2004 Civic repair thread

[Xist]

It seems like every car that I purchase is about thirteen years old, but I have already had Chorizo longer than most of my previous cars. Now I occasionally hear metal-on-metal when coasting, but not if I use my brakes. For a week I have been planning on jacking up each wheel and spinning it, but I run out of time before work.

My mileage is fine, though.

Hopefully my Civic lasts until at least 2019?

[darcane]

Originally Posted by Daox

I think the build quality on the 6th gen (96-00) Civics were a good deal better than the 7th gens (01-05) from what I've heard and read.

Quality in the early 2000's were not great for several Honda models. But, build quality is only part of the problem.

Honda tried a bunch of new things on the 7th gen Civic and I don't think they spent enough time vetting it before releasing them. They focused a lot of attention on safety and increasing interior space, but seemed to have overlooked problems in their new McPherson strut suspension, their redesigned D-series engine, and their transmissions.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Xist

It seems like every car that I purchase is about thirteen years old, but I have already had Chorizo longer than most of my previous cars. Now I occasionally hear metal-on-metal when coasting, but not if I use my brakes. For a week I have been planning on jacking up each wheel and spinning it, but I run out of time before work.

My mileage is fine, though.

Hopefully my Civic lasts until at least 2019?

You have a 6th gen and I fully intend to still be driving my 6th gen in 2019. ... and beyond! Hang tough, my brother!

[Daox]

Made some good progress tonight. I got the engine out and got the trans off. Turns out I didn't take off two 10mm bolts holding the dust shield on! Oh well, its all easy to get to now.

Here are some pics:

Engine up and out!




Got the transmission removed very easily after removing those two 10mm bolts!





Going to have to crack this open soon to replace the bearing. I'm really hoping the gearing isn't damaged. However, I can't feel hardly any play in the input shaft, so I'm guessing its okay.





The clutch looks like its about done for.





So, I ordered a bunch of parts tonight:
ball joints
valve cover gasket (its leaking)
timing belt & water pump kit
clutch kit
input shaft seal
output shaft seals
oil filters
air filter
cabin air filter

[Daox]

I started disassembling the transmission last night. I didn't have a ton of time and didn't want to go too far without my helper so she can learn these things too. I got the stuff all removed from the case (detent balls, reverse switch and shifter mechanism), and then I cracked the case open and cleaned the sealing surfaces. The whole thing will get blasted out with a cleaner before reassembling.

[darcane]

I'm curious how bad your Input Shaft Bearing looks. On my tranny, the balls just fell out of the cage when it was pulled out. The only thing keeping them in place were the races.

I was going to rebuild my tranny myself, but I had a friend going through school to be a mechanic as well and let him do my tranny as practice.

[Daox]

I'll be sure to inspect it and take some pics. I have yet to actually inspect the gearing too. Though I suspect that it is probably fine.

[some_other_dave]

If it's like the earlier D-series trans, the ISB is something of a weak point. It dies if you chronically run without enough transmission oil--say, if you don't remember that the level will be wrong if you put the front of the car up on stands when checking/refilling the transmission oil... (Don't ask how I know that.)

Removing the ISB either requires a slide-hammer, a bearing puller, or some improvisation and some luck. I believe the input shaft seal has to be replaced to get the ISB out.

-soD

[Daox]

Last night I worked on the door lock problem. I picked up some tools to remove the spring clip that holds the lock in the door handle. Its in a tight spot and you need something sharp to get it started. So, I get the lock out and disassemble it. Yep, some of the tumblers are worn out. The quick fix is to just remove the worn tumblers and leave the rest in. It makes the lock a bit more vulnerable (more keys will fit it), but I can't ever really see that being a problem.

Here are some pictures:

Here is the lock cylinder with the key in it. You can see all the tumblers are flush with the outside diameter of the lock cylinder. This allows the cylinder to turn in the housing. When the tumblers stick out, they are in grooves in the housing which prevent it from turning. As the tumblers wear against the key, they start sticking out.





Here one of the removed tumblers and its spring. There are still 5 or so tumblers in the lock to keep it secure.





Here is everything. The lock housing, the lock cylinder, and one of the two lock tumblers and springs I removed.

[MetroMPG]

Nice fix.

I think my parents' 12 year old Camry will start with any key-shaped item.

(Did I just write that on the Internet?)