Hello all, I'm going to be doing oil change and such on my girl friends 97 civic and would like some tips as far as how honda has everything set up, was thinking that the gear lube should be changed also, the car has 88,000 on it. Also in need of a hood, front bumper and driver side light if someone in the area is getting rid of one, the car is dark green.

thanks
Vern k

sorry almost forgot I live in Albuquerque, NM

 

oil change is easy. Filter is on the backside of the motor, easiest to get at if you have access to a hoist, but at least get the front tires up off the ground to give yourself lots of room to work. a new filter, 4qts of your favorite oil (Mobil1 synthetic seems pretty popular where I live, along with Castrol 0w30 synthetic) and you're good to go.

Changing the trans fluid (assuming its a manual) is fairly simple as well. there is a DIY on this site, basically pull out the drain plug, let it empty, put the plug back in, and fill-er up! Probably best to use the Honda-recommended Tranny stuff, but some people (and the owners manual) state that for short-term or temporary situations 10w30 motor oil will work.

Of course, if this is an auto trans, best bet is to do a complete fluid exchange, which takes a special machine to do. 2nd option is to drop the tranny pan, change the tranny filter, bolt up the pan with a fresh gasket, and top up the tranny with the recommended ATF.

 

changing the transmission fluid is unnecessary at 88,000 miles unless you're very hard on it. Rule of thumb is, if it's not broken and is not giving any problems, then don't mess with it. and for the manual tranny, you'll either need a pump or long fluid hose to pour the honda transmission fluid into the fill hole. as for the oil change, it's straight forward as any other oil change, that is if you've ever done one. and don't forget to slightly preheat the oil, unless you want to sit there for a while. as for the body panels and accessories, always try local junkyards to avoid shipping costs. and a Haynes Manual never hurt anybody.

 

thanks guys I did the oil change this morning, I found her owner manual last night. I didn't do the gear lube yet, it's a 5sp but still not sure how much it takes, couldn't find it listed in the manual, I have like some M90 synthetic gear lube that should be alright to use in that gear box?? The owners manual says 90,000 so I will be doing that soon. Now if I can get her to stop driving around at 3000 rpm all the time, 3rd gear at 40 mph.
I should get a FSM for her but hey its a Honda and shouldn't need much work.

There is one thing that going on that I can't place, when driving at a consent speed it sounds like its missing but can be felt in the steering wheel and sounds like the drivers side front wheel area but if you let off the gas or speed up it goes away.

anyway thanks again, I do all my own work on my cars so working on cars is nothing new to me and if it wasn't for me driving Nissans I more then likely would be in a Honda.