I'm getting a little irritated at the lack of reliability that my supposed to be "reliable" 96 DX Civic is cursed with. I have 82,000 miles on my car and this is my list of stuff that is wrong with it...
- Lower driver side engine mount is shot
- something under the hood is squeeking when i shut the car off even though I just replaced my serpentine and a/c belt.
- both axels are shot
- after replacing the belts, i noticed my engine stuttering(don't have any idea why)
- cracked exhaust manifold(how the hell does this happen?) It looks like my exhaust manifold and catalytic converter are all one piece, looks like a very expensive part to replace.
- Oil pan gasket is starting to leak
- valve cover gasket is leaking and was just replaced recently.
- Driver side window regulator is stripped(can not roll down window or roll back up).
- horrible gas mileage, were talking i'm lucky if I get 250 miles to a tank of gas, and thats driving like a grandma too. I just replaced the fuel filter, so i'm hoping gas mileage will improve.

I'm trying to talk myself into keeping this car. I test drove an RSX type-S and fell in love with it, then after talking with the sales people, I determined I can not afford one right now. WHAT TO DO? I'm so mad. I don't want to fix any of this crap. I want to do a B18C swap, but my brother says not to waste my money because in 2 or 3 years i'll be able to afford a better car, like the RSX-S, so not to waste my money fixing up the civic. I need some input here, what would you guys do?

 

I don't know how well you take care of the car, but it sounds like you aren't doing such a good job....

All the stuff you mentioned is normal maintenance for a car with 84,000 miles (save for the exhaust manifold - which can crack if water gets on it when it's really hot, and shuddering). Replacing an oil pan gasket is easy and cheap, same for the valve cover gasket and other various things you mentioned.

You can get the exhaust fixed by most any shop with an arc welder... :dunno:

Just a lot of stuff at once it sounds like.

I have a motor mount from my '95 you can buy off me, but I'm not sure it will fit the '96...

Patients and knowledge are vitrues.

 

honestly most of that seems normal wear and tear to me. the engine mount is pretty common, the axles are normal wear and tear, the valve cover and oil pan gasket are not uncommon as well. usually the oil pan cna just be tightened down a bit and it works fine...not sure how the exhaust manifold cracked, but if you want a replacement you can get a used one pretty easily...

 

figure out what u want first of all, if ur gonna get a whole new car soon then don't work on the engine, same if ur gonna do a swap (whats the pt of fixing it if ur gonna get rid of it), axles and the window parts arent expensive just need replaced, id say have the crack on the exhaust taken care of, welding it is just fine, oil pan gasket isnt too expensive at all, valve cover probably just needs rtv silicon reapplied over the current gasket its probably still fine, motor mounts are easily replaced, any car requires work and regular maintance, things break all the time (i wish everyone would realize this especially my gf who keeps nagging me about broken car parts and things going wrong with our cars) if u keep up ur regular maintainance major things last for a long time, honda's are well made cars, they just require work when needed. Decide whats important to and go from there is my idea, you make ur car what you want it to be.

 

The exaust manifold is covered under warrenty for 7 years or 100k miles. Get it in and get a new one.

FREEEEBBBBBBIIIIIIEEEEE!!!

 

Did you set the tension properly on the belts you replaced? Too tight, and the engine will shutter. Too loose, and it'll squeal. My guess (especially since it started after you replaced the belts) is that you didn't set the tension right. Gaskets are an easy fix. Probably took the valve cover off before, but didn't replace the gasket like you were supposed to. Engine mount, also easy.
When was the last time you changed the plugs, wires, cap, and rotor? Changing those will help your gas mileage. I hope you changed the timing belt when you changed the other belts. If not 90K is when your supposed to, and you'll have to remove the other 2 again to change it.

My advice is to get a copy of the dealers scheduled maintenance at each interval, and follow it starting with the 90K mile service.

I don't know the car, but I don't think it'll take much to make her feel like new again.

 

my freind tells me all honda exhausts are on a permanent warranty-regardless of year or miles. They just don't like to tell you that. He got his exhaust fixed on his '89 Si free from the dealer.

Seeing as my muffler just up and fell off last fall, you think i'd have done that too. :exnbp:

I know how you feel today. I just replaced my clutch master cylinder this afternoon, and there's plenty of stuff falling apart here and there. Its no big deal if you just keep up with it. If you let it go for a while though, then it starts to add up and feel overwhelming.

Buy a Mustang, yO!:fawk:

 

At least you got those cool ass mudflaps for basically nothing Also, what you mean by the "buy a mustang"? I'm thinking about getting one just for the heck of it if I sell my car:naughty:

 

Just the emissions part of the exaust is covered under warranty. Original mufflers are not covered under the warranty, but if you buy a genuine Honda replacement muffler from Honda, that is covered for life.

 

I think he is referring to my other posts when I was asking people their reason for fixing up a FWD car. I mentioned something about how my brother is into mustangs and thinks it's the best bang for the buck and is very reliable. He's just giving me sh*t. :fawk:
Lets see, i've replaced my plugs, cap, and rotor towards the end of last year, so those parts are all good. Spark plug wires are on their way. I ordered some NGK blues from GBC for 44 bux. I've replaced the fuel filter and air filter. As far as tune up maintenance, what else do I need to replace? So now it's either fix my axels, engine mount, and oil pan gasket leak, do an engine swap, or get a new car, and it's not looking good for finding a new car. My brothers co-worker was saying I should be able to find a B16 for pretty cheap, maybe 2 grand or less. If I can get a B16 for for 2 grand, then i'm already 3/4 a way there financially.