I changed my oil last week. I was looking at my Haynes manual last night and it seems like I can do a lot of the things myself, like change the MT fluid, radiator flush, and spark plugs. Anyone have experience doing the MT fluid or radiator flush? It seems pretty straightforward but I just don't want to mess anything up. Also, do I need to also replace the spark plug wires or just the spark plugs themselves? The manual also said to change the distributor cap and rotor....is that pretty easy?

Another thing the manual mentioned was inspecting all the hoses and belts and brakes. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with my own judgement on that so I'm thinking I'll go to some shop to have it checked out. The only thing is, I'm one of those people who don't trust mechanics, and I'm afraid that when I take it in, they are going to look at the car and make up all this crap that is wrong with it. What is the average life of break pads? I think I have about 45000 miles on my current ones (they were replaced around 15000 because of heat cracks). The dealership did that replacement under warranty so I didn't have to pay for it. How much does a brake replacement cost also?

Also, I went to Tire Kingdom to get my tire rotation done and they also had some 60K mile maintenance they do and one of the things on there was a 3 point fuel induction something or other (not sure what they do but it had something to do with flushing it and tuning it up and whatever). Do I need to get that done also?

I'm worried about all this because I'm driving 1500 miles next week and want to make sure everything will be ok during and after the drive. Thanks for your help,

 

cap and rotor: easy as hell.
spark plug wires should be fine too. i didnt change mine tll 80k, and only b/c honda had them replaced for free.
just look for wear/cracks on the drivebelts. i didnt need to change any belts till 90k.
ive never done an mt flush, but ive heard its easy. just warm up, drain, and fill.
as for coolant, i dont have a huge tub to drain my old coolant into, and i dont wanna flush all the gunk onto the sidewalk, so i just take it somewhere. usually costs around $40.
as for break pads, just look at them through your wheels. you should be able to see how much "meat" you have left on them. the min. thickness is listed in the service manual. i dont really know what average life of pads are, i live on a really big mountain and i drive like sh!t

 

www.hondainfo.com Got some good stuff

 

Anyone have thoughts about the fuel injection thing or whatever? and brakes info?

I did notice one thing on my brakes...the big round part that you see on disc brakes (I'm not sure if that part is called the disc or not - I know nothing about brakes) on my car are yellow. (I have an LX so only the front two). They aren't completely yellow, but there are visible yellow marks/streaks etc. Looks like some kind of dirt or dust or something....is that an indication that I may need to change my pads? If I do have to replace my pads, what kind should I get?

 

screw the fuel inj cleaing. they just put a bottle of crap in ur gas tank. i think ur refering to the "hat" of the brake rotor. its usually made of iron and its rust. its the part where the rims touch the car rite? theyre supposed to look like that

 

u know what u mean when you say u wanna have everything good for that long trip. I recently visited philly front atlanta ga.....thats about a 2200 mile round trip. I changed my oil right before i left and did an inspection of the car right then and there.

Oil is simple, coolant flush is also simple, you just need all the facilities to do this stuff in. Its not easy if you dont have a garage..i live in an apartment so its EXTRA hard for me. I plan on doin my first coolant flush this weekend along with a AT fluid drain and refil, along with an oil change..so a triple header...i'm gonna see how it goes..hopefully well!!

When you have the car up and u are doing an oil change..check your cv boots...its the rubber accordian looking things at the pivot on both your front wheels..also check the ones near your power steering....also two more. Check them for cracks or any oozing grease of any kind. If you catch a boot before it looses all its grease...you save a cv joint...those are considerably MORE expensive to replace mind you.

Also check for leaks where the tranny meets the engine block, around the oil pan..and above under the hood..check your valve cover gasket. And of course make visual inspectsions on hoses...and tubing....make sure nothing is leaking. Check your radiator overflow tank....windshield washing fluid....oil of course....AT fluid and powersteering fluid. Its basiclaly a no brainer to all thist stuff. Its just taking the time to do it. Most people neglect their cars and thenthey wonder why it breaks down on them....idiots!

Also check your air in your tires....take some extra water and oil with you on the trip just in case of somethin bad.

Thats about it....hope you have a great time..where are you going?

 

REborn,

Thanks for all your help. I'm also doing a triple header this weekend...I did my oil last week (that was an ordeal) and this week I'm planning on changing my manual transmission fluid, radiator flush, spark plugs/distributor cap/rotor. I'll check out the other stuff that you recommended also.

Question about transmission fluid for anyone out there: Is it recommended that I go with the Honda transmission fluid or can I pick up some stuff from a car parts store. Thanks again.

 

Ur welcome on the help,

About the tranny fluid. Remember, an auto is different from a manual like yours. I dont know about the change time intervals with manuals since i just have an auto right now. Its not fluid, its actuall oil with manuals.

I heard you should ALWAYS use honda tranny fluids/oils because its a delicate part of your car. So thats what i say, OEM all the way.

Lata!

Dave

 

ok...i am finally done with my triple header. ATF/COOLANT/OIL.....

of course i have done the oil before, that's just a side hit.

This is so freakin easy, nobody should have any excuses for NOT doing it. If they can change their oil, they CAN do this stuff. Actually the oil is the HARDER of the three. Cuz of the stupid filter that i hate!

I did my ATF thursday night with only 3 quarts of the Honda grade ATF. I check the "dipstick" and it says its fine. How many quarts did other people put in their AT's?? I have a quart left over because i dont think i need it, the dipstick says its fine, actually it says its WAY over! I dont know if the "reading" is getting distorted on the way up(the AT dipstick is in a VERY tight space for your hands so it rattles and hits things on the way up and out), or i might have put too much in, but i doubt that. People say it takes 3 to 3.5 quarts. I dunno!

I also drained my radiator which was also easy. Took a pliers and got the plastic drain plug out. Make SURE you have a large large plastic container. It SPRAYS! Then keep pouring new water through it until its clear. Then mix your 50/50..easy really! Just hard if you dont have a garage and your apartment lease says you cant work on your car. I go to a warehouse parking lot Its all good!

but ne wayz, tell us Motu if you finished doing your MT lubricant? Thats gonna be different from the ATF...so tell us how easy or hard it is. Did you also do your radiator flush and refil?

Lata!

Dave

 

Yeah I'm in a apartment too, and I remember the the lease lady caught me outside one day and said I couldn't "play mechnic." I thought that was soo funny. One thing I want to learn how to do is the brakes because I just paid Just Brakes $500 to do all of mine because it was making this grinding metallic noise even when my foot wasn't on the brake and it was like that for 2 days! So next time I wanna do it myself, he said I should check it every 12,000 miles and I went 44,000 w/ out checking it so oh well!