Darrick147

Just bought an 04 ex coupe with 146k miles on it. Engine seems to be running fine, no CEL. I usually like to do a once over as far as maintenance goes when I get a car so I know the important things get done. I can already hear either a strut mount or bushing in the rear end squeaking when I go over medium size bumps. It's driving me nuts. I think I'm going to go through and do the energy suspension treatment for most of the bushings and mounts that tend to dry rot front and back and most likely throw in some engine/transmission mount inserts too. Anyone else's driver seat rock back and forth like a 1/4inch? Is there a good fix for that? As far as engine maint, will probably do the timing belt/wp just so I have a record as to when it was done and may also do a tune up, are iridiums the best for these? Any other good maint type items that I should check while I'm at it? Other than the obvious stuff like oil, fluids, serp belts, valve cover gasket, etc?

Thanks in advance guys.

ezone

There's a whole thread on this, search the forumYou may want to pull a plug and check it first, the correct plugs are platinum and serviced every 100k.
Get the correct plugs (NGK PZFR6F-11 or Denso PKJ20CR-M11) if you have to get plugs.

Power steering uses special fluid from Honda....Do not use ATF it can ruin the system.

Service the trans ATF or MTF. Manual trans wears out the input shaft bearings and Honda has their own fluid for those,

Auto trans needs serviced regularly for any kind of life. Every 30k ATF or even more often....and never use chemicals or a machine on it. Simple drain and fill will get about 2.5 quarts each time, repeat often LOL. I always recommend Hondas DW-1 ATF.

RIPSAW

Not trying to be a jerk but if you are not mechanical enough to see why seat is rocking, leave the rest to a pro. And a 04 with 146K, only have a certified mechanic fix what is a safety hazard unless you want to throw your money away.
Use only stock OEM parts ..Nothing fancy but nothing from after market part stores. Just my 68 year old opinion and I know that sounds like no fun.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

easy there friend. everyone starts somewhere. the seat problem is a common problem as ezone has mentioned. it has been covered quite a few times.

Darrick147

Sorry guys, I wrote that post on my lunch break at work just to get some info. Figured the forums would be the best place to ask about the common problems with these cars. I worked in the pit of a maintenance shop for 5 years with guys that wanted to do automatic transmission flushes with generic dexmerc ATF on Hondas, especially Odysseys (HA!) for some reason. And full synthetic oil changes on rotary Mazadas, its like they were trying to destroy customer cars.

I've never personally owned a Honda, but I know the basic stuff about them. I'll pull one of the plugs tomorrow to check them out. Thanks for the transmission and spark plugs info. Mine is a manual, I generally didn't ever need to bother with honda manual transmissions so that's good to know about the input shafts . The clutch is brand new, so I hope they had the sense to refill the trans. Never know tho, bought it from a Nissan dealership (I'm a former Nissan guy).

I believe if you take care of a car, it'll take care of you. 146k miles is nothing for a well taken care of vehicle... generally. I guess theres room to be wrong. I know these motors don't respond well to mods, so I figure there's no reason to stray from OEM under the hood. Just want to keep it running nicely and extend the life as long as I can.

Darrick147

Gotchya, sorry to beat a dead horse then. I'll check out the seat thread.

ezone

I so want to run my damn mouth rightaboutnow.

Darrick147

Only reason I want to do the eurethane bushings and mounts is because dryrotted/oil corroded rubber bits everywhere is annoying. I like to solve that problem once and never worry about it again. Eurethane solves that problem.

NDNV

I did the rocking seat fix myself using the TSB as a guide. Basically replacing and adding some bushings to the bottom of the seat base. That issue really bothered me many years ago!

Darrick147

I think I read on another forum about a guy that used washers to fix the rocking seat. I'm going to play with it this weekend.

NDNV

Here is the TSB I referenced to fix the rocking seat...

NDNV

There are also 2 cabin air filters behind the glove box.


I find some of the bolts on the engine filter cover corrode and break off so be careful when removing them.

Darrick147

yeah I remember having to change those when I worked in the shop. Thanks for the reminder!

Darrick147

Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for

GusBuz

Hey NDNV quick question..... Did you replace the parts that are on that TSB. The nuts, washers and spacers with new parts from Honda or did you just use some washers and tighten it up?

I'm wondering if they improved the bushings to where they wont wear out as soon as the others. Basically I want to know if I should get the parts at me dealer for the fix or go ahead and just use washers like the DIY says.

Darrick147

I was personally just going to use some washers I have laying around my garage. It seems crazy to me that they even use bushings for that sort of thing, but some thick nylon washers would probably be a suitable substitute

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I'll be the nice guy and save you the trouble of searching for the driver's seat rock DIY fix

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...anent-fix.html

SammySC

I replaced ball joints, control arms and sway bar links. The ball joints were already loose as well as the bushings on the control arms making a really bad clunking sound. The sway bar link broke off while replacing the control arm so it was replaced. This was all done at 94K on my 2002 EX coupe. I have now 123K and no problems. Look for my thread 15 Month Update for a comprehensive list of all mods. Good luck!

NDNV

I splurged on OEM Honda parts and did it meself.