Chorizo repair thread (2000 black Honda Civic HX)

[Xist]

Is this the right section? I see http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ead-33577.html here, but http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ead-33780.html in EcoModding Central!

I finally have the time and money to take care of non-essential problems with my car, so I went through all of my old threads to figure out what I have done and what is unresolved.

Thank you so much for putting up with me! I would especially like to thank user removed. I hope he is doing well, wherever he is!

2013-05-28
Yes I can, but I still have not found a satisfying way to attach them.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ans-26001.html

2013-11-03
I had a check engine light, but since it did not say “CHECK ENGINE’ like in my Forester, I somehow thought it was a “check transmission” light, which is only part of the embarrassment. I was horribly busy and stressed with school and drill. It idled rough, I had my girlfriend replace the spark plugs and wires (because it was easy), and then I used Seafoam, which finally worked:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ght-27439.html

2013-12-02
We had talked about securing a removable boat tail with a bike rack, but I bought the wrong one:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ack-27680.html

2014-01-25
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...dam-28056.html
2014-03-22

The first time I changed my oil I discovered the bolt was stripped, so I replaced the pan, but there was a stuck bolt in a very difficult spot. There were some other issues with my car, too.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ads-28519.html

2014-05-16 Yes
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...urn-28964.html

2014-05-22
My driver’s door lock came loose, I thought I fixed it, but a week later it happened again. I paid a mechanic to fix it.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...vic-29023.html

2014-05-23
I needed to replace my alternator (bad voltage regulator) and decided to delete my power steering.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ual-29038.html

2014-05-30
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...nes-29111.html

2014-06-04
I deleted my power steering.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ing-29152.html

2014-06-07
Aerohead wrote it takes twenty-two miles to warm up everything in a car.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...led-29170.html

2014-08-23
I had a shop pull vacuum and charge the AC, but they did not notice a bad valve, which the next mechanic replaced, and added refrigerant, but he said I also had a bad expansion valve.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-ac-29807.html

2014-09-18
The compressor, receiver\dryer, and expansion valve.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-hx-30020.html

2014-10-01
Yes, but it was already ruined. Cover your car with white Plasti-Dip.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...int-30130.html

2014-10-04
I attempted wheel covers.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...aps-30157.html

2014-10-05
I decided to set up a dash cam.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...0-a-30169.html

2014-10-18
If replacing the O2 sensor does not work, it may be the $1000 ECU!
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...low-30272.html

2014-10-25
I found someone selling the $400 O2 sensor for $175. It works well enough, but not necessarily better than the old one.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...zon-30321.html

2014-11-06
I tried to improve the wheel covers.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ers-30427.html

2014-11-19
I had a bad voltage regulator, so I bought a new alternator from Napa, which had a sleeve installed backward, and did not fit without sawing off a corner.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tor-28944.html

2015-02-17
I needed to replace my timing belt, but did not want a seven-hour job to take seven days, because I kept finding some part or tool I needed, that nobody had mentioned. I ended up having a shop do it for me for $865.94. I was not satisfied with the service, but the work itself seemed good.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...elt-31226.html

2015-06-10
I left my dome light on during annual training, my battery died, one Sergeant could not jump it, but another later did. Afterward I replaced the bulb with an LED, but double-check it is off when I leave my car park for extended periods of time.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...now-32136.html

2015-06-25
I try to maintain 55 MPH in my HX and average 45 MPG. Slambo wrote he drives 55-60 and gets 45; Balto wrote he drove 65 and got 45.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-hx-32240.html

2015-06-27
I finally got around to trying to figure out automatic grill shutters, but later had my car start overheating climbing a mountain (at 55 MPH or less) and decided I sometimes needed a larger opening, while the open shutters would have actually restricted about 50% of the vent.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...fan-32260.html

2015-07-05
We figured out which light bulbs went where on the 1996-200 Civic.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ght-32301.html

2015-10-28
Apparently I fixed this, but I do not have any idea how!
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ced-33002.html

2015-11-13
Someone backed into my car on Veterans’ Day and I had difficulty removing my bumper to pop out the dent. I eventually got it, put it face down on concrete, used my heat ray and sledge hammer and popped it out decently, but scratched the plastic on the concrete! I just needed to put down a towel!
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...per-33078.html

2016-01-16
I let the oil get so low I had a CEL!
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ion-33359.html

2016-02-13
I had a CEL for low EGR flow and cleaned the passages. By the time I started removing the hardest carbon, it started damaging the metal gasket, so I needed to order (and wait for) a replacement. However, the EGR valve gasket requires replacement, but it only costs $3-7.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ges-33469.html

2016-02-14
I found the cable for my power steering.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-go-33476.html

2017-01-03
I turned off my engine at a railroad crossing, but kept my lights on, and killed the battery. Costco replaced it for free one week later.
Over a year ago, someone put a card in my window, which was pulled inside. My window would not roll all of the way up afterwards and became worse over time. I took apart the door, removed the card, but could not see the problem. I lubricated the channels (everyone says to use silicone, but the guy at O'Reilly's insisted I needed white lithium) and then removed the window regulator. Teeth were definitely worn down, so I replaced it. I did not like using an Autozone part, but it was a fraction of the price of an OEM one, only $30.26 with tax, but seemed equally sturdy.

It seems like my brakes are intermittently dragging. I took it to my friendly neighborhood mechanic and they could not find a problem, although they said I needed to replace my brakes in five thousand miles. What is that in ecomodder miles? That was almost two weeks ago and I have driven nearly 1,500 miles. The sound went away, but is slowly returning.

Current issues (to be edited)
Brake clips?
Cigarette lighter. It looks like the previous owner replaced it. The fuse is fine. My stereo has USB in, but it keeps trying to read music off of my phone. I bought this: http://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Micro...ilpage_o00_s00, but after four or five months my stereo started trying to read music again. Curiously, the cable that came with the phone worked perfectly--for about a month. Of course, my car gets so hot now the phone turns off.
My car is black! It was 115° here yesterday! That is 46°C! 319K! I am trying to find a place to Plasti-Dip my car. I do not have a respirator, compressor, or anything else, so I figure the price may be similar, but it would look better, but I have only found two in the Phoenix area! I know a guy that buys cars at auction and sells them at a small dealership. I am curious what he could say about a decent paint shop. He has offered to take me to an auction. I also found a clean silver 1998 Accord on Craigslist for $1950. I want to look at it, but I do not want to deal with 22/27!
Air dam: Reinforce it and bell-mouth the opening.
Have a mechanic check http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SB/A00-028.PDF

[California98Civic]

Wow! Quite a thread starter! Holy wall of text!

On the brakes thing, I would say 5,000 miles for normies translates into near infinite for us: first because that dude probably wants to sell you on stuff you don't need and second because serious hypermilers only use brakes when there is no other way to sadely slow or stop (traffic situations, hills, emergencies).

DON'T get clips instead of servicing the brakes. Seems like maybe you have a brake piston that is intermittently sticking. When were the brake lines last bled? When the mechanic said replace the brakes did he mean just the pads or something more significant? Did he say?

[Xist]

He said he would need to look up an estimate, but I told him I was late for work, I would call for it, but I haven't. I thought the rears were replaced a couple of years ago at U Fix It, but I wrote "replace brake cylinders" in my garage.

I was surprised how much maintenance my car has required, but $1627 over 31 months is not that bad.

[Xist]

I believe I experienced this with my Prelude. I probably did with my Accord. I remember taking off the panels because the upholstery was falling off, but I hit an elk before I was able to fix that. I have removed the panels a couple of times in my Civic, they were cracked the first time, and taking them on and off has only made them worse.

I think the Arizona heat is especially rough on plastic.

When I fixed my window, a piece of plastic fell off. I epoxied it back and it simply fell off again the other day. I thought the only actual fix was replacing the panels, but all of the ones that I see cost hundreds of dollars, although I do not have any idea how to search for them on car-part.com. The plastic seems to be cracking further while mounted. This guy: Cracked Door Panel Repair / Reinforcement | ClubCivic.com - Your Online Civic Community

recommends using this stuff: SEM 39747 Multi Purpose Panel Adhesive Dual Mix Cartridge 207ml | eBay

Leave it alone? Is there some cheaper alternative? Is that product or something similar available in larger quantities? Thanks!

[California98Civic]

I had a couple cracked areas in mine. A couple years ago, I repaired the cracking, concave areas with a little fiberglass resin and cloth. I did it kinda on a lark, because I was in there anyway. Still holding fine.

[Xist]

Great to know! I was worried the fiberglass would not stick to the plastic!

[Xist]

It has now been six months and ten or eleven thousand miles since that mechanic told me I needed new brakes in five thousand miles. I use them sparingly, but I guess I would not know if there was really a problem without using them hard.
I hate to find out...

Jedi_Sol talked to me about putting fiberglass on the back of my air dam, but said it would separate eventually.

[Xist]

Costco replaced my battery for free yesterday and a friend helped me do a compression test. YouTube mechanics said 5-10 seconds, so she did it three, and we got 140, 140, 130, and 130 (Difference: 10, 7-8%). I saw more people saying 5-10 seconds, so I rented the gauge again, drove twenty-five miles to warm the engine, and then realized I was out of time, so I drove straight to my first client's house wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and ratty old shoes instead of a polo, dress pants, and nice shoes. Today I was running out of time again, so I just drove six miles to Costco for gas. I came home and got:
Five seconds: 135, 141, 151, 149 (Difference: 16, 10%)
Ten seconds: 154, 154, 159, 166 (Difference: 12, 8%)
Ten seconds with oil: 166, 172, 174, 181 (Difference: 15, 9%)

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Xist

Costco replaced my battery for free yesterday and a friend helped me do a compression test. YouTube mechanics said 5-10 seconds, so she did it three, and we got 140, 140, 130, and 130 (Difference: 10, 7-8%). I saw more people saying 5-10 seconds, so I rented the gauge again, drove twenty-five miles to warm the engine, and then realized I was out of time, so I drove straight to my first client's house wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and ratty old shoes instead of a polo, dress pants, and nice shoes. Today I was running out of time again, so I just drove six miles to Costco for gas. I came home and got:
Five seconds: 135, 141, 151, 149 (Difference: 16, 10%)
Ten seconds: 154, 154, 159, 166 (Difference: 12, 8%)
Ten seconds with oil: 166, 172, 174, 181 (Difference: 15, 9%)

Here is my compression test: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post471687

Also, I quoted my Honda FSM as saying "compression should be 184psi (nominal), 135psi (minimum), and no variation greater than 28 psi between cylinders."

Your numbers appear acceptable, though only minimally so in the five second dry test.

[Xist]

Yes, I saw people quoting those figures, but tracked down the (technical?) service manual, and saw the 28 PSI figure some people used, while others argued 10 - 15%, without citing sources.

For how many seconds did you test?

"to do a compression test 100% right the engine needs to be cranking at its normal speed, if you have a weak battery or starter then you wont be cranking at full speed." d16 compression? - Honda-Tech

I replaced the battery between the first test (140, 140, 130, 130; 3 strokes) and the second (135, 141, 151, 149; 5 strokes). I find it strange that the first two cylinders tested approximately the same, while the second two increased 19 - 21.

Should I do a leakdown test?