97 honda civic lx
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Joined: Jun 2013
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From: Marietta GA
97 honda civic lx
Hi everyone,
I am not totally sure where to put this, but I need opinions from people on my car.
1997 Honda Civic Sedan Auto 1.6l non vtech
The Back Story
I bought the car from a buy here pay here in Nov 2011 for about 3000. The car drove fine until it started to warm up outside. The car started overheating. I replaced the thermostat 3 different times, replaced the radiator, found vacuum leaks, checked the water pump, did tests to push the water through the engine to make sure there were no blockages. I moved and found a private mechanic to check the head gaskets, and that finally fixed the overheating about a month or two before Christmas. While it was overheating it started skipping. After I got that fixed, the car started acting funny. I researched the problem and found out it was the distributor. I fixed that and the alternator went out about a month later. I changed the alternator and it seemed to run great. I drove about 10 minutes away from my dads house and the car started to lose power again. I managed to get the car back to his house and he found out the wiring in my car has been messed with. Someone has replaced a black/yellow wire that goes to the alternator with a green wire. He wedged that back in place to work. On the way home (I live about 1 1/2 hours away from him) the car wouldn't start when I stopped for gas. He suggested that I change the main relay. That fixed the car to get me the rest of the way home.
As I drive my car now, its eating gas. I used to get around 300 miles/full tank in town, and now I am lucky if I even get 200 miles. It still isn't driving right, but it isn't skipping. There are no check engine lights on.
Other minor issues: the muffler assembly needs replaced ($130), both axle joints in the front need replaced ($100), front driver window motor ($50~)
My dad is trying to get me to sale my car to buy a new one. I would like opinions on rewiring and rebuilding the engine and transmission in it versus buying a car for 20,000 and paying a 300/month car payment.
I appreciate all help with this. I love import cars, but I am fairly new at working on one, so I am not sure how cheap it is to fix these issues.
-Kaiteh
I am not totally sure where to put this, but I need opinions from people on my car.
1997 Honda Civic Sedan Auto 1.6l non vtech
The Back Story
I bought the car from a buy here pay here in Nov 2011 for about 3000. The car drove fine until it started to warm up outside. The car started overheating. I replaced the thermostat 3 different times, replaced the radiator, found vacuum leaks, checked the water pump, did tests to push the water through the engine to make sure there were no blockages. I moved and found a private mechanic to check the head gaskets, and that finally fixed the overheating about a month or two before Christmas. While it was overheating it started skipping. After I got that fixed, the car started acting funny. I researched the problem and found out it was the distributor. I fixed that and the alternator went out about a month later. I changed the alternator and it seemed to run great. I drove about 10 minutes away from my dads house and the car started to lose power again. I managed to get the car back to his house and he found out the wiring in my car has been messed with. Someone has replaced a black/yellow wire that goes to the alternator with a green wire. He wedged that back in place to work. On the way home (I live about 1 1/2 hours away from him) the car wouldn't start when I stopped for gas. He suggested that I change the main relay. That fixed the car to get me the rest of the way home.
As I drive my car now, its eating gas. I used to get around 300 miles/full tank in town, and now I am lucky if I even get 200 miles. It still isn't driving right, but it isn't skipping. There are no check engine lights on.
Other minor issues: the muffler assembly needs replaced ($130), both axle joints in the front need replaced ($100), front driver window motor ($50~)
My dad is trying to get me to sale my car to buy a new one. I would like opinions on rewiring and rebuilding the engine and transmission in it versus buying a car for 20,000 and paying a 300/month car payment.
I appreciate all help with this. I love import cars, but I am fairly new at working on one, so I am not sure how cheap it is to fix these issues.
-Kaiteh
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