Tune Up Time..
 

Whats up everyone,
just like the title states its tune up time for me, im reaching 200k and i have to change the

timing belt
water pump
tensioner
alternator
& battery


Any suggestions on any good brands or advice??

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

I would say OEM on the first four (but can be pricy). As far as battery, Kirkland from Costco is good quality.

you call that a tune up? I hope you just arn't replacing them because you think its due but instead because you know

It's silly to replace the alternator and battery without testing them first. I would replace the battery if it's passed 6 years though. The alternator, if its charging fine under load, then why change it? Just a waste of $200-300$.


Timing belt and water pump is recommended every 100,000km so it's probably due. Our tensioners aren't really a common item so there's no need to replace it if its working properly, just test the spring and make sure the bearing has no rough spots or play. On other cars I usually change the tensioner if its a hydraulic unit or if there are TSB's out for them failing, but honda's are pretty good with their tensioners.

Now for tune-up parts. I would recommend checking all fluids (oil, coolant, brake, tranny, p/s (if equipped). I would pull a plug and replace if need be, I usually change wires/cap/rotor too if they're old. For wires check on the parts that are resting on the valve cover to see if there are any leakages, they'll show as white powdery marks, if they have quite a few I would change them up (high resistance in the wires can cause your coil to fail) If your wires and plugs are due, chances are so are the cap/rotor.

Theres no real way to check your fuel filter without a proper tester, even then.. it's kinda iffy, so I would just replace it if it looks old (recommended interval i believe is 80,000km on most), change the pcv valve if you've never done so, service the throttle body as well as the iacv and fitv port if equipped.

For belts and hoses, a visual inspection for the belts will do just fine, if they have cracks on the ribs, replace them. For hoses, squeeze them with your thumb and index (try this at the end of the hose) and if you feel ridges (it'll feel like little V's) then that's the hose getting deteriorated from the inside, its time to change them up.

Also it's not a bad idea to have a motor-vac done or de-carbonization if your motor has been running poorly lately. Carbon in your combustion chamber acts almost as a sponge and absorbs/soaks the fuel vapours as they pass by, rich can cause leaner conditions therefore more fuel consumption, this is the case especially on cars that are always driven short distances. The only problem with motor-vac's is on higher mileage engines this can actually promote higher oil consumptions by knocking some of the carbon loose that was creating a better seal in the chamber. I usually dont use any type of product like this on motors with 150,000km or more, unless they fail highly on NOx and i suspect a high amount carbon.

Another tune-up item I would check out would be your oxygen sensor(s) (there are two on obd2 cars, only one on obd1). Lazy oxygen sensors (especially on obd1) don't always set off codes so testing them occasionally can save you a ton of money at the pumps and make your motor run alot better. It isn't a bad idea to test your cat also.

And finally I would check for leaks around the engine bay, raise the car up and visual inspect... and what the heck while its up the the air might as well check the front end.

Now.. somebody sticky this **** so i dont have to type it out again

hahah my fault
ya i know they have to be replaced LOL sorry i should have mentioned that before hehe


Your saying OEM in regards to the timing belt and water pump..hmm

well the battery is stock, so yah needless to say its time for a new one, im looking at a
deep cycle or marine

& i want to put in a 135A (Load Boss Alternator) im looking @ $215 for it..Good price? Its more for audio purposes though.

in regards to the tensioner i talked to a couple of mechanics and they said since your already chaning your timing belt and water pump, you might as well change ur tensioner, its all right there lol.

I was actually looking at a JDM package
this included

$140... good deal or no?

In terms of wirings, i have changed all my grounding wires, to 8 guage i noticed a difference once they were changed

my fluids are always topped and replaced by quality products, Every other fill up i add fuel injector cleaner (lucas), & every 5000/6000k i always do my mobil 1 oil changes . & every so often i put Slick 50 in.

NOW i have been bitched at for doing this, so tell me what you think.. Once in a while i do a Throttle body cleaner and Combustion chamber cleaner on the car.. I crank the motor over once, spray inside, and keep doing it till i do the entire motor, i also do where the spark plugs are & exhaust. Once thats done I let it sit for a couple of hours(i know this doesnt clean it 100% because your supposed to let it sit the entire day) with the product inside then, turn it on and go for a drive cause a smoke show in the area by blowing it all out.. hehe



Oxygen sensor ehh.. hmm interesting.. are they easy to change? are there different types like performance wise, or would you need a specific one in regards to what mods you have on the car?.


I was also told to change the oil pump? you mentioned fuel filter & pcv valve...
is it worth changing these??
i should add its stock parting, and im hitting 200k
lol so im assuming the obvous answer is yes?
if so like ive asked many times.. is there a quality product that you gentlemen recommend?

you were told to change the oil pump....

lol wow..

well yeah since it will be accessible?
I am not sure how long they last, thats why i am clarifying on here...:ohwell:

Thats ****ing retarded. The oil pump is the most lubricated part in your whole engine, it RARELY fails (esp. on hondas), if anything the pickup can get clogged, but thats not in the same category as changing the pump at all. He probably meant to change your oil filter? Or your oil seals (crank and cam) If so, don't change these seals unless they are leaking. A visual inspection will tell you if they are leaking. Don't just change them for the hell of it, this a mistake alot of rookies do. Chances are that seal that you just put in will probably leak way before that old seal would of.

chris is right, i've never heard of an oil pump failing on a civic yet

What motor do u have?
140 seems to be a good price, where did u get it from? (shop-wise)

hahah alright well my bad chris, i didnt know
thanks for clarifying that up for me i appreciate it...
what about the combustion chamber/throttle body cleaner.. what are your thoughts on that??


stock 1.6L, it was not from a shop, i found it online brand new

personally, i would take the TB off and hand clean it, it would take some time and what not but it would be better than any spray

Not a bad idea, now i am assuming you would use the same product you would use to spray into the engine?.. and is it easy to take the throttle body out?

you have to know what your doing, but not the hardest task, reseach it, maybe in the service manual. you can buy engine cleaning fomulas that you add to the gas.

.. um.... Or you can just remove the duct work, open the plate and clean it that way? Why risk damaging the gasket and creating more work for yourself?

thats what i do, & i even crank the engine over a number of times to get in all the valves

BUT

last year my Buddie did that to his sunfire.. he left the product in his car for two hours... Long story short, he couldn't start it any more.. From what i was told the internals melted together, like the piston got stuck to the valve so it wouldn't turn over, and you could hear when you tried to start it. and yah he had to scrap the car, now he has an rsx

Ive talked to a couple of ppl, they said the only way that it could happen is he must have had something wrong with the motor to begin with.. so im not sure.. i was also told another way of doing it was to put a DROP of water (or drops) in the throttle body, and the steam cleans out the inside..
not sure about that one though, ever tried it... lol

his valve melted to his piston because he left throttle body cleaner in his motor for 2 hours? right..............

What is steam going to do? It'll be thrown out of the motor as soon as you crank it. Unless you get the car nice and hot and pull the plugs and drop water in there. And FYI you should never remove plugs out of a hot motor, you can damage the threads. So the water method does not work.

Usually what I do, is a good throttle body cleaning. Remove the duct work, spray the idle ports and the plate, make sure its not sticking. Then I get a de carbonization product. Such as seafoam, but there are plenty of other products you can use. The only downfall to a product such as seafoam is it can clog your cat, o2's, foul plugs and/or contaminate your oil.

It could have been longer i am not sure, but all i know is after they sprayed it, waited a couple of hours, it didnt crank over when he tried to start it , so we pushed it all the way to his house, then took it to a mechanic, they did some test's and needless to say the motor was pronounced dead.
LOL
believe it if you will, but it happened.

I have done the seaform before...I always just change my oil right after! dont take any chances...I have heard alot of horror stories with it! but your car will smoke like crazy too! dont do it if you neibours are close!