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As a few may know, I curbed my car pretty bad about a month ago. I ended up changing my LF spindle, bearing, lower control arm, and half-shaft; RR spindle, and bearing; LF, LR, and RR rims; and all new Toyo Proxes tires all around. As of now my sub-frame is slightly tweaked if any at all (control arm took almost all of the hit).

Suspension Problem
Now when I get my alignment done, my LF side is fine and set at -.5" camber (which stock Honda components are not adjustable for caster and camber) but my RF side is totally ****ed at -2.5" and the strut is blown! I already knew that it was blown cause I'm lowered more than 2" on stock struts, and the guy at Midas said that the strut housing could be bent from bottoming it out to many times, if not I may need to check the steering rack. And having the camber so far off and the bottom of the wheel so far out, the tie rods don't have enough thread to make my steering wheel straight (straight is to the right about 80 degrees) and the -2.5 is killing my new Toyo Proxes tire!

What else may cause this camber problem? If I change the strut and it's still not fixed, is there an adjustment on the rack to move it? My father wants to put my car back to stock coils and all cause he says you can't correctly adjust a lowered car, but I do NOT want to lose my aggressive stance and spectacular handling! The guy who had it before me had didn't do it the right way and dropped it so far without changing the struts. If I was to keep my 2" drop and change the struts, what are your recommendations? Koni Yellows? Tokiko Blues? KYB? Or should I just let him put it to stock, sell my Sportlines, and save up for the Tein Flex Driving Spec coilovers w/ EDFC that I want?

Manual Transmission Problem
Everyone who owns a 2001/2002 Civic knows the transmissions are crap for a Honda stamp on them. So now my car has 67k, a DC short shifter (the little bracket piece), and it's popping out of 5th gear after about 1/2 hour of driving; and sometimes the reverse lockout engages even when I'm not moving or anything. What exactly is causing this to happen? I don't shift very hard (especially into 5th) or go to the tracks, and I only go into reverse at a dead stop.

I have a warranty for $100 deductible and I bought it with the short shift. Should I take it to Honda and have them change the trans for a new reman one (they don't have to know it's short shift)? Or should I ditch the 02 trans and go with an 03 or 04 or could I request that from Honda? I'm not sure if anyone did the trans service to it, but I'm guessing that could be the problem because it only occurs after extended driving (like I said, about 1/2 hour), right?

I'm really hoping for some real answers to these problems and anything you say that helps my situation I will rep you on. Thanks everyone!

 
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Also, what is a good price for a front and rear camber kit and who should I get it from and what brand?

 
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first off, if your right side camber is at -2.5 degrees, something is bent. the spec is 0.8 to -0.8 degrees. you are almost 2 degrees more negative from that spec. The first thing I would check is the strut housing itself. thats more then likely whats bent. Also check your lower control arm to make sure that isnt bent. But with a angle like that, something is broke or bent. thats really the only thing that will make it that far off. You cant even adjust the front camber to that spec. You even said you might have some subframe damage, and you nailed the curb awhile ago, that is why this problem occured. Start searching for the broken component.

Its up to you what you want to do with your suspension. But before you worry about that, fix the alignment problem, as a matter of fact, replace the blown strut to begin with. then worry about what aftermarket parts you want on last. You need to worry more about safety and fixing your car rather then figuring out what suspension setup you want to put on there.

Now a camber kit ranges from $120-$180 for the front and rear kit. Search around for it, plenty of people carry them.

As for your tranny, take it in to honda and explain your problem and tell them the car is under warranty and they should fix it. You cant request honda to give you a tranny from a newer civic. If that was the case, people all over the world would go to the dealer and request parts from other cars to use on theres. Honda will use what goes in that car from the factory and for that year. In some cases, they might use parts from other years as they are interchangeable for all years. But you may have a problem with honda claiming warranty with a short shifter. Other members have had tranny problems and honda doesnt want to warranty it because they have aftermarket tranny components. But they might. It all depends on the dealer and how big of an *** they are towards that stuff. But dont get your hopes up that honda will give you a new or rebuilt tranny, they might just replace the components that are damaged.

 
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All of the visible components looked good on the right side (arms, stabilizer, tie rod, spindle) so I'm really hoping that it's just the strut housing, but could that really bend so far in as 2 degrees? That's why me and my dad think there is something else up with the steering rack... And the frame doesn't really have any damage.

But I asked about the aftermarket because I don't want to change the OEM struts and keep these springs just so I can blow and bottom out the new ones. That's why I was asking about the brands etc. What struts can handle a 2" drop without going overboard performance for tons of cash? Right now, OEM honda struts are $85 a piece wholesale and I don't know about the springs. But the way I see it, keeping my drop springs and changing the struts would be only a little more than going 2 new front struts and OEM springs all around. I'm not looking for adjustable for track or anything, just basic that handle my drop. What would you suggest?

And thanks for the info about the transmission. I think I'll just stick with the 02 with a warranty until it expires, then get an 04.

 
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Oh, and is there any brand that is better or not so good fitment on our cars?

 
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And does anyone have any information as to why it would pop out of 5th and engage my reverse lockout for no reason? I want to learn as **** goes wrong with my car.

 
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if that assembly is bent just a bit in, it will lean in causing that negative camber. If the strut is blown, I would go ahead and replace it and see if that fixes the problem. If it doesnt, then something else is bent. check the knuckle, control arm and the subframe. you physically need to get up under there and look for any signs of damage or any bent parts. compare between each side to see if any part doesnt look right. It could be a steering rack problem, but you have to check everything.

Now as for aftermarket struts, the only ones that I know that can handle that drop is the konis. I have heard tokico doesnt do well with lowering springs. Not sure about the AGX's. I would go with koni though, very good struts for the price. A bit expensive, but well worth it.

 
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Well, I checked the sticky in the suspension and cubanmike said his Tokiko HP/Sportline mix was great, but I think I'd rather trust what you say more.

 
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I think I'm going to go back to stock springs and struts for now. I figured that I'm just going to be selling anything I have on there when I get the money for full coilovers anyway so why waste the money and my steering box.

Does anyone know what the mechanical reason for my 5th gear popping out on here?