servicing tips needed

Hello

Recently the experts here helped me out a lot with a problem I had with my '96 Civic CX Hatchback (throttle body warning light which proved to be a false positive).

My Civic is the world's greatest car - constant use for 6 years and one oxygen sensor gone down in that entire time. It has 100K miles on it. For the first 80K, I was very good about giving it the scheduled tune-ups recommended by Honda, always at a dealership. Some of my buddies bugged me about it, saying that I could spend less elsewhere, but I used the dealer's service anyway.

However, for the past 20K miles or so, I have not had any of the scheduled service done on it. I realize this is sort of stupid as service probably gets more important as the car gets older. Money is a bit tight this month but I want to do something. I am wondering - can anyone tell me which parts of the big Type 4 service job are the most important - i.e. if you were in my shoes and could only get a couple of things done, what would they be? The car is driven at least 2 hours every weekday in big city traffic and at least 5 hours a week on the highway.

I should say that I have continued to change the oil every 3500 miles like clockwork.

Any tip son what I should do right away, what can wait for a few more months? Thanks for any help, Nik

plugs, wires, air filter, oil
check cv joints, and get timing belt replaced asap.

couldnt hurt to replace the plugs, they are always cheap, and replace the wires if they have not been changed in ~60k miles or more

keep your intake/throttle body clean.
jack the car up if you can, take off the wheels (individually of course), clean & adjust the brakes (assuming you have a manual for the car) - inspect the cv joints/boots to see if they're cracked. if they are, get it checked and/or replaced asap. Check all the belts that you can for cracking or glazing; do the same for all the hoses that you see.

the timing belt is a concern at 100k, if you havent had that replaced: do yourself a favor, save up the money, get it done. I would say timing belt and CV joints/boots are the biggest concern for 100k miles; the rest of this stuff can be put off.

i bought plugs and wires at sparkplugs.com, or some other such site. they were much cheaper than retail, and that leaves you money for other stuff like brake cleaner, throttle-body cleaner, and air filters, etc.
there's a ton of little things you can do, and check, even when you're broke.

I don't know about the cv joints being that big of an issue unless your car is riding rough. But definently check your T-belt for wear, pull the air filter and bang it out and see if you need a new one, and the plugs and possibly wires; all just like asdfbeau said. Other than that, if it ain't broke don't bother.

I'm a new Civic owner, so set me straight if i'm wrong, but shouldn't he do the waterpump when he does the timing belt, just to avoid doing it over when the pump goes out?

plugs, wires, air filter, oil
check cv joints, and get timing belt replaced asap.

couldnt hurt to replace the plugs, they are always cheap, and replace the wires if they have not been changed in ~60k miles or more

keep your intake/throttle body clean.
jack the car up if you can, take off the wheels (individually of course), clean & adjust the brakes (assuming you have a manual for the car) - inspect the cv joints/boots to see if they're cracked. if they are, get it checked and/or replaced asap. Check all the belts that you can for cracking or glazing; do the same for all the hoses that you see.

the timing belt is a concern at 100k, if you havent had that replaced: do yourself a favor, save up the money, get it done. I would say timing belt and CV joints/boots are the biggest concern for 100k miles; the rest of this stuff can be put off.

i bought plugs and wires at sparkplugs.com, or some other such site. they were much cheaper than retail, and that leaves you money for other stuff like brake cleaner, throttle-body cleaner, and air filters, etc.
there's a ton of little things you can do, and check, even when you're broke.


Hi to all three of you guys, and thanks a lot for the info.

I did get the water pump done with the timing belt, all at 60K miles, and yes, even I have been told multiple times to do both at the same time.

The funny thing about the cv boots is.... I bought the car used and when I took it in for the first service, the dealership told me I needed to replace the cv boots. It was about 3 years old. I said ok, and that I would do it in a month or two. Then I got the name of a private Honda guy for another isssue that popped up (exhaust heat sheild rattle). I took it to the guy and he fixed the problem and I asked him to look at the cv boots while he was under the car. He tells me that the cv boots are fine!! So I guess the dealership was just trying to pad it's monthly take. Anyway, I have kept an eye on them over the years and they certainly don't have any cracks or anything in them. But I obviously have to replace them before they crack so that the lube doesn't leak out, right?

Someone else told me that a valve job might be coming up. I take it this is bigger than the valve adjusment that they do on Type 4 service jobs - does it involve taking them out and retooling them? Is there a giveaway signal for this or is it something that needs to be done before it becomes a problem? Thanks again for all the info, Nik

no, don't replace them before they crack, it's pretty much worthless to. Wait until you start to hear the clicking, then do it ASAP. If it isn't broke don't fix it.