blacklud

Is it possible to replace the spring without removing/unbolting/loosening the Tensioner bolt. The tiny grommet that attaches to the tensioner ear isn't securely in place, the spring is directly hooked around the tensioner ear. Presently the timing belt is installed.

I've got everything removed (crank pulley, alternator bracket, upper and lower covers, etc.)

ezone

Sure, use a hook tool.

blacklud

Would I not have to remove the spring completely in order to slide the black grommet in it's proper place? black grommet I'm talking about is behind the tensioner.

ezone

The tiny grommet the end of the spring fits through? If that thing has come loose or is out of place, just replace the entire tensioner pulley and spring set with DEALER PARTS.

It's already on its way to death, and will take your valves with it if you let it.

blacklud

Yea, thats exactly what I'm talking about.

The civic is my girlfriend's son's car, he doesn't have that much $$ to blow, this car has been "a curse" ever since he got it.

Let me give you a recap:
Feb. 2012 my GF's son buys a 96 civic, about 1 month later, he totals it, apparently his brakes didn't stop in time, he rear ended a Mercedes SUV and while swerving out of the way, he hits a hydro pole, car had to be pulled away from the pole in order to be towed.

July 2012 me and my GF take our yearly vacation up north, we get a call from her son saying "he's buying a 2005 civic", he doesn't have enough $$ so my GF, for whatever the reason, agrees to lend him the balance, what a mistake. He signs the deal, gets the car, (has 3 months warranty) after 1 month or so his check engine light comes on, goes to the place where he bought it, mechanic scans the car and replaces the gas cap, obviously he reset the ECM, CEL is gone. 2 days later the CEL comes back but my GF's son ignores it and before to long, warranty is up, he drives around with the CEL.

Fast forward 1 year, July 2013, his car seems to be overheating, temp gauge is moving way behond the "middle mark", he gets the rad replaced and everything is back to normal.

October 2014, car is overheating again, this time he brings the car to me to check out, first thing I notice after poping the hood is the fan on the driver side isn't connected, but the other one located on the passenger side is spinning, I then connect the fan plug and sure enough the fan starts spinning. We let the engine cool for an hour, open the rad cap, atleast 1.5Litres of coolant was missing, thats what I added. We proceed to start the car, rad cap installed, coolant comes gushing out of the reservoir tank, first thing that comes to mind, headgasket. I noticed that even after letting the engine cool down for 1 hour, the fans were still spinning, I thought to my self, something doesn't make sense here, we turned the car off, put the key in the number II position, fans started spinning. The next morning we repeated putting the key in the number II position and the fans again began spinning, I noticed that if the fan switch inside the car was "on", the rad fans would begin spinning whether the car was on or off.(key in the number II position.

I begin thinking to myself, from July 2013 (last time the rad was replaced) up until October 2014, the passenger side fan was the only one that was connected, and because the fan would spin automatically (as long as the fan switch/blower was on in the car) thats probably why the car ran this long with only one fan connected.

The rad is replaced but thats not solving the problem, headgasket has got to be changed.

Last week of October we find a shop, instead of replacing the head gasket, buddy mentions it may be a good idea to swap the engine, we agree, car is dropped off, buddy says it should be done in 3-4 days, he was abit busy.

After 5 days I give him a call, buddy says give him a few more days. A few days pass, this time time instead of calling, I go to the shop, walk inside, 4 monkeys (mechanics) are standing infront of the Civic, cars not turning over, sounds like it's back firing. Right then I knew, these guys don't have a clue what they're doing, I made a mistake bringing it here. A day passes by and I go to the shop a second time, monkey #1 is working on my car, we start talking and I ask him, what going on with the car? He says, they bent the valves on the swapped motor so they had to use my original head, he cranks the car, it starts fine, I WAS IMPRESSED. Intake tube is removed from the engine, car seems to be idling funny, I place my palm over the intake suction, car doesn't stall out but I know it should, we've got a huge vacuum leak somewhere. I leave the shop and come by that evening with my GF's son, pick up the car, vacuum leak isn't fixed, at this point frustration is starting to take over, I just want the car and I'll find the problem myself.

That weekend, I looked over the car, engine bay area, what a mess, such a half-*** job, I was able to find the vacuum leak, PCV vavle hose was hooked up on the intake but down below wasn't, once I hooked up the hose to the PCV, everything was ok.

2 months past by, cars running fine, I'm surprised. GF's son mentions to me that the car seems to be vibrating more then usually in the cabin. Days later while he's driving he here's a loud bang coming from the engine bay, he brings the car over that night and after taking a quick look, I notice 1 stud is holding up the driver side engine mount, stud is in good condition but the threads on the alternator bracket are toast. Car has to be brought in for repair, next morning while he warming the car up, he hears "metal to metal" grinding, he pops the hood and notices the one stud that was holding the driver side engine mount has also collapsed, engine has collapsed, AC pulley is rubbing up againt the frame, sparks are flying.

I decide to fix it myself, I order a new alternator bracket, 2 studs, 2 12mm nuts, upper and lower timing covers. First thing I notice is one of the PS bolts, the one next to the wing nut actually belongs on the timing cover, when removing the alternator power wire, there is no rubber insulator, the post has been welded on an angle. When removing the alternator bracket the 2 bolts, longest ones that are just above the tensioner aren't torqued down at all, they're free spinning, after further investigation (Civic manual and Honda OEM catalogue) I come to the conclusion that those 2 bolts aren't the correct ones, they should be 60mm/6cm in length but the ones installed were only 50mm/5cm, similar to the PS bracket ones. There were only 3 timing cover bolts, the long one near the TDS sensor and 2 bottom ones, actually the PS bolt that goes next to the Wing nut was on the lower timing cover.

I broke 3 1/2" extensions trying to take the crank pulley bolt off, my mistake because I bought "No Name" stuff but after I bought an impact extension, the bolt came off very easily.

As of today, the engine is cracking fine, I have yet to install the alternator and PS pump, I just wanted to make sure that it starts ok.

I'm hesitant to ask my GF's son to dump more $$ into the car because who knows what other stuff those "Monkeys" touched/installed incorrectly.

The plan is to get the car up and running, after a few months have past, if we don't have anymore surprises, then we can always change timing belt, tensioner, water pump, accessory belts, crank seal, etc.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Holy. Crap. Seriously, the 2001-2005 civics aren't hard to work on. I've done about 90% of the work on my car, and have gone so far as refurbishing an engine that had been sitting for.. years.. and plopping it in my car, and I started on this forum as a 17 year old that had no more knowledge than how to change my oil and front brakes. Everything I learned was from this forum accompanied by a haynes manual and my google-fu.

That said, I'd seriously learn how to fix everything yourself. It seems like you have [some] tools and mechanical know-how, so you'll be fine. Grab an OBD-II reader for like $60 so you can google codes yourself and start any future diagnoses from there. Post up if you have any issues. I'm well versed in the D17, ezone is a Honda tech, and the rest of the moderator/admin staff are quite knowledgeable, as well.

Oh, and just a heads up, that crank pulley bolt is torqued on to about 181ft-bs. Also, if you expect to remove the crank pulley a few times, I'd grab one of these bad boys:

Search for a "Honda/Acura crankshaft pulley holder," and a bunch should pop up for about $50. I got mine at an auto parts shop for $50 (I opted to buy instead of renting the thing). That, a 0-200ft-lb torque wrench, a couple 1/2" drive breaker bars, a 19mm (or is it 21mm.. I forgot at the moment, but it seems as if you have one) impact socket, some 1/2" drive extensions, a jack stand, and a good amount of elbow grease is what it takes for me to remove/reinstall it. I don't quite have an impact wrench, so there's that.


Seriously though, post up if you need any help. We'd all be glad to help guide you while fixing your gf's son's car.

ezone

That read like all the ways a moron with a pair of pliers can RUIN a car in just a few minutes.

Yes, ruin. NOW it costs more to figure out and fix than the car is worth. Give the moron a new car and see how much gets effed up.


You will never find all the effups on the first try either. Sometimes these things require YEARS to discover.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Maybe he should change the engine on his bicycle first. Just to make sure he has the ability to work on such complex drivetrain systems.

Sorry I didn't read your story. I'm just responding to ezones funny post lol

blacklud

Tools, I've got, and I'm always adding more. I was going to buy a scanner but chose to buy a ELM327 accompanied by ScanXL software. Crank pulley bolt was a "walk in the park" when I purchased an impact extension bar. I didn't mind buying the pulley tool as I'll be able to use it on my Lude when the time comes.
I began working on my Lude 6 years ago, prior to that I'd always bring it to the dealer, then one day I chose to check the cabin filters, after reading abit on replacing them I checked them and to my surprise, they weren't changed. After looking at my previous dealer invoices I was billed for 2 of them back in 2006, there's only one way they can come out, the bracket has got to be cut out, no way in hell the dealer cut the bracket and later replaced it, I lost all trust in Honda dealers.
As for torquing the crank bolt, my Lude is 181ft-lbs as per the helm's but civic's are abit different, 14ft-lbs and then turn the bolt 90 degrees, I'm guessing it's pretty damn close to 181 but I'll torque it to 175ft-lbs.

thats why I want to just get the thing up and running for the time being with minimal $$$.

forgot to mention:
all the exhaust manifold nuts (3) and bolts (2) weren't torqued/tightened properly.
The original head had a seized up #1 spark plug, because they were forced to use it the monkeys didn't bother to remove the plug/try and take it out, now I can't remove the plug and I'm not going to get my 24" breaker bar and try. When the car's up and running we'll be going to the shop again and let him deal with it.