Read and learn more about used 1998 Honda Civic. For more, visit the Honda Civic website HondaCivicStation.com

Q: what type of gas for 1998 Honda Civic EX?
i bought a used 1998 Honda Civic EX and it didnt come with an owner’s manual so can someone tell me what grade of gasoline does it take?
just to be clear, the owner’s manual calls for 87 octane??

A: All it needs is regular unleaded, 87 Octane.

Edit: yes, the owner’s manual calls for 87 octane.

Q: What things can I do to a plain 1998 Honda civic?
I just got a new used Honda civic, and I want to make it run fast and be good. I already want to get new rims but other than that I’d like to know what can be done and what really is happening when people soup up there cars.

A: Ok, first performance wise. If you want a high performing honda, usually turbo is the way to go. Now you can not just slap a turbo on there and throw a ton of boost, probably bend a rod or blow a piston out of the block. Do an engine swap, like a B series or possibly the H22 swap if you have the money and time, it has more power. From there you need to build the engine up like bigger pistons, and boring it out, but you want flat top pistons because it lower the compression ratio, which is what you want for an optimal turbo setup and it increases the size of the combustion chamber. You also may want to do some head work like cams and springs and valves. After you get the turbo you will also need to get the car tuned because you are putting a lot more air into the cylinder per intake stroke than before so you need to counter the air with more fuel. From there you also need the basic bolt on’s like a Cold air intake, Headers (if you don’t want a turbo), cat back exhaust, and get hondata (an ecu tuning program). You also will want to make the car a manual transmission if it is an automatic because the real power is the manuals because the automatics are a lot heavier and have a slow throttle response time through the drive train. Then you can do new shocks and lowering springs. Depending on how low you drop it, you will need to get a camber/alignment kit to alter the negative camber which makes the wheels bend inwards and take it to a shop to get aligned. After that you can do new tailights, headlights, possibly H.I.D. with the headlights, the rims you were talking about, you can do a body kit, but personally if you want performance, lowering it is better because you get better handling around turns and if you drop it and get a body kit then it is really low and any pothole will screw all your body kit up. Then you can do you interior like new gauge faces, racing seats, racing steering wheel if you want. Also what a lot of show guys do is they fiberglass the interior dash components and paint a custom color or the actual car color and it looks really good. Hope this points you in the right direction, good luck man.!

Q: What kind of igniton distributor can i use for my 1998 honda civic?
do i neccessarily need one that when i google for it says for honda civic or can i get any run of the mill distributor?

A: a distributor for a 1998 honda civic should work fine.

Q: 1998 Honda Civic DX 2door, 80K, no accident, 1 owner. $5000. Is the price is ok to buy or still expensive?
Recently I would like to buy a used car. 1998 Honda Civic DX 2D, 80K, no accident, 1 owner. The price is $5000. Is the price ok to buy or it is still too expensive? Thank you!

A: Here is something very IMPORTANT that you must always remember. The value of a car always depends on its condition. If this 1998 Civic that you mentioned is in great condition with no mechanical problems, then it is worth more than $5000. Take the car to a mechanic and check it out. A good Civic with 80K miles should last you a lifetime of driving fun. But that all of course depends on the condition of the car and how its taken care of.

Q: What is the best oil to use for 1998 Honda Civic LX with 147,100 miles on it?

A: Just use quality oil of the correct grade and weight for the car. “high mileage oil” and things like that are just sales gimmicks, mostly.

Q: 1998 Honda Civic Coupe exhaust manifold heat shield is rusting. Original (new or used) or after-market?
And what’s the advantage and disadvantage, other than the price difference? Thanks.

A: just take it off…its just there to help the heat travel down instead of going up and to help prevent you from touching the exhaust manifold…

Q: What color does the maintenance light of a 1998 Honda Civic turns when it needs maintenance?
I have a 1998 Honda Civic LX and i have this little square on the cluster and its the stock cluster and underneath it is says “maintenance required” and it used to be black in color, but now its kind of red. I am just wondering if anyone would know if thats the maintenance required light in a 98 Honda Civic LX?

A: You are correct – when it’s red, the light is “on” meaning that the OBD code reader needs to be hooked up (done for free at some auto parts stores) and the codes viewed to indicate the repairs needed

Q: How much is a manual trans for a 1998 Honda civic ex swap?
I have a 1998 Honda civic ex with an automatic trans
I was hopeing someone had a rough price of a used one or any ideas where to get on
I would like to do stuff to it and the auto trans won’t help
haha
well thanks for the help

A: Just look around, think outside the box on where to source one.

I’m on the look out for a new motor for my Celica, and in the meantime I’m going to be converting it to manual. After looking around, I have deemed it cheaper to buy an entire write-off car, pull the motor and transmission out of that and then part out the rest of the car.

Alternatively, wreckers might have what you need. Installing the pedal box will be a first for me though, I’ve heard it’s a pain…

Q: 1998 Honda Civic EX Oil Change Intervals?
I bought my 1998 Honda Civic with about 98k miles, and it didn’t come with any owner’s manual. So I am not sure what is the recommended mileage for changing the oil? I know I use 5W-30 oil, cause that what it says on the oil cap. And if anyone recommends a certain brand of oil I am open for any suggestions.

A: Car manufacturers use to recommend every 3,000 miles but now some of them are saying your car can go to 5,000 miles before an oil change is needed.

You can order new owners manuals for your vehicle online!

Q: 1998 Honda Civic Coupe exhaust manifold – is it safe to go with after-market? What about a used one?
Found a used one, a bit rusty outside but no cracks. Any way I can remove the rust like painting, oiling it, etc.? I just want it to last longer. Thanks.
Thanks all for your answers.

drewdude – this is an original used part. a honda mechanic said an after market will just be a headache. i know i may have the same problem in the future but a used one cost only a fraction of the new one.

A: Exhaust manifolds, and exhausts in general, rust. There’s no preventing that unless you make it out of Stainless steel, but even then it will still tarnish from the heat. Any paint that you put on it will burn off, and any oil that you put on it will turn to smoke.

Exhaust manifolds are very resilient – most are cast iron and will outlast the rest of the car. If yours is cracked, you can replace it – but just popping another stock exhaust manifold won’t make any difference at all. Keep in mind that you must change the gasket if you take the manifold off.

Is this an aftermarket header, or just another stock one?

Q: How do I disable the car alarm on my 1998 Honda Civic LX?
The car has not been used in 3 years and when I went in to put a new battery in the anti-theft feature kicked in and does not allow me to turn the car on. I no longer have the remote and the manual that came with the car has not any useful information. If I remember correctly the alarm system may have been put in with the dealer but I am not 100% sure.

A: Easy look under steering wheel by brake,gas pedal or by the door where u rest ur left foot look for a switch like a push in type press it down(holding) it and try starting it press the button first the insert key its calledf the valet switch(overide switch too)

Q: 1998 Honda Civic with 279089km on it– will it last?
Hey I got a used car inspection on a 1998 Honda Civic with 279 089km or 173 418 miles on it and originally I thought that the mileage was in kilometers but it’s in miles… I wanted under 200 000km but I’ve already paid the deposit on this car and I like everything else about it… I got a Honda mechanic to do a used car inspection and here were the listed problems:
-Recommend all belts be replaced soon (starting to crack) $280
-Recommend brake flush (fluid dirty) $105
-Recommend transmission service (fluid dirty) $105
-Recommend front brake rotors be machined (vibration when braking) $165
The wind shield also has a small crack and will need new tires before winter…

So with my #1 concern being reliability should I purchase this vehicle despite the high mileage based on what the mechanic said?

A: It depends, my friend had a honda prelude that went to 430,000 miles and kept running, but he did have to replace a lot of stuff. Unless it’s really cheap though I wouldn’t buy it through, it’s still risky and high in miles.
If you want a reliable car try to keep it under 120 K miles if you plan on keeping it for a while. Just would be far less trouble and probably less in inevitable repairs

Q: 1998 Honda civic hard to start in the morning part 2?
My 98 1.6L 170,000 miles LX (d16Y7) civic seems to take twiceas long to start in the morning. I change the batterylast month(14.5 volt while car running, Change sparkplugs, new air filter, new fuel filter, new pcv valvelast week. Replaced wires, cap, rotor last year they look ok and measure within spec. I even use fuel injector cleaner does not seem to help the problem. I also notice that a trace of coolant under the distributor so I change out the heater hose and problem did not go away.That a sensor with one wire on it. What is this sensor anyway? Could that be the problem. I see somemoisture on the wiring boot too. The car drives normal in the afternoon when I leave work. It starts up right away! The engine sounds normal and runs at 34MPG . What can be wrong? Any info will be great. Thanks in advance!

A: have the starter tested

Q: 1998 Honda Civic Power Lock Not Working?
i have a honda civic 1998 LX, the central locking of which has suddenly stopped working. I think its called the Std. Power Door Lock.

When i use the keys to lock the door from the driver side, the other doors wont lock anymore.

The switch on the driver side door which can be used to lock and unlock all the doors has become non functional.

Can somebody tell me the possible cause and cure for this?

A: Possible that the fuse or the relay has gone bad..
Have it checked out!

Q: My 1998 Honda Civic EX turns over, but why won’t it start?
It sat idle for almost a month because I was in the hospital, but I started it up 3 days ago with no issues. Unfortunately, I didn’t drive it. Now it just turns over. I have used quick start, cleaned my points and am about to put in Iridium plugs. The oil light does come on with the ignition switch.

A: main causes fuel pump or relay ignition module (check for spark) or just flooded find the fault before you go replacing parts it gets expensive that way