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Listed here are the more common things to be worn or problematic with these 20 plus year old cars. I will edit this first post as additional information comes in.
design=design/engineering flaw i.e. choice of materials used; neglect=neglected maintanence causing failure; wear= normal wear item, normal deterioration from age.
Common things listed are (5th Gen=92-95 Civic, 6th gen=96-00 Civc; Sol=94-97 Del Sol, All=All 3):
design
1
Rear Fender Well rust, eventually getting to the rocker panels if given time.
All
design
2
Main relay cold solder joints.
All
design
3
Head light sockets corroded and melted from poor contact.
5th Gen, others need confirmed
design
4
Rear hatch wiper blade bolts/nuts rusted up to the point of no removal.
5th gen Hatchback, 6th gen Hatchback needs confirmed
Common things with most 92-00 Civics and Del Sols. 92-95 civic is 5th gen, 96-00 civic is the 6th gen, and I'm not really sure the generation classification of the del sol beyond believing they ran from 94-97 for the bathtub sol.
1) Rear Fender Well rust, eventually getting to the rocker panels if given time. All 5th gen and 6th gen civics (not sure on the sols)
2) Main relay cold solder joints. All
3) Trailing Arm bushings are almost always shot by now. 5th, 6th and Sol (I think the Sol has trailing arm rear suspension)
4) Drivers side seat ripped/worn away exposing and deteriorating the foam padding in the door side of the back rest. 5th and 6th gen, suspect sol seats fair a bit better.
5) CV axle boots rotting away/splitting. All
6) Steering dust boots rotting away/splitting. All
7) Common tune up parts needing replacement. All
8) Leaking heater core due to improper coolant changes (lack there of). All
9) Head light sockets corroded and melted from poor contact. 5th gen for sure, don't know about 6th or Sol
10) Rear hatch glass shocks shot/leaking. All 5th gen hatchbacks I've seen. No experience with 6th gen or the Sol's trunk shocks
11) Rear hatch wiper blade bolts/nuts rusted up to the point of no removal. Most 5th gen hatchbacks in salted areas
12) Rear hatch window lift handle cracked, bolt/nut rusted beyond removal. Most 5th gen hatchbacks in salted areas
13) Coolant hoses cracking/bulging due to not being changed every 5-10 years. All
14) Environmental control back lighting burned out. 5th Gen, no experience with 6th gen or Sol
15) Wire harness hack jobs for alarms/accessories/radios. All
16) Shocks/Dampers blown from typical lowering springs on stock Struts. All
17) Hard PCV hoses and sticking PCV valve. All
18) Unchanged fuel filters.All
19) Clogged Air filters. All
20) Leaking Rear Main/Front Main seals and/or vtec seals and also quite often the front cam seal. All
Many of the all's are just time related and apply to any vehicle.
That's actually pretty darn consistent. The only things above that I haven't experienced are numbers 8, 9, 11, 12, and 15. I've had my car for 14 years now. I could attribute the first four to the climate difference and the last to the fact that I've left mine in reasonably stock condition.
1. It's common to find a del sol with a rusted rear quarter panel.
2.
3. Correct, commonly worn to bits due to irresponsible ownership.
4. Due to del Sol's seat bolsters being rather large, it is common to find ripped driver seat right at the bolster seam.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. Have never experienced corroded headlight sockets. Needs Confirmed
10. I was told the del Sol's trunk shocks weren't supposed to assist opening, just hold the trunk open. Needs confirmed 11. N/A
12. N/A
13.
14. Needs confirmed 15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
And to add a few for del Sol's specifically:
1. Metal breaking around door latch.
I've thought about this one for quite some time and came to the conclusion that since the door is quite long and only supported by the hinge, when the body flexes, the door is resting on the latch and bends it back and forth until it breaks.
2. del Sol's are famous for leaking weather seals.
3. Arm rest adhesive no longer holds leather down.
4. Rear window garnish fading/cracking.
All pictures taken are of my:
1996 del Sol SI
D16Y8 manual
Re: 92-00 Civic/Sol Buyers Guide - Common problem areas.
I've used our posts to create this thread. I updated the first post with all the latest feedback and I also added this thread to the FAQ sticky under the last section #19 other FAQS.
Re: 92-00 Civic/Sol Buyers Guide - Common problem areas.
Yep, I had several above.
To add with Ohmega, front and sometimes back and side seals on the Targa for Sols go out and leak. Also, I plasti-dipped the rear window seal. There is a DIY here somewhere, but no one cared so it died lol.
Also, Sol pass door handles broken because idiot passenger locks door while trying to open it, and instead of unlocking it, doubles down on force!
My Sol's trunk shocks were dead, and so were dads, but his would stick if you held it. Put new shocks in, and it still does not pop up. On either my wing, or dads non wing trunk.
Sol ashtrays are very prone to breaking if you lean on them at all. Especially if they are brittle to begin with. Both mine and dads were broke, and I recently broke my replacement.
Antenna like any classic are fragile. But a 12v one fits under dash fine.
Re: 92-00 Civic/Sol Buyers Guide - Common problem areas.
96-00 civic subframes love rotting out. that gen is problematic with fuel/brake line issues as well. fuse 15 tsb, y7 converters cracking at the primary o2, d15 anything blow head gaskets, 96-00 sedan door lock issues, typically one or both of the rear doors stop working, 96-00 y7/y8 bottom end oiling issues (leads to spun bearings/thrown rods), 96-00 CVT is a total pile of crap, hood latches 92-00, but much worse on the 96-00, including the interior release handle almost always being broken
Re: 92-00 Civic/Sol Buyers Guide - Common problem areas.
things like bushings, etc are normal wear items. if we're on design flaws, LCA to rear strut bolts almost never come out cleanly, I have cut 4 alternators in half due to totally seized thru bolts. they corrode in the metal sleeve and basically weld themselves in there. on the bad ones, ive tried heat, penetrating oil, air hammer, nothing works.
Re: 92-00 Civic/Sol Buyers Guide - Common problem areas.
Originally Posted by eghatch9295
things like bushings, etc are normal wear items. if we're on design flaws, LCA to rear strut bolts almost never come out cleanly, I have cut 4 alternators in half due to totally seized thru bolts. they corrode in the metal sleeve and basically weld themselves in there. on the bad ones, ive tried heat, penetrating oil, air hammer, nothing works.
I was sort of thinking the same thing.... Thinking normal wear items that apply to all cars probably should be excluded and instead focus on design flaws.
For the alternator, it is allegedly the brand. The Nippondenso alternators don't have this issue I've been told, even in the salt areas while the Mitsubishi always welds into place. I've not seen the Denso Alternators on any of our wrecked civics here in BC either. Copious amounts of antisieze is recommended. Something like Copaslip.
I'll have to check the FSM to see what was used on the 6th gen, no clue on Sol's either.
Re: 92-00 Civic/Sol Buyers Guide - Common problem areas.
Originally Posted by eghatch9295
things like bushings, etc are normal wear items. if we're on design flaws, LCA to rear strut bolts almost never come out cleanly, I have cut 4 alternators in half due to totally seized thru bolts. they corrode in the metal sleeve and basically weld themselves in there. on the bad ones, ive tried heat, penetrating oil, air hammer, nothing works.
Holy crap, I didn't know others had this problem too. My through bolt is seized into a lightweight VX alu one ... sad. Air hammer didn't do squat.
Re: 92-00 Civic/Sol Buyers Guide - Common problem areas.
I don't really agree with number 8. I've owned a lot of '92 - '95 Civics and I haven't had one with a leaky heater core yet. Most of the rest are spot on though.
Originally Posted by deschlong
Holy crap, I didn't know others had this problem too. My through bolt is seized into a lightweight VX alu one ... sad. Air hammer didn't do squat.
I've broken lots of them. A good air hammer will usually take them out, but it has to be something pretty serious. I used to have a Mastercraft short barrel one that wouldn't do anything. I've got a long barrel Snap-On now and it will usually remove them or at least break the alternator case in the process of trying.
Re: 92-00 Civic/Sol Buyers Guide - Common problem areas.
Originally Posted by 94EG8
I don't really agree with number 8. I've owned a lot of '92 - '95 Civics and I haven't had one with a leaky heater core yet. Most of the rest are spot on though.
I've broken lots of them. A good air hammer will usually take them out, but it has to be something pretty serious. I used to have a Mastercraft short barrel one that wouldn't do anything. I've got a long barrel Snap-On now and it will usually remove them or at least break the alternator case in the process of trying.
i just cut them, pull the bracket, and remove any left over crap. happens A LOT. its gotten to the point that if i pick up a car thats been sitting, i pb soak the alternator before i even start it, just to avoid the potential of needing to replace the damn thing
Re: 92-00 Civic/Sol Buyers Guide - Common problem areas.
Originally Posted by 94EG8
I don't really agree with number 8. I've owned a lot of '92 - '95 Civics and I haven't had one with a leaky heater core yet. Most of the rest are spot on though.
That's lucky for you and not for me. My 95 Hatch leaks, I think my wife's 93 Hatch might be leaking and the 95 EX Coupe I just pulled the heater core and flapper box out was leaking.
So far I seem to be 3 for 3 on leaking.
But it also depends on if the previous owners did coolant changes periodically. Heater core should last for a serious long time as the OEM unit is a copper unit as long as the coolant doesn't go all acidic.
Re: 92-00 Civic/Sol Buyers Guide - Common problem areas.
Originally Posted by TomCat39
I've used our posts to create this thread. I updated the first post with all the latest feedback and I also added this thread to the FAQ sticky under the last section #19 other FAQS.
Good, I was going to say that this should be sticky'd...
Listed here are the more common things to be worn or problematic with these 20 plus year old cars. I will edit this first post as additional information comes in.
Common things listed are (5th Gen=92-95 Civic, 6th gen=96-00 Civc; Sol=94-97 Del Sol, All=All 3):
24) Window garnish deterioration. 5th Gen and Sol, 6th gen needs confirmed
I think that is most of them. I'm sure there is a few more really common ones I missed.
Also some items are just true of any vehicle period, such as clogged air filters, tune up items etc.
This one is a pisser as it makes a clean body look shabby. Is the only solution to buy another at the dealer?
This one is a pisser as it makes a clean body look shabby. Is the only solution to buy another at the dealer?
Mine are starting to peel and I started thinking. Black plastidip might redo the rubber coating for short periods of time. Easy to do and will last a couple of years maybe.
Mine are starting to peel and I started thinking. Black plastidip might redo the rubber coating for short periods of time. Easy to do and will last a couple of years maybe.
Will you wire brush the dried rubber off the aluminum first? I wonder if black plasti-dip might be the ticket for the wiper arms too... Mine are all chipped up.
Will you wire brush the dried rubber off the aluminum first? I wonder if black plasti-dip might be the ticket for the wiper arms too... Mine are all chipped up.
Sorry I didn't get back to you on this.
Wire brush sounds like a good idea. Don't think I would use plasti-dip on the wiper arms. For those I was thinking about sanding, then etching primer then paint.
Responding also provides a good bump to see if the sort is good or controversial as well as maybe get another item or two to add to the list.
Re: 92-00 Civic/Sol Buyers Guide - Common problem areas.
The speedometer went intermittant/ erratic in my 96 at about 118k. Didn't replace it for several years so now my car only has 32k on it. Never selling it though.
02-09-2016, 10:58 AM
Re: Getting started with Honda's
