The Mechanical Advice Thread

[snowball]

Are you sure the rod is part of the car and it wasn't actually the rod that was seized in the trunk?

I would find it odd if the S vs base did not use the same components for the spare.

[twitchyzero]

the Type-S has a subwoofer on the spare tire so the design is different
yeah at one point I doubted myself too but there are threads on the rod and it is fixed in the wheel well

[77civic1200]

I could try and check mine at work tomorrow

[sleepywheel]

It will be metric thread so you may have trouble finding a wingnut with metric thread at a hardware store. I've never tried this before but I have some helicoils that I can try to install in your original wingnut, as long as there is enough material to work with.

[twitchyzero]

tossed out the wing bolt already
just a regular bolt as a replacement is probably adequate...will try to take a measure and buy +1/-1mm as well to be sure

[77civic1200]

I'm probably not much help, I checked mine (05 base) and its the same as number 11, its a wing bolt, not nut and stud



It was M8 x 1.25 if it helps

[underscore]

2005 Toyota Matrix XR auto, 190k. A small clunk has started that I can't narrow down. At low speeds (<25km/h) when first getting on or letting off the throttle there will usually be a small clunk from what I think is the front end. It will do it sometimes when shifting out of Park as well (but only the first time) or hitting small bumps. At higher speeds it doesn't happen. When I swapped the tires I shook everything as much as I could and nothing seemed to have play. My guess is the balljoint since there isn't much to the suspension of these things but I'd like to know for sure so I'm not just throwing parts at it.

[jasonturbo]

Originally Posted by underscore

2005 Toyota Matrix XR auto, 190k. A small clunk has started that I can't narrow down. At low speeds (<25km/h) when first getting on or letting off the throttle there will usually be a small clunk from what I think is the front end. It will do it sometimes when shifting out of Park as well (but only the first time) or hitting small bumps. At higher speeds it doesn't happen. When I swapped the tires I shook everything as much as I could and nothing seemed to have play. My guess is the balljoint since there isn't much to the suspension of these things but I'd like to know for sure so I'm not just throwing parts at it.

Check your engine and transmission mounts.

[fliptuner]

Also, when check balljoints and TRE's, make sure the control arm is at ride height, not drooping.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by jasonturbo

Check your engine and transmission mounts.

They're all ~2 years old, I replaced them all trying to erase some vibration at idle. They could be defective though.

[saiko]

Looking for some advice / help.

2004 Honda Civic SIR (K20a3, motor apparently has 135k km, replaced by PO, body has 280k).
- car has an aftermarket exhaust and an aftermarket intake.

CEL on, codes say misfiring cylinder 1, 2, 3 and 4. Cannot reach past 5k RPM either in neutral or in gear and under load. Engine has power (not a lot) up to 5k RPM but falls flat. I tried revving the engine in neutral and it felt like it hit a redline protection at 5k. (bouncing).

Codes:
P0301, P0302, P0303, P0304.

My first time tinkering this much with a car on my own. Did the following:
- Open Valve Cover to check timing between cam gear and chain, looks to be aligned based on what I read (the dots, arrows and lines on the gears).
- Performed a compression test, bought a compression test gauge. I don't know how to tell on the K20a3 motor which cylinder is 1,2,3,4.
- From left to right passenger side to driver side (cam gear onward) it read 165psi, 175psi, 170psi, 175psi. I have a feeling my first time using the gauge is not accurate or the gauge quality sucks.
- the spark plugs looked dry. 3/4 plugs are "tar'd" and burnt, 1/4 plug was clean.
- The car idles perfectly fine, with AC on, accessories turned on, no problem. No surging.
- Engine oil is topped up.
- Car does not blow smoke on start up or smell rich.

Ran another CEL scan after resetting it and it is now only showing P0303 No. 3 Cylinder Misfire

I don't know what to try next. Was going to meet with a friend who has a RSX Type-S to see if we can swap MAP sensors? Try new coil plugs? New spark plugs?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read. I may bring the car in for professional help but wanted to exhaust whatever basic troubleshooting I can do/try.

[IMASA]

Check the plugs, are they the correct part # and gapped properly?

If now only 1 cylinder has the misfire code, swap the coil packs to see if the code comes on for the other cylinder.

[boibuddha]

From the sounds of it, I would guess the timing chain needs replacing. It has probably stretched out beyond its tolerances, leading to the misfire on every cylinder.

I believe Ericthrcarguy has a video about replacing it, as well as a recent video by a Canadian kid called milanmistracci on YouTube. Both were pretty good, from what I remember.

[dn53]

Can you check fuel pressure? If it's dropping off at 5k and it's randomly misfiring it's a good check to do.

I would think if it was a stretched chain you'd be seeing issues at idle too + a very noisy chain

[saiko]

Hi!

Checked:
- timing chain, the markers line up. I checked it twice with a few friends eyes and opinions. Seems to line up when at TDC cylinder 1.
- plugs, swapped the coils with a friends car. No change. Spark plugs seem clean enough.
- fuel injector, did a test with a multi-meter. Per an article online it read 10.4-11.4 ohms (5-11 is within spec). However, the pintle cap on one cylinder cracked and broke.

Question:
- can you buy just pintle caps for replacement? Or need an entire new injector.
- vancouver, any recommendations for a set of injectors? I dont think they're malfunctioning but trying to cross things off rhe list.

Next to test:
- fuel pressure, dont know how to test. But will need to review the fuel pump and fuel filter.

[fliptuner]

See if anyone's swapped injectors and they can lend/give you theirs

[SSM_DC5]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

See if anyone's swapped injectors and they can lend/give you theirs

Assuming he's still working on the same car.... Few posts up, he says it's a 2004 Honda Civic SIR (K20a3, motor apparently has 135k km, replaced by PO, body has 280k).

[Klobbersaurus]

Originally Posted by dn53

Can you check fuel pressure? If it's dropping off at 5k and it's randomly misfiring it's a good check to do.

I would think if it was a stretched chain you'd be seeing issues at idle too + a very noisy chain

prob not a fuel pump issue, fuel pressure raises under load but if this issue is happening after 5k,

hows the oil in the car?

[prudz]

Buy new plugs and coil packs. Willing to bet this fixes your issue. Just because you visually looked at them and you think they are alright doesn't mean they are good. They have unknown mileage on them. I would at a minimum just spend the $30 on plugs to see if that fixes it. Coils are more money so try replacing the plugs before spending more on coils if you don't want to fork out the money.

[underscore]

When swapping out MacPherson strut assemblies without touching anything else, is it possible for the toe to change? I know the camber will need to be checked but am I right in thinking if the control arms and steering are untouched the toe shouldn't move?

[coneZONE]

Originally Posted by underscore

When swapping out MacPherson strut assemblies without touching anything else, is it possible for the toe to change? I know the camber will need to be checked but am I right in thinking if the control arms and steering are untouched the toe shouldn't move?

if the LCA and tie rod adjustments remained the same, and camber changed, it could minorly affect toe. You could think the steering knuckle as a triangle... if you held the bottom and side corner in the same position and moved the upper corner a little bit, the triangle would face a slightly different direction

I hate alignments lol

Also, if before you change out the strut assy, mark circles with sharpie or white-out around all the upper mount nuts/bolts and the knuckle pinch bolts, when you put it back together, put it back in the same position and you should have the same specs as before, unless you were changing out something that was bent

[underscore]

I'm planning on swapping between two sets of strut assemblies, I should be able to check and adjust the camber back to the same setting on my own easily enough but toe seems like a pain so I'd rather avoid it. Even if it isn't ideal on the secondary setup as long as it stays the same (ish) when I go back to the primary setup I'm happy.

[coneZONE]

as how i can visualize it, as long as the difference between parts is not very drastic, if the end result of your adjustments (on the ground) is approximately same same, everything else should remain about the same. At worst, "good enough". Hahaha.

If your concern is about toe wear, then you may want to know the numbers?
But if your main concern is whether the steering wheel is centred or not, that's an easy fix with a bit of tie rod adjustment on both sides. As long as you adjust out one side the equal amount as you adjusted in the other side

[SSM_DC5]

2015 civic back up camera issue.

Put it in reverse but image is pitch black and all you see are parking guidelines. Not even a dim image, just black.
Tried to wiggle the wires, unplug then replug in the camera at the trunk side. No change in the image.

What else can I try before changing out the camera itself.
The license plate lights work as normal.

[Peturbo]

pitch black even in daytime? Sounds like display is working(changing display mode and detecting vehicle is in reverse) but not receiving a data signal from camera.
Replacing the camera seems to be the first thing to try. Other than the camera, all that's left is the wiring harness and display unit.