94 honda civic vx issues

[nbleak21]

Originally Posted by Ryland

shaving the head is a step below a full engine rebuild, $1,000 to have someone else do it is my guess, you can get a whole engine used and have someone install it for $1,000, so I don't think it's worth it at all! you would get your head shaved if you race and over heated your engine, if you ran it dry on coolant, or if you otherwise drive really hard all the time for 50,000 miles or more! you shave the head if it's warped, your engine is already a high compression engine.

Having the head shaved is no where near that involved a process. If you can do a timing belt change and a head gasket, then the only additional step needed is taking the head to a machine shop to have it inspected, cleaned, flow tested, and milled true for $75-100 out the door.

Basic process:
Unhook battery
Drain coolant
Unhook intake/exhaust manifolds
Remove valve cover
Remove timing cover
Remove timing belt
Remove head
Take head to shop.

Less than 2hrs work on most Hondas.

[RatherDashing]

i just finished the oil change and let the car run sounds a lottttttttttt better. i never understand why people still use conventional oil. i always notice a huge performance and sound difference with synthetic.

i also cleaned out the iacv with carb cleaner first then a little brake cleaner. let it dry and put it back in. while driving i noticed that the rpms dont stick as hard and generally come down more. i noticed the idle though stays right by the mark at 0 rpms. it stays really low is this generally normal?

i think i saw the tin box you were talking about the pcv valve/grommet was connected to. i think i see the grommet.still dont see the pcv valve itself. called my local honda dealership and talked to someone in parts who had never heard of the vx model. he couldnt locate the part. the part he was quoting me for was like 149 bucks.

would bad plug wires cause the hesitation at low rpms? 2 paychecks down the road im going to replace the wires with ngk wires and the plugs with ngk as well.the reason i asked about work on the head is because the insides of the spark plug tubes seem worn and in cylinder 2 it is mildly rusted.just clean it out and it will be fine?

also curious about the transmission. it makes a slight grinding noise all the time in neutral.but when the clutch is engaged it stops. the worst is in first and it sounds like the grinding is stretching, if that makes any sence.it also does it in other gears slightly. from what iv read online it sounds likea throwout bearing.is this something i could easily fix?(no experience on transmissions) or should it be best to take it to a transmission shop.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by RatherDashing

is this something i could easily fix?(no experience on transmissions) or should it be best to take it to a transmission shop.

In my planning for a DIY transmission swap (I also have no experience) here are a few videos I found that will walk you through parts of the process. I'm using them to give myself a visual sense of what you can expect. I think a patient person with good intelligence and the time could do the job, probably without error, if you seek and absolutely follow good direction, even when you don't fully know why it should be followed (such as replacing seals and washers even when they "look fine"). Three useful videos:

one

, two, three. These are sixth gen civics and your 1994 is fifth gen, but much of the hardware is about the same, if not exactly the same... so I hope this is useful. Good luck!!

[RatherDashing]

these videos should help out a lot thank you. if only my internet here wasnt so slow I could check them out.

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by nbleak21

Having the head shaved is no where near that involved a process. If you can do a timing belt change and a head gasket, then the only additional step needed is taking the head to a machine shop to have it inspected, cleaned, flow tested, and milled true for $75-100 out the door.

A lot of people are afraid of doing a timing belt change and if you do an engine swap you can do that for $150 for a used engine if you do the work your self as well!

Unless there is oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil I wouldn't bother pulling the head.

I've swapped transmissions twice, if it's grinding without your foot on the clutch pedal then the most common is the main bearing, if it's grinding with your foot on the clutch then it's the throw out bearing.
First time I did a transmission it took about 6-7 hours using just a floor jack and jack stands, getting the new transmission in I needed help for 10 minutes.
I ended up replacing the seals around the axles before installing the new transmission, the boot around the shift shaft is nice to replace as well but not always possible, it's logical to replace the clutch with a stock style clutch, not a race clutch unless you never drive in town or stop and go traffic and for installing the new transmission, take it to a car wash first and pressure wash it, keeps the dirt from falling in your eyes.
If the grinding is not real bad, try replacing the transmission oil with 10W30 or 10W40 instead of 0W30, the extra thickness can prolong the bearing life.
If you want to replace the bearing your self it's a $20 or so part but I found both my transmissions for $100 and $150 and with low miles on them.

[RatherDashing]

I might just do that later find a transmission for it.shoot a shop will probably charge more just to replace the bearing. and im not sure i wanna risk working on transmission yet this is my only car to use at the moment

[RatherDashing]

How important is the second bolt for thr IACV? After taking it off i noticed it was only bolted on with 1 bolt the other one was not on there.right after i cleaned the valve and put it back on the idle issues seemed to go completely away.but yesterday the idle issues came back.is that second bolt really that important or cud the valve be bad?

[Ecky]

You could test to see if there's a vacuum leak there. Unplug the IACV and start your car, let it warm up, then spray some carburetor cleaner on an around the IACV. If any air is getting in around it, you'll know.

[RatherDashing]

This is what its currently doing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCCj...e_gdata_player

[Rusty94cx]

I can't tell if that's you giving it gas or the car. Does it do that also when it's warmed up? I noticed that it's bone cold on the temp gauge. Check the vacuum get a gauge. It will tell you tons!!!!