Hello, new to the forum and just picked up a 95 Civic DX (~140k miles). Pretty solid car so far, but I just have a few maintenance questions:

1) The big one -- I am about to take a trip to Maine and back (1000 miles each way), and I accidentally added too much oil. About a half inch above the top mark, when cool. Assuming this is just a one-time mistake, am I okay to drive this thing or should I just get the oil drained/changed to be safe (or try and sponge out excess somehow)? The seals are good to my knowledge, but I know the valve cover gasket is getting to where it needs replacing.

2) How often should I fully drain the coolant? I live in Chicago and just put in a new radiator.

3) What weight of oil do you guys like for these? Perhaps that Castrol “high mileage” oil with conditioners?

4) Any other pointers as to good additives, etc.? My plan is to throw some Lucas in the gas tank roughly every 1500 miles, and replace a quart of oil with Duralube maybe every other oil change.

5) The manual said to keep the oil halfway between min and max on the dipstick… does this still apply for such an old engine? I’m thinking closer to max…

6) Thoughts on tire pressure for max fuel efficiency without losing safety?

7) The clutch is slipping and probably has a few months left. If I want to extend its life, should I stop using a downshift to 2nd to slow down, and just use the brakes instead?

Thanks in advance for answering any of these!

 

All over filling the oil will do is put more pressure on your oil seals causing them to leak earlier than they would had it not been overfilled. Easy fix for that is just to unscrew the drain plug in the pan but dont take it all the way out and let some drain out and then put it back in. If you let to much out then fill it back up just a little bit and dont overfill again. As far as oil weight I personally use 10W30 mobil1 fully synthetic and i have 160k on my motor. I usually keep the oil right below the max level dot on the dipstick. For your tire pressure I personally fill about 4-5 pounds lower than the maximum pressure rating for best gas mileage. And I dont downshift into 2nd when coming to a stop ill go down to third and then use the breaks and go to nuetral. Going to second just seems unecessary when your going that slow.
I hope some of this helps you. None of this is proven facts its just my personal opinion and what I prefer doing and its worked pretty good for me so far.
Take it easy man.

 

Anywhere between the two marks on the dipstick is OK. So you don't have to fill exactly, but too much is bad. Like the other guy said, take the plug out and let some drain out and put the plug back. Don't reuse oil that has been drained out.

If you've just replaced the radiator, most of the coolant should have been replaced with new, it'll be OK.

Don't downshift to slow down. Brake pads are a lot cheaper than the clutch and transmission.

 

I agree with the others - drain a quart out.

That depends on the type of coolant. With regular, green coolant, every couple of years is good, depending on mileage (20,000 miles is about right) I use extended life coolant; that's good for 5 years.

Mobil has a nice oil selection wizard on their web site. You enter your year, make, model and miles on your engine. They suggest viscosity and type based upon your preference of protection ability.

No additives are required or recommended.

I agree.

You can safely add a couple of psi to the numbers listed on the door sticker if using OEM tire sizes. If you have larger tires, start with that and adjust according to the wear pattern - center wear = too high pressure. Outer wear = too low pressure.

Yes, that should buy you some time.