Hello everyone,


Recently purchased a 160k mile DX 5-spd coupe for a literal $5.

Being as such, I'm trying to be economic about the current state of repairs of the car. A dealership mentioned the below when taking a look at the car- I'm a decent enough wrench-man, just looking for advice on plan of attack with what's needed. Even going to a local shop, they've quoted me $650 for the timing belt kit alone, so any and all advice is appreciated.

• air filter ($27)
• replace spark plugs, adjust valves ($245)
• distributor cap/rotor, wires ($338)
• fuel filter ($113)
• TBS4 timing belt replacement ($605)

So all together, that's about $1328. I'm betting I can do it all myself for 1/3 of that? The car does exhibit some pretty poor acceleration, so I'm guessing the timing belt work is neccessary since it's an interferance engine and with only 160k miles, I'd be smart to keep it in healthy condition. AC also doesn't blow cold, so maybe needs a refrigerant refill?


I'm new to the Civic world, so as much help as I can get please and thank you!

 

Do the first 4 yourself. Save up money for the timing belt, water pump job later.

 

+1 all of the above except the timing belt are very straightforward DIY. When you have the valve cover off to adjust valves, put a new gasket on. The gasket is reusable but after this many years the rubber will have gotten hard and it is likely to leak. For the timing belt, find a third party shop with Honda experience. A timing belt job on these is simpler than almost all other cars. It should be less than 2 hours labor if they know what they are doing.

 

Find a different shop as those prices are high. You have one of the easiest vehicle to wrench on and can do everything yourself except the timing belt. The timing belt is easy but harder than the rest of your maintence.

 

You can do all of the above yourself. Order all parts from oem honda sites. OEM HONDA SITES AND NOT OE STYLE, SIMILAR OE PARTS.