Honda Car Forum

Hi, I drive a Civic LX manual transmission 2001 which I bought new in
2001. I live in the suburbs (Connecticut), drive 3 miles to work and
back and around town. In the weekends I drive sometimes on the highway.
I estimate 50-50 is highway/suburbs.

I had a free checkup done at the dealer and the car was OK. they said
the brages were fine, but I don't know how much pads I have left. Is
there a way to tell? I am about to do a tire rotation myself and I can
get a caliper to measure the thickness of the pads.

and since I finally moved my lazy ass and finally posted, here are some
more questions:

what about the clutch? how long does it last on AVERAGE (yes, I know it
depends a great deal on how you drive). But what is the *average* please?

what about tuneup? the manual says to geta new timing belt and a tuneup
done at 105K miles (IIRC). That seems a very long time; I have the
feeling the car does not start as easy as when it was new, but it
*always* starts fine. Maybe not in 1/2 second like before, now it seems
to take 3 seconds or so. Shall I get new spark plugs and wires???



Thanks a lot guys, you are great!

There is no need to check the brake pads with calipers. The brake pad consist
of smaller semi metallic friction material bonded to a larger steel plate.
Look at the friction material. If one is less than 1/16" thick, replace the
pads.

I still have original clutch on my 92 Civic cx with 172 kmiles.

chibitul wrote:

> Hi, I drive a Civic LX manual transmission 2001 which I bought new in
> 2001. I live in the suburbs (Connecticut), drive 3 miles to work and
> back and around town. In the weekends I drive sometimes on the highway.
> I estimate 50-50 is highway/suburbs.
>
> I had a free checkup done at the dealer and the car was OK. they said
> the brages were fine, but I don't know how much pads I have left. Is
> there a way to tell? I am about to do a tire rotation myself and I can
> get a caliper to measure the thickness of the pads.
>
> and since I finally moved my lazy ass and finally posted, here are some
> more questions:
>
> what about the clutch? how long does it last on AVERAGE (yes, I know it
> depends a great deal on how you drive). But what is the *average* please?
>
> what about tuneup? the manual says to geta new timing belt and a tuneup
> done at 105K miles (IIRC). That seems a very long time; I have the
> feeling the car does not start as easy as when it was new, but it
> *always* starts fine. Maybe not in 1/2 second like before, now it seems
> to take 3 seconds or so. Shall I get new spark plugs and wires???
>
> Thanks a lot guys, you are great!

On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 03:09:33 GMT, chibitul <chibitul@eudoramail.com> wrote:

>Hi, I drive a Civic LX manual transmission 2001 which I bought new in
>2001. I live in the suburbs (Connecticut), drive 3 miles to work and
>back and around town. In the weekends I drive sometimes on the highway.
>I estimate 50-50 is highway/suburbs.
>
>I had a free checkup done at the dealer and the car was OK. they said
>the brages were fine, but I don't know how much pads I have left. Is
>there a way to tell? I am about to do a tire rotation myself and I can
>get a caliper to measure the thickness of the pads.

No need for a caliper. When you take the wheel off you should be able to
see the edge of the brake pads - might have to brush off dust with a brush
through the caliper spring and shine a flashlight on it.

>and since I finally moved my lazy ass and finally posted, here are some
>more questions:
>
>what about the clutch? how long does it last on AVERAGE (yes, I know it
>depends a great deal on how you drive). But what is the *average* please?

For friction lining only, without abuse, 150K mile is not unusual but the
pressure plate and/or friction plate springs can go any time before then.
You'll know something is wrong when it happens. Ignore Honda's lack of
specified change interval for the clutch fluid and replace every 30K miles
at the same time as brake fluid.

>what about tuneup? the manual says to geta new timing belt and a tuneup
>done at 105K miles (IIRC). That seems a very long time; I have the
>feeling the car does not start as easy as when it was new, but it
>*always* starts fine. Maybe not in 1/2 second like before, now it seems
>to take 3 seconds or so. Shall I get new spark plugs and wires???

105K is the "normal" service schedule - the severe schedule of 60K miles
covers temp extremes and lots of short trips. For better starting, new
plugs will probably help - wires can easily last 150K miles or 10 years if
not abused by mechanics and kept clean: wipe them off with a rag soaked in
silicone spray. A bottle of fuel injector cleaner in the tank won't do any
harm and might help too. At 60K miles a new distributor cap and rotor is
not a bad idea.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

Thanks a lot for your reply, here are some comments.

In article <s08af099eqi753d8aj73q8gltm86h5mfp7@4ax.com>,
George Macdonald <fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com> wrote:

[snip, about brake pads]
> > I am about to do a tire rotation myself and I can
> > get a caliper to measure the thickness of the pads.
>
> No need for a caliper. When you take the wheel off you should be able to
> see the edge of the brake pads - might have to brush off dust with a brush
> through the caliper spring and shine a flashlight on it.

Oh I see, i was talking about real measuring calipes like the ones you
use in a mcahine shop. I forgot there is a think at the brakes also
called calipers. Sure, I will look at the pads and measure how much is
left. What is it for new pads and what's the lowest limit???

[snip about clutch]
>
> 105K is the "normal" service schedule - the severe schedule of 60K miles
> covers temp extremes and lots of short trips. For better starting, new
> plugs will probably help - wires can easily last 150K miles or 10 years if
> not abused by mechanics and kept clean: wipe them off with a rag soaked in
> silicone spray. A bottle of fuel injector cleaner in the tank won't do any
> harm and might help too. At 60K miles a new distributor cap and rotor is
> not a bad idea.
>

I thought there is no distributor cap or rotor on these cars? I was
under the impression there is some electronic device instead of the
rotor. Again, it is a newer model, 2001. I believe they had distributor
and rotor on the previous series wchich ended 2000. Right or wrong???

Thanks a lot!!!

In article <1089789345.358390@news-1.nethere.net>,
Sean Dinh <"seanny"@dinh@znet.com> wrote:

> There is no need to check the brake pads with calipers. The brake pad consist
> of smaller semi metallic friction material bonded to a larger steel plate.
> Look at the friction material. If one is less than 1/16" thick, replace the
> pads.

1/16", that is 1.5 mm, OK, I can check that. How much is it when the pad
is new? thsi way i can figure out how much I used til now and how long
will last whatever is left. Right?

>
> I still have original clutch on my 92 Civic cx with 172 kmiles.

This is great. Thanks!

More than 1/4"

chibitul wrote:

> How much is it when the pad
> is new?

On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 23:39:38 GMT, chibitul <chibitul@eudoramail.com> wrote:

>
>Thanks a lot for your reply, here are some comments.
>
>In article <s08af099eqi753d8aj73q8gltm86h5mfp7@4ax.com>,
> George Macdonald <fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com> wrote:
>
>[snip, about brake pads]
>> > I am about to do a tire rotation myself and I can
>> > get a caliper to measure the thickness of the pads.
>>
>> No need for a caliper. When you take the wheel off you should be able to
>> see the edge of the brake pads - might have to brush off dust with a brush
>> through the caliper spring and shine a flashlight on it.
>
>Oh I see, i was talking about real measuring calipes like the ones you
>use in a mcahine shop. I forgot there is a think at the brakes also
>called calipers. Sure, I will look at the pads and measure how much is
>left. What is it for new pads and what's the lowest limit???

Usually initial thickness of friction material is 10-12mm - wear limit is
1.6mm and wear indicators will squeal at that.

>[snip about clutch]
>>
>> 105K is the "normal" service schedule - the severe schedule of 60K miles
>> covers temp extremes and lots of short trips. For better starting, new
>> plugs will probably help - wires can easily last 150K miles or 10 years if
>> not abused by mechanics and kept clean: wipe them off with a rag soaked in
>> silicone spray. A bottle of fuel injector cleaner in the tank won't do any
>> harm and might help too. At 60K miles a new distributor cap and rotor is
>> not a bad idea.
>>
>
>I thought there is no distributor cap or rotor on these cars? I was
>under the impression there is some electronic device instead of the
>rotor. Again, it is a newer model, 2001. I believe they had distributor
>and rotor on the previous series wchich ended 2000. Right or wrong???

Ah right, you have individual coil packs, in which case there are no high
tension spark plug wires so the original wires should rarely, if ever, need
replaced. Cleanliness is always good though.:-) I find a small paintbrush
(1" wide or so) is great for cleaning up those areas.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

If it's starting slower than before, it is probably your battery dying
from old age. Especially if you're still on the OEM battery.

JM

In article <de3b9c1b.0407151604.15f4a827@posting.google.com >,
jmattis@attglobal.net (JM) wrote:

> If it's starting slower than before, it is probably your battery dying
> from old age. Especially if you're still on the OEM battery.
>
> JM

what's the voltage supposed to be? I got a digital volt meter. The
engine seems to turn over fine, just seems to take an extra 2-3 seconds.

> > If it's starting slower than before, it is probably your battery dying
> > from old age. Especially if you're still on the OEM battery.
> >
> > JM
>
> what's the voltage supposed to be? I got a digital volt meter. The
> engine seems to turn over fine, just seems to take an extra 2-3 seconds.

Here's one link that gives useful info on car battery voltages and specific
gravity. I've seen other tables that closely correspond to the table for
Low maintenance lead acid car batteries. Be sure to check the Temperature
Compensation table for battery temps other than 80F. Paragraph 4.3 talks
about removing the surface charge by waiting 6-12 hrs, but I've read other
suggestions to wait as little as 1 hour.

http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/carfaq4.htm