REPLACING YOUR DOME LIGHT

This can be a tricky job, and probably costly once parts start being broken. You will need a proper tool also, just using a screwdriver probably won't cut it. Get a chisel at least 5/8" wide to 3/4". You will notice a seam between the plastic cover and the grey housing unit, place a sharp chisel between the two as shown in the photo, then carefully twist the handle of the chisel to the right or left and you will see the two separate, pry from the other side if need be to release the cover. The local auto parts store had the replacement bulb for (2/$5), simply replace it and snap the cover back into position with your hands. This could save you up to $20 from having another source do this simple task.

Milestone

Even though the car has been paid off and not consuming parts, this is where the true savings begin taking place as far as I'm concerned. On a trip back home I crossed that threshold and documented the event. Still to date the only parts that have been replaced are the front pads and the battery, although I noticed the dome light is on sometimes and off sometimes so I might post that job soon.

Transmition fluid change

Now is a good time to show thewayof changing your automatic transmition fluid. There are many facits to this job that require alot of research or the entire tranny can fail.

These particular transmitions have internal parts that get very hot, hotter than a regular one. Because of this they need special fluid only available at the dealer for an increased fee. There are 5 quarts of fluid but you can only remove 3 of them at one time. Leaveing the old fluid behind or wasteing new fluid to dilute the old fluid. The book is wrong with its recomendations and even the dealer will let it stay longer than it should. 30,000 mi is the dealer figure.

I prefer to change the 3 quarts every 10-15,000 mi depending on if I am using the trailor during that span. Another thing I found was the special ingrediant that is found in the dealers fluid, only in its own contanior, that way I can even go one step beyond the dealer and add more of the high temp fluid (to regular tranny fluid ie:STP) adding insurance to the expensive high end parts located in the tranny.

And those bottles are seen in the bottle photo.

Next comes the draining of the fluid, if you put the car on a lift you may get less than the 3 quarts that I get when when I tilt the car by jacking it high on the driver side and low on the passenger side. As seen in the second and third photos.

The first time I did the fluid many years ago I found there to be alot of grease on the end of the bolt. Since the dealer did the job I had no way of knowing if they removed the mess or simply left to accumulate. It was the metal fragment wear from the high temp plates being removed with a magnet. (photo) So I did the first one myself @60,000 and then again 80,000 to find the amount you see in the last photo. This tells me that at 30,000 mi the dealer did not remove the grease from the magnet making it less efficient than had they removed it. Hopefully with the added booster fluid there will be even less wear the next time I change the fluid @ 100,000 mi. So that is about it fo now, I dont have more publishable material in the forseeable future but you never can tell when a problem might crop up so keep ckecking.

A worth while project

The only part of the car that has shown any wear has been my arm rest. Tired and ugly I decided to take it apart, there are 2 screws to remove it from the console and four to remove the fiberglass looking top with the cover from the base below. Next was to strip the cover from the top. These are shown in the first photo along with the new material to be used as a replacement. I checked at the junkyard and they wanted $30 for a used top with cover and online ebay people wanted $50 just for the cover alone. There are two options at this point and I used the 2nd. First is to dismantle each piece of the cover and duplicate them, then sew the new parts together and fit and glue in place. Or carefully cut the new material as close to the old cover and place the seams at each end leaving the bulk of the new cover looking as one piece. The old cover and finished product are shown in the other 2 photos. I had a $1 hot glue gun and spent $1.87 on the padding to go under the new material. The vinal was extra from sides of a waterbed I built some years back. So the total cost without tools and material should be under $5.

ADDITIONAL PREVENTING WEAR LUBRICANTS

Another note about fluids, about 4 or 5 years ago there was a hugh sale on complete fuel system cleaners, the black bottle on the left, they were around $3 after coupons and I bought alot, 12-15 of them. In addition I added a 50/50 mix with marvel mystery oil and with every tank full I add 1.5-2.0 ounces of this mixture. The benefits are numerous, complete cleaning and lubrication of the fuel sender, fuel pump, fuel injectors, not to mention the lubrication and preservation of the valve guide seals, these seals are a costly fix that most people ignore and just burn and add oil as needed. The other note centers around the brake fluid change, my one man bleeder was defective so another approach needed to be tried. I noticed that after replacing the front pads there was no difference in the braking system, only the peace of mind knowing I had fresh pads up front. But when I could not change the fluid I resorted to removing the contanment screen on the reservoir and just siphoned out as much fluid as I could and replaced it with new fluid. Since there is a small amount of circulation in the brake line I figured that over time this method will replace the entire brake fluid system. Now the fun part, when I got back in the car and tested the brakes they worked like better than I remember the car new, and certainly firmer than was the case prior to changing the fluid. So this delay in changing the fluid because I didn't need brakes can result in a major ability to slow the car quickly. I'll be swapping fluid every year now.

FUN WITH EXTRAS

There is practically no end to the items you can outfit your civic with, we know about the gauges and here is a video of some others. So far I have added 2 spoilers, a trailor hitch, factory rims, and a dark tinted window along with a sponcer plate.

CHECKING REAR BRAKE SHOES FOR WEAR

For those of you who want to check your rear brakes shoes here are the risks and rewards. First you will need 2 (m8 X 20mm) bolts to remove the drum, they are 13 mm head bolts, the middle photo shows the location they are to be placed. From here you simply tighten each one a quater turn till the drum is loose and can be removed. Then look at the shoes to see how much brake material is left, mine was fine so I took a wisk broom and brushed the dust free from the inside of the drum and the brake parts. This is where it got tricky, the drum would not go back over the shoes for some reason. I realigned the shoes but there was no good spot that worked, so I looked real close and saw the gizmo that is supposed to widen as you brake in reverse to keep the shoes tight against the drum as the shoes wear. I recall from this part from some german cars of the 1970's and you could take a screwdriver and leverage the gear to make them expand or to contract them in order to remove the drum, it was hit or miss as to the direction you spin the gear but I leveraged a full turn on the gear and suddenly the drum slipped over the shoes and into place without further adieu. By placing the rim back on the studs and tightening you compress the drum back into its proper place and are finished. I do not recommend attempting to replace the shoes yourself, there is more to removing the hub to even get close to the shoes than you want to bother with, and since I can get over 100,000 miles on a set of shoes the cost per mile replacement factor is minimal. The front pads cost $28 and were the best non-metalic pads available which equates to .037 cents per mile.