DarkKnightSM
Senior VIP Member
I think it was about time I started making a build log for my car. Some of you may remember all the problems I had, mechanically and with the sound system side of things. This first post might be a tad long as I will just throw in everything I can remember from day one of buying the car until the day of this thread being started. Any other posts will be responses, updates, and pictures. So hopefully this will be a good read and some lessons learned for some of you just getting started.
Why I love the civics:
There's a special place in my heart for 7th gen civic coupes as I've now owned an 03 HX, 02 LX and 01 HX. My 03 HX was back when I was in Alaska and I just needed a reliable car with good mpg. Turns out that car got well over 45mpg, was comfortable, simple, reliable, easy to work on, parts were cheap, and it was no pushover hybrid car, it was a fully gas burning machine, and the list goes on. Unfortunately I had to sell it as I was supposed to move to Japan, but those plans fell through.
The day I Bought the 02 LX:
So awhile after arriving to Colorado I decided it was time to get back the car I had loved so much. I did not realize how rare the HX sub models/trims were until I couldn't find any on craigslist. They stopped making the car in 05 and the ones that were left on craigslist were well out of my price range, usually selling for 4-6 grand. So I had to settle for a different trim. Every other civic trim, LX, DX, EX, SI etc, got less then 40 mpg, at least with what it was rated at. So being the nit picky bastard I was, I was determined to find one that had a good undamaged body on it, then later swap in an HX motor when I could find one.
So I drive around Colorado looking at all sorts of different 7th gens, most were garbage and not worth what people were asking. Eventually I found the 02 LX with 230k miles with a recently rebuilt top end 2 years ago. Only major issue was it slips out of reverse. I got it for $1700 anticipating replacing front end suspension parts. Drove home, replaced struts, control arm bushings, sway bar links, clutch, ball joints and master/slave cylinders.
Unfortunately the hydraulic clutch system was next to impossible to bleed. It did not bleed like a normal brake system. I had several mechanics come to my house, took it to a mechanic shop and still no luck getting this system bled properly. Eventually a shop ended up having to vacuum pump the hydraulic fluid through to get all the air bubbles out. I tried every possible bleeding technic I could find online, with no luck getting the system to hold pressure. So lesson #1 , be careful when bleeding clutch systems. Don't open the system unless you are prepared for hell.
Car Audio Install:
After I got the above things replaced I decided it was finally time to replace the old HU, door speakers that were on their way out the door (going bad). So after lots of stupid questions on here, lots of shopping around I picked up a set of Focal ES K2($600), Kenwood dd9903s($700), wiring/fuses/holders(around $100-150) and a kicker IQ 1000.5($800). Lesson #2 Don't let car audio shops install car audio. They messed up the install on my door speakers. Window hit the speaker magnet, door rubber was not reinstalled correctly, tweeter hit the dash every time the door closed, door panel was not fully seated on the door shell.
Anyways the amp I found out quickly had to bridge channels 1 & 2 to 3 & 4 as the ratings at 4ohms was half then the rms rating of the front Focals and noticed significant distortion and at moderately loud volumes. Then after deciding what sub I wanted (12w6) realized the amp I had would be a bad choice to power this sub, sealed. So I traded the amp back in for a JL audio 750/1($600) and a 600/4($700). I also upgrade my alternator to a mechman 270 amp($550) Now this is where I caught flak for going the most expensive route possible with severe diminishing returns. But you know what?, I have had zero problems with these amps and sub setup thus far and it is plenty of power for any front stage I could want in the future and I could always sell them later. I did upgrade to 0awg ofc wire for potential future upgrades, perhaps a FI Q Neo, or a re XXX? But for now I am content with a single 12w6 sealed.
Before the trip Across the country:
So not to long ago I traveled to the east coast to visit family. Before I left I got an alignment, fixed the A/C, changed the oil. I did have a brief issue with low oil and the car jolted forward a few times. However I ended up realizing my main power wire from the alternator to the battery was getting burned and sparking on the exhaust manifold because I failed to secure the wire better to a non heat source.
The oil that was low? I have no idea where it went. It was not leaking, and there was no evidence to support the oil being burned. Smokes blue right? No smoke out the exhaust. So I believed whole handedly that it was just a freak reading on the oil and my car was fine. I topped it off and moved on.
The Parts Car:
So after awhile I decided to finally pursue buying an HX or HX motor. I really wanted to get up to that 45 mpg again and my current car, LX, got between 35-40. I got lucky one day randomnly searching on craigslist and found an 01 HX from a dealer for $2299. 130k Miles. So I went out, test drove it, drove fine but body had tons of hail damage, interior was in bad shape and needed a lot of suspension work, again! So I offered 1250 and a small trade for the car and was successful in picking it up. This car got close to 50 mpg while I had it on the road. So afterwards it sat in my driveway until I was ready to swap the motor into my 02 LX.
Return trip from east coast:
So I went across country, made my return trip. I never checked my oil again before I left the east coast. So I went about 4k miles on synthetic, potentially low oil, who knows now. I was about to make it home to Colorado. 30 minutes from my house and BAM! Motor blew, threw a connecting rod bearing. Now keep in mind this car had 230k miles and I was holding steady at about 100mph for about 45 minutes on a empty deserted road. The top end had been rebuilt 2 years ago but not the bottom end. So we may never know the cause of my motor going out. I cannot affirmatively say whether it was low on oil or not so lets just say it was because of my speed and the mileage of the car. I consider myself extremely lucky to not have broken down in Kansas and so close to home. My tow bill was only 140 dollars.
The Swap:
So now I have a blown motor and tranny with 230k and slips out of reverse on the 02 LX. It was time for that combo to GO! I finally just recently got the motor and tranny pulled out and swapped in. I pulled the engine harness, ECU, Intake manifold from the 01 HX parts car and put it in the 02 LX. The HX car had 2 02 sensors, two catalytic converters. Unfortunately my LX only had the wiring for the one in the front. So I had to deal with the check engine light on until I could figure out how to work in that wiring to accept the 01 HX full exhaust.
Unfortunately I failed to do one thing during the swap. The transmission had seeped out some tranny fluid after I pulled the axles. Nothing bad, just didn't drain it before I pulled it out. But I forgot to top off the tranny fluid before I drove off with the 02 LX. Now a perfectly working tranny started slipping out of 5th on the highway. Realizing what I had done, the next day I rushed home and topped off my tranny fluid. But I overfilled it, almost certain, with the car jacked up at an angle. Not more then a block away from my house my tranny "slips". No matter what gear I put the car in, it doesnt move. The clutch does nothing. I can put it in any gear without the clutch and the car doesn't move nor stall. So now I am looking at replacing a clutch that got wet from tranny fluid because I overfilled it and I'm pretty sure there a weep hole between the tranny and engine where the clutch sits. Lesson #3 Don't rush.
Now After all this work, I need a break. I am unmotivated to work on this car after my amateurish mistakes. Learn from me guys take your time with this kind of stuff, look over everything and try not to spend time doing a job twice fixing your own mistakes.
That's all for now, pictures to come soon. Thanks for reading my very long post
Why I love the civics:
There's a special place in my heart for 7th gen civic coupes as I've now owned an 03 HX, 02 LX and 01 HX. My 03 HX was back when I was in Alaska and I just needed a reliable car with good mpg. Turns out that car got well over 45mpg, was comfortable, simple, reliable, easy to work on, parts were cheap, and it was no pushover hybrid car, it was a fully gas burning machine, and the list goes on. Unfortunately I had to sell it as I was supposed to move to Japan, but those plans fell through.
The day I Bought the 02 LX:
So awhile after arriving to Colorado I decided it was time to get back the car I had loved so much. I did not realize how rare the HX sub models/trims were until I couldn't find any on craigslist. They stopped making the car in 05 and the ones that were left on craigslist were well out of my price range, usually selling for 4-6 grand. So I had to settle for a different trim. Every other civic trim, LX, DX, EX, SI etc, got less then 40 mpg, at least with what it was rated at. So being the nit picky bastard I was, I was determined to find one that had a good undamaged body on it, then later swap in an HX motor when I could find one.
So I drive around Colorado looking at all sorts of different 7th gens, most were garbage and not worth what people were asking. Eventually I found the 02 LX with 230k miles with a recently rebuilt top end 2 years ago. Only major issue was it slips out of reverse. I got it for $1700 anticipating replacing front end suspension parts. Drove home, replaced struts, control arm bushings, sway bar links, clutch, ball joints and master/slave cylinders.
Unfortunately the hydraulic clutch system was next to impossible to bleed. It did not bleed like a normal brake system. I had several mechanics come to my house, took it to a mechanic shop and still no luck getting this system bled properly. Eventually a shop ended up having to vacuum pump the hydraulic fluid through to get all the air bubbles out. I tried every possible bleeding technic I could find online, with no luck getting the system to hold pressure. So lesson #1 , be careful when bleeding clutch systems. Don't open the system unless you are prepared for hell.
Car Audio Install:
After I got the above things replaced I decided it was finally time to replace the old HU, door speakers that were on their way out the door (going bad). So after lots of stupid questions on here, lots of shopping around I picked up a set of Focal ES K2($600), Kenwood dd9903s($700), wiring/fuses/holders(around $100-150) and a kicker IQ 1000.5($800). Lesson #2 Don't let car audio shops install car audio. They messed up the install on my door speakers. Window hit the speaker magnet, door rubber was not reinstalled correctly, tweeter hit the dash every time the door closed, door panel was not fully seated on the door shell.
Anyways the amp I found out quickly had to bridge channels 1 & 2 to 3 & 4 as the ratings at 4ohms was half then the rms rating of the front Focals and noticed significant distortion and at moderately loud volumes. Then after deciding what sub I wanted (12w6) realized the amp I had would be a bad choice to power this sub, sealed. So I traded the amp back in for a JL audio 750/1($600) and a 600/4($700). I also upgrade my alternator to a mechman 270 amp($550) Now this is where I caught flak for going the most expensive route possible with severe diminishing returns. But you know what?, I have had zero problems with these amps and sub setup thus far and it is plenty of power for any front stage I could want in the future and I could always sell them later. I did upgrade to 0awg ofc wire for potential future upgrades, perhaps a FI Q Neo, or a re XXX? But for now I am content with a single 12w6 sealed.
Before the trip Across the country:
So not to long ago I traveled to the east coast to visit family. Before I left I got an alignment, fixed the A/C, changed the oil. I did have a brief issue with low oil and the car jolted forward a few times. However I ended up realizing my main power wire from the alternator to the battery was getting burned and sparking on the exhaust manifold because I failed to secure the wire better to a non heat source.
The oil that was low? I have no idea where it went. It was not leaking, and there was no evidence to support the oil being burned. Smokes blue right? No smoke out the exhaust. So I believed whole handedly that it was just a freak reading on the oil and my car was fine. I topped it off and moved on.
The Parts Car:
So after awhile I decided to finally pursue buying an HX or HX motor. I really wanted to get up to that 45 mpg again and my current car, LX, got between 35-40. I got lucky one day randomnly searching on craigslist and found an 01 HX from a dealer for $2299. 130k Miles. So I went out, test drove it, drove fine but body had tons of hail damage, interior was in bad shape and needed a lot of suspension work, again! So I offered 1250 and a small trade for the car and was successful in picking it up. This car got close to 50 mpg while I had it on the road. So afterwards it sat in my driveway until I was ready to swap the motor into my 02 LX.
Return trip from east coast:
So I went across country, made my return trip. I never checked my oil again before I left the east coast. So I went about 4k miles on synthetic, potentially low oil, who knows now. I was about to make it home to Colorado. 30 minutes from my house and BAM! Motor blew, threw a connecting rod bearing. Now keep in mind this car had 230k miles and I was holding steady at about 100mph for about 45 minutes on a empty deserted road. The top end had been rebuilt 2 years ago but not the bottom end. So we may never know the cause of my motor going out. I cannot affirmatively say whether it was low on oil or not so lets just say it was because of my speed and the mileage of the car. I consider myself extremely lucky to not have broken down in Kansas and so close to home. My tow bill was only 140 dollars.
The Swap:
So now I have a blown motor and tranny with 230k and slips out of reverse on the 02 LX. It was time for that combo to GO! I finally just recently got the motor and tranny pulled out and swapped in. I pulled the engine harness, ECU, Intake manifold from the 01 HX parts car and put it in the 02 LX. The HX car had 2 02 sensors, two catalytic converters. Unfortunately my LX only had the wiring for the one in the front. So I had to deal with the check engine light on until I could figure out how to work in that wiring to accept the 01 HX full exhaust.
Unfortunately I failed to do one thing during the swap. The transmission had seeped out some tranny fluid after I pulled the axles. Nothing bad, just didn't drain it before I pulled it out. But I forgot to top off the tranny fluid before I drove off with the 02 LX. Now a perfectly working tranny started slipping out of 5th on the highway. Realizing what I had done, the next day I rushed home and topped off my tranny fluid. But I overfilled it, almost certain, with the car jacked up at an angle. Not more then a block away from my house my tranny "slips". No matter what gear I put the car in, it doesnt move. The clutch does nothing. I can put it in any gear without the clutch and the car doesn't move nor stall. So now I am looking at replacing a clutch that got wet from tranny fluid because I overfilled it and I'm pretty sure there a weep hole between the tranny and engine where the clutch sits. Lesson #3 Don't rush.
Now After all this work, I need a break. I am unmotivated to work on this car after my amateurish mistakes. Learn from me guys take your time with this kind of stuff, look over everything and try not to spend time doing a job twice fixing your own mistakes.
That's all for now, pictures to come soon. Thanks for reading my very long post
