I got my civic about a month ago and I am just starting to do maintenece on it such as changing all the fluids, replacing plugs (don't think I need replacing of wires) and other misc. maintenence tasks. I was wonder what are all the tools I need to buy for doing all basic maintenence. In the helms manual, liquid gasket came up (where can I get this) and oil fliter wrench came up when I was scaning the instructions of what I need that seemed strange. I have a 3 ton sears jack and stands, what else?

I don't know what maintenence has been done before I got it (0 records), how can I check if the belts have been replaced @ 90k as recomended? Just use the helms manual to see if they are worn? I have 111k

 

a good set of metric wrenches and sockets, a torque wrench would be a good start. define basic, like how far will you go? you have a helms manual right? so are you willing to do everything in the manual?

 

screwdrivers too. I don't think a oil filter wrench is necessary (can always jab a flathead through it ). Maybe a compression tester, prybar, power tester. just a thought.

 

You'll use a 10mm and 12mm more than any other wrench/socket.

Get a good Craftsman socket set from Sears and you should be in pretty good shape. You'll also need a spark plug socket.

 

I got a craftsman 122 piece mechanic tool set and it has almost everything you need. 1/4 3/8 and 1/2 in. socket, a bunch of sockets (metric and standard), allen wrenches, magnetic screwdrivers, sparkplug socket, and 3/8 extension. I got it on sale for like $100 i think it was

 

I asked my brother, he had everything that I could think of off the top of his head. If I find anything that he dosent have, I will post back here. Thanks for them help.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">a good set of metric wrenches and sockets, a torque wrench would be a good start. define basic, like how far will you go? you have a helms manual right? so are you willing to do everything in the manual?
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For the most part yea. I will do everything myself unless I feel that I will mess something up and eventually cost more time and money to do it right. Something that requires precise adjusting and is a one time thing I will probably take to a respected mechanic for example. For anything straight foward I will definatly do.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">screwdrivers too. I don't think a oil filter wrench is necessary (can always jab a flathead through it ). Maybe a compression tester, prybar, power tester. just a thought.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll ask if my brother has a compression tester, I think he may. What it a prybar or power tester?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You'll use a 10mm and 12mm more than any other wrench/socket.
Get a good Craftsman socket set from Sears and you should be in pretty good shape. You'll also need a spark plug socket.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I got a socket set, courtesy my brother's work (he is a hardware store manager).

 

Oh yea with a 10mm and 12mm you could probably take apart 1/4 of the damn car...

 

10 12 14 mm wrenches and sockets own you

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97dxnut &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I got a craftsman 122 piece mechanic tool set and it has almost everything you need. 1/4 3/8 and 1/2 in. socket, a bunch of sockets (metric and standard), allen wrenches, magnetic screwdrivers, sparkplug socket, and 3/8 extension. I got it on sale for like $100 i think it was</TD></TR></TABLE>
WTF? $100? Damn, how could I have missed that sale? That's one hell of a deal! I just bought a 55-piece Craftsman for $90 shipped from Sears. (It was an online-only deal.) All 6-point sockets ... regular, mid-length, and deep. But yeah, a nice socket set will help you out. Get some extensions, too. Even for some simple ****, having an extension helps out just to keep your hands from banging and scraping against stuff. It's true there are really only a few sizes you'll need, but if you're like me, you like having tons of **** around.

 

A pry bar is basically a big-*** bar with a rubber grip on it (this might be for more hard-core type jobs) and a power tester (at least that is what I think they are called) can be found at a local auto parts store for $8-$30: it looks like a screwdriver, but has a wire w/ a clip that you attach to a ground (e.g. car frame) and you use it to test to see if wires have power going to them. This would be helpful if you do anything with your stereo, gauges, or any general electrical problems. also, you might want a wire stripper at some point. oh ya, like Daniel said, extensions will be a DEFINITE help (i wish I had more). hope this helps.