Wakko

My girlfriend has a 16 year old son who is really a good kid, loves older Civics and needed a car. I went out on a limb and helped pick him up an '01 EX 5 speed coupe today, and now I get to learn how to help him fix what's broke. We surprised him with it, and seeing his face light up when he walked into the garage was priceless.

Car has 113k miles, zero rust and no evidence of any significant collisions. The front bumper looks to have been replaced and painted with a low quality paint. Runs/drives well, cold A/C and is (mechanically and electrically, at least) bone stock. It's lowered a little bit and has 18" wheels on it, but stock otherwise. Even down to the original exhaust, air box and factory radio (shudder).

Driver's window doesn't work, engine has a pretty good oil leak, and the alignment is off. The driver's seat is a rocking chair, too. I have already seen the thread on how to fix the rocking chair, so that'll be an easy one. The oil leak is high on the list to fix, and I will start with the rocker cover gasket and go from there. Driver's window should be easy, and I'll have the steering checked out prior to doing the alignment in case the outer tie rod ends are looser than they should be.

I took a bit of a shot in the dark with the car due to my lack of knowledge of imports (I'm an old school muscle guy), but it gives us something to learn about together and he deserves the attention. Plus, that little car is fun to drive!

I don't know if the timing belt has been changed and will assume that it has not been. If I pull the valve cover, will I be able to see the belt or gain access to see it? I can at least examine the belt for any damage or wear. If it does not appear to have been replaced, should I simply have it done, or is it easy enough to do using YouTube and DIY threads? I'm 42 and not quite as limber as I used to be!

I look foward to learning about this gas sipper and sharing the excitement of a 16 year old's first car. Thanks for any help you guys can suggest.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

You're in luck. This forum originally began as "2k1civic.com" then "7thgencivic.com." That said, a vast majority of the information you'll find here is quite pertinent to the 2001-2005 civics.

Some anecdotal evidence for you. I got my car at 18, barely knew how to do anything more than change oil and brake pads (even then, the latter I needed massive help and supervision). Found this forum a year later and thanks to this forum, I had enough knowledge to remove my engine, disassemble said engine, disassemble spare engine, cherry pick the best from both, and reassemble it. These crazy guys even slapped an admin badge on me a couple years back, simply because I've been around for so long.

That said, you have the proverbial world at your disposal. Stuck on something? Post up. Feeling frisky and wanna delve into something you haven't done before? Post up. Mechanical issues? Post up. I can almost guarantee you someone has experienced it or fixed it before.

As for the issues you have...

1) Oil leak. Use old school methods. Wipe it up, drive it around a while, reinspect for where it's coming from.

2) Alignment. Get alignment done. lol.

3) Driver's seat rock. You've already done your research. Kudos to you for doing what many new people cannot.

4) Timing belt. If it hasn't been changed, I'd highly recommend it. If I recall correctly, 120K miles is about when it should be changed? Granted, other variables can play part in whether or not you should change it sooner than later. I'm pretty sure my 02 got it's first change at about 120K. First time I did my timing belt, I was scared to f*** something up. Took my time, referenced threads and my haynes manual, and had it done, start to finish (park to fire up), in about 6 hours. My fastest time thus far changing my 02's timing belt has been 3 hours start to finish. Parts to replace when you're down there: timing belt, water pump, timing belt tensioner, and hell, while you're at it, give the ac/alt/ps belts a look, since you're gonna have them off anyways.

Since you're an old school muscle guy, I'd think it's safe to assume you know how to turn a wrench. Only difference is you're gonna have to get used to reaching for metric sockets and wrenches rather than standard. Coil-on-plug ignition might be new for you, but it's straight forward. Instead of a dizzy controlling the spark, you got a computer telling the ignition coils when to spark.

Some things to consider with that civic.
First off, it's stupidly easy to work on. Back when I was stationed in SC, I was using the base garage, and the shop manager came up to me, impressed with how easy/fast I was able to take off the front bumper. He stuck around and shot the breeze with me, every so often chiming in with how easy [x] was compared to the older muscle cars he works on. Granted, there is a lot more electronic crap to worry about, but it is what it is.
The D17 engine is a bit prone to head gasket failure. We're here to help if you ever get that sneaking feeling that you're gonna have to remove the head.
The slave cylinder for the clutch likes to squeak after a good while. Easy enough fix though.
There was an issue with the fuel door release cable snapping at the cabin lever connection. So much so that the website fueldoorfix.com is dedicate to fixing the problem on 01-05 civics. I'm almost 200k on my 2002 and haven't had that problem.
If you're ever in the market for parts, I'm sure I have a box full of old stuff just collecting dust. Also, we can tell you where to get the best stuff for cheap (e.g. Honda OEM parts at a fraction of what dealerships sell it for; basically their cost price plus shipping)

I'm sure there are other things to consider, but those are the big ones. Stay active on the forum and you'll learn a good bit. Some of us might be rough around the edges, but we're fun, knowledgeable people.

Welcome to the forum!

NDNV

Other items to add to your list:


cabin filter replacement
brake fluid flush
power steering flush
thermostat and coolant (when you do the timing belt service)
spark plugs OEM NGKs
air filter

Wakko

Thanks for the tips. I ordered a cabin filter and new wipers, and will have to put a new battery in it too. It's not registered yet, so he can't drive it until next week, and we will take it to the Honda/Acura repair shop for the alignment and a once-over.

Kid doesn't have any tools yet, so setting him up with some basic wrenches and a socket set will also add to the mix. For now I'll bring my trusty Metrinch set over and we can use that.

Wankenstein

You did right by purchasing a manual transmission instead of an automatic. Automatic transmissions on earlier years ('01-'02) 7th gens are known to have issues. Very common to read posts on these cars with mileage over 200k. Did it come with sevice records?

Timing belt replacement interval is 110,000 miles or 7 years and as Riceboy stated: "timing belt, water pump, timing belt tensioner, and hell, while you're at it, give the ac/alt/ps belts a look, since you're gonna have them off anyways" Best to use OEM parts as much as possible for Honda's however, can find timing belt kits (timing belt, tensioner, wateperpump) with good quality Japanese made parts on Amazon, Ebay or other sites. If you go this route look for names like Aisin: waterpump, Bando: timing belt, Koyo: tensioner.

The 1.7 litre is an interference engine (spin in one direction only) and if timing belt snaps during driving it can bend intake and/or exhaust valves. At the current milege of the car and since you don't have a history of timing belt replacement..it's time to replace it as soon as possible. Follow the service manual for replacement. There's also DIY write-ups and Youtubes on the subject.

While valve cover is off for timing belt replacement it's a good time to adjust the valves. Reference service manual for specs and how-to. Write-ups and Youtubes also available.

Oil leaks: Start from the top of the engine and work your way down. Valve cover and camshaft end cap seal are typical leak spots on these and not hard to replace. Reference service manual, write-ups, Youtube for replacement. Other possible sources of oil leaks: rear main seal, oil pan seal, crankshaft seal.

Electric controlled windows? If so, most likely the window regulator or control switch. Can find used parts in salvage yards to replace. Youtubes help.

The suspension being lowered is a concern...not so much that it's been lowered but what type/quality of parts it's been lowered with. Some people cheap out and purchase lowering springs and install them on the stock struts/shocks. Depending on lowering height it can put a lot of stress on shock/struts. If it has coilovers then that is a better setup...though there are differences in quality amongst brands.

Wakko

Great advice as well, thank you. The rears are coil overs, but unknown brand. When we pull the wheels we will check. Springs are black in color, FWIW. The front springs are red and that's all I know about them as well.

I told him today that we are going to have to do the timing belt...I don't think he realizes quite what that entails yet. He took his first battery out today, so it's a steep learning curve.

Wakko

Does this look like a decent kit? It has the Aisin pump and a Mitsuboshi belt.

Wankenstein

Not sure about the quality of the GMB tensioner in that kit.

Here's the same kit with a Koyo tensioner: http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....373217&jsn=488
Koyo is not the original OEM tensioner but, I can recommend it because I put one (and this same kit) on my son's engine 30k miles ago and no issues so far. Koyo is japanese and seem to have very good reviews online concerning tensioners.

Also, there's info online about using a longer tensioner bolt than the stock one. Ezone probably has info on this. I've never changed a 7th gen tming belt "yet".

Wakko

Then that's the kit we will use; thank you. I will also research the longer bolt.