2kej6

background 2000 civic lx auto 2-6---ow)
good evening/morning everyone.
just a quick incident report with my thoughts/ideas and the actions taken so far...
Long story short (kind of) it's friday (even though I work in 5 hours now..) Originally planned on replacing the battery in hopes of fixing my flickering lights etc..as well as replacing the fuel filter to see if that was my issue with decreasing mpg..on the way home from work I notice the oil light while stopping from somewhat higher speed to hard brake i tthought maybe low on oil/sending unit etc. because i had it done by midas for free on veterans day..never leave oil spots so i figure its an electrical issue...welll while cleaning ut the buttery tray I look deeper and notice transmssion has oil on it. check closer and its my panic moment

editL
just woke up. 419 AM...have to be at work by 9830 follow the pictures for the rest of the story
also i dont want to substite a bolt or nut on the pan annd damage...other then that enjoy the pictures of the mes im about to finish conquering'

by the say because the exhaust gets in the way of part of my pan might as well take it off real quick....and since its off...
which bring up another question,..i have no hole for the 1st oxygen sensor..aany ideas? id hate to cut it and keep constant cel...could i jump it? if so which pins would i jump?








first step and look what i see...

Jimi Hondrix

So, the exhaust manifold is cracked.. not uncommon for a 6th gen.
Oil leak.. did you check to see if the drain bolt is tight or within torque spec?
other than that it could be leaking form the top down:
valve cover
loose or worn PCV valve gasket
oil pain
rear main seal



Clean the entire engine with gunk degreaser or chemical of your choice. Afterwards, use very good lighting and a dental mirror to inspect for leaks. Also, can spray foot powder or baby powder in area and inpsect for leaks. Some leaks may seal when engine is hot and only leak when cooling off.

mk378

Clean all that oil off and see where it first re-appears. Oil changes almost always spill oil down the back of the engine when the filter is removed.

Flickering lights you need to check out "fuse 15." It is probably NOT the battery.

2kej6

Edit
narrowed it down..
Missing oil pan bolt
Missing nut


Unrelated but noticed this after removing it to get full access to pan...
Have back up though...Main thing now...do I go ahead and drop the pan with new gasket etc. Or fill what I lost (originally changed in Oct) and maybe a stop leak additive...?
​​​​​​

mk378

Replace the missing bolts and nuts, that should help a lot. No need to take the pan off.

Like the other guy said, cracked manifolds are very common on the DX/LX. Air coming in through the crack will interfere with the oxygen sensor reading and possibly cause bad running and lower mpg, so you should replace it. You can also convert the car to EX-type exhaust, which has a different style manifold (that generally doesn't crack) and the catalytic converter under the car instead of in front of the engine.

civic402lx

My 98 auto lx had the same cracked. Don't replace it with the Dormant manifold kit. It will smell, even though the cat with the manifold was brand new. It seems like it doesn't filter the odor out as good as the OEM one. Every time i back the car into the garage, i can still smell the odor. Stinky but not rotten... Supposedly the new cat converter does that. Y? I don't know. If I could do it again, I would convert it to the ex version. Then either stock used cat or magnaflow cat. I have magnaflow cat on my other car, no smell.

2kej6

Im not sure what it is but the internet always brings out the peanut gallery...the last post that was locked because it cut off "was attempting from cellphone"....wow...ok but anyways... header I installed was after I found the OEM one cracked etc. Friend of mine had one laying around and I decided on that...so for the cute hp comment..I haven't felt the "25" or so I expected..it even says DC on it!!!!!....anyways, it mounted up just fine at the exhaust ports even is long enough to reach the rest of the exhaust system..the only (major) issue is that the holes for the exhaust bolts do not align at all...because I had work I used wires to pull them together but still....loud....too loud for CA etc. I tried turn the rest of the exhaust but that would mean the muffler would catch...I have a crude picture (just got home from work) going to try autozone tomorrow for maybe a spacer or something that would pull the two securely together

Before the little comments come about how horrible it is etc - got it. was a last min "need to get to work " adjustment...ideas? I have no access to welding equipment etc...anyways thought I'd re share this ...hopefully that wasn't too much trolling....
what I had available inside the car to hold it together..same size they match up just the flage mounting holes....

eHMxhACk

iTrader: (17)

Make, model, trim level and any mods to you car are required, and more importantly needed, to get any accurate solutions.





eH.

tony_2018

or locked again. you'll need everything for an EX or else the headers won't work.

mk378

That gap is where your catalytic converter needs to be, which will take up the space to push the rest of the exhaust back where it belongs. The converter has a different style flange in and out. The DX/LX model's converter is built into the manifold which you removed. The EX converter is under the car with pipes on both sides. It is of course totally illegal without a converter, especially in CA.

Jimi Hondrix

Here's a link to find used parts: Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market
Don't overtighten the oil pan bolts/nuts..just a bit more than snug. There's a torque spec online.

TomCat39

It looks like your gap might be about 1 inch? If it is, the jerry rigged "properly" method would be to buy 1 or 2 steal flanges that fit the back side of the catalytic converter to push it closer to the flex gasket. This will also require additional gaskets for the flanges as well as longer bolts.

The flange I am talking about is not in your picture but resides on the muffler side of the catalytic converter.

Here in BC Canada, each flange is 50 bucks, so 2 flanges to be used as spacers would be 100 bucks without the 2 additional gaskets. Each flange is about 3/4-1 inch thick.

Please don't take it personal your first thread attempt got locked. Hiccups happen and since you failed to return to fix it.... A start over was in order, nothing more. Not a big deal.

Best of luck with your exhaust, fitment is a very common issue and you sometimes have to get creative to get it to work without it looking like an epic fail.

Cheers.

Oh wait! That is the back of the catalytic converter. You have your Cat upside down. After that, the flange will take up the added space like I mentioned above.

TomCat39

Merged your threads. Much easier to keep your car issues in one thread with all the details. One car, one thread for all issues is perfectly acceptable.

Between the two threads, now the issue with your exhaust might be easier to isolate. This should help reduce duplication of questions etc.

Oil pan bolts and nuts is 9ft-lbs. Replace your missing nuts and bolts and clean it up and see if the pan continues leaking.

If the oil only returns on the crank side and flywheel/flex plate side of the pan, it could be crank seals leaking.

mk378

TomCat, I think there is no converter there. The OP's last picture shows the back end of the header where the 4 pipes join into one. It ends with a wide 2-bolt flange that mates to the front end of an EX converter.

TomCat39

Hmmm I see.

Checking on on the DC website I see the design, and it deletes the in header catalytic converter. And it's design is actually based on the DX system with the Catalytic converter under the car, not in the header.

So the issues actually lies in the remaining stock exhaust. It's meant for the stock header/cat which ends a little longer than the cat under car header cat setup.

If OP replaces the rest of the exhaust with a cat back system and puts a test pipe or cat in place under the car, everything will bolt up just fine.



What is weird is when I look at the photo of DC sports site, that flange bolt hole setup should align with OP's bolt hole as fat as I can tell but in OP's pic the header seems to be reversed on the flange....

And before someone says it's the LX 4-1 header.... DC doesn't provide a 4-1 for the LX. Their site states only offering the 4-2-1 for the 2000 LX:

2kej6

Edit so turns out header was for ex..so had to use whole ex system.fit just fine. Tonight looking at idle issue once warmed up etc


Also still had new pcv valve in the car so while I'm in that general area..

TomCat39

Have you fixed your oil leak?

2kej6

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yes however I does look like it could be collecting near my crank seal...same time I do see stains on the transmission....(all reason to get 5 speed in there)..do see signs of spashes etc..also notice it on the intake manifold?,...literally one thing after the other. the IACV did help the low surge idle though.

As for the exhaust header issue. I just used rest of exhaust system I got with it not knowing it wasn't from an ex...bolted right up


..