Hello, I am new here and new to imports in general. I recently am looking for a winter / daily driver. I found a clean 91 Civic SI. It has 134000 miles. New items include radiator, tires, brakes and alignment and timing belt. Car is very clean for its age except for 3 rust spots about 2" x 2" around the rear 1/4 panels/wheel lips. I hear this is common? They dont seem to have rusted through yet though. IS there an easy fix? It is a 5 speed with PB and P-sunroof, also has A/C. But manual locks, mirrors, windows and steering. Only things I can tell are it may need an exhaust soon and has a very slight "tap" coming from the valve cover (tappet?) around #4 cylinder (drivers side). Questions:

1. What is this car worth? (they are asking $1500, but I think they will take $1300)
2. Should I be concerned about the "tap"? Semms to mostly go away after its warmed up. Do these cars have valve or tappet issues?
3. What other things mioght this car need soon with 134000 miles?
4. I hear these cars will do over 200000 with good maintenance. Is this true?
5. What kind of MPG do they get, its a 5 speed?
6. Are the brakes normally a bit weak on these cars? The car doesnt seems to stop quite as hard as I thought it might. But they have receipts for the brake job? It doesnt feel unsafe, just a bit soft.
7. Anything else you can tell me about these cars?

Chuck

 

sounds like an ok deal to me, i have not seen a crx yet that does not have the rust on the quatar panals, its not hard at all to fix. they usually get around 35 mpg+ it all depends on how you drive it. the taping could be a number of things, make sure you check the oil, it could just be low. i really wouldnt pay much attention to it though because if it was well maintained it will do over 200K easy. check the clutch, they have a tendency to go out around 100k again it is all in how they drove it. as far as the brakes go, they might feel a little soft no big deal, remember the age of the car, its old. id say it is about right to go to $1300 because the car olny books at around $1500, it would be a great deal at $1000 i say go for it. good luck

 

Well 1500 is decent price but 1300 is better. The tap is normal. All ohv will make some noise but if you do not think it is terrible dont worry. Other things you might need to do... tune up... can never hurt... really nothing else. these cars will do very much over 200000 miles. mine gets 34 same year and all as yours..Brakes shouldnt be soft... could have air in brake lines or could just be a weak caliper set... id check it out. These cars are a nice quick reliable set of transportation. Whether it be DD or to increase speed they are decent. I would definitley buy that. If you need more help just post on the board

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lightngsvt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hello, I am new here and new to imports in general. I recently am looking for a winter / daily driver. I found a clean 91 Civic SI. It has 134000 miles. New items include radiator, tires, brakes and alignment and timing belt. Car is very clean for its age except for 3 rust spots about 2" x 2" around the rear 1/4 panels/wheel lips. I hear this is common? They dont seem to have rusted through yet though. IS there an easy fix? It is a 5 speed with PB and P-sunroof, also has A/C. But manual locks, mirrors, windows and steering. Only things I can tell are it may need an exhaust soon and has a very slight "tap" coming from the valve cover (tappet?) around #4 cylinder (drivers side). Questions:

1. What is this car worth? (they are asking $1500, but I think they will take $1300)
2. Should I be concerned about the "tap"? Semms to mostly go away after its warmed up. Do these cars have valve or tappet issues?
3. What other things mioght this car need soon with 134000 miles?
4. I hear these cars will do over 200000 with good maintenance. Is this true?
5. What kind of MPG do they get, its a 5 speed?
6. Are the brakes normally a bit weak on these cars? The car doesnt seems to stop quite as hard as I thought it might. But they have receipts for the brake job? It doesnt feel unsafe, just a bit soft.
7. Anything else you can tell me about these cars?

Chuck </TD></TR></TABLE>

Drivers side would be #1. Find out when the last timing belt was done. Look at the rotors and pads to see if they are glazed/shiny. That kinda hinders braking perfomance. Also check the color of the brake fluid. Should get about 300 miles to a tank of fuel. Right now my car has around 250,000 miles on it, runs strong. Still solid for being nearly 14 years old.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lightngsvt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
1. What is this car worth? (they are asking $1500, but I think they will take $1300)
2. Should I be concerned about the "tap"? Semms to mostly go away after its warmed up. Do these cars have valve or tappet issues?
3. What other things mioght this car need soon with 134000 miles?
4. I hear these cars will do over 200000 with good maintenance. Is this true?
5. What kind of MPG do they get, its a 5 speed?
6. Are the brakes normally a bit weak on these cars? The car doesnt seems to stop quite as hard as I thought it might. But they have receipts for the brake job? It doesnt feel unsafe, just a bit soft.
7. Anything else you can tell me about these cars?Chuck </TD></TR></TABLE>

1) Good price if it's in good shape and maintained well.
2) Could always adjust the valve lash - helped mine.
3) If they didn't replace the water pump with the timing belt, it will be something to keep in mind. Thermostat, too!
4) 250,000 to 300,000 is not unusual.
5) In my Si, I used to get 30mpg - depends how you drive.
6) Flush & bleed the brake system (fluid), then check rotors & pads next.
7) Upgrade the brake pads, and maybe change to braided brake lines to firm up the brakes - you can also upgrade the brake booster & master cylinder (15/16") from a 90-91 EX Civic Sedan - it's a bolt in affair - these items together will give you better braking ability & pedal feel.

&lt;edit:&gt;spelling.

 

The rust is the biggest issue you face on that car. From my experience, if you can SEE the rust, there's probably more underneath that you're not seeing. Get it on a lift or stands, and look underneath for any signs of more rust in the floorboards or the rocker panels.

Still, as a winter beater, the price sounds pretty sweet at $1300, and $1500 doesn't sound unreasonable.

If they don't have a receipt showing the mileage at the timing belt replacement, just plan on replacing it, and soon. Things start to suck when the T-belt snaps!

The brakes on most Hondas aren't the best. I remember being shocked that the 2000 Civic Si took 10 feet MORE than a Suburban to stop from 70mph. The good news is, better brakes are just a few $ away (Porterfield R-4S pads and DOT4+ brake fluid are all it really takes).

The Civic Si came standard with the glass sunroof; power windows, mirrors, door locks weren't offered in the US, nor was factory cruise control (but it would be nice to have).

I've had several (six? seven? more? I lose count) Hondas, and most of them had some sort of valve tap. Anymore it's not even something I really worry about - I've just learned to accept it as "a Honda thing"...

200,000 miles is pretty easy in these cars. My '87 CRX has over 210k on it, and the only use it sees anymore is autocrossing - getting FLOGGED on a race course. The engine shows no signs of giving up the ghost, no matter how much abuse I throw at it. If it's not burning oil, there's not much you can do to kill it.

Sounds to me like you just found your winter car. But be careful - you might decide it's too much fun to only drive it in the winter!

Mike

 

Real good price I got mine with 230,000 on it for 1000$. Original owner, all stock mint! 278,000 on her now and she still runs great after my beatings. Yes they all tick a bit when first started and cold.

 

Thanks for all the info guys. I did buy the car, for a bit more than the $1200 I hoped, but hope I still got a reasonable deal. The rust is a bit worse than I thought... and it turns out the exhaust pipe to the muffler is rusted through. Ideas on cost to replace the back section of exhaust? And it "Seems" to burn a bit of blue-ish (?) smoke under full throttle above 4000 RPM. But its kinda hard to tell since the car has dark tinited windows (limo), it may be running rich, not burning oil. Oil level was good when I had it inspected and I changed the oil already to be safe. There is absolutely no smoke at idle or when revved without load.

The interior is mint for a car its age, everything works and I had it inspected and the shop says everything is good. Paint is good too. I need to detail it up inside and out real good, but it aint bad now. Ill try to post some pics.

I understand though timing belts are supposed to be changed every 70k miles? It has 139000 now, should I be planning a belt change soon? How hard is it to change at home? Average cost to replace? What about fuel filter? Where and how hard is it to change?

 

Timing belts are relative... I doubt that you'd need to change it every 70k. Just check the wear on your's now. If it's bad, change it. In my opinion, changing the timing belt is annoying, so if you wanted to take it to a dealer, I guess you could. My old Si had the annoying blue smoke, I never did figure it out... lol. My radiator went bad, and I ended up blowing my head gasket, and warping a whole slew of things. The good news is though that a used engine is about $500 with tranny... so if anything, your Honda shouldn't ever die. I just changed the fuel filter on my Civic... Not too bad, but getting everything sealed was. I had fuel spraying EVERYWHERE. Ouch. The filter is loctaed on the firewall on the passenger side. It's a small round black object with 2 fuel lines attatched... not the Charcoal Cannister (the charcoal cannister is much taller than the fuel filter). Just use a socket and undue the banjo bolts, than hook the new one up. Simple. Anyway, keep asking away... Good luck!

 

Great..... This car has a brand new radiator in it. I hope its not a head gasket, etc. Although looking at it a head gasket should be a pretty easy job compared to the pushrod V8's Im used to. It runs strang and smooth and only has a bit of smoke under WOT, so I guess Im not gonna worry about it for now. I bought it just to drive for the winter, its not a car I need since I have others. But I want to keep it top shape and good condition while I own it. Although I think with some 16's (has 14's) this could be a fun car in the corners. it has good seats.

How can I check the timing belt? What is the procedure. Remember your dealing with a V8, RWD guy here.

Any FAQ'a, etc on how to replace, or fix the 1/panels / rockers from the rust?