maverickfhs

I have not had car for that long and haven't tested for radio. Next time, I'll check it out. It's a little more obvious during night time.

Ah I understand it. Not really aware of any local person, but I can always research and find it out.

For now, I can leave it as-is then.

maverickfhs

BTW, during night time are there any lights for Volume controls/***** etc... or no?
Similarly for Mph/Kph and the other button?

Just like there are for AC, fan and temperature settings.

ezone

There had better be light in almost every switch: heater panel, radio buttons (not sure about the dials though), steering wheel cruise buttons, power mirror, VSA, reset/mph/+/- buttons, hazard, moonroof, maybe more, all sharing the dash light dimmer circuit.

Adjust dash light brightness using the +/- buttons on the far left of the dash.

maverickfhs

Yeah, currently my dash lights are at minimum from brightness perspective.

I can see light in steering wheel controls, power mirror, heater, hazard and fan.

I don't see anything in reset/mph and none in radio controls/***** except clock. Is that normal or possibly a fuse is being toasted? Thanks EZ

ezone

Crank them up to full brightness and recheck.

All but the radio have simple incandescent bulbs that are replaceable (and quit as they get old, just like any other regular light bulb can), various bulbs are listed in the Honda dealer catalogs.

maverickfhs

Thanks, I'll retest tonight. Is your picture showing a busted bulb or a screw, sorry I can't tell clearly. Thank you.

maverickfhs

Seems a nit similar to my situation and problem:

http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/mecha...t-working.html

ezone

That's a bulb (1 of 3 in that particular switch shown), on a plastic base (remove/install with a small screwdriver, twist 1/4 turn) with a blue tinted covering on the glass.
Other bulbs may be clear or have other colored condoms on them.

If you are patient you can usually peel the colored cover off and reuse it on a clear bulb.

maverickfhs

Thanks again EZ, makes sense. I'll keep an eye on it in the coming days and will see which ones are having trouble, I mean I can live with it if it's too much hassle. But if an easy replacement, would be better to just fix it

Today I did the first upgrade, disabled DRL by pulling 7.5A(#37) fuse. Any other suggestions for cheap upgrades like it?

maverickfhs

I was rotating tires and saw some of the boots on the front shocks(both sides, driver and passenger) being torn, is it normal or should I be concerned about them?

Please see picts attached.

Also, rear pads show some meat in the pict and they seem good?

Thanks for the help.

ezone

Strut dust covers falling apart is pretty typical and not cause for alarm IMO. More work than they are worth, I don't see it as a big deal, I don't try to sell them to customers.
If struts actually needed replaced, then I'd include the dust covers in the estimate.

Brakes will be needed soon. How soon? Can't tell you. Depends on how much you use them and how far you want to push it.
They need need closer inspection first: Search for the thinnest pad of the set (4). Closely inspect both of the inboard pads to see if they are thinner than the outboard pads pictured.....(they may sometimes wear at an angle , or may wear out faster than the easily seen outboard pads)... inspect, then decide.
Keep an eye on them.

A new set of pads will have the layer of friction material roughly 8mm thick. Your pads pictured might have 2mm, and that's pretty thin to me. You don't ever want to allow them to reach zero mm, that's metal to metal and gets more expensive.
I would suggest a brake job to a customer based on what I see there.

Wear indicator tabs are (supposed to be) attached to the (leading edge of the) inboard pads, they make contact and squeal when the pad thickness is worn to somewhere around 1 mm. (see pics) If one ignores the squeaker noise long enough, they might break off and be quiet again...but shortly afterwards, with no more warnings, the brakes go metal to metal and you need rotors.

And if the pads don't wear evenly, the squeaker might not be able to do its intended job at all. Thorough inspection is a must.


Front brakes, note the wear is not even (it is rarely ever even), and the depth or protrusion of the wear indicator:

RIPSAW

My boot's on the rear of my 07 Civic looked like that. Like ezone say, to replace them would be a pain and the OEM are not cheap. Just to act as rock shields, I got two generic boots at Oreily Auto..http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...2960&ppt=C0035 Think they were $24. I just thru away that bump stop. I split them up the side. Tore off the old ones and with the wheel hanging worked it between the spring and around the shock. I used 3 or so black tie wraps. One at top holds it on. The other two or three snug it together with about 1/4" over lap. It just hangs over the lower part of the shock. Don't attach it to it. Looks good. Protects that shaft from stone damage. Looks good. Life time warranty

maverickfhs

Thanks for sharing the link and i like the lifetime warranty

BTW, can you snap a picture from your car? I understand what you are saying and maybe will use your technique.

I actually have one bellow boot for an older accord power steering rack, with a hole but otherwise brand new. I need to take measurement to see if I can use it. Did you pay $24 for both? I am not too concerned, but if I can reuse this existing one, why not? Go green

maverickfhs

I'll leave them as-is or more like ignore them.

Yeah, I am planning to replace these rear pads in summer or spring time-frame. I am not going to put too many miles, plus I brake very slowly/carefully. Also, as I asked, now looking at rotors pictures, should I just slap the pads or replace rotors too? Plus, I'll keep a close eye on these pads for now.

Thanks for sharing the pictures and as always, thank you.

For now, front brakes are great, but will follow your directions in future

ezone

If the braking surfaces of the inboard sides looks the same as the outboard, I'd slap pads on and go if all else passes muster.

As long as the pads aren't in a bind.....They do need to be free enough to move. Rust is a problem in my area.
If you have to pry the old pads out of the bracket, the bracket needs taken off, stripped, and rust ground out of the ends behind the clips, grease the slide pins, grease the freshly ground metal before reinstalling the clips, etc.

Similar, this is the rust buildup that causes pads to bind and seize in the bracket:

maverickfhs

Rust is definitely a problem in our area too. I'll closely inspect both sides to make sure no issues there. Yeah, I always remove the bracket, clean it with wire brush or some brake cleaner and put some light grease on it. Will measure the thickness of rotors and then take it from there. So far rotors look fine and I might end up slapping pads on them.

I always grease pins too, btw I use all purpose grease, can I use moly-lithium? Or anything special is needed?

ezone

I've been using silicone grease (either dielectric silicone or sil-glyde, whatever is within arms reach) for several years now, with decent long term results IMO.

Moly grease tends to dry out after a while, and it can attack rubber parts.
Silicone is supposed to be waterproof and seems to last longer.

I find that grinding/filing/sanding removes rust scale better than a wire brush. (heavy duty sanding discs on a die grinder)

maverickfhs

Regular dielectric grease would work too or no? Let me check if silicone grease can be had from Walmart.

I can use sand paper and see how it goes this time. Thanks again.

ezone

The dielectric I have been using is silicone based, and clear.
May also be called dielectric tune up grease.

maverickfhs

I have this one laying around and seems to be similar:

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/p...lectric+grease

Right?

ezone

Works for me.
I think I have the same exact stuff on a workbench at the shop.

maverickfhs

Great, thanks very much.

RIPSAW

That o Riley short cut says $24. I am in Mexico for next 3 months. I just made them look pretty for grandsson. His college car I got him.

maverickfhs

I see, thanks. I'll use my imagination then.

maverickfhs

One more question, what's the size of these plastic push pins/rivets which are there on the bumper and all?

I can use them on both 7th and 8th Gen Civics, provided same size

Thank you.

ezone

The two-piece pushpins?
Most will be either 8mm or 10mm diameter, but there may be a wide variety of length and styles.
Parts stores and suppliers may have selections of usable universal types much cheaper than Honda.
Bodyshops seem to have mountains of them LOL

maverickfhs

Thanks EZ, as always

Yeah I wanted to get from eBay or Amazon, because they are a lot cheaper. Hard to tell which size is it, though?

ezone

Some universal fasteners may be able to expand wide enough to work in either size hole? Maybe not...IDK.
I can't tell you what to buy.....read the specs they give? Go to a real store so you can see and feel what they have?
Bodyshop/bodyshop supplier?

I have a small mountain of the 10mm stock fasteners collected over the years, I use them whenever I need some. The smaller ones are harder to come by.

All of them are stupid expensive if they have to come from the parts department.



We use a lot of zip-ties to hold up splash panels too.

maverickfhs

Thanks, yeah I'll check about the exact size with the dealership.
Roger that, they are ridiculously expensive.

I did that for 2 of the missing push pins

ezone

Pull a couple out of your car and measure.


My dealer won't ever get an assortment of universal fasteners on the cheap.

Seems like we keep about a total of 5 honda fasteners on hand of any type, not enough to do any good and far too expensive to just add to a job...Can't keep them if we don't sell them, and can't sell them if we don't keep them.

Go hit up your local parts stores...I'd expect universal pushpin fasteners that fit a 5/16" hole (= 8mm) and/or 3/8" (should fiit the 10mm holes if you can't find 10mm fasteners) would be sufficient to cover all your needs.


Google image search:
https://www.google.com/search?q=pushpin+expanding+fasteners

Google shopping search
https://www.google.com/search?q=pushpin+expanding+fastener

I don't like the christmas tree type fasteners in our cars. Too hard to remove sometimes.