Just bought a 91 Civic need some help

Hey I just about a 1991 honda civic hatchback STD 1.5 4 speed after owning a 99 jeep witch was a total PIECE... ANyways I Am not to familair what is out ther eon the market as far as common Mods for this peticular car electrical fuel easy cheep bolt ons exhaust etc and there are a few problems I am having and I was wondering if anyone might have had teh same and could help me daignose it..

I know its long but any help would be apretiated.. Im trying to go over it and fix all the little things and get it in shape...

There is a leak in the AC system is this common well is there a peticular part that goes??? I was about to fill it up with nitrogen and check for leaks but If its common for a peticular hose to go out or somthign ohhhh yeah this hose schreador valve goes at like 100k mi like clickwork... etc :O) might make this task easier hehe...

Also the dashboard lights dont light up... I am guessing teh dimmer dial is gone... Is this common ANy suggestions... hehe Cant see how fast Im goin at night

There isnt a cigarrete adapter as well so i cant plug in my radar detector... I have looked at a few parts stores for a afetr market adapter.... havent found one.. Does honda sell one??? Is there wiring harness somwhere in the dash for one?? Should i just wire it up to the acc on the fuse panel?? or just go thru the fire wall and put a fuseable link in and tap it into the battery.. Where can i get a the actual socket??

I would also like to add a tach since there int one... can i just buy any one??? Does it just wire into the distributor??? I have never done this before hehe Will it work with a stock distributor?? Any ideas on a good cheep tach?? Never messed with anything older than 99 hehe

ALso what about doin a strait pipe?? I did so on my jeep pulled the cat and muffler it was loud as hell but cheep worked great on the 4.0 I6 how does it work on the honda engine?? HOw loud is it?? I know it wont pass emissions worth a damn but ohh well....


Also the damn manual tranny oil how the hell do you drain it It is in the most ackward position... DO you need to use a syrenge?? I had to on my jeep.... Is there a drain plug?? I see the filer plug and what might be a drain plug... Didnt want to mess with it at the time..... Just wanted to know if anyone has done this before and could give me a few pointers...

Thanks guys any help would be really apretiated


Latta!!!

TOny

Tony,

I can help you with a few things:

Tach - yes...any aftermarket tach will work...The dizzy has two wires coming out of it and a plug nearby, the BLUE wire gives you the signal to tap into the tach. I have a pic of how I did mine if you are interested.

The dash wires could be a poor connection of the gauge pod connector. Mine did this in the mid 90's. Remove the screws in the top of the gauge pod (using a stubby screwdriver since they are up by the windshield, and remove the cover...there is a plug that needs cleaning up there..that fixed mine. It is unlikely all the bulbs are out. Do any other lights work in the dash (i.e., climate control, etc..)?

If you have the 4-speed standard, most mods are not going to give you much in the way of HP gains. Exhaust mods and straight pipes may hurt this motor even worse, since you would remove all backpressure. You are kicking about 70HP to the crank, and the motor has been detuned for economy. There are things you can do, but the best bang for the buck would be a different motor and transmission (all of the 5-speeds, except the CRX HF transmission would be geared better)...engine swaps into 88-91 Civics are pretty common and there are a variety of motors to put into it, and many resources to help with what you need and wiring, etc..I'll leave it at that for now since that could be a whole other thread...I would recommend reading this--> Click here! (http://hybrid2.honda-perf.org/tech/4gtech.html) if you are interested in some ideas about engines that could pep up your STD Civic.

Tranny Oil - use regular 10w-30 (I would recommend synthetic) - the drain bolt is a bolt that uses a 3/8" socket driver (with no socket) to open it. Look for a recessed square that a 3/8" drive would fit in, in a bolt on the bottom portion of the tranny That might help you locate it. The fill I think is a regular bolt, and you fill the tranny with oil just up to where it flows out of the fill hole and that is the correct amount.

Good Luck and welcome to the board. :) - Hope this Helps! :cool:

Here is that pic of how I hooked up my tach. The green wire is led into the tach. I used one of those foldover squishy connectors and filled it with silicone before I squished it to keep the wires from rusting and stuff from the moisture..

Some people say that all Civics are wired the same and have the tach lead already inside the gauge pod (even if you don't have a tach. i.e. your STD is wired the same as the Si but just without a tach..) so you might be able to find the blue wire inside the gauge pod (should be located in the same plug that you cleaned inside the gauge pod to try to fix the dash lights) - I opted to drill a hole in the firewall, use a rubber grommet, and run a wire straight to the dizzy.

I bought a $38 Sunpro tach and although not real flashy it serves the purpose very well. Summit Racing, www.summitracing.com has great prices on those types of products.