15 replies to this topic

[stuart]

Bought the car 3 weeks ago. After checking various things and driving it to/from work for those 3 weeks, I finally took it into a shop for an inspection.
This was my first visit to this shop. So I have no idea how honest they are. Some of the things that came back on the report could just be preventative maintenance. But onn a 20 year old car, it could only help.
The costs of doing all these things in their shop are way beyond my means. So Im faced with the decision of prioritizing the problems and fixing them when I can. Or selling the car in an attempt to get what I payed for it ($1100). In which case, some of the problems I would have to fix anyway if I wanted to get the $1100 back in good conciense.
Here's what Im facing...

Alternator is losing a diode.
Needs timing belt, accessory drive belt, valve cover gasket and there's a oil leak in one of the seals behind the timing belt.
Front CV boots are starting to show signs of cracking.
Rear lower ball joints should be replaced soon.
Front brakes
Rear cylinders are leaking
Muffler has a hole in it
needs a distributor o-ring
The good news is other than a valve adjustment, the engine and tranny are in very good condition. The chassis and interior are in great shape.

I really like this car. It has 175000 miles on it. But could go many many more if taken care of. But that's alot more money than I can come up with anytime soon. It's a delima.
Anyone know how interchangable alternators are? Can I pull an alternator off an 87-91 CRX?
Would it be impractical to buy the tensioner, timing light, etc. and attempt changing the timing belt myself?
How would I go about sealing that oil leak?
Whats involved in adjusting the valves?
Or should I just sell it?

Edited by stuart, 13 December 2005 - 09:50 AM.

[JEFFtheJ00la]

your car doesnt sound that bad. id keep it and do it myself or find a friend who's into cars and have him help you. 84-87 civic and crx alternators will fit. 88-91(2nd gen) will not fit.

[stuart]

your car doesnt sound that bad. id keep it and do it myself or find a friend who's into cars and have him help you. 84-87 civic and crx alternators will fit. 88-91(2nd gen) will not fit.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I figured I'd think more about it today and look things over again myself. I checked the CV boots and lower ball joints. I checked the brake pads, but not the rear cylinders. And I couldnt find anything wrong with them. The pads still had half their life left in em. The CV boots and joints had no cracking or wear that I could see. Which makes me wonder if the alternator really needs to be replaced.
Just to be on the safe side and not really knowing for sure how long ago it was done, Im going to have the timing belt replaced. And I do know for sure there's a squeek coming from the accessory drive belt. And I already knew there was a leak in the muffler and a bracket loose on the b-pipe.
I will keep this car. It may need a bit of work before I can get to the cosmetic side of things. But Ive always wanted one of these 1g CRX's. And the problems it has arent that bad. Thanks for the encouragement and advice jeff420.

[1stGenRex]

dude thats not bad at all...and pretty much EVERYONE needs a valve adjustment...all the other stuff can be taken care of here and there, whenever you get the time/$$$
KEEP IT!

[lxndr]

If you are mechanically inclined, you can replace everything on the list yourself for under $500. Keep in mind that you don't have to do this all at once.

Repair manual, ~$25 new
Alternator, $15 from junk yard or $75 rebuilt
Timing belt and tensioner, ~$40
Alternator belt, $10
CV rebuild kit, ~$30 per side or complete rebuilt CV $75 each.
Ball joints/lower arm, ~$65 each on Ebay or $100 for local rebuilds
Front brake pads, $25
Rear cylinder rebuild kit, ~$25 (+cylinder hone, $25)
Muffler, $40-$60
Distributor O ring, ~$2.50 form Honda dealer
Front seal ~$5


These are not difficult repairs and many of these parts may not need to be replaced immediately. The only time consuming repair is the timing belt, and that's because while you have the timing belt cover and pulley off to replace the timing belt, you'll also be replacing the front crankshaft seal in order to stop the oil leak.

If the alternator is still putting out 12-14 volts, you won't need to replace that for a quite a while.

If the CV boots aren't split and you don't hear clicking when you turn sharply, then don't worry about them (at least not until they start clicking).

I'd pull off the rear brake drums and inspect the cylinders. You should find brake dust (wear a mask), but if you find gooey brake fluid around the seals on the end of the cylinders, then it's time to rebuild them. It's easy, the rear cylinders contain a spring, 2 pistons and a dust boot for both ends.

Check the ball joints! A good joint will only allow the ball to pivot/rotate. A bad ball joint will allow the ball to move vertically in it's socket, kinda' like a dislocated hip or shoulder. The ball joints are the only thing that hold the bottom of the wheels to the car, if one decides to croak on the freeway, you're hamburger!

The ball joints would be my first concern, then the timing belt, brakes, oil leaks, muffler, alternator and alternator belt. The CV joints would be last my the list (unless you can hear them clicking).

EDIT:
Oh yeah, the valve adjustment can be done for free if you have an open end wrench, flat head screwdriver and a set of feeler gauges.

Edited by lxndr, 14 December 2005 - 02:23 AM.

[3gencivic]

-well all shops say that you need a T BELT, in all th ecars i have had and my dad 15 we have NEVER replaced a belt and had NEVER had a problem with them.
-ALT BELT you may need they ware fastier in changing climates
-ALTERNATOR may need, is your car hard to start or batt dieing? then yes.
-VAVLE COVER SEAL is a normal thing to replace i have done 3 now (they are nton ment to be taken off alot) cheap easy to do.
-CVS there good till they start clunking
-FRONT BRAKES AND REAR CILINDERS there mantince stuff easy to do as well
-REAR BALL JOINTS? ah not sure on those never hadd a problem woth those.
-CRANK SEAL (behind t belt) heard of then going, not sure how to get to them easy.
-DIZZY RING easy cheap
-MUFFLER just laugh and say you sound like a ricer fart can and didnt have to pay 60+ for it it can stock! but there cheap too.

[Computer]

i have an alternator for a carbed car that i'll never use again. So if you want to drive up and get it, you can have it. Along with some other parts if you want them, ive got axles, an Si motor+tranny, misc. carb stuff. CV axles are free since i have two sets. I just need to get myself some shop space.

and i was also wondering where the hell the rear ball joints are on these cars? Do they even exist?

Edited by Computer, 14 December 2005 - 02:29 AM.

[3gencivic]

^^^ i was wondering that too rear ball joints! we have 4 wheel steering?

[EuphoricBlue]

The CRX has a twist beam with 2 traling arms atached through bushings to the chasis for rear suspention. The wheel axles are solidly mounted on this beam.

But it's not uncomon for panhards to have 1 or 2 balljoints. I'd emagine, that is what the mech was talking abbout. It would look something like this:



So, does the CRX panhard have any ball joints? I never checked...

Edited by EuphoricBlue, 14 December 2005 - 04:38 AM.

[stuart]

My mistake. The ball joints the mech wants to replace are on the front. See? Thats how new to this greasemonkey stuff I am. Im getting a crash course here.
I looked, pulled , pushed and poked at the ball joints and couldnt find anything wrong with them. As for the alternator, so far I havent had any problems. Car starts and I havent had a battery issue yet.
So Im not sure how serious to take this mechanics word. I guess it cant hurt to replace as much as I can that Im not sure about. It is a 20 year old car and I have no knowledge of what if anything has been done to the car beyond 4 weeks ago. But I think I'll be doing as much as I can myself. I get to learn how my car works and save some money.

[crazi-85crx]

I guess it cant hurt to replace as much as I can that Im not sure about. I think I'll be doing as much as I can myself. I get to learn how my car works and save some money.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

stick with it and it'll turn out awesome. and if you're unsure of anything, that's why RPR is here.

and welcome... to the dark side

Edited by crazi-85crx, 14 December 2005 - 09:13 AM.

[Screech]

I normally lift the car by the lower control arm just high enough to get a pry bar under the tire and then I pry up and release the tire several times looking for play. I also try moving the bottom of the tire in/out/foward/back.

The ball joint should be #1 priority to get checked and replaced if needed. #2 would be the timing belt, and if it is needed, replace the cam/crank seals and water pump while doing the belt. While doing all this may cost more now you'd hate to have to replace any of those within 50k of replacing the timing belt and pay that labor again.

My Fiance's 86 Civic dropped the right front ball joint. Luckly she was backing out of a parking spot at the house when it happened. What pissed me off was that she had an alignment done 30-45 days before and how they didn't check this is beyond me. First step on any alignment I did was to check the suspension, and only align if all is within tolerance. Actually ride height was an exceptiong though, as long as it wasn't leaning. Have you even seen what a 400lb person does to a Metro's springs in a couple years?

Edited by Screech, 14 December 2005 - 01:36 PM.

[1stGenRex]

the ball joints are a must...I had BOTH break on me in separate pccasions...both times i was on my way to the freeway (immaginw what disaster that would have caused...) it was not a good experiance at all

[yodaboy]

-well all shops say that you need a T BELT, in all th ecars i have had and my dad 15  we have NEVER replaced a belt and had NEVER had a problem with them.
-ALT BELT you may need they ware fastier in changing climates
-ALTERNATOR may need, is your car hard to start or batt dieing? then yes.
-VAVLE COVER SEAL is a normal thing to replace i have done 3 now (they are nton ment to be taken off alot)  cheap easy to do.
-CVS  there good till they start clunking
-FRONT BRAKES AND REAR CILINDERS there mantince stuff  easy to do as well
-REAR BALL JOINTS? ah not sure on those never hadd a problem woth those.
-CRANK SEAL  (behind t belt)  heard of then going, not sure how to get to them easy.
-DIZZY RING easy cheap
-MUFFLER just laugh and say you sound like a ricer fart can and didnt have to pay 60+ for it it can stock! but there cheap too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Am I reading your response to the timing belt correctly??? You say you've NEVER replaced the timing belt on your cars?? If that's the case, then you're really, really, really lucky. Also, if that's the case, I wouldn't tempt fate much longer and get those things changed....sure they might last a while longer, but all it takes is just once and your pocketbook takes a hit trying to get the cylinder head back in order....trust me, I been down this road (as I'm sure everyone else has at some point). Again, this reply is based on the assumption that I'm correctly reading your post.

[3gencivic]

your reading right, and i will be doing my FIRST tbelt on the race engine im building its gettign everything new on it so its well be a 87 engine with 0km on it. and a chasse whit 300km.
when we find the cars there usally low milage cars and mantained so we dont do the t belt and dont ahve teh cars long enough to car. 4 years was the most time for 1 car to be ownd here and that was me woththe blue civic,