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Okay -- though I have a rollaway and top box full of tools for work on powersports vehicles... there are certain automotive special tools I'd never use that a Honda tech would, one of them being a ball joint puller (my previous car, a '99 SOHC Escort -- essentially a '93 Protege chassis with a crap drivetrain -- had bolt-on ball joints, super-easy to fix). The B16/B18s, for example need a long jamnut tool to reach into the pocket over the valve springs in order to adjust clearance. There's no way I can see to do this in a non-git-'er-done fashion, with regular hand tools.

What special tools would you need to do most common DIY wrench maintenance & repair jobs short of perhaps bodywork repair, on the 7th gens? (am already seeing a bearing pull/press kit in order to swap ball joints). And if a single-tasker tool isn't the best way to do a certain job, how do you find best works?

EDIT: 19 Mar -- adding a cheat sheet list of Dos and Don'ts to this post, just to consolidate info and lessen same-question symdrome.


Here is the compiled special tool list for 7th gens from this thread as of: 18 Mar 2014:


-- Crankshaft holding tool (actually 2x tools: PN: 07JAB-001020A + 07NAB-001040A). DON'T USE AN IMPACT ON THE CRANK PULLEY BOLT
-- Impact driver (for door lock ***'y removal, rotor retaining screw)
-- Ball joint press/puller kit w/collars for install of new
-- Optional(if you can even find one): offset 12mm RX-7 axial box-end wrench (see posts below; for EGR if you wish to spend the cash, as it'll be useful on other jobs). Gets where a socket may be awkward and round off your fastener hex...


Any others will be added as posted.

--

Here's my indexed list of key Dos and Don'ts for working on your 7th gen, as come across while searching the site (a work in progress):


BRAKES:

-- DO use Honda DOT3 (personally, I use a petroleum-based DOT4 in everything, as it's just DOT3 with better resistance to boilover; never know when you'll need to depend on your brakes to do what you expect them to do. Your call, as my sportbike systems all use it with no ill effects).

-- DO follow the FSM bleed procedure: FL, FR, RR, RL, or clockwise from the driver's corner. This differs from other brands, possibly due to Honda's ABS.

EDIT 20 Mar 14: ezone says just the order of bleeding isn't crucial... unless you run into a problem with air that isn't purging. When it doubt, though -- always follow the FSM proc. Thanks!

-- DO use an impact driver to loosen the retaining screws on the rotors -- you will strip them if just a Phillips with a wrench is used.


COOLING:

-- DO use Honda Type 2 coolant, as it has anti-corrosion and lubricating additives made especially for Honda systems. All universal application coolants like Prestone are exactly that -- universal and not optimized, esp the corrosion inhibitor part.

-- DO burp the system without fail after every coolant drop & swap, preferably on an incline (front wheels on ramps is good). Heater on full blast, run with cap off for a few mins until all air is purged. Top off and let sit overnight, top off again in AM.

-- DO use a coolant booster like Water Wetter to improve heat transfer and improve power/response when hot. I just put it in the overflow tank and wait for cooldown/startup to draw it in, but if topping off your rad, prefect time to get it where it needs to go.

-- DON'T use your heater all the time to get better performance . While testing my 'bad coolant demands heater on for true output' theory, the ducting got so hot that even full-blast A/C didn't cool it down for several minutes. Heat + plastic + foam can only end in heartbreak...

-- DON'T forget to compress your big cooling hoses to burp them of air when swapping or topping.


HIDs:

-- DO buy the best ballast you can afford (Matsushitas, Densos). They're built to withstand OEM requirements, so will last longer and heat up quicker. That said... peeps here have had very good experiences with The Retrofit Source (TRS) Morimoto ballasts, as they're pre-potted -- a vital feature for longevity, esp if you live where there's a lot of inclement weather.

-- DON'T remove your headlights without first parking in front of a wall and marking off where your stock beams land -- you'll need this for reference when you aim your HID lamps.

-- DON'T glue your headlight housing back together without first checking projector alignment!


SPARK PLUGS:

-- DO use the OEM Denso plugs (PKJ20CR-M11, or Honda pt#12290-PGE-A01). They have three features intended to help you where alternatives won't: They have platinum in center AND side electrodes, unlike the NGK OEM plug. They also have a particular resistance that the PCM was designed around; use the NGK version, and your D17 will rough idle, and not give good mpg.

-- DON'T reef on spark plugs in the D17 head (or any aluminum head). If you're not a tech and don't know how tight is tight... buy a torque wrench and get a PDF version of the FSM, they're not that expensive and will make sure you never strip plug threads, which is a dumb reason to pull the head.


STEERING:

-- DO... when swapping out the OEM wheel, make sure to disconnect the neg batt cable and let it sit for three full minutes. Be sure to know your radio code if you have an OEM stereo. Otherwise you may get two black eyes and an $800 bill for making it right, when the airbag goes off.

-- DO buy a tool magnetizer when working with the small JIS crosshead (Japanese Phillips) screws, as they're pretty small and screw in horizontally.

-- DO draw a line with straightedge and sharpie, through the top mark on the wheel and the centerpoint of the steering shaft. This'll allow the wheel to be installed properly, as being one spline off is easy to do without the sharpie index line.

-- DO sit the new wheel in your lap, and place the horn support springs on the pockets in the wheel, then lay the airbag bracket atop them. The support supposedly has retainers to hold the springs when installing, but they get worn after ten years wiggling.

-- DO... jack up front wheel. If there's play with your hands on the wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock, then you have worn tierod ends. If it wiggles 12 and 6 o'clock, then your ball joints need swapped as well.

-- DON'T install the new wheel without looking at the procedure for aligning the turn signal cancel mechanism -- quite vital.


More to come as available...

 
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the only tool that i have purchased specifically for this car is the crankshaft holding tool to remove the crank pulley bolt,

any other "specialty tool" i need, i borrow from a local parts store, they lend them out for free, a ball joint tool would be just one example,

 
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Ezone has a badass EGR bolt removing tool here:
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...ml#post4645790

 
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^ That's a pretty nifty tool!

Its not Honda specific and you probably have one but an impact screw driver is great for removing those dern brake rotor screws that Honda uses.

 
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yes, that is pretty much a definite must have tool to work on any car

my rotor screws were on so tight i had to hit it with the back of an axe, a hammer was not strong enough!

 
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Valve adjust stuff that was handy.

 
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Yep, impacts are definitely required for work on powersports stuff, esp watercraft. My Craftsman one is well-worn -- mosdef saves time. And @ezone, the Blue Point valve adjusting tool in the above pic is what was in my link... so, then it is required on a D17, huh... pricey but for ease of use really can't beat it. Done....

And I'm surprised there's a bolt that difficult to access w/ regular tools on a Honda (EGR bolt)... well, no one's perfect. My top drawer on the rollaway has a corner where I keep tool kit tools from bikes and quads... which while on most bikes/ATVs are pot metal crap... on some Hondas and Suzukis, there are jobs where the toolkit tool is definitely the best for the job (shock preload adjusters, for example)...

Thanks, all -- keep 'em coming... and @mikey1, there aren't any parts stores here on the island that will lend tools, otherwise I'd use them. I should've mentioned that in the OP... but it's seriously Third World here when it comes to being a home wrench compared when I lived on the mainland.

 
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Scoot over....

 
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Not to mention getting the door lock assembly loose from the door! That's why I have mine!

 
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I saw the link, I just grabbed the special tools from the wall and took a pic.
My first choice is regular box end wrench and screwdriver if they will fit.
Second choice is the tube driver at the bottom of the pics, along with a box end wrench.
Last choice is the red things.


I use whatever is handiest and fits best for me. I think any box end and screwdriver will work on a D17.



It's not that it's a particularly difficult pair of bolts, it's just that I have that cool wrench I can reach around corners with. It's handy as heck and I use it.

 
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@ezone: ah -- okay, thanks for clarifying that. I was watching a YT vid on adjustment on a B18C, and the access pretty much demands the BP tool. If the screw/locknut is regular-tool-accessible on the D17, win for everyone (I thought they were from pics I'd seen on the forum but it pays to check twice, do once).

The bottom tool, though a mini-scale 8mm version, is what I use for s/ln on bikes and ATVs (whole tool is approx the length of your middle finger)... some of which you absolutely cannot do without it (pro tip: don't buy an old Suzuki Intruder 800 or 1400, unless you have a large budget for special tools + gobs of patience).

 
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Whoops, dupe post for some reason...

 
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Maybe 2/3 of my sockets n stuff....

Organized? Suuuure.

 
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Holy pixel mural!

I'd have to trek across town to shoot my top box/rollaway... but I'm not lacking for tools... just quite a lot of tools that won't help on a Civic, now that I've given up racing and bike wrenching for side change (my job requires very clean, uninjured hands). Though as slow as rumors say this summer is going to be, I may have to reneg on that. Though I will be down there later this week to get my stands... I'll get some pics of my dusty kit then.

And there is some definite order in the way you store tools, ezone... trust me, any honestly busy wrench only has time for a certain amount of tidying up... but it's that bit of tidying up that makes for the highest ratio of FR hrs:comebacks... provided he/she is actually competent. One thing I cannot stand, is to have to dig around for a socket or wrench, no matter how small.

Any tech whose work area look like a dentist's office, either have minions to do the tidying (F1 and high-echelon race teams), or are more fetishists than technicians.

EDIT: Oh BTW... you do *not* know how much I want 90 psi line pressure when working on anything -- you'll see later, I have a good selection of SO pneumatics -- completely useless now. Saves soooo much time...

 
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Should I have given the dial-up warning?

Resizing pics isn't my thing. Point, shoot, upload, link.


It didn't seem that big when I first loaded it . I'll have to recheck the camera settings, maybe I bumped something since I took pics of the valve adj tools.



If a FR tech has time to keep their bay spotless, then they don't have enough paying work to do.

SMART managers would keep FR techs busy making money, and pay someone else min wage to clean the floors for them.

Most of the time, I feel like I work in a Dilbert cartoon.


If you find the pics I took of an 8th gen engine block job, you may notice the floor is nearly spotless. (That was shortly after the floor was repainted.) Not so much now.

Some bosses are **** nit picking neat freaks here....
I'm not. I'm trying to make a living.
I have scads of stuff to help me do my work, and not all of it can fit in a toolbox.
Don't get me wrong, I can keep myself and a car damn clean during a job....
But beeping my square and benches spotless is absolutely not a priority to me when there's money to be made.
There's a definite method to my madness.

I MIGHT mop my square if I get slow and still feel unusually energetic. Otherwise it gets done by the night crew on the weekend.







Only 90 PSI? That would probably make my stuff feel so weak.
I'd think almost any 8 gal or bigger would be ok for home use.

All the cool kids have the battery powered impacts now.
I think I'll stick to my air tools......
I have a DEWALT drill that needs batteries I really don't want to buy.

 
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Truth. The best boss in dealership work I ever had was a former tech himself for decades. And our shop wouldn't pass a white glove muster (please...), but it did regularly turnout some of the highest hour numbers of the network Phx service depts, with low comeback. THAT was the focus of our shop, and I loved working there, with Mike as my boss.

Crap, forgot what my line pressures were. 120? Getting rusty having not used them in years. :P The challenge with me getting a compressor, is no external outlets here at the building, as homeless here like to leech from them in the wee hours, and the LL is sharp about loss prevention. That's not even considering the busybodies complaining to the LL about the noise...

I got a Kobalt 1/2" lithium impact a year ago as a demo model for cheap -- $200 for the unit, two batteries, and the quick charger. Scratched a bit but the internals are cherry... didn't give a single f*** removing 180 lb/ft spec bolts under the Ford, with 16 years of rust, love it, but it just doesn't have the control of an air tool. That said, with my situ now I wish I could get lithium versions of all my SO tools -- 3/8" & 1/4" air rachets, my air hammer, and angle grinder... not happening, though. A Kobalt or Dewalt hammer drill though, I can see in my future.

Compiling a list of special tools for our 7th gens in the OP -- keep 'em coming!

 
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Am also going to compile a list of dos and dont's for 7th gens in the OP... such a list would help new posters (like myself) a lot as a n00b to Civic wrenching, plus give me a place to link when the same questions come over and over.