hi all, i just bought a 1988 honda civic hatchback with a manual tranny that i was going to fix up and use as a commuter car. i looked at the car up and down, the only leaks i could spot was valve cover gasket and the o rings needed to be replaced. we drove it and the tranny was running good, it shifted fine, and the motor ran very strong. everything on the car was functioning properly and i was able to buy the car for 700 bucks. i came back with my friend later on that evening to take it home and as my friend was driving it, he didnt get 5 miles before the clutch burned out and he couldnt get it into gear. the car was smoking and you could smell the clutch pretty bad. my friend isnt a rookie at driving stick, in fact he has the same exact vehicle, but for some reason the clutch just quit on him. ive never seen this before. when i drove in it during the test run it was fine, but when my friend drove it, it gave out on him. we called the guy who sold it to me and he used his insurance to tow it back to his house just to get it off the freeway for the night, but i didnt get my money back from this guy. here are my questions and i hope someone can help me:

1. is it my friend's fault the clutch burned out on him, or was this thing ready to go!? should i try to get my money back from this guy or am i screwed?

2. i would like to get my money back but legally i signed the car over to myself. the guy who sold it is very nice and didnt even have to come out and help us with the towing so i would like to find a solution that would make everyone happy. i wanted to find a place near his home that we could get it towed to to get the clutch replaced, and i was going to ask him to split it with me, does this sound fair instead of trying to get my money back!?

3. how much should i be paying to get the clutch replaced on this 1988 civic!? how much have people been paying!? ive googled the question and i have been getting everything from 160, to 600.

4. is there a chance my friend just got the clutch too hot from him revving too high, is there a chance that it might be driveable in the morning?

the thing is, is that i live about 50 miles from where the car is now (back at the original owner's house). i would like to get it fixed near where i live because i have a friend who is a mechanic, but i cant afford to tow it the 50+ miles. i looked up how much clutch kits cost for this car and they go for about 130. how much in labor should i be paying? i just need to get the clutch problem fixed enough to get this thing the 50 miles back home so i can take it to my mechanic friend back where i live so i can get a much more thorough look at this thing.

thanks fellas, hope someone out there knows the answers to my questions!

 

1. Not your friend's fault unless he smoked the hell out of the clutch. Seeing as he is not a novice driver, I doubt he did that.

2. You bought it as-is? I would be happy for the free tow. I seriously doubt you will be able to get anything from him.

3. Do the clutch yourself? Probably like $200 and a day's worth of work. A shop? That can run you in upwards of $700 I would bet.

4. I dunno. Try it and see what happens. Can you get the car in gear when the engine is off? If in gear, and you try to start it, what happens?

I would suggest getting AAA. It is always a nice thing to have. Once you get the membership, you can get the tow for free. The price of the year long member ship would be cheaper than the 50 mile one time charge for the tow.

 

my friend is by no means a novice driver, he spent a career in the military driving everything on wheels.

so i talked to the guy who sold me the car and he said he found a place near his house that will replace the clutch for 450 bucks. the guy told me he would give me 100 back to help with the repair. he is a pretty good guy im glad i bought from him. so hopefully the mechanic sticks by his quote and i only have to spend 350 and i will get the car with a brand new reliable clutch.

i found an entire clutch kit for the car on autopartswarehouse.com for 88 dollars shipped and a flywheel for abour 42 bucks. my other option was to pick up these parts, rent a car dolly and tow the civic myself with my truck, but i think it would be more practical to pay the 200 hundred dollars difference to just have it done by a pro and be able to pick it up and drive it home. that way i can save a weekend of work and many trips to kragen buying obscure tools and parts.

thanks for the advice. another question i had was what are some good websites that sell civic parts and componenets for cheap? im not trying to race it out, but i do need to find a good website to get little parts and gaskets and stuff like that. thanks guys!

 

Are you looking for parts like OEM gaskets and replacement items, or aftermarket stuff?

For anything OEM related (gaskets, sensors, plugs, etc etc etc) I go to hondapartsdeals.com. Be sure to order everything you need at once since the shipping charge is usually about $12 (for me at least) per box. They combine shipping of course and put as much into one box as they can. If you order everything one by one, shipping will add up over time.

If you are looking for aftermarket stuff (intake, stereo, interior upgrades, exhaust, suspension etc.) I go to eBay. Just make sure the products you buy from there are name brand, research the brand you are looking to purchase, and you should have no problems. I have never had a problem with products I have order off of eBay.

 

i am looking to get OE parts, what i need are plugs, wires, valve cover gaskets and o rings, belts and shock/struts. i am also looking for a side mirror and some trim pieces. i figure i could get the trim pieces at a pic n pull, but i will def check out the hondapartsdeal.com, thanks for that. i have been a truck enthusiast and i do most of the work on my vehicles (except for our mini S), im really looking into learning about this car so i can get it into good running shape. anything that is common knowledge among honda owners that i should know about? good tips, things to watch out for? with my truck and our other vehicles i find that the best knowledge and place for info are the forums so expect to see me on here a lot from now on! thanks for the tips.

 

Nothing to watch out for which would be considered uncommon on a 1988 Civic that I know of. However, I have never owned an 88-91 Civic, just 92-00.

Plugs and wires can be picked up at a local auto shop. I doubt OEM is needed. Auto shops have access to the OEM replacements from the same company the factories use.

As for the seals, and O-rings, IMO, OEM or bust. Hondapartsdeals.com will come in handy for that stuff.

Shock and struts may be a little expensive if you want to go with brand new OEM parts. Maybe something aftermarket which doesn't change the ride height/quality? I don't know much about this as I usually replace the OEM suspension pieces in my Civics with aftermarket for lowering purposes.

As for a mirror, your best bet would be ebay, or a junk yard.

 

thanks for the tips again, i dont need exact OE parts, but just parts that will not change the original ride of thecar. i have left a few questions on this forum and i havent gotten any answers excet from you so far. is this forum usually pretty quiet, or am i just asking the wrong questions?

 

Is it generally a quiet forum to be honest. We have been trying to get it to be more active for awhile now. It should pick up again when the winter comes along and people aren't outside working on their cars anymore.

 

good to know, but on the birght side you seem to be pretty damn helpful! expect to see me trolling this forum a lot in the coming days as i rehab my newly attained 88 civic hatchback bucket.