I've had the car since 2008 when I bought it with 92k miles. It has 175k miles now. I've probably put too much money into repairing it in the last couple years but it is my daily driver.

Sunday, the exhaust started making a new noise. I have stock exhaust, but it sounds like I have a fart-can now. Any ideas what could be causing this? I'm even hesitant to pay for a diagnosis...

Here's what I've replaced over the last couple years:
clutch
rotors & pads
exhaust manifold with integrated catalytic converter
A/C compressor
oil drain pan
inner tie rods

Work I may need done:
Exhaust
Transmission rebuild (input shaft bearing noise keeps getting worse)
Shocks/struts (crap roads in Austin, TX)


Should I keep repairing or ditch this thing?
I'm curious what your thoughts are. Honda-tech has been a priceless resource for me over the years. I've performed many repairs on my own thanks to this forum.

 

I've never understood this rampant need for insecure people to ask total strangers on a forum how to spend their money or run their finances. No one can make that decision but you. Post up something when you get a tech question going.

In the meantime you should have posted this in the value thread stickied at the top of the forum, which I'm surprised an '08 member failed to notice.

 

It's posts like these that keep me coming back to honda-tech. Thanks grumblemarc! You're a real prince. You're a gentleman and a scholar.

 

^ 08 member with 8 posts, give him a break, jeez. Don't have to go all RonJ@HT on his *** when his post count is that low.



OP, you can buy a cheap exhaust on ebay, stock replacement and pay a muffler shop probably around $40 to install it or do it yourself in 20 minutes. The ebay exhaust will probably set you back sixty bucks or so and if you need the complete exhaust from your cat all the way back, it'll be like an extra $70 from ebay.


Search for Walker or Bosal resonator piping and muffler for your year car.

 

Pay for a diagnosis, on an exhaust?

Jack the car up and crawl under it. Find the hole. Diagnostic cost? Free.99. If it's a small, not-rusted hole (unlikely), take it to a muffler shop and have them patch it. If it's large, or has rusted edges, then like slomofo said, buy a replacement pipe and install it. Exhaust work is EXTREMELY simple - there's no reason you can't DIY.

 

And you need people to tell you any of the above? YOu cannot come up with a lists of pros and cons on your own that you have to ask strangers on a forum to do it for you? With 8 posts it's not like you keep "coming back".

 

And to keep it on the original topic, he asked . To which none of these responses are speaking to.

 

The penguin troll bided his time, but has now revealed his true colors. Where now penguin?

 

Right-o grumblemarc! I'll be sure to visit HT more often in the future. Thanks for keeping the thread on topic. I can see why they keep you around here.

 

if it's an automatic figure the transmission is going to take **** soon, or plan to convert to five speed

 

I respect him because he'll never lie to you -- rare indeed.

 

Well that was a reply way out of left field.

 

Its a manual.

I'd say. Keep it. I mean, even if you throw in a new exhaust, its going to be cheaper than trying to find a new DD. You've had it for the last 80k, assuming you've taken good care of it, you should be able to have it for a long time yet!

 

LOL,



OK back on topic.

Seriously its an exhaust leak. The majority of things you listed are parts that will continue to be replaced in the future so if you consider that to be a money pit I honestly have to say that you should just catch the train/subway/bus/taxi.

 

not really, the auto on these is the weak point and why most of them end up in the yards, same reason I got rid of my 98 LX last straw with everything going wrong on it,window regulators fail all the time too, but dorman makes ones that are supposed to fix the issue, all four of mine quit within two days, it's an issue with the cable drive and the pulleys, stupid design

 

You're taking your personal experience with your one car and you're projecting all cars to have these problems.


I had a 98 Civic a few months ago where the rear defrost didn't work. Did your rear defrost stop working? Should I proceed to tell every other 98 Civic owner out there that their rear defrost is going to quit working because this one did?

Gotta be a little more open minded man. Just sayin. . .

 

the transmission failing on these cars is a well know issue, do some searching, they started using a shitsubishi transmission in 97, they fail regularly, and many of them at low miles, since this is a manual, thats not an issue, the window regulators is another well known failure on these, they went from a reliable design to a cable drive system, the cables destroyed the pulleys, the dorman regulators have supposedly engineered out the issue, third issue especially on green cars and I think black cars, is the failing clear coat, every single green civic of that generation that I saw, had peeling clear coat "racing stripes" identical on every one. I could spot another one anywhere and know what year it was

 

Let me google that for you

 

"Hey guys, I have an exhaust problem"

"Well, let me tell you how bad some of those transmissions are!"

...Think about that for JUST a second. Now go sit in the corner and contemplate not shitting up these forums in the future.

 

speaking of shitting up these forums, I figured you would show up, he asked if he should fix it or ditch the car, when he first posted it wasn't known if it was a manual or auto, if it had been an auto, I would have said either swap it or get rid of it, because of the KNOWN issues with the automatics, I've owned one, had the same issues, I know a lot of people who had the same car, and had the exact same issues, they are relevant to the thread since the OP is trying to decide if the car is worth it.

 

Gays, this isn't GDD, let's stop shitting this thread up.


Lostforawhile, I apologize if my post offended you.

 

no offense taken, just trying to bring up some known issues to the OP to think about when making his decision, if mine had been a 5 speed, I definitely would have kept it. OP I used a raptor muffler to replace the huge POS factory one, it sounded decent and not ricey. You'll have to get the bend over the suspension fabricated

 

You nag more than my wife.. I thought men don't do that ****.

 

Getting back on topic and stopping the opinion poll like post respectfully, not troll like.....

You say it's an exhaust problem. Overall, exhausts are a fairly inexpensive item to fix up and you can easily find economical bolt on exhausts for the car. As was already said, it's also pretty easy work being it's all bolt on not requiring welding or cutting. The most difficult part is usually breaking the rusty bolts and nuts free as they are constantly exposed to heating up, cooling down and (salt)water.

Now, no one can tell you what will fits your finances, but the technical aspects of the deal are stated above which is ease of the work and the general costs of replacement parts. Only you can decide with some research whether it's affordable or not to your budget.

Now I'm going to close this thread as it leans more towards an opinion poll than a technical discussion. I am hoping the information provided in the thread is sufficient to help you figure out what will work best for you.

Ciao