Me and my 88 Civic Wagon RT4WD
dona83
Band Wagon
Hello I'm new here, stumbled upon here a day after I got my new baby (dubbed Civic 3.0), 267,000 kms on it, really awesome mechanically, a bit of rust on the body and interior was a bit dirty and there are tears in the front seats, the kids of the owner destroyed the back lock notches, but for $800 (Canadian) I'm definitely not complaining. When it warms up later this spring I'll probably do a bit of body work (rust removal, filling two holes one above each rear wheel well) and touch up the paint job on the driver side at the very least as well as replacing the left rear tail light which is missing a 1.5" dia chip out of it.. If I think it's worth it probably go the extra distance to make it look nice well on the inside, replace the blue interior panels with grey coloured ones (at least the door and dash, get fitted seat covers, upgrade the headlights with aftermarket ones (not important though), and some good looking wheel covers. Pondered repainting as well but prolly not worth it, the colour's ok.
Definitely an awesome car, I love how the engine sounds near redline. Previously (2003-2005) I had an 85 Wagon FWD DX and before that (2001) my first car was an 86 Wagovan, which is why I dubbed this car Civic 3.0. The wagon's in my blood.
I'm so glad there's a fan site like this.
Definitely an awesome car, I love how the engine sounds near redline. Previously (2003-2005) I had an 85 Wagon FWD DX and before that (2001) my first car was an 86 Wagovan, which is why I dubbed this car Civic 3.0. The wagon's in my blood.
I'm so glad there's a fan site like this.
Comments
Anyway I'm trying to make a list of things I'll have to fix in the car to keep it in top running shape because Civic wagons definitely aren't getting any younger.
Well first I think the third gear is getting a bit worn out but I won't worry about it until it's gone.
Second, I think something may be loose, torn, or worn out on my front driver side wheel but here are the symptoms. 1. At any driving speed if I go over a bump, I hear what sounds like two sticks hitting each other. Suspension seems fine, I don't see or feel any loose body parts, handling is unaffected, and there are no vibrations while driving even at high speeds (well the fastest I've gone is about 120km/h so far). 2. When doing a hard right, I hear what sounds like hard rubber against hard rubber, but not the click click click I heard on my previous two Civics which definitely had worn out CV boots which i never bothered to fix. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Yup, that sounds like worn out bushings.
My wagon is currently sleeping the winter away but, come spring, it's getting all new front suspension (bushings, shocks, etc.) because a loose suspension can wreck your axle shafts and possibly wreck your tranny... 'cause that's what happened to me.
I was able to source a used wagon tranny (thx again Quarters) so that will also be installed come spring.
Good luck with yours.
Okay I just went out to check my car, exhaust is firm in place, there are no loose body parts except where the rear bumper meets the rear wheel well is rusted out, going to have to rebuild that section. One thing I noticed (and my car is on level ground), the driver side suspension seems to be softer and it makes a single click sound when I push down on it, rather than the passenger side that makes a gradual creek sound. Also if you notice on my photo, the headlight is pushed in a bit on the top, and there was obvious repainting done on the driver side front fender and door. Things are really starting to make sense. But I still can't figure it out.
Should this discussion be moved out of newbie area?
Definately looks like shes had a nudge on that corner. It might pay to take that wheel off (please jack the car up first lol) and have a good look at where all the suspension components join together.
It looks like the struts on the front driver side is loose riding around 1/8" to 1/4", the passenger side lower arm ball joint is loose and the driver side upper ball joint is loose, however he sees this more as non urgent issues and more of an annoyance than anything that I can replace eventually if I feel it's worth it. The tranny appears to be rubber mounted to the engine itself? Anyone want to add to this?
The big thing he saw were brakes, front driver side calipers were seized, and then the back shoes were worn out... this is from what I noticed was intermittent squealing for breaks. The other night I did a hard stop in rainy weather just fine though. He's calling for $638 to replace the calipers, bleed the front brakes, machine the rotor, then on the back side replace the shoes and um do something I forgot... I'm going to get a second opinion on it.
If there is one thing I learned about brakes over the years is that it is often cheaper to simply replace the rotors than having them machined... unless you own fancy rotors and want to get your money's worth out of them. LOL
As for your front suspension issues, make sure you have them addressed soon. The right axle shaft on my wagon kept dying and I had it replaced 3 times until it finally damaged the tranny. The culprit was loose suspension components...
Good luck with your repair job.
<Mechanic> We should machine them to prevent wear on the new brake pads.
<Donald> I thought you said the front brake pads still have lots on them just the rear shoes needed replacing.
<Mechanic> Well yea, true, I suppose we don't have to touch the front pads or rotors.
<Donald> Good, just the calipers please, I'll bring it back later to do the rear shoes since it's not critical yet.
I'll probably do the rear shoes myself since it shouldn't be too hard.
The suspension I'll get to eventually but here are the quotes I got...
Driver side upper ball joint -- parts $316.21!!! + 1 hour ($88) labour + taxes = $467.
Passenger side lower ball joint -- parts $127.82 + 2.2 hour ($193.60) labour + taxes = $371.06
Shocks + strut? - Two Sensa-trac $273.38 total + 2.2 hour ($193.60) = $536.79.
Seems high... I should probably shop around, I mean nearly $1400 just for front end suspension components?
STRUTS
REBUILD KIT
I'm definitely going to get the front rebuild kit, wow the price difference!
I fixed it, just got a screw driver to adjust the headlight tilt. :shock: Wish I realized it was a simple little matter before lol... well definitely some misalignment but I have it level so it's not blinding drivers on the other side of the road anymore :oops:
jpciii thanks. Is there anything I should be aware of replacing the struts and the front end or should it be fairly straightforward? Aka take only what I need to take out and put the existing or replacement part back in the exact order I took it out, seems easy right? Or I should be able to bring my own parts to a shop and they can install it? Still it would be awesome if I could do it myself.
My friend who used to work at Mr. Lube highly warned against replacing brakes on my own, from cancer causing dust to the need to bleed out and replace brake fluid to having to adjust the rods or whatever, Thoughts?
http://www.autozone.com/in_our_stores/l ... _press.htm
They may welcome it who knows, instead of just doing the one upper ball joint and one lower ball joint, I'm asking for a complete front end replacement. I'm guessing it'll go from 5.5 to 7 hours of labour @ $88/hour...
As for my Civic, well, smashed left headlight, the right side got pushed in quite a bit, the hood's smushed in a bit and shifted to the right, and I'm guessing some sort of wheel misalignment where my brakes or whatever is rubbing against something in there. Poor girl, only had her for 12 days too.
Damage to exterior body, bumper, bumper frame and understructure, power steering busted, wheels misaligned, estimated $4000 repair, thus total write off.
Signing my paper giving up the rights to my car was probably the most difficult thing I've ever had to do... going to a salvage yard now.