I have recently bought a 1995 Honda Civic DX auto transmission. 126,xxx miles its recently had its oil changed and filter as well. I bought the car for $1,400 from my mom's mechanic here in MN. Runs good for me and gets great gas mileage, 35/gal. It has a brand new alternator, has had valve work done in engine. My mom's mechanic had said that the car had engine troubles earlier in its life and needed engine work, thus the valve work. I think I got a pretty damn good deal all things considered. But here I am, stuck with it now if it wasn't such a good deal. Right, so lets get right down to business.

First off there is this whistling noise to the engine some times, only while accelerating however. it happens in the lower gears for sure, but when I'm on the freeway I can hear it most strong when I'm maintaining 64-65 mph. It just makes a constant whistle. Now I have no idea what this could be from, if its normal, or the start of a serious problem.

Next issue is minor - I think, of what I believe to be the heat shield rattling. At any rate, its a rattle of some kind that is not only annoying but could be a problem I'm guessing if left alone. I simply need to just check it out with someone, thats all with that one.

Ok, so I drive pretty conservatively and in doing so I've noticed something. When I want to just ever so slowly accelerate from about 25 to 30 mph the car likes to shake. It also happens at freeway speeds to some degree, but way less noticeble then. To me its pretty noticeable, especially at the 25-30mph. The shaking immediately goes away if you let off the gas completely or give it a good amount more gas. I'm no mechanic so I've not the slightest idea what could be going on with my little engine that could. To be clear, it is not a dramatic shaking. You know when brakes are warped and when you brake it kinda shakes and you slow down? Well, my car has that problem with very slow acceleration.

Last thing is simply my brakes. I'm sure they are old, and I would like to make sure they will keep working the right way. Right now, there is extremely slight shaking when I use my brakes. No huge complaints on the brakes, they work, just old and kinda mushy. I would love to have them crisper and more responsive. It would simply be more enjoyable to drive that way.

So hey, thanks for reading this far. These were my 4 main questions, why I made this thread in the first place, I hope you can help. But I'm also looking to learn about what I should be doing in general with my civic to keep it properly maintained, keeping it as reliable as it can be. I assume youtube might be a good resource for certain do it yourself videos on civic maintenance. I bet there are a bunch of links on this site, or maybe just one that would have the information I'm looking for regarding simply proper maintenance for this model civic. I just want this car to be reliable as is possible, as I will be needing it for lots of commuting to work here soon.

I know this place can have heavy traffic, I know that now after having to retype this entire thread cause it failed to post the first time. So I would really appreciate it if you took the time to read this, to aid me in any way regarding these issues. I'm trying to stay one step ahead of this car so it stays reliable :D

Thanks guys, have a good one.

PS: Depending on when I get a camera to use or something, I'll get pictures up.
PPS: Also, I'll be using your search feature as well, I just figured I should at least post one thread since getting this car.

 

So sometimes the whistling is worse then at other times. No idea why that is, but it tells that something may be wrong here. I tried searching, did not come up with what I was looking for. Anyone out there at least got a guess on this?

As far as the shaking goes, I'm pretty much just gunna chalk it up to it being an old drivetrain. For some reason it shakes slightly at times, I assume its no big deal. Most of the time it does not shake at all, or is hardly noticeable. If you know what the cause may be of this, a guess is better then nothing. :D

As far as the brakes go, I'm like 100% sure if I searched I could find out what I could do to help my brakes perform better and maintain them. Unless you got a link or something, I should be able to figure it out.

If you got nothing for me so far, I'm really just looking for what I should be doing regularly and what to do initially regarding general maintenance so I can be assured (as much as I can be with this car) I have a ride 5 days a week for 45 miles a day. Thats not including other driving I will be doing.

What would be perfect if someone had a link to a thread that someone posted a check list for everything that should be done to insure reliability. I mean I can think of some things myself, but I don't know how often to do some things. And once I know what to do, I've got a mechanic friend who can help with any of the work.

I know someone out there will read this that knows all about civics. Anything you post will help me. I assume there is probably nothing dire that NEEDS to be done to the car as it is very driveable. By the way everything is stock on the car. I plan on debadging it completely at some point. I bet the air filter is nasty, haven't checked that yet, but I am getting great gas mileage, last time I filled up I got 36 mpg.

Anywho... thanks again for reading my thread, I hope someone out there can help me in some way. Bump

 

Open your hood, and look at your intake tubing. Does it have the factory black corrugated tubing, attached to the factory air box? Is there a hose running from the corrugated tubing to the valve cover?

12mm socket and a ratchet, remove your heat shields. Problem solved. They aren't necessary.

Get your alignment checked, and have your wheels balanced.

Replace your discs in the front. If that doesn't fix it, replace your drums in the rear.

Full brake flush with fresh, Honda OEM fluid, and fresh pads will fix that.

In the FAQ's sticky at the top of this section, there all of the maintenance information you could possibly need. You can also download a factory service manual that will have ALL of your car's service limits, specs, and details, including what to change when, as well as how to change it.

 

Yes and yes. Its all stock. Now you got me interested, what does this have to do with the whistling?

Thanks for that one.


I think the alignment is good... I'm not 100%, but I can test it. I think that it pulls just BEARly to the left when I let go on the freeway. I'll test it again today. The car came from a mechanics shop as a loaner car, I think they have done this already, but it may have been awhile/years ago. What I think the slight shaking is caused from is the actual engine performance, like its because of how the engine is responding to my input. I definitely could be wrong though, maybe its impossible for that to be the case, because the motor truely sounds happy to be running (besides the whistling and rattling) but yeah the shaking seems somehow related to the engine, not the alignment to me. Any other ideas what the cause may be?


I can't afford that atm, only got 600 bucks and am about to start a new job. Its not bad enough to need to at this point, it bearly shakes at all, sometimes not at all.

I think I'll have my mechanic friend Saul help me with doing this one, thats a definite must do.


Good to know I have a good source of quality information. I do have the original manual, but its definitely not that detailed as far as explaining how to do things.

Thanks for the response man. I just checked my air filter, and it looks clean on the top side, but pretty filthy on the other side with some blackness in there. Thats gotta go. I'm gunna pick up a replacement today. I was thinking, if I were to keep my stock intake, I bet I could modify it to get more airflow coming in, giving me better mpg. I can search about that, no doubt its already been covered. I also bet that getting a hi flow catalytic or test pipe could also improve my mpg. I'm not looking to mod for power, thats just an added bonus. Whatever I can do to save money in the long run, I just don't know how these mods would affect the car's stock computer with the air/fuel ratio or what not. That is all for now.
thanks much

 

Aftermarket intakes, as well as an intake without the bypass tube, can cause a whistling, which is why I asked. Assuming your car idles properly, and assuming there's a filter in your air box, I wouldn't worry about the whistling noise.

If your vibrations were at a specific RPM range, I would agree with a possible engine issue, but you said the vibrations were at a specific speed. That generally points to either alignment, or wheel and tire balancing. Try rotating the tires, and see if the vibration moves from the front of the car to the back.

Hell, $600 is easily enough to do two full brake jobs, but I totally understand a tight wallet. Just make sure you use Honda OEM brake fluid - our cars aren't really fond of non-OEM fluids, and it isn't that much more expensive than generics. Get Brembo blank rotors - don't fall into the hype of slotted or drilled rotors. Get quality pads, too. I generally recommend Hawk HPS or PC.

Yep, anytime The "exposed" side of your air filter (the now-black side) is the only side that matters. if the still-white side is getting black...that air filter needed to be replaced 100k ago. K&N makes a drop in, cleanable, reusable filter for our cars that supposedly increases airflow as well. You could get a better flowing exhaust system, but but the cost to gain ratio would be next to impossible to overcome with the life of the car. Just stick to stock, keep it well maintained with OEM parts, and it should stay in the 30+ MPG range well into it's life. There's another write-up in the FAQ's sticky about OEM manufacturers you should check out. No need to buy parts from Honda when you can buy them from the company that made them FOR Honda for half the price!

 

great, well I think the car idles ok. when I start it up, the rpms are high (I don't have an RPM gauge in the DX model) but it goes down and sounds just fine at idle. no whistling at idle. I'm just concerned it might be like a leaky vaccum hose or some other hose, don't know. I don't want to have a "blow out" if a crack thats causing the whistle gets bigger suddenly. No idea what could happen to the engine if that were to happen. I guess I'm a worry wart, but I won't be taking it anywhere to check it out for now. Eventually I'll want to find out and fix the issue.

Its hard to describe what is going on sometimes while I'm driving. 1st gear to 2nd, its perfect. 2nd to 3rd I try not to rev up so high before shifting to conserve gas so I accelerate enough, then let off real quick to get it to shift. same goes for 3rd to 4th gear. When I do this, especially at a lower speed in 3rd gear and I'm slowing working my way up to shift into 4th, for lack of a better word, it shutters fairly slowly, so its not like a vibration exactly. Like, hump - hump - hump kinda thing. Its not so bad, but I wonder whats going on here. When I hold a speed, there is no shuttering at all, only when slowing down or speeding up at a slow rate. feel me? :D


Yup the brakes need some TLC for sure.


Yup, just put in the new fram filter I just bought. I suppose that'll work. Making progress...

 

check intake.tube for one of those tornado vortex generators, my vx had one and it whistleddddd.

 

Something else to note, might just be motor mounts, the rubber does wear out after a while and compounded with bad brakes/warped rotors give the feeling of the engine shaking more than not.

 

so really, all I'm concerned about at this point is just this whistling primarily. I hear it on the drivers side, its coming from that side in the engine bay somewhere. I got a crack or hole of some kind with one of the engine parts on that side. What can I do about this other then taking it to a real mechanic to figure it out? As you said though, its not a big deal if its not affecting the idle. I would just rather take care of it if I could for cheap (and correctly), just like I would fix the heat shield. Because really, all I would need once I figure out where the problem is would be to get that part, and put in on in.

And then the only other real thing is the shaking/shuttering/vibrating. You know what, I think that only happens when I'm kind of lugging the car. I thought you coulden't "lug" an auto tranny however. 3rd gear is the culprit, and sometimes in 2nd as well. once I shift in 4th though, it never shakes, even at slow speeds, until it downshifts itself. I wonder if it is motor mounts because wouldn't it be shaking more often then only at certain speeds and gears? It seems to me to be directly related to engine speed and throttle given. What else could this be, and is this anything serious?

 

just want to comment on the shaking under braking thing...I had that for years (brake judder) and had the disc machined, then changed pad,rotors and durms, no difference. I then changed my tierod ends and that improved it immediately, like by 70%. then changed my Lower ball joints and upper control arms and it is now completely gone. warped rotors are over diagnosed IMO....for cars this old more likely there is excessive play in the suspension due to worn out ball joints or bushings....

also the nice things about civics are they are very easy to work on and parts are very cheap.....$600 can get you an engine.....

I did my brakes (rotors, pads, drums and shoes) for like $100 in parts , order from rockauto.com and learn some basic DIY.

 

You can get a new set of discs for $40 and they are easy to install. You'll need a torque wrench, jack, jackstands and a manual (Helm) with the torque values to safely work on your car. Torque your lugs to spec as well. Lugs are routinely over tightened and can lead to warpage of brake rotors and drums. Make sure the sliding mounting pins on your calipers are not worn and are properly greased with the proper type of grease, I believe silicone grease so it won't erode the rubber boots.
When was your timing belt changed last? This is a very critical part of your car, if it breaks your engine can be toast instantly. A belt that is too tight or worn could cause a whistling noise (that corresponds to engine RPM). The belt had to be removed, or at least loosened/retightened, to do a valve job. A vacuum leak can also cause a whistle. Does the noise change according to throttle application? Engine RPM? Speed of the car? How does the car idle?
You should consider servicing/changing your transmission fluid a few times. Use genuine Honda fluid. Its not just good maintenance but could eliminate torque converter shudder. It's that fluid/converter that is transmitting the power from your engine to the transmission, and ultimately the wheels.
Aside from that, balancing, alignment and worn/bent tires/suspension/rims/components could be causing vibration and should be investigated.

 

You know what, I bet there probably is something going on with my suspension that has to do with my problems with the brake "judder" and also with the apparent "lugging" thats not really lugging actually I think. I'm sure my suspension is all from 1995 and is wearing out here at this point. Something like this happened with my other civic I owned, the Del Sol.

Strategy400 said :

You can get a new set of discs for $40 and they are easy to install. You'll need a torque wrench, jack, jackstands and a manual (Helm) with the torque values to safely work on your car. Torque your lugs to spec as well. Lugs are routinely over tightened and can lead to warpage of brake rotors and drums. Make sure the sliding mounting pins on your calipers are not worn and are properly greased with the proper type of grease, I believe silicone grease so it won't erode the rubber boots.
When was your timing belt changed last? This is a very critical part of your car, if it breaks your engine can be toast instantly. A belt that is too tight or worn could cause a whistling noise (that corresponds to engine RPM). The belt had to be removed, or at least loosened/retightened, to do a valve job. A vacuum leak can also cause a whistle. Does the noise change according to throttle application? Engine RPM? Speed of the car? How does the car idle?
You should consider servicing/changing your transmission fluid a few times. Use genuine Honda fluid. Its not just good maintenance but could eliminate torque converter shudder. It's that fluid/converter that is transmitting the power from your engine to the transmission, and ultimately the wheels.
Aside from that, balancing, alignment and worn/bent tires/suspension/rims/components could be causing vibration and should be investigated.

Timing belt was apparently changed recently. The noise is not always there, whistling away. I would say 75% of the time you don't hear a peep. It only has one pitch or note it sings, and I think its always been the same note. I noticed last night driving home on the freeway going 65 where it whistles everytime at that speed, and for some reason it was a lot louder last night then it has ever been. The noise doesn't change due to throttle application or engine rpm, but it happens at certain RPMs or throttle amount used in whichever gear I'm using. The car idles great, right as I start it up, there is an initial whistle as the rpms go up, then it goes away once the rpms settle. So its looking like I need to make a check list and start doing it. I want to avoid having to bring the car into a real shop if I can do the work myself or with a mechanic friend to save my cash, I'm on a tight budget.
Well, it seems like you know what your talking about. I should do something about my tranny fluid that I got in there now. I bet its old as hell. See the thing is about this car is that I did get it from a mechanic, but when I got it, the change oil sticker was 6 months late and 1000 miles late as well. Its had work done to it, but its like they did whatever minimal that needed to be done so they could use it as a loaner car for people getting thier cars worked on at this shop. Another thing is that I noticed that on the freeway only at higher speeds, I coulden't believe it that I was pulling to the left. That was a first. at under say 40 mph, the car sits perfectly straight. maybe I at least gotta check my tire pressure. Maybe I'll have to bring it to a real shop to get this stuff all checked out and see what I gotta do from there.

 

You know how I could really troubleshoot this stuff properly? I wish I could connect with other honda-tech members in my local community, or at least in Minnesota here close to the metro area where I could just have someone with much more knowledge then I just take it out for a test drive. I know this baby needs maintenance at this point, but I'm just starting my new job Sunday, so even though I got some saved right now, I'm gunna wait until I get my first check to decide where I need to start with this whole thing. By the way, the engine itself runs well, especially if you are slightly more aggressive with it. I sometimes tend to accel slower to save gas (am I even saving gas driving this way?) and thats what made me notice the "torque converter shudder" as you called it.
So as of now, heres my little check list for whats in question maintenance wise:
1. Whistling drivers side engine bay - I personally believe its a vacuum leak or some kind of leak, not a belt. All the belts look brand new from what I can tell. All I know for sure is that the timing belt is new in there.
2. The shutter I experience when accelerating slowly at the bottom of 3rd up until its into 4th. With more normal throttle, the shutter is not there... ususally. It is if I'm going up a hill if I remember right.
3. Then, simply the brakes need a look at. I like how the parts are cheap, I could do the brakes with one other guy I'm sure with the right tools and parts in hand. I'd like my brakes performing correctly. So I did have a suspicion that they might be warped *slightly*, but from what you said sweesiong78, it could be due to other reasons.

These are the big three right now. But really, overall, the car has been running good for me here, I've been driving it a lot, getting great mileage. I'll go ahead and re-read what has already been posted here. But when the time comes that I'm ready to buy what's needed to do this stuff, I'm thinking if I don't meet someone from this site in my area in person (which would be awesome) I'll be relying on the information you guys give me. That is, unless I NEED to have a shop check it all out, for example, I woulden't know the first thing to do to check for a leak. I figure if I know what the problem is *exactly* and for sure, I'll have an easy time finding out answers to fix it by searching the site. The problem is knowing what the problem is for sure, and I can't afford to fix things that don't need fixing.

Anyways, any Minnesota people around this site? If so , pm or post here and let me know your out there. If you are very knowledgeable about my civic and live in MN, your advice in person would save me money, and I don't know if its legal to say this here, so I'll just say it like this, I might be willing to pay someone for the right (correct) advice about the issues I'm noticing (in person). Anyways, this is really getting to be a lot to read for you, the reader. I can be quite the perfectionist, but my car doesn't have to be perfect, I just want it to last me a long time, I'll be here reading more about general maintenance, but those 3 issues are whats currently bothering me. Oh and also, the alignment must be off now, it wasn't before. I don't know what I'll actually have to do. It seems like some of these things can only be figured out at a true shop. I'm trying to avoid paying the cost for that, is it even possible to avoid a real shop to even properly diagnose the issues, let alone fix them? Anyways, thanks a bunch for reading. Sorry for being so wordy, just trying to make sure I got my points across to whoever is considering posting.

edit: I searched about the shuttering problem I'm having, man, you know what it sounds like is that I might need to actually do something about it. the problem it said (I found it in the sticky) was this: "Sometimes shudder can result during converter lock-up, which could be the converter clutch falling apart or leaking internally." Well, driving it today, I actually tried to use the throttle just right to make it shutter, and it wouldn't, so I'm a bit perplexed.
So thats *could* be. Man cars can be complicated sometimes, just trying to learn how my auto tranny even works was confusing as hell. Well, at this point it seems like I'm gunna need a shop for at least one of the problems (this shutter could be serious sounds like), but whatever I can do to save money, I'm going to do what I can without a profession shop charging me for what I could do with a friend.

Oh and as far as the whistling goes, I finally had someone else play with my throttle to get it to whistle, and as I noticed before, it was coming from the drivers side, and close up, you could tell for 99% certainty it was coming from the belts. So I guess this means my belts may be a bit tight then.

By the way, sorry for writing so much, even without additional advice, it helps to write down my situation so I can read it later.

 

Get an alignment and turn up your radio.

 

Welcome to Honda ownership, dude. I would recommend you doing all of the work that you can by yourself, except for alignments (because those are one of the only things you actually need to pay for). Don't be too overwhelmed, because while there are a lot of things that can go wrong with a car, and lots of different things can cause one symptom, that's half the fun. You get to diagnose and rule out possible culprits as you work and learn.

There are plenty of online resources and how-to's (especially on this site, vehicle specific) which will run you through exactly how to do some of the more common things to your car. I am more of a visual / hands on learner, so I like watching YouTube videos and learning that way, before I tackle something new. I would recommend EricTheCarGuy on YouTube. He's a mechanic that makes tutorial videos, but also explains what's going on inside your car in a very down-to-earth manner.

Start by giving your car a VERY careful look-over. Don't take it to a mechanic. One thing you're going to learn quickly is that if you are going to work on your own car, you will need to accumulate tools. Don't just budget money for parts / repairs, but also allocate funds towards your ever-growing supply of car tools. Lift the front of your car off the ground (block the back tires, E-brake all the way up, etc before crawling under it - I don't want to be responsible for your accidental death), and take a good look at the bushings / rubber boots. Look at your CV axles and check the boots for dry-rot or tears. Look at your tie rod ends, and see if you have any free-play. While your car is off the ground, you can take your wheel at the 9 o clock and 3 o clock positions, and try and wiggle it. If there is excessive play, you might want to consider changing your tie rods. This is a relatively simple and short repair. You will need to rent a specialty tool for the inner tie rod, but that's another secret: you can go to AutoZone and rent a ton of different tools for FREE. You pay for them up front (on a credit card) then when you return them you get your money back.

If you want to check your car for vacuum leaks, try this. Turn your car on and let the engine idle, then take a can of starting fluid or carb cleaner and spray around the rubber hoses / intake / other areas where you suspect the vacuum leak. If you hear your car's RPM's increase in response to the spray, then you have found your leak. Your car is now sucking in that flammable spray instead of air, and you will hear a difference. This is the backyard-mechanic way of doing it, because I'm sure a shop mechanic would have more elaborate ways to find it. But hey, it works.

Check your motor mounts. I have a '97 so I'm not sure if they're exactly alike in this respect, but you will have about 5 mounts. One will be on the driver's side, at the top, another on the passenger side (holding the transmission to the body), one behind the intake manifold (remove the airbox to see it clearly), and two on each side behind the wheels. These can be neglected and can cause strong vibrations inside your cabin, that can be increased while putting the engine under a load (accelerating up a hill, for example).

For your brakes / rotors, that's not too hard to do, either. You will want to get your rotors machined at a shop. I usually just take mine to O'Reilly's because they charge something like $10/side and are done in about 30 minutes. I'm sure you can find many videos of how to do it on YouTube.

Welcome to the world of working on your own car. You will get frustrated, and at times you will feel overwhelmed, but each new thing you accomplish on your own will build your "automotive resume", and before you know it you will be a pretty damn good mechanic. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

do you have a garage? I personally feel the most basic requirement is a safe well lit area to work on your car, then second would be jack and jack stands. There is a simple way to check if your tie rods are loose, jack up the car one side, hold the wheels at 3 and 9 o'clock with your arms straight (elbows locked) and wiggle side to side. if there is excessive play then that is your confirmation of worn tierod ends. of course what is excessive depends on knowing what a brand new tierod end installed feels like ........ask a mechanic to do this test if you are doing an alignment...it wont cost him any extra time or effort and more than likely he would do it for free.

also given that you are in MN, I would bet your suspension parts are seized due to corrosion, which means you would need impact wrenches to unbolt them.