Noob Questions

hrtbrk1hrtbrk1 Band Wagon
in Engine & Drivetrain
Hello Guys,

I am purchasing a Civic Wagon RT4WD tomorrow. I am new to this community but am eager to learn.

I plan on changing my engine seals and gaskets out first and then doing the timing belt and water pump. As for aftermarket parts, I saw some cheap headers on ebay, are they any good? if not, any recommendations or should i just swap engines when this goes bye bye? I'd like to keep my spending low since i feel like i am getting a good deal on this vehicle.

Regards,
Eman

Comments

  • FakeJDMEF8FakeJDMEF8 Senior Wagonist
    Why change the seals and gaskets? Why do you need aftermarket parts?

    I'd suggest to always go OEM with engine parts/seals/replacement parts in general.

    If it drives well, I'd put that money towards a tune up and making sure the brakes are sorted, bushings are done/balljoints done and all fluids changed.

    Aftermarket headers on the wagon is a bit of a pain and you wont see too much of a benefit for all the trouble. If the stock manifold is working, leave it. You can gain a bit of pep by making sure the throttle cable is tightened, proper NGK plugs with gap, new plugs/wires/cap&rotor, fuel filter changed, etc. Furthermore, getting a K&N air filter and removing the lower bit of the box to make CAI is a nice little mod that is safe, inexpensive and just helps the engine breathe better. General maintenance and replacing with OEM Honda, in my opinion, is the best thing for a wagon to live a happy life!
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    I also agree about the OEM stuff. But as far as a CAI or K&N filter, in my opinion both are pretty worthless.

    The stock airbox on these is effectively a cold air intake and for a fractional gain in horsepower at 5000+ RPM at the cost of letting more dirt into the motor, to me serves no point.

    A reference I like to use about the K&N is at the following link http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

    Since you're getting an RT4WD ebay headers don't fit out of the box. They need some modifications to clear things. I don't have a RT4WD and I likely paid too much for it but I ordered this header off of amazon

    https://smile.amazon.com/J2-Engineering-ADJ2-HDPSHC88-Performance-Stainless/dp/B00JA1BEMS?ie=UTF8&ref_=pe_385040_30332190_TE_3p_dp_1

    I think had it coated with jet hot, and it's also wrapped. Even with the jet hot it was still melting stuff due to the amount of heat radiated into the engine bay. You can see my review about the header though with some of the lazy crap that they did in assembly. I imagine this is gonna be the same with most cheap headers.

    Do a search though about header modification for rt4wd and you'll see what I mean about them needing to be tweaked.

    With regard to swapping engine when that one goes bye bye, is there an issue with it already? Because these motors are good for several hundred thousand miles if well maintained.

    If you're doing clutch dumps and just driving it full tilt the mileage will literally vary, but I personally wouldn't be considering a motor swap unless there was an already known issue.

    When it comes to swaps though, there are a whole lot of options, again do a search on that and see what other people are running.

    I'd say get it in shape to be a reliable driver and then make an actual plan on what you want to do, what you want to achieve. Both performance and looks wise as tastes definitely vary. We have the stance crew here, lifted, resto-mod, bone stock. All sorts of different tastes with the wagon so knowing your plans would definitely help too.

    Welcome to the forum, and as always, use the search. Frequently =)
  • hrtbrk1hrtbrk1 Band Wagon
    Thanks for the response guys! I looked at the engine and it looked a little dirty. I will take clean it up and basically go from there. The valve cover gasket looks to be deteriorating and I figured i might as well do the heads as well. The current owner isn't sure when the timing belt was last changed so I'd like to be safe than sorry.

    As for the aftermarket portion, I saw it for $80 so I figured why not.

    As for plans, I'd like to keep it running as long as i possibly can. It's super stock, aside from a new cd player. It even has the original white rims.

    So gaskets, spark plugs, timing belt, and regular oil changes. Then brakes, bushings, axles, ball joints, etc.
  • hrtbrk1hrtbrk1 Band Wagon
    One tidbit i left out on purpose...Its an automatic :(
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    No worries on the automatic, there are steps on here I believe for converting those as well if you want to go that route.

    Valve cover gaskets almost always need replaced. Also be sure to check the spark plug wells for oil. If there's oil in there you'll need to remove the rocker assembly and replace the gaskets under there as well.

    For the aftermarket thing, if you're talking about that header still. For $80 you get an $80 header. They have the same ones for $40. And if they're selling them for that, you know some little kid in china or india is cobbling them together most likely. So you get what you pay for.

    My stock one had a crack in it, which is my main reason for changing over to something else. If yours is fine then I wouldn't bother with that just yet.
  • hrtbrk1hrtbrk1 Band Wagon
    Thanks Greentea.

    Drover her home today and she did well. I do need to change some bushings, especially on the front driver side. So bushings will be on the list of things to get.

    One thing I didn't notice until purchase was that it smokes a bit when I gas it. Hopefully with all the gasket changes, that will go away.
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    Identify what type of smoke it is. White/Blue/Black Coolant/Oil/Gas

    Bushing almost always need done. That was one of the first things I did. Get some prothane or energy suspension bushings. The black ones have graphite in them as a lubricant and are supposedly quieter. I did all of my bushings in red, and don't notice creaking noise, but I did lubricate them well with some silicone.
  • hrtbrk1hrtbrk1 Band Wagon
    It's white, but it smells like gas.

    Going to get new plugs, wires, distributor cap, and the seal that's in there (that leaks too), and a valve cover gasket. Possibly the gasket/seals under the rocker assembly (if oil is present). Anything else I should consider around this time?

    Head gaskets look good.

    End of the month will be timing belt and water pump.

    Bushings may be end of August. I drive on street roads mainly so it's not too bad yet.

    My AC Compressor makes a weird sound when the car just sits there, it's out of Freon right now as well. Going to have to do the R134 conversion soon as I only have one can of R22 left.

    This is exciting!
  • hrtbrk1hrtbrk1 Band Wagon
    Hello All,

    It's been a while since i posted here. I have figured out the smoke problem to be a head gasket problem, so I will be changing that, as well as the piston rings and oil pan gasket.

    I have seen some gasket kits on ebay. Has anyone ever used them or have better recommendations?

    I was looking at something like this

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/88-95-Honda-Civic-Del-Sol-SOHC-1-5L-D15B-D16A6-16V-Full-Gasket-Set-Head-Bolts-/401052278522?hash=item5d60941efa:g:qeQAAOSw14xWJoSh&vxp=mtr

    I have a timing belt and water pump, as well as some rings.

    or should i just go all out and get this?

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/88-91-Honda-Civic-CRX-1-6L-SOHC-Master-Overhaul-Engine-Rebuild-Kit-D16A6/281101401808?_trksid=p2045573.c100034.m2102&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D38530%26meid%3D6e6917123f3a4316b2040af52763e3ad%26pid%3D100034%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D281101401808
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