Hey Honda people (and others)
 

With the weather warming up and me having more free time, I am getting ready to do my first service on my 98 Civic dx. Its got 'bout 140k on the clock, and seems to run fine.

So for my questions, what should I do?

my list right now is; Eng.oil/filter, tranny oil, air filter, pcv. I will also check my plugs soon as well. Anything else? (keep in mind my mechanical ability is somewhat limited.) What oil should i use, assume its dino in there now. I would like to switch to syn in the tranny, but not sure what wt to use.

Also my pan gasket is a wee bit wet, so i will be replacing that soon, do you guys think i need to get a torque wrench for that or can i safely wing it.

Im thinking of using some oil treatment right before i do the gasket, any thoughts?

Last time the timing belt was replaced?

You could try and wing it, pan bolts don't need much torque, so you could do the "finger tight, then half a turn" thing you do with spark plugs, check a week later for seepage, and give them another quarter turn at a time then.

However, deflection beam torque wrenches are quite inexpensive and can be found in the "cheap tools" bin at auto parts stores and occasionally walmart (Ours had them a couple of years ago). I mean those kind of bins where it's "everything 5.98 or 11.99" or something like that. If you're in Canada, PartSource usually has them.

Don't forget to change fuel filter and you could run seafoam through you system

i dont have much history from the car, i just bought it 1000k mi ago. I do know that the t.belt, wpump, plugs/dist.cap/wires were done @114k, and had a new exhaust put in last year at some point.

When it comes time to do the pan, i think i will get a tqwrench. and I changed my mind about oil treatment. Im trying to save money on this car, not clog the oil passages.

so my list now is
oil change 5w30 high mileage oil
fuel/air filters
pcv valve
tranny oil (not sure what kind of oil, any help???)
seafoam intake/fuel system.

Before you replace the pan gasket, you could give the nut's on the pan a hand tighten torque. It's possible that you just have a couple that are on the shy side of loose. Not trying to discourage replacing the oil pan gasket, it's just it's rather a hassle to do, time wise.

And if you do the timing belt replace the water pump, they are both impossible toget to. It's a $700 job at the dealer though. :thumbdown:

for tranny fluid i would pick up the honda manual transmission fluid or gm synchromesh-friction modified.

Unless a 98 DX is alot different between my Integra or my CRX (and I doubt it is) this isn't a difficult job. Once you have the right tools to get the crank pulley bolt off, the rest is pretty easy.

Motors in FWDs with the waterpump on the end of the motor driven off the cambelt usually take about 8-10 hours to change the pump the first time you do one, then about 4 hours for the second. Generally, you just do something like jack the motor off the passenger side mount, let it down sideways, and tackle it through the fenderwell with the splashguard off.

I'm using Redline MTL gear oil (full synthetic) in my honda. It's much better then Honda manual transmission fluid.

If you ask the Honda dealer they will tell you to use their own brand of MTF in your tranny, older Honda's recommended regular old motor oil 10W30, either one should work, along with any tranny fluid that is designed for trannys that use motor oil, do not use gear oil as they often contain sulpher and will damage the bushings, I've used cheap 10W30 motor oil, AmsOil 5W30 synthetic oil and AmsOil MTF fluid, all with good luck.
Your timing belt should be good for 90,000-100,000 miles, so you should be good in that area untill you reach that 200,000 mile mark.
I would check your coolent and if it's not nice and clear then a drain, flush, and replace should be in order.
If you are going to switch to a synthetic oil, it doesn't hurt to use a lube flush additive, even sea foam will help if added to the oil a short time befor the oil change, to remove some residue.
For about $20 you can get a shop manual from most auto parts stores, or for free from your libery, it will give you a check list of things to check and replace, and tell you how to do it.
I would also ad a scan gauge.

I would replace (or at least inspect it to see that it's new) the timing belt in case it hasn't been done yet. And yes, if you do that, replace the tensioner and water pump as well. If aren't familiar with working on cars, try to find a shop to do it, since you can mess up the motor pretty much if you get the timing off. This job should start at around $400 at a non-dealer shop.

I would use some synthetic oil, but it will make any engine leaks you have worsen. If the oil pan gasket isn't leaking too much, I wouldnt worry about it yet. I find it's difficult to ever get them to not leak on a Honda, even when you use a torque wrench to bolt it down perfectly.

It is a good idea to drain the coolant and keep it nice and green. It'll probably need a change every few years afterwards. You might as well replace the thermostat while you're at the coolant replacement, since that is easy, and good insurance for keeping your headgasket good.

Thanks for all the input guys, I have been too busy to do much work on the car. Ill prob do all my filters today, take a quick gander at those pan bolts too. I think i will try to get by just checking and gapping my plugs, i dont have enough $$$ for plugs, wires, cap/rotor right now. Ill also wait till its warmer to do my coolant flush/high temp tstat swap.

BTW I dunno if any of you guys have experience bleeding the clutches on hondas, apparently you cant use those handy vacuum pumps. Had to have a buddy come over and help me fix it the ole fashioned way, shoulda just done that from the beginning... o well.

ALOT of people talk about leaking oilpan gaskets. But the fact of the matter is that few actually leak. After all, it might interest you to know that there is pretty much ZERO oil pressure inside the oilpan. When oil flows down the side of the engine block, it is simply MUCH easier for it to keep on flowing down into the oilpan than it is for it to leak through the gasket. 99.999999999% of the time that there is oil around the oilpan gasket, it is coming from somewhere else. So I would recommend cleaning the engine to see where it is coming from. Oil pressure senders are a common place for oil to leak from. So is the oil filter. This is ESPECIALLY the case if the filter has a sandwich-style oil cooler (some Hondas do, but not sure about yours). I have also seen Hondas that have a separate piece that bolts to the block that holds the filter. And this leaked due to an old and brittle o-ring. Other trouble spots include the rear main seal (leakage can be hard to find here sometimes, as it will just kind of seep from the area between the engine and transmission) and even the cam seals on the head.

dood, im prayin its nothing more than a pan gasket or oil sender... I would be very surprised if this thing has an oil cooler, not disappointed though. Bone stock DX. I havent had it up on a lift yet, but the top end is very tidy, not even weeping from the valvecover.

You do make a good point about the pan gasket not being a very likely culprit. ill be doing a compression check when i get it to my gf's parents house (pops has a niiice hyd jack and stands, no wooden blocks there), so ill take a much closer look then.