Hello everyone. I recently acquired a 98 Civic Ex with ~143,000 miles on it. I had it inspected by a mechanic at Pep Boy's before I bought it and they said overall it was in good condition. However, I do not have a maintenance record on this vehicle and I am going on a long trip (over 400 miles) up north to my job at the end of the month so I would like to have a mechanic look the car over and make sure it is up to date on maintenance.

However, I don't just want to give the mechanic a blank check so what should I have them inspect or replace? I have already changed the oil and replaced both the oil filter and air filter. Here's what I was planning on having the mechanic do:

1. Replace timing belt. I don't know when it was last replaced and neither does the previous owner so I figure I might as well do it. Does the water pump also need to be replaced when the timing belt is replaced? It seems this is usually done on Hondas....
2. Replace fuel filter Hayne's manual says it needs to be done every 30K miles or 2 years.
3. Change manual transaxle lubricant. Hayne's manual says this needs to be done every 30K miles or 2 years as well. I might just do this myself since it doesn't seem very difficult (can't be much harder than changing the oil right?).
4. Change brake fluid. This I may just do this myself as well but Hayne's says it needs to be done every 30K miles or 2 years.
5. Inspect spark plugs. I believe new spark plugs were installed just a few months ago but I'd just like to make sure.
6. Check engine idle speed Hayne's says this needs to be done 30K miles or 2 years.
7. Coolant flush. I can do this myself.
8. Inspect and replace, if necessary, spark plug wires, distributor cap and rotor 30K miles or 2 years according to Haynes
9. Wheel alignment
10. Wheel rotation (can do myself)


Should this get me up to date on maintenance on this vehicle? Is there anything else I should have on the list? Comments and suggestions are much appreciated, I'm a newbie when it comes to car maintenance.

 

drive it for a week, if it doesnt break down, its reliable enough to make it. lol

 

I have driven it around and it seems okay but a friend of mine just had his acura's timing belt break when it was in good working condition and I don't want that to happen to me.

 

Well, I am also a mechanic, so here's what i would recommend (and hopefully other mechanics):
-Yes to Timing belt, and yes do a water pump at the same time. With that many miles on it, might as well. Go with an OEM belt. seriously. or Beck Arnley makes a good belt too. Get an OEM water pump too. Seriously man, don't buy any Napa or Autozone crap. there is no substitute for Quality when it comes to these parts.
-yes to the fuel filter, which you should do yourself. You will be charged approx 0.6h labour (approx $60) to have it changed, and will likely be charged as much as 50% markup on a crappy 10$ part. It is not hard, and if you can change your oil, than you should learn to change your fuel filter as well. It is a very basic procedure, and you can save yourself $75-80 while learning a bit in the process...knowledge is power my friend...
-Start by just checking your transmission fluid. The fill hole also acts a level check. make sure your fluid is up to the hole and stick something long in there to get a sample of it. (a plastic ziptie works good or even a drinking straw) and see what kind of shape the oil is in. If it looks dirty or has any debris in it, than yes change it.
-don't worry about your brake fluid. it's ok. As long as its not black, it'll be fine. I don't do many brake fluid flushes, i just don't think they do a lot. It's up to you, but i don't even flush my own brake fluid....
-definitely check your spark plugs, and the rest of your ignition system (wires cap rotor etc.)
-idle speed........does it idle good? around 750ish? don't waste your money. it's probably ok. If you're not having any drivability issues or stalling problems, or anything like that, than i wouldn't worry much about it. .
_Wheel alignment... Does your vehicle pull while cruising? are your tires wearing unevenly? take a look at your tire tread and see if it is flat across, or see if it is wearing different on one side of the face. This usually means something other than an alignment. like possible worn steering linkage, ball joints even bad struts can give you uneven wear. if you do need any of these replacement parts, you will need an alignment. I don't let anything leave my shop without a proper alignment after it has had front-end parts replaced.
If your tires look good, and your car drives nice and straight, than just make sure your Tire PSI is up to just below max cold pressure, (5-10 PSI) for better MPG and extended tire life, and you should be good to go.
seems like all the things that i would check if i were you!
This is all in my long-time professional career opinion. Good luck and only take your car to a mechanic you trust!!

 

Defiantly do the timing belt and have them look at the water pump. You can usually tell by the teeth on the blades.

If the belt breaks YOUR DONE.
Nothing else on that list is crucial to your car.
But you should still do them if you have the money.

 

I agree with boostb4beauty for the most part. And for Christ's sake - pull your damn head out of the haynes manual maintenance section.

Change your timing belt (water pump with it), fuel filter, trans fluid, plugs, dizzy rotor, dizzy cap, and call it a day. Check the brake fluid, if it's not black, make sure it's up to the "full" line. If it's black, flush it.

All of that can be done in a day with the exception of the timing belt if you don't have the tools, so based on the way you're describing it, just have the mechanic do the water pump/timing belt. If you can drain trans/engine oil, you can very well change a fuel filter, it's not hard, one bolt for the clamp, one bolt for the fuel line - do it outside for when fuel spills.

As for the alignment/balance:
If your car is pulling to one side when you take your hands off the steering wheel when it's centered, it needs to be aligned, else if - ignore it.

As for the balance: If you find a new-found shake/rattle in your *** (rear) the steering wheel (front), get it balanced, else if, they're most likely balanced - every tire shop does it..

-----------------------
I think you're making this a much bigger deal than it actually is. Most of the stuff is quite cheap and you can do yourself in a day, the only exception is the 4 wheel alignment and the timing belt/water pump. Only do the alignment if it's pulling when you let go, do the timing belt/water pump either way if you nor the previous owner know when the last time it was changed.

It's quite simple, don't blow a whole paycheck wad on this thing.....

But seriously man, pull your head out tf of the haynes manual for 5 minutes and use some common sense .

 

The timing belt isn't as hard as people make it out to be. You just need a breaker bar or preferably an impact wrench. Otherwise they'll charge like $300 at a shop.

Brake fluid should be flushed when you change brakes. If it's low, unless there's a leak, that's an indication that brakes need to be done soon. If you top it off, when you press the pistons back into the caliper it will overflow.

I have an oem timing belt that will fit...pm if interested.

 

if you want a good tune up you can just change out the spark plugs rotor cap and ignition wires. you dont actually need a mechanic to do that for you its easy look up directions online. The water pump is usually recommended to be changed with the timing belt so you should go ahead and do it. timing belt would be good and they will also check your timing with it. and an alignment would do. look at the tires and see if you have uneven wear on the tires like towards the inside of the tire mainly. if wear is even an alignment is probably not needed. change out your ignition stuff yourself and then have a mechanic do the timing belt

 

x2 completely.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. As I said I'm pretty new to car maintenance... I read that the fuel filter was in the "engine compartment" and thought this meant inside the engine itself like the timing belt. I see where the fuel filter is now, I'll just do that myself and have a mechanic change the timing belt and water pump.