Rep Power: 811

i painted a few trim pieces with flat black and they held up pretty well. just sand the part first and rub down with alcohol prior to painting.

 
Rep Power: 0

I might buy dealer replacement based on what you said about the fit. In downtown Los Angeles there are three places that sell the copy tail light. Advantage is they are cheap but they do not let you look at the item before purchase. Only one claims to give refund if it does not work out.

 
Rep Power: 200

Hey Gearbox,
I'm back again with the Air/Fuel sensor issue. I just recently went to a scrapyard and picked one from an 02 not knowing it was an 02 until I got home. I put it in anyway for kicks, but knew it wouldn't work as the 04-05 switched to widebands. Now when I drive it, I feel reverberations, possibly misfires, coming from the engine when I'm on the gas. Is this from the 02 sensor being the complete wrong one, or could this being transmission issues as I had just changed the fluid out 3 weeks ago.
Thanks!

 
Rep Power: 811

yeah it is a very bad idea to drive with a wrong 02 sensor. the ecu uses the sensor readings to determine how the engine works, and using a narrowband instead of a wideband will cause serious issues. they are totally different in the voltages they output.

 
Rep Power: 811

stick with honda part. i just went thru this same problem with 05 sedan tails. i got one piece depo brand and it wouldnt fit, there was a big gap on one side and the finish was terrible. the edges were jagged and not polished properly, some of the chrome inside was flaked and messy, and the red lens was not even the right color to match the oem piece.

 
Rep Power: 229

Not sure if you still need help with this, but I know in the 6th gens, the wire harness to the door disconnects on the outside of the door. Disconnect that then close the door. Take the fender off and have someone hold the door from the bottom as it is very heavy and will drop fast. There are two bolts at each hinges and the 6th gens have a hinge in the middle that needs disconnected. Every model is different and probably changed over the years but the removal and installation is very similar.

Once the door is off, you can swap the harness and whatever other interior pieces you wish. If you want more help, you can either PM me or post back here, good luck.

 
Rep Power: 206

i know its a pathetic question but i just got a grille frome ebay and i was wondering how do you remove those 4 clips things on top of the factory grill? im not sure if you should pull em or you have to twist em i tried and im just scared cuz im very prone to breaking things as i broke many clips from the airbox in the past lol...ive done a lot of searching and i came across the fact that i need to get a sedan radiator cover? is that true? thanks in advanced

 
Rep Power: 811

if you have a coupe, you need the sedan radiator cover to fit the new grill. or you can leave the cover off like i did for better cooling. those clips have a place to stick in a flat head screwdriver and pop up the center pin. then the whole clip should become loose and pull out. they sell packages of new ones on ebay for cheap and they are good to have. old ones tend to crack coming out sometimes.

 
Rep Power: 206

THANKS!!! funny that at the same time i found the answer i was looking for in the clearing headlights DIY lol...do you recommend having another person with me to "catch" the bumper? the DIY recommends it

 
Rep Power: 811

or just put a blanket across the bottom

 
Rep Power: 206

lol yeah thats what i wound up doing, thanks man =D

 
Rep Power: 248

What do you think about Parasol's Verabond plastic dye? for interior color change of course.

 
Rep Power: 811

i dont have experience with that particular product, but plastic dyes are usually hard to get a uniform appearance without experience. it may come out uneven, so get some practice pieces to play with first.

 
Rep Power: 0

a while ago I read that after you hit a certain mileage you went from using the recommended 5W-20 to a different viscosity. after reading that I switched as well and I forgot what it is. I'm pretty sure it was 5W-30 but as i know nothing about oil types I want to double check...

 
Rep Power: 811

yeah 5w30, which is what every older honda used. the only reason they decided on 5w20 was for 1-2% better gas mileage claim, even tho the motor was designed for the thicker 5w30. my brother (03 rsx) and i (02 civic) have had serious problems in the summer (80F+) using the thin 5w20 because it causes issues with the vtec system and i have a hunch it does not lubricate as well. all these issues become magnified after 20k miles when the engine is fully broken in and you have looser tolerances between parts. which could also lead to oil leaks with 5w20.

 
Rep Power: 196

ok well i put 10w30 in min will that cause problems?

 
Rep Power: 811

yes, that is pretty thick for a civic. prolly wouldnt hurt that bad in the hot summer, but you will have issues come winter. try and drain it out for some 5w30 asap.

 
Rep Power: 196

ok i'll probably drain ift befor winter. but i'll def try to get my moneys worth out of it first.lol i think i can put the last 3 thousand in befor then.lol

 
Rep Power: 0

Roger that Gearbox! I had a feeling the depo brand and similar copies were poorly made. You confirmed it. Thank you for sharing your experience and protecting me from going through that.

By the way. I used the Maguires Scratch X on my bumper that got dented. It did a great job of cleaning up the paint scratches from the other car that hit me. I then applied a Honda touch up paint to all of the scratches that were left. After 24hrs I came back and used the Scratch X to smooth it out - just like you instructed - it looks dam good! thanks man!

 
Rep Power: 811

no problem, thats about as good as you can do without taking it to a bodyshop.

 
Rep Power: 0

one of my valve cover bolts broke and its stuck inside, how to I take it out ?

 
Rep Power: 291

With some gum and wire? lol

 
Rep Power: 206

would this work with Nu Finish Scratch Doctor??

 
Rep Power: 811

i would go with meguiars over nufinish any day. and for the valve cover bolt, youre pretty much gonna have to take the cover off and try to remove the rest of the bolt. it might be easy if some of the bolt threads are still exposed from the head. otherwise it will require drilling most likely. just be careful not to get any metal pieces on the engine head with the cover open.

 
Rep Power: 206

Hey gearbox,

in a week or 2 im going to order a mugen lip (front and rear) and some side skirts from ebay...to paint it ssm, can i just bring it to any body shop? would a Honda shop do it?

sorry for such a noob question 0_0

 
Rep Power: 811

yes any body shop will do it. just be sure you ask for the normal paint job (paint plus clear coat) and give them the color code of your car. may want to ask around a few places because the price difference can be huge. to paint an altezza grill lip i got prices from $40 to $200. also helps if you can sneak in the part when they already have a car in there with the same paint code. then they dont have to mix up a batch of paint just for you.

 
Rep Power: 206

thanks gearbox....damn if just a grill lip is $40-$200 then i wonder how much a whole lip kit would be lol

 
Rep Power: 811

fair price is around $100 per lip. but if you have more pieces they might charge less. this is why i went with oem kit from honda thats prepainted. only paid $750 at the time for the whole kit and it bolts on like factory.

 
Rep Power: 206

hmmm yeah i was thinking about the oem sides and rear and just get the mugen lip from ebay to paint, but i'll have to do my fair share of research 1st...

ebay= $200 for sides, front, and rear lip unpainted
handa-accessories= $278 for sideskirts, and $200 something for rear painted

what do you think?

 
Rep Power: 811

yeah go thru the pics in member rides and see how you like it. or maybe oem sides and mugen front/rear? just to mix it up. im not a huge fan of the oem rear, kinda looks a bit plain. the sides and front are nice tho.