What is wrong with this $800 2002 Civic with 250,000 miles? Is it a melted crank position sensor?

[redpoint5]

Back in the day you could buy a new fender for like $20. Any part could be had for twenty bucks. I replaced a windshield for $20. I replaced a running board for maybe less than $20.

You call that a wrong color fender? This is a wrong color fender.


...I just realized I had joined this forum the same month and year Sue was rear-ended and totalled (on my birthday). I bought the TSX a few months later, and that's still the newest vehicle I own. There were a couple SCUBA bottles in the back along with my gear, and I continued on to my dive despite inability to open the hatch.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Xist

The Camry that was totaled twice and hauled off by insurance? The Camry I replaced with the second Camry?

So now you are down to only 4 cars? How many run? You replaced the twice totaled Camry with another Camry and the Honda's still sit? That new to you Camry needs repairs already?


What has changed since this picture was taken 6 months ago?



Yes, you give us all the details of your life - scattered over dozens of threads. I miss things occasionally.

However, as Redpoint said - are you quibbling over details or disagreeing with the logic of selling all your old cars?

[Xist]

I don't think I linked this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQq2vHSYYrc

1. Disconnect the negative battery cable and remove the battery.
2. Use the trim tool and a little WD-40 to remove the plastic clips, then the splash shield.
3. Drop the exhaust; you may need to use heat.
4. Remove the 14 millimeter fastener holding the catalytic converter to the engine block behind the o2 sensor.
5. Unclip the o2 sensor wires.
6. Undo the 3 12 millimeter fasteners on the back of the engine block to free up the lower part of the plastic intake manifold.
7. Loosen the 19 millimeter coolant jacket plug just above the oil filter.
8. Remove the radiator plug.
9. Remove the oil filter.
10. Remove the 12 millimeter fasteners that hold the lower part of the intake manifold to the cylinder head and loosen the 10 millimeter fasteners holding the brackets.
11. Remove the brackets
12. Disconnect the oil pressure switch.
13. Apply the parking brake, remove the hubcap from the front driver’s side wheel of if it has an alloy rim and a centercap, remove the wheel, pop out the center cap, and reinstall the wheel with two lug nuts.
14. With a 36mm socket, a breaker bar, and a length of pipe over the handle, remove the axle nut.
15. Remove the lug nuts and the wheel, spin the axle nut back on until it is flush, and hit it with a sledgehammer until the hub comes loose.
16. Remove the 10- and 12mm bolts holding the brake line and the 2 12mm bolts holding the brake caliper
17. Pry off the brake caliper and use a bungee cord to hold the brake caliper out of the way.
18. Remove the pinch bolts, 19mm nuts, and 21mm bolts.
19. Remove the cotter pin from the lower ball joint, then the nut, and knock the hub loose with a sledgehammer.
20. Slide a drain pan under the transmission, slip a pry bar between the axle and the transmission and hit the handle with the palm of your hand, and pop it out, rotating the axle as necessary.
21. Cut the clamp off the inner boot, remove the inner boot, and remove the axle.
22. Clean up the grease, especially on the brake lines.
23. Remove the bolt from the control arm.
24. Loosen the two fasteners for the tensioner for the alternator \ AC belt and the wing nut in the front; there is a special socket for that
25. Unplug the crank sensor, cam sensor, and the knock sensor.
26. Loosen the 19 millimeter crank bolt
27. Loosen the drain plug on the back of the block and drain it there.
28. Take off the radiator cap.
29. Tighten the coolant jacket plug to 58 pound-feet.
30. Remove the 8mm and 10mm fasteners holding the air box assembly.
31. Remove the power steering pump, the alternator, ac belt, and the upper and lower radiator hoses.
32. Remove the last of the lower intake manifold bolts now.
33. Remove the air temperature sensor.
34. Loosen the intake manifold from the cylinder head and push it back against the firewall; don’t disconnect anything on the throttle body.
35. Move aside both o2 sensors.
36. Remove the coolant temperature sensor.
37. Remove ten-millimeter fasteners to remove two brackets blocking the short radiator hose.
38. Remove the radiator hoses, using WD-40 if necessary.
39. Remove the thermostat; replace with new genuine honda.
40. Remove and label fasteners on top of the valve cover.
41. Remove the dipstick.
42. Disconnect the alternator; there is a 10 millimeter nut on the back.
43. Remove the bracket.
44. Disconnect everything else on the wiring harness.
45. Move the wiring harness out of the way.
46. Remove the last 12 millimeters intake manifold fasteners, removing a clip in the way.
47. Push the intake manifold and everything connected to it back off the studs.
48. Loosen the power steering reservoir, remove the 12 millimeter fasteners and wingnuts holding the pump.
49. Remove the 10 millimeters fasteners on the bracket holding the power steering lines; remove the bracket, and move the pump out of the way.
50. Remove the three 14-millimeter fasteners holding the power steering bracket; remove the power steering bracket.
51. Remove the 12-millimeter fastener and wingnut on the alternator, then the alternator belt.
52. Remove the 12-millimeter fasteners holding the exhaust manifold\catalytic converter; remove the exhaust manifold\catalytic converter
53. Take the opportunity to do a little house cleaning; spray all visible grease and blow it with compressed air.
54. Remove the valve cover starting with the coil packs.
55. Remove the spark plugs, replace with new if necessary.
56. Remove the three fasteners the timing belt cover; remove the timing belt cover.
57. Rotate the 19mm crank pulley bolt counterclockwise until the timing marks line up.
58. Remove the crank pulley and the lower timing cover--there are 4 fasteners.
59. Don't lose that keyway; if you lose that your life is going to suck.
60. Put a six millimeter allen wrench in the tensioner to get just enough slack to remove the belt, but if you're replacing it, i say just cut it be done you can set the timing when you put it all back together.
61. Reinstall or replace the oil filter.
62. Remove the cylinder head (valve cover?).
63. Loosen the 14-millimeter fasteners with a breaker bar starting at the outside and spiraling inward, remove, set aside, and clean if necessary.
64. Carefully remove the cylinder head and set it somewhere safe.
65. Remove the intake studs with two nuts and a socket wrench. Remove the dowel pins, intake and exhaust gaskets and clean the cylinders, intake, and exhaust mating surfaces with brake cleaner and a Scotchbright pad.
66. Inspect for gouges and fill in as necessary. He used a tiny amount of Loctite hy 4070 and lightly sanded with 120-grit in a hand sander and a light touch when it was dry.
67. Clean out this egr passage with throttle plate cleaner and a flathead screwdriver.
68. Clean the radiator hose connections inside and out with a Scotchbright pad.
69. Vacuum all that debris.
70. Clean the bore on the tube with the o-ring that goes across the back of the engine block to the back of the water pump with a Scotchbright pad and put silicone paste on the o-ring.
71. Reinstall the intake stud snugly.
72. Before i put the head gasket on and the cylinder head i'm going to go in here and put that silicone paste around the outside of this o-ring just because it's accessible now.
73. It can be a little confusing figuring out which way the head gasket gets installed sometimes.
74. They're marked with an up this one is not that i can see but looking at the configuration on the engine block there really is only one way for this to go on and i believe it to be just like this.
75. Spray a little WD-40 around the tops of the pistons and the piston rings to help lubricate things on first startup.
76. Reinstall the dowel pins in the front and drop the new head gasket over it.
77. Thread the studs through the intake manifold and install the intake gasket.
78. Ensure no lines or wires have gotten in the way of the cylinder head.
79. Line up the studs and carefully lower the cylinder head back in place.reinstall the cylinder head bolts now.
80. These are all nice and clean so i don't feel the need to clean them.release a drop of regular motor oil in each cylinder bolt hole, a little bit where the washer goes, and a little to the bolt threads.
81. Torque the head bolts down to 14-pound feet according to the diagram.
82. Tighten them down to 36-pound feet in order and then 49-pound feet in order.
83. Notice how those middle ones got looser i always go back and redo it after for this very reason.
84. Now to 36 and now for the final torque of 49 foot-pounds [music].
85. Installation is reverse of removal, but the torque spec for the intake manifold is 17 ft-lbs, 23 ft-lbs on the exhaust manifold, and 7.2 ft-lbs on the valve cover--follow the diagram.
86. I'm going to put it somewhere between 15 and 20 foot-pounds and that's just a guess on my part.
87. When you reinstall the timing belt make sure that both the crank and cam pulleys are in time before you commit to that and that auto tensioner works.
88. Carefully slide the axle into the transmission, tapping on the outside with a rubber mallet if it doesn’t go in all of the way.
89. Turn your hub until the splines line up with the axle and wiggle the hub until a couple threads stick through; installation is reverse of removal.
90. Dent the axle nut with a hammer and screwdriver.
91. Tighten the caliper bolts to 25 ft-lbs lugnuts to 80 ft-lbs, and the axle nut to 134 ft-lbs.
92. Ensure the radiator and oil pan are closed; fill the engine with oil and the radiator with coolant.
93. If necessary, clean your battery terminals, consider applying multi-purpose grease to the terminals.
94. Bleed the air out of the cooling system and drive it around for a while.
95. You might see smoke coming off the engine for a little bit, but if it lasts past a day or 50-100 miles of driving then look into it further, but you definitely want to go around and check for any leaks or any issues after doing this amount of work to an engine.

[freebeard]

TLDR

[redpoint5]

I hope you copy/pasted that, and didn't write it yourself.

Eric is a great car guy, unlike Shouty.

Better get an early start on those hundred steps.

[Xist]

The forum guide is interesting. It says to remove the panel below, the glovebox, the glovebox, and the PGM fuel relay, then put the heat on full blast and max heat, then start the engine, and let it run until it stalls. Remove the fuel cap to relieve the pressure inside the gas tank.

Eric didn't do anything about fuel pressure, but in another video, the one I watched for Chorizo? He said to hold a rag over some part, loosen it, and the rag is supposed to catch a bunch of gas.

I prefer this method.

Apparently the FSM subscribes to the "remove the throttle cable, cruise control cable, fuel line, vacuum lines, coolant lines, sensors, wiring and clips, leave the intake attached to the head, and remove as an assembly" philosophy, which doesn't seem easier.

The head isn't heavy, but maneuvering it is awkward.

This says to remove and drain the coolant overflow.

Why?

If the blown head gasket flowed into it then wouldn't you need to clean it?

The guide says to watch this video, which indicates that an impact wrench may be useless against the crankshaft pulley bolt, which Eric just says to loosen and then remove.

I am unsure what they did here. They used the tool with the socket on an extension sitting on a jack stand?

I remembered having drama and found this: Crankshaft pulley bolt blues

He finally ordered a cheap tool off eBay.

I don't need to remind you guys what happened with the one I bought off Amazon!

Some people insist you need to buy a Real Lisle 77080 19 mm Harmonic Balancer Socket for Honda, a normal one won't do the job.

Originally Posted by Xist

Do you think I can replace the head gasket on my Civic in one day?!

This will be my third head gasket and my second in an early 2000s Civic, but I don't have any hope of completing this in one day, although I hope to beat my previous record--of three months--by a wide margin.

The only other differences that stand out are BlueEM2 removed a motor mount or two--and the water pump!

Eric had just replaced the timing belt and water pump.

I need to watch that video now?

I think that I will stick with this guide.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I hope you copy/pasted that, and didn't write it yourself.

Eric is a great car guy, unlike Shouty.

Better get an early start on those hundred steps.

I copied and pasted the transcript from YouTube, and converted what he said into steps, but writing it up might have been faster!

I just wanted it to sound like him.

This guy demonstrates using the starter and a cheater bar to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G-adEVjfWI

I am supposed to see two clients at 8, take my brother to meet the cookie mafia, and then drive my accord to the valley.

I have been trying to get a hold of my old dentist. I believe she is the one who installed the loose crown, so hopefully she still has the right tool for my loose screw. Someone sent a text this morning asking if I was available today or tomorrow.

I asked when and didn't hear back.

If everything goes according to plan and it never does, I wouldn't be down before 1400, and it looks like they close at 1600 on Saturday, so... yay.

I was supposed to have an appointment at the Phoenix VA for someone to finally look at my hernia, but they confirmed on Monday and then canceled yesterday.

For some reason they keep not calling from their normal number. A while ago some nurse, on her last day, called from her personal phone, with the number blocked, and just said "It's my last day!"

This time my phone said it was potential spam and I didn't see it until I was driving to see a client 45 minutes away. I heard the beginning of the message just as I left Show Low and I didn't hit a single red light the rest of the drive.

There was too much traffic for most of the drive to mess with my phone again and then the lady didn't say "Call the Phoenix VA, extension XXXX, she gave me a number and an extension.

I have the Phoenix VA saved in my phone. That is why when they actually call from that number I always answer "Hello Phoenix VA, this is Xist."
Unfortunately, they always respond "This is the Phoenix VA, is Xist available?"

So, I got the number and extension while driving, called back, and wasn't able to get anywhere with the hired help before I lost my signal.

I was tempted to ask to use the landline before they closed, but I didn't, and my client still counted down until she needed to leave--half an hour after we finished.

I never enjoy playing Call Out The Time.

I am trying to log into the site to site so I can ask to reschedule.

It took me months to get this appointment and years for them to agree to look into it.

My sister told me she knows a dentist who gives Veterans a big discount. I scheduled an appointment as soon as I could and the soonest that I could get in, weeks later, was Wednesday, but wouldn't it be great if my old dentist tightened my loose screw and recemented the other two crowns?!

For all I know she will present me with a work order like Big Two Toyota's, but it would be nice to call the other clinic and say "Actually, I was able to take care of my crowns. Can I get a deep cleaning instead?"

I sent an e-mail through VA.gov.

[Xist]

I don't have any idea why I posted this:

Originally Posted by Xist

I ran across some receipts:
$10.76 Hillman 707322 Installation Tools Wing Nut Driver
$141.72 AISIN TKH-003 Engine Timing Belt Kit with Water Pump
$118.18 FEL-PRO HS 26236 PT-2 Head Gasket Set

En route:
$54.92 4 NGK platinum spark plugs
$21.64 spring compressor
$16.25 thermostat

Does anyone know how much I paid Crazy J to flush the stop leak?

The car was $800.

here: With my continued gas savings I bought this! (1999 Accord LX)

I don't really want to count the tools as an expense for this particular car because I will probably use them again, but these parts total $331.07 and I will need oil, a filter, coolant, and a radiator.

The lowest price Google Shopping shows is $370 for a Honda radiator from Honda Parts Guys.

Majestic would charge $430, including $137 to ship!

Honda Acura Online would charge $826.33--$534 to ship!

I am pretty sure that Crazy J said that it needs to be replaced and you figure the head gasket blew because the radiator went out, but I want to know for sure!

I also want to save on shipping, but the only price I could find in the valley is Chandler and they want $575 shipped to their own ZIP--they don't offer the option to pick up.

Advance shows radiators between $100 and $186, although we don't have a store.

O'Reilly's has a Murray radiator for $173 in-stock and I can order a Denso for $164.

AutoZone has two Duralast radiators in-stock for $127 and $184.

RockAuto has radiators for $64-94. The cheapest would ship for $78. The most expensive would total $115?
Which of these brands would you install on your car: Ultra-Power, FVP, Koyorad, CSF, TYC, GPD, OSC, UAC, APDI/PRO, Denso, and Nissens.

They would ship the Denso for $107.

Amazon would ship a Denso for $118 and a Spectra Premium for $105.

Ebay has the Spectra Premium for $89 shipped, but it only has a 1-year warranty.

When I shopped for heater cores for Chorizo I realized--perhaps too late--that part stores charge more for seemingly the same parts because they have little to no warranty with virtual stores.

So, I will test the radiator, and if necessary replace it with an aftermarket one.

Kelley says that with a quarter million miles and in excellent condition this car would be worth $2,000.

I don't know that I would say that it is in excellent condition fully cleaned up, but cosmetically, I have only seen minor problems. Even the engine bay is clean!

Hondas have sold for over blue book for as far back as I remember, so I would say that fixed up this would be a $2,000 car.

Yay.

Does the list of parts tell me anything?

I don't know. It is 02 and I have a client in 6 hours. I felt eager to get to bed much earlier than the previous few nights, but I still need to pack!

The Donut Boys say that cars are pain.

Eight hundred dollars for the car, $331 for parts (so far), $89 for a Spectra Premium radiator, and I am totaling $1,220 so far.

RepairPal says that it would cost $2,000 to have a shop replace your head gasket and I should do everything--including buying the car and timing belt--for significantly less than that.

Honestly, I don't even know that this is 8 repairs from a perfect 21-year-old car, just 100 steps.

I decided that with the Accord gone I will get this running one last time and back into my spot in the driveway.

I liked the idea of working in the backyard and not needing to lock up my car every night.

I liked the idea of setting up the portable garage and working on my car in poor weather even more, but hopefully that will not be an issue.

[Xist]

I have been watching this video while waiting to hear back from my Holbrook Mom.
I forgot to message her yesterday!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm76KVI8uZQ

Eric had difficulty removing some radiator hose with an o-ring in it. These guys remove everything on the passenger side of the engine with a screwdriver, which pulls off that hose!

Curiously, they unbolted the intake, but didn't move it.
Eric slid it back on the studs.
They make it look easy!

[Xist]

I was supposed to drive back to Show Low after driving a friend to and from the hospital for a procedure, but my 1600 confirmed--right as I was writing my 1700 mom asking to reschedule, so I stayed another day, and drove down today.

I saw two clients, found what I needed, and then Mom demanded that I dropped what I was doing to drive her to Home Depot because their website showed three different ones available for pickup today, but apparently that is meaningless.

They didn't have any.

Mom yelled while I drove over, while we were in the store, while I double-checked Lowe's, which had also showed a snowblower, while I drove back, while I researched snowblowers and made a list of ones recommended by magazines, while I went to the bathroom, probably while I showered, but fortunately I couldn't hear her, while I waited to go on a walk, and when I finally went out to finally take care of things.

It was windy and snowing, but at least Mom didn't follow me to yell at me!

It was almost 01 when I came inside!

I had just finished shoveling the rest of the snow when I drove down to see my girlfriend.

We had 8" of snow, which doesn't sound like much, but I kept shoveling for 30-45 minutes and then needing to come inside and rest.

I used to shovel snow for 4 hours before I needed a break, but I usually napped for hours!

It is supposed to snow another 8" or so, which means somewhere between 1 and 20".

As soon as it stops snowing I am supposed to drive back to the valley to get a gold crown installed on my back tooth where nobody will ever see it!