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Hello all,
I'd like to introduce myself and my new daily, which I affectionately call "the cream puff." After finally buying my first new car over a year ago (2017 Chevrolet SS) I discovered I was racking up too many miles and spending up to $500/month on fuel. So, when I came across this one-owner daisy I figured I'd see what all the hype has been about. Being a big car guy I've built, owned and admired all kinds of cars. Never have I driven or owned the historically "bulletproof" and universally loved Civic. I can say so far, it's a really great little car. I'm eager to learn more and excited to bet getting 36mpg average (so far)!

The car has 86,000 miles and had a timing belt, new brakes, new sway bar links/bushing, new battery and front shocks done at 60,000 miles. The only thing I really want to do is bang out the hood a bit and replace the headlights for cosmetic reasons. Anyway, if there's anything I should keep an eye out for maintenance wise, I'd love your thoughts.

Cheers, JP

 
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Nice looking car.
The automatic transmission on years 2001-2003 are less than bullet-proof and is known to have issues. If, you don't have a record of the last ATF change then it's good to do a drain and fill (or 3x3 if you prefer) every 30k miles. Drain and fill only..do not machine flush.

All recommended maintenance types and intervals are listed in the service manual. You may want to check valves adjustment if no record available. May have been performed at the time of the timing belt replacement?

 
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Welcome! That thing is clean

 
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Welcome!
Check steel brake lines for rust......also check lines at the prop valve below the master

Make sure all your recalls have been completed, see below

 
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Thanks for the tips everyone! I'm lucky to have lift, so next weekend I'll throw it up there and perform the maintenance/inspection suggested. Mega, I've also heard it's not good to machine flush autos as it can push tiny particles of metal into places they shouldn't go in the valve body. I didn't know that until not long ago though, kinda a cool tip.

 
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OK, I threw creampuff up on the lift sooner than later. After some inspection and digging into the records, it looks like the ATF was changed at 78k, so I have about 20k left before it will need another change. Brakes lines all looked good and no leaks to be seen anywhere. Also, during the timing belt change at 60k, the valves were adjusted. The only other thing that popped up in my research here on the forum was the concern around the stock head gasket. Seems like most people are split down the middle on whether or not to replace this item preemptively. From what I gather, replacing the coolant with OEM fluid is a good preventative measure. Have I summarized that properly?

 
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There's no way to specifically say when (mileage) the head-gasket will breach so there's really no need to change it until symptoms arise. With these engines the most common symptom is a loss of coolant in the radiator combined with coolant gain in the reservoir. The current headgasket could last you a long time.

 
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Thanks guys, that all makes sense. SlumpertCivic, I'm glad to hear that. My assumption was that perhaps coolant passages would get clogged and cause a hot spot on the head and waste the gasket somehow in that area. I'm glad that's not the case! 1,000 miles in so far and hasn't burned a drop of oil that I can tell. Really impressed with the handling for an economy four door. I guess that's what weight savings will do for ya.

 
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nice civic!

 
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Clean ride, but no pix of the ss? Lol

 
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Congratulations and Welcome to the forum!

I doubt you’ll have any troubles with that civic. I owned two 7th gen civics one with an automatic and the other one with a manual trans. Needless to say the manual trans was more reliable than the automatic but we’re talking minor issues here. A brief list of what to look out for:

Automatic Transmission

Like mentioned above. Drain and re-fill every 30k -50k. I strongly recommend Honda ATF. Don’t flush the tranny that is how these transmissions act up. 4 quarts cost me around $40 and it was plenty for the drain and refill.

Also, you might find that the tranny dipstick is loose and doesn’t sit confidently on the hole. That is because the rubber on the mating surface shrunk and wobbles around like an 80’s arcade joystick. An inexpensive way to fix this is wrapping electrical tape around it to increase the outer diameter.

Suspension

Sway-bar links often go because of repairs to the suspension. They have to be removed for things like ball-joints, bearings, control arms you name it. Technicians often cut them off because they’re rusty. It’s a good thing you got new ones.

Control arm bushings rot and crack on these. Not a big deal. I strongly recommend replacing the whole control arm instead of just the bushing. You’ll pay the same in shop prices to press them out.

OEM ball joints seem to live a long life in our Civics

Final thoughts

Cylinder head gasket issues are very common. Replaced one on my 05 Civic around the 96K mark. I wouldn’t worry about inspecting valve clearance unless you hear ticking. Honda even suggests in later service manuals to leave valves alone unless they’re causing problems. You have a very hearty and resilient car. May it run you another 300k!

I can try to answer any questions you may have

 
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Sell it as soon as you have transmission slip signs.