I bought a 2000 Honda Civic EX. It has the d16y8. The car is very clean and original with only 95,000 miles. The only aftermarket part on the car is a ground control coil over kit. I also put in a new stereo because the factory one was locked. This car is going to be my car for during college. I wanted something reliable, good in snow, good on gas, and still kind of sporty.
This is my first Honda, and I was wondering if there is any maintenance the car might need besides a basic tune up. I was planning on doing a timing belt and water pump on it. I’ve done timing belts on a Miata and chains on a vr6 so I’m hoping this won’t be much more difficult.
So far the car has seemed to be fun and handle well. My only real complaint would be that it has little low to mid rpm torque and you really don’t hit power until you are about to shift, but besides that I really like the car. I think I got a great deal on the car for the condition it’s in so I’m extremely happy.
It's a 1.6-liter engine. Torque doesn't live under that hood.
We have that car minus the Ground Control bits and green. Even the same miles on it.
It has been completely reliable. Just maintenance. So from that standpoint, it is a stellar appliance. The closest thing to an issue is that the power windows are getting a bit slow in cold weather.
He's not wrong about the absence of power in most sane parts of the tach, though. Even more so than I'd expect for a 1.6. And given that it's an appliance, I don't usually want to flog it to where it starts making more power. Or perhaps I should say where it stops making so much less power.
So, to ratghia, congrats! For a reliable commuter, it's hard to beat and an excellent choice. Hopefully the GC bits make the handling a bit more inspiring. But I'm excited about the fact that the desire for a 4-door will see our Civic exiting our driveway before too long.
Windshield wiper motors also go out. (Known issue)
Other than that enjoy! After college I see a swap in your future
tuna55
SuperDork
8/11/11 11:13 a.m.
The timing belt is a bit of a pain because there isn't much room in front of the engine - or at least there was not much on the 1.8 version. Straightforward, though, especially when compared to a PT Cruiser. Get either a big A$$ impact gun to remove that crank bolt OR do what I did and get a ton of 1/2" extensions, support them on a jackstand and use a 6 foot breaker bar on it. Being a manual you'll have to have someone put it in gear and hold the brake.
I had a 96 DX as my first car/ college car. It was a great car. I was sad when I wrecked it. I owned it until it hit 150k miles (got it at 109k) and during my time of owning it only had to replace the CVs.
4cylndrfury wrote:
DaveEstey wrote:
It's a 1.6-liter engine. Torque doesn't live under that hood until 6100+ rpms
FTFY
But that point, it's not torque anymore. 
ratghia wrote:
This is my first Honda, and I was wondering if there is any maintenance the car might need besides a basic tune up.
No. Change it's oil, feed it timing belts, and fill it with gas, and it will run until well after the Sun swallows the solar system.
Good call on that model rather than 1 year newer, by the way. Way better looks. Also surprised you found one of that vintage that hasn't been "improved" by an "enthusiast" (also can be read as "riced-out" by an "idiot"). Minus the coil-overs, that's a decent modification.
HONDA timing belt when the time comes. HONDA oil filters. They haven't done me wrong yet. Do the cam and crank seals for good measure. Is the car still on the original timing belt? If so, that'd be first order of business for me. As much as the tbelt sucks, headwork sucks more. Congrats! How long beeefore eet makes boooooosts?
I was looking for an ek and it was surprisingly hard to find one that either wasn't a fast and furious looking car or had double the milage. I even found one car that the entire description just said "Im lookin to get out da game". I originally was trying to find an si but there was nothing clean out there. When this cane up it was such a good deal I jumped on it. When I picked it up the seller had 5 people in line after me incase I bailed on the deal.
As for boost I have a Saab t3 and starion intercooler in my basement. Maybe next spring after my first year of college once I get it up to date on maintenance and all sorted out.
