engineer2

Anybody know the subframe (rear beam as honda calls it) bolt torque specifications? I need to change mine, and the Haines manual doesn't go this deep.

Former User

What year and trim?

From the 92-95 Civic service manual:

engineer2

96 DX 2dr. All the 96-98 appear to have the same rear beam.
66 sounds about right. They came out pretty easy at the salvage yard.

Former User

It's actually the same torque for 92-95 and 96-00 Civics.

engineer2

Did this swap in my driveway and would like to offer a few observations.
96 DX coupe: rusted out rear beam, convert manual steering to power steering, add front sway bar.
Donor cars: 98 Coupe (rear beam & power steering), 97 EX 4dr.: LCAs, front sway bar.
I'll call it the "rear beam" since that's Honda's offical name.

According to the parts list all 96-00 Civic rear beams are the same.

Manual rack is 4 turns lock-to-lock.
Power rack is about 3.7 turn lock-to-lock. Purge as much of the old fluid out of the rack as you can. The one I got had ATF in it

The rear engine mount on top of the beam was identical from the 98 auto donor car to my 96 stick shift. According to other posts and the parts lists, they are supposed to be different.

I found a piece of 5/16 (8mm) steel rod and used my bench grinder and Dremel to cut a step into the end to make a bitch pin tool. The small tip fits inside the pin to guide it. It worked great.

Safety: Have multiple things holding up the car!! Set the parking brake, chock rear wheels, 4 jack stands plus a large floor jack.

The "Honda painless ball joint separation" trick posted on YouTube works great. I owe that guy a six pack.

Mark the steering coupler end locations with a marker before disassembly. You have to have the new rack exactly centered for reassembly. Keep the orientation of the coupler the same too.

After unbolting everything and lowering the rear beam be careful not to snag the brake lines running right underneath the steering shaft opening in the body. If they are rusty, distrubing them will make them crack and leak. As me how I know this.

Do not turn the steering wheel with the rack out. Go too far and you will ruin the air bag clock spring.

If you have rusty brake/fuel lines under the car, now is the time to consider changing them. Lot easier with the rear beam out. Brake lines are 3/16 tubing with an SAE flare, so no need to hunt down a metric double flaring too. I believe the flare nuts are metric, so try to reuse them.

Don't try any brake work unless you know you can open your brake bleeders without snapping them off (8mm or 5/16" six-point bleeder wrench or flare nut wrench). Luckily rear wheel cylinders are common and cheap. Auto parts stores sell 3/16" compression couplings to splice brake lines.

The clips that hold the brake/fuel/evap lines to the body trap dirt/moisture and this is where the lines corrode the worst.

Rebuiling the power steering pump is easy, but the vanes tend to fall out. Make sure they go back in the same way. The ends that ride against the housing are rounded.

Use the power steering bracket that matches your engine type. There are a couple of different ones. You may need to bend a couple of A/C lines out of the way to clear the PS pump pulley. Makes a horrible screeching sound if you don't

The steering shaft U-joint (coupler) needs to go with the steering rack. There are 2 differences:

The manual rack has a smaller diameter input shaft than the power steering rack.

The power steering rack coupler end that goes into the steering column spline has a different bolt offset. Only an issue if going from manual (DX) to power steering. It is made for a steering column spline that has the groove cut into it for the bolt (like on the steering rack input shaft).

No problem though. After you install it, just use a 5/16" or 8 mm drill to drill clearance for the bolt. If you accidentally drill all the way thru and make the threads go away (like I did), just use a longer bolt and Nylok nut.

Adding a sway bar with the correct lower control arms is pretty straightforward. I did not remove/replace the sway bar bushings/links. I just left it all attached from the salvage yard.

It's easier to assemble everthing to the rear beam on a couple of sawhorses ahead of time: steering rack, tie rod ends, heat shield, stiffener, lower control arms, sway bar, power steering hoses. Make sure all power steering lines are tight. Put the whole assembly on your floor jack and roll it under the car. The hoses will clear if you jacked it up high enough. The power steering hoses are a pain to get at later.

The rear beam bolts are different lengths, but only go in the right way, so don't worry if you don't keep track. Everything else is pretty straightforward. Kind of a PITA to get the tie rod studs to seat, but a couple of clamps worked.

Don't tighten the LCA bolts until the car is on the ground or the LCAs are jacked up with your floor jack.

Lastly you need to get it aligned (ka-ching$$$!). Quick and dirty to get you to the alignment shop:
Get some thin string or fishing line. I "borrowed" the wife's pink sewing thread so I could see it easy, but now it's dirt colored, so i can't give it back.
Straighten up the steering wheel and lock it.
Tie the string aroung the rear wheel and pass it across the middle of the rear wheel all the way actross the front wheel.
Just touch the string to the front wheel.
This is your visual guide to how much toe you have.
Adjust the inner tie rod to get it close to zero or even distance front/rear side of the tire. A little toe-in is OK.
Do the same on the other wheel.
Go to the alignment shop.
The guy was amazed I had my total toe very close to spec.
The Goodyear store had the latest Hunder ProAlign, which is very cool.

Hope this helps.