle a bit, will most definitely let the engine breath better assuming it isn't functioning and needs to be replaced (decent chance if it's never been touched). Good luck getting it out though, can be a little bit of a bitch if it has been there for a while.

amej8

Yeah. That's why it's never been done before haha. I looked it at years ago and stared at it for a second...then said screw this lol.

TwoFaced

.02

Usually you can find a "kit" for the timing belt that contains a new water pump...gasket...timing belt...and a tensioner for barely more than just a belt...but be careful some of these kits contain sub-par parts so make sure they list specifics. I just pieced everything together on rockauto.

However...it is...as mentioned above a good idea to go ahead and replace these components while you're in there.

Seafoam is good...if you have an oil leak already...it will probably get worse...but that can be good I guess because if you're unsure where it's at you'll probably definitely be able to tell where it is afterwards. There's a good write-up in the FAQ sticky that contains a good instruction on seafoaming your engine.

I don't know if it was mentioned so sorry if it was, but did you think about valve cover gasket and plug seals?

Depending on how far you're going with this...you can pull off the throttle body and intake mani since you're doing a coolant flush anyways and clean those out with tb/carb/parts cleaner and get all that build up off. You'd be suprised how smooth things feel afterwards. If doing this obviously replace all related gaskets. I think tb was like 4 bucks and intake was like 10.

amej8

I'm going with Honda OEM parts. I know some people that know some people so I can get em cheaper lol. I got another Honda friend that said he'll help out for less than whatever everyone else is charging. Plus I've been friends with him for a long time now and he's torn his H22 apart and rebuilt it from the bottom up so I trust him.

The problem with seafoam is that I don't want to break loose any build-ups inside the motor. Because I'm not opening the motor at all. If something goes wrong, I'm screwed. I don't have the kind of money to rebuild a motor. Hell, I don't really have money to do this maintenance. But I know it has to be done.

Actually, pulling off the TB will probably be something I'd like for him to do because I've been throwing a P0505 code for months now that won't go away. I bought a new"er" IACV (same year civic with over 100k less miles on it) and it did nothing.

Valve cover gasket was done within the past 50k miles. It used to leak and I got it to stop. He said something about main seal or something and he said they're cheap and easy so I said okay lol.

amej8

Bumping this for some questions. Hope to get more responses again!

Well the maintenance went smooth. Friend and I replaced the timing belt, timing belt tensioner, water pump, camshaft seal, and valve cover with Honda OEM parts and also did a coolant flush (since the water pump had to come out) and adjusted the valves. The car is so much quieter now and feels so much smoother.

However, I still have some more oil leaks to take care of. There is oil under the distributor so I was going to tackle the o-ring next. Also, the oil pan is soaked in oil so I was hoping to tackle the oil pan gasket at some point. But I can't seem to find a write-up with pictures to get an idea of what I'm going to be doing.

Does anyone else have any other things I should replace? I was thinking PCV valve since I'm coming up on an oil change soon. Tune-up has been done within the past 30,000 miles or so. The plug wires may have been a little longer. But I'm not too worried about another tune-up right now.

sk8shorty012

iTrader: (3)

Jon,

Everything sounds good. The oil pan gasket isn't too bad. Just need to remove the lower exhaust manifold and transmission brackets. I recommend using a torch to heat the oil pan which will make removing the old gasket MUCH easier.

The PCV valve and fuel filter are relatively cheap, might as well do them while you're there.

Other than that, I'd check your motor mounts and suspension bushings. I didn't see mention of them.

98civdx

Valve lash adjustment.

amej8

Hey man long time no see. I might hold off on the oil pan gasket after all lol. I'm not sure my lower exhaust manifold is going to budge. I'll have to take a gander before I do my oil change.

Fuel filter? Is it necessary? I thought generally those don't really get changed. I might consider it though since I do have a lot of miles on my car...

Motor mounts could use a change. The car jerks and rocks so much when I let off the gas and press it again while I'm in gear. Even just at idle if I rev the engine from the engine bay I can see the engine move a whole lot more than I want it to. But it's nothing I'm not too concerned about changing. Doesn't bother me enough lol. And suspension bushings... Eh, again, not too concerned about them unless they effect my tire wear which they aren't currently. I just need another alignment.

As I stated in post #10, valves were adjusted. The car is much quieter.

sk8shorty012

iTrader: (3)

If you're not planning on doing the other items, I would do the fuel filter. That's really the best way to put it. My main focus based on what you've said would be any thing that leaks.

Also how are your tie rods / ball joint boots?

98civdx

Oh, I must have skipped right over it.

amej8

Someone on another forum mentioned replacing the VTEC solenoid gasket? I know nothing about this. Is this necessary?

I'm HOPING to be able to do the oil pan gasket. The oil pan is soaked in oil (and the entire bottom half of the engine for that matter) so I would ideally like to get it replaced. I talked to my friend and he's aware I want to get it done.

Tie rods and ball joints are fine to my knowledge. I recently had someone put in e-brake cables for me and I had him check out a noise for me under the car (which turns out to be a bad wheel bearing at this point). Everything looked fine. Nothing was torn, cracked, leaking, etc.

I just checked out the How To for the fuel filter and it seems very straight forward. I'll probably tackle that too then if the filter is cheap.

No worries, I know no one likes reading the novels I write .

sk8shorty012

iTrader: (3)

Cool man sounds like the oil pan gasket and fuel filter is all that's really left. The VTEC gasket is behind the head and the valve. It's cheap and easy to replace but only necessary if it's leaking. Also did you check your spark plug tube seals? Once they start to leak your spark plugs get covered in oil.

amej8

I don't recall seeing any leaking from the solenoid, I'll have to double check.

Ah! Thank you for reminding me about the spark plug seals. I forgot we changed those while we had the valve cover off. Damn those things are hard... Thanks for reminding me! Gotta put that into my record keeping book.

I found something else to consider! How often does the oil pump or any of the parts related to the pump need to be replaced? Mainly the oil seal, any gaskets, etc.?

So it looks like these are next on my list:
- PCV valve
- Oil pan gasket (ideally)
- Fuel filter
- Distributor O-Ring
- Look into VTEC solenoid gasket

I'll also have to go back into my books and check when the last tune-up was performed. I think I MAY be due for spark plug wires.

Thanks Evan. Hows your car doin?