oceanbreeze

Hi folks,

new member here. The car is a 1996 Civic 4-dr EX, auto, about 120K miles on it. I am helping someone who was not able to keep up with maintenance and wasn't using the car much. Several overdue maintenance items: timing belt job (water pump, tensioner, belts), tune up, maybe clean the iacv, replace the fuel level sender, replace the trans fluid, probably a few other things I haven't discovered yet. I will be doing all this myself, I've done similar work and a lot more on VWs and Audis.

I found a post (titled ULTIMATE 6th Gen DIY list) that contains much of what I need. I searched a lot but couldn't find answers to the following:

1) do people here mostly use a generic OBD-II scanner on these cars? is there a code scanner that pulls Honda-specific codes, or shows measuring blocks for various engine sensors and performance parameters? Is there a writeup on what protocol is used on these cars and what modules are available?

2) What is involved in servicing the distributor? Do I just get new parts (cap, rotor, coil maybe?) and install them? I haven't worked on olders car before and I don't want to do something to throw ignition timing off.

3) what are good vendors for parts for these cars? What are typical OEM brands? I will need tb, water pump, new coolant, ignition stuff (distributor, ign cables, plugs). I guess the default is the Honda dealer. Any reputable online sources with OE parts?

Don't hesitate to point me to technical and complicated stuff. I have worked on VW/Audis so I am used to tight spaces and interference engines.

Thanks!

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Just use a generic obd scanner. Anything Manufacturer specific will typically lead with a P1xxx instead of P0xxx, and just google "Honda P1xxx" to see what it means. There are more expensive scanners out there that give readouts of engine parameters, but they are hella expensive.

As far as Honda OEM parts, www.hondaautomotiveparts.com (Majestic Honda) is typically where we point people to buy parts. Shipping kinda sucks, but it'll still be cheaper than the dealership. Case in point: dealership wanted ~$250 for a head gasket kit, (back in 2011) I was able to get it for $180 overnighted.

Also, hondapartsunlimited.com is a good site, too. I've ordered from both, but more often from the latter site now, since I'm one state away from them, and on the other side of the country as majestic Honda.

oceanbreeze

Thank you!

Still looking into what I need to do with the distributor. I am hoping it's all remove old components, replace with new ones.