A: if you get brackets that will fit and not break in a month you will spend your $150 JUST ON THE BRACKETS. Then there are the seats. If you get seats for under $600-$700 per pair you are going to have problems. I don’t know how many people I have seen come into our shop and have broken backs/seat braces on these $100-$250 seats that are on Ebay and sites like that. Do your self a favor and spend the money on the good stuff.

Q: Cheap ways to make 1998 civic look nice/ pimped?
What are some cheap, and or household ways to make my 1998 honda civic look nicer/ pimped
more racer is what i am thinkin
i am not trying to make my car look like its the shiz . just a little better .

A: Easy. Keep it clean and repair any visible damage (obviously) then get some nice light-weight wheels (no chrome!) nothing crazy keep it at 17″ and below, decent tires and MOST IMPORTANT lower the car with some decent springs from H&K or Eibach for example, not some cazy ebay Chinese company (no offense). That’s what I like anyway. Cheers.

Q: Would a Ford F-150 V8 beat a cheap Modded honda civic?
When i was picking up my son from High school i saw a lot of punks trying to race in one of those crappy Honda civics. I was looking at one of those teenagers with their little 1998 honda civic making noise…… by revving their engines…… I was wondering if a Ford F-150 V8 with Flowmaster would beat those crap car.

A: Yes, those imports have NO torque at all, the Ford V-8 creates 300 foot founds of torque, versus 100 from the tiny import…. you would leave them in the dust by far.

Q: how do i know what kind of stereo to buy for my 1998 honda civic 4 door sedan? and is it easy to install?
my stereo got stolen recently but the wire plug thing is fine and so is the little audio looking plug thing. i really know nothing about this but i would really like to get a new cheap stereo asap! how do i know what kind of stereo to get like if it will fit my car and all that and are they easy to install or would i have to pay to get it installed? thanks!

i drive a 98 honda civic 4 door sedan if that helps.

A: Any of these units below will fit your car:
They also have a video to show you how to install it on the home page of this site..

Q: Keep my 1998 Honda Civic or buy a new car?
I have a 1998 Honda Civic with 168,000 miles. The car is paid for and is starting to have some issues. It broke down in Feb and it cost $400. It is in the shop now and I’m not quite sure what is wrong with it yet. My dilemna…do I:

A. Keep the civic and get the work done. I may need more repairs down the line…timing belt, shocks, ???…who knows. This route will be the cheapest but provides the most uncertainty with reliability and repairs.

B. Sell the old one for around $2,000-$3,000 and use this as a down payment. Get a new Civic and not have to worry about the repairs… the payment would be around $200/month. This route is the most expensive and has the most certainty.

C. Get the car fixed for now (depending on how much it will cost)…save a bunch of money for a down payment, hope that nothing else goes wrong with the car and try to sell the civic in 3-6 months. This option proves a little risky as well.

What would you do?
Other work that has not been done yet includes: Clutch, water pump, Cat converter…not sure when these might go.

A: The rule of thumb is that if you are expecting to put more than $2,000 into the car over the next 12 months, then you should get a new car.
I don’t know what maintenance has been done to the car in the past or what needs to be done (except timing belt and shocks), but I am guessing at 168,000 miles, you are also in need of a new water pump, maybe a transmission/clutch (or at least a transmission flush), radiator flush, and anything else that may go wrong with a car with that many miles.

I have heard of Civic’s going 300,000 miles+, but every car is different. If you are taking it to the mechanic every couple of months, not only is it expensive, but also time consuming.

Personally, if you can get a new Civic for $200 a month, I would do it. You have a much better looking car, piece of mind, and you won’t spend your time in a repair shop.

- Clutch will run about $600
- Timing Belt will run about $300
- Since it is an old Civic, the exhausts and extension pipe usually go about every 3 years, so that will be about $250.
- Water Pump will be about $150 (if you keep the car fix this when the timing belt is changed and you will save on labor).
- Shocks will run you at least $300.

That is over $1500 right there….plus, your time is worth something, I am sure. Get the new car if it is financially possible for you. This car has served its purpose. You only live once. $200 a month won’t bankrupt you. Just make sure you call your agent and check what the insurance rates on the new one will be before you buy….just to be safe.

Q: Exhaust Manifold for a 1998 Honda civic lx?
I have been looking online (because it is cheaper) and it is pretty cheap, but my main concern is of to will work and fit, and what all I need to buy, also some of them talk about the California emission standards, being I live in Ca what would happen? And help would be very muck appreciated

A: As long as you have the correct engine and vehicle information, you should have no trouble getting the correct part. Since you live in CA, chances are pretty good that it has California emissions. To be sure however (yes there is a difference), take a look at the underside of the hood. There should be a sticker that says “This vehicle conforms to the CALIFORNIA (or) FEDERAL emissions for 1998. If it says Federal and the word California is NOT on there, then it is not a CA car. If you see the word CALIFORNIA, then it is a Cali car.

Q: 1998 Honda Civic Ex Coupe – Worth buying with 130,000 miles?
I am in desperation for a cheap used car and I have had great experiences with Hondas and just need a work car that gets me from point A to point B. There is this 1998 Honda Civic Ex Coupe with 130,000 miles on it for $2,400 (my low ass price range is $1500-$3000). Not too familiar with cars so if it isn’t the best what else is out there for that crappy price range? I guess anything that will get me to work and back and won’t die on me will be best =/

The listing for the 1998 Honda Civic Ex Coupe:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=p&car_id=250929977&dealer_id=63229409&car_year=1998&num_records=100&model=&systime=&make2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1981&engine=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=used&distance=50&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&make=HONDA&color=&keywords_display=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=1000&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&seller_type=b&position=top&position=top&position=top&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceASC&address=06001&advanced=&end_year=2009&transmission=&doors=&max_price=8000&cardist=6

A: Honda’s are great little cars but a car that would last you longer and get better gas mileage would be an older toyota. They are great little cars and you can get one really cheap. I have a 89 toyota Celia that gets 34 mpg , i paid $500 for it, never had anything go wrong with it, and has 296,xxx miles on it. These cars Can Go Forever!!!

Q: How to fix a cracked manifold in an 1998 Honda Civic DX?!?
Hello. So I bought a car and took it to a mechanic.. they said the manifold was cracked ( I knew this from the beginning) and that it would be an expensive fix. and I said well, does it have to be fixed or is it just a “if I don’t mind the noise it doesn’t matter things” then he said…no if you don’t mind it, it doesn’t need to be.

He also said it would cost $1200 or so to fix it because it included the catalytic converter and everything. Now I’ve been doing my research on what can be done to actually fix it but I’m not good with all this ‘car talk’

Can I just replace the manifold on this model?
Is it all one piece (ie manifold, converter etc) and it all has to be replaced?
can I get the part offline for cheap (and which part)?
Can I get a used one?
Is there any other ways of fixing it? (welding is expensive apparently so I’m not going to bother with that one)
How long does it take to ‘fix’ at the shop?

Please help!

ps… I’m from canada so pricing is going to be different from USA, if you mention a price please tell me if it’s USD.

THANKS!! I truly appreciate any help.
Ps… I’m on a budget! Just trying to save money but actually fix the problem.

But I definitely want to know if there are any other cheap, temp/perm fixes too!

thanks!

A: there is an exhaust, and there is an intake manifold, if that is a small engine front wheel drive, then everything is kind of wound around on top of other parts, and you have to dissasemble a bunch of things to replace the exhaust manifold. and yes, your mechanic was straight with you, driving it it is noisy, but unless the temperature gets 20 degrees below zero, you will not hurt a valve, ( you may smell exhaust from the leak, so keep the fresh air flowing, as far as a used one, its likely no better than what you have now, and its common for them to crack from the heating up and cooling off cycle, someone got me hot, then cooled me off several thousand times, I would crack eventually too. as far as shop times, or price, it is going to vary from make model and year. you can buy a shop manual for that car, it will tell you how to fix something, and tell you how many hours, and what other parts you need.
can you find it somewhere cheaper? maybe, but consider this, your current mechanic, told you right, it is noisy, but it can wat for awhile, keep that in mind, many other mechanics would have blown smoke where the sun dont shine on that . save your money, get it done right, the first time, get it done, ONCE. BEST OF LUCK!!

Q: Keep my Honda Civic or buy a Newer car?
I have a 1998 Honda Civic with 168,000 miles. The car is paid for and is starting to have some issues. It broke down in Feb and it cost $400. It is in the shop now and I’m not quite sure what is wrong with it yet. My dilemna…do I:

A. Keep the civic and get the work done. I may need more repairs down the line…timing belt, shocks, ???…who knows. This route will be the cheapest but provides the most uncertainty with reliability and repairs.

B. Sell the old one for around $2,000-$3,000 and use this as a down payment. Get a Newer Civic (2005) and not have to worry about the repairs… the payment would be around $200/month. This route is the most expensive long term and has the most certainty.

C. Get the car fixed for now (depending on how much it will cost)…save a bunch of money for a down payment, hope that nothing else goes wrong with the car and try to sell the civic in 3-6 months. This option proves a little risky as well.

What would you do?

A: I never liked the idea of trading in a car you used for another used car. Even when when that say it’s “certified preowned”. You may run into problems the previous owner didn’t want to deal with either. Imagine your paying your monthly car payment and suddenly you need to repair something for $300. You may not be able to fix the problem because you just made a car payment.

You will have to deal with the wear and tear items (brakes, struts, etc.) but at least you can deal with them easier with no car payments to make. Plus, I think you got a lot of miles left if you took care of the car.

Q: How do you make a Honda Civic accelerate faster and/or smoother?
I own a 1998 Honda Civic EX with Automatic transmission, low miles, but NO VTECH. I want to modify the setup with something else that will be simple to install, or cheap to install that will give out a better acceleration. Right now, I am happy with its performance so far, but just gotta have more power, baby.. Maybe a cold air intake? (I have no clue how THAT works, fill me in) Maybe physically taking the engine apart and cleaning the crap out of its insides? Maybe changing its fuel injectors? I am currently replacing the Spark Plugs with ones called “Autolite Double Platinum, APP5244″ with 0.44 Gap.

A: Since your starting with that platform i’m going to guess your not ready to throw down the cash needed for “turbo kit, bigger injectors, exhaust hood(wtf?) blow off valve(another wtf?)”. You just want to drop small cash and due to your line of questioning i’m also going to guess your not a mechanic yourself which means paying someone to do all your work. That gets real expensive. But if you want to do a few reasonably cheap mods to get a little more out of your car, I would first get a better flowing exhaust. It sounds more aggressive and allows the engine to breath a little better. Don’t drop the cash on a kit though, it will cost you more. Instead go to a muffler shop and tell them what you want. It will be cheaper and most any reputable shop will give you a much better finished product. The next item would be a better intake. A cold air intake is better than a factory design and it looks cooler when you open the hood. The filters flow more air and the intake itself will be smoother so you get more air in. I don’t remember the factory plug gap setting but don’t change it from stock. You will only hurt performance.
the last thing is for Man, torque does not create horsepower. They are 2 different things.

Q: are there any websites that sell good cheap headers?
im looking to buy headers for my 1998 honda civic ex any places besides ebay where i can buy em for cheap are is there any good ones on ebay for cheap

A: Megan racing has a good one for a good price…. And its a header, V6 engines have headers..

http://www.meganracing.com/

Q: Can anyone suggest aftermarket speakers?
I just installed an aftermarket CD receiver (JVC KD-G430) and am wanting to upgrade my speakers. Does anyone have knowledge in this field so as to suggest a certain brand/model that would go well with this receiver (taking into consideration wattage, output, etc.)? I’m just looking for 4 basic and somewhat cheap speakers for a 1998 Honda Civic Sedan w/o keyless entry. Anything would be appreciated and I’ll award a best answer.

A: JL audio and Kicker are two of my favorite companies for both subwoofers, and regular speakers for cars. They offer many diffferent kinds for different prices, so you may be able to find something from them in your price range, if you do, they will sound awesome.
If those are just too expensive, check out Infinity, and Polk audio, they are two very good companies that are usually a little less expensive but still great quality.
If you really want the absolute best sounding system, then look into the component system, which offers a speaker, tweeter and crossovers to help power them, they are great, but on the expensive side. Check out crutchfield.com And if all else fails go to your local car audio store, or tweeter or best buy and ask a young looking person working there what they suggest, they probably know a lot.

Q: where can i find a civic?
type r grill for a 1998 honda civic the ones i found were 180$ are they any good off ebay cause i wanted carbon fiber in is there any sites that sell em cheap?http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/96-98-HONDA-CIVIC-JDM-TYPE-R-GRILL-CARBON-FIBER-EK9-97_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33645QQihZ018QQitemZ280189619556QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
should i be worried about the carbon fading in looking like crap?

A: Go to the Honda store….

Q: Is the Scion tc a good and reliable car?
I currently own a 1998 Honda Civic and I’m looking to buy a new car. I heard the Scion tc is a good choice since I’m a young driver, and it’s also cheap. If you own one is it a reliable car and also does it get good gas mileage? Thanks in advance.

A: i own a 2010 scion tc…it really is a good choice…the options are endless…idk about u but i want something with its own individuality…thats what scion is all about…they are very cheap…its like the best buy out there….where else can you find a panoramic sunroof at this price? the pioneer system will rattle your car and thats just stock….the engine is well built and very reliable…it will really get up and go….alot of ppl bash the scion tc…i think simply because they know its potential…if u want a great car…the scion tc is the way to go….i recently drove about 200 miles with my scion tc….(with a/c blowing and i have a heavy foot) i had a little over a 1/4 of a tank left…which is actually not bad considering it only takes around 30 dollars to fill up……basically,,,,,this car is a great choice…

Q: where can i get good?
performance parts that are cheap$$$ for my 1998 honda civic ex

A: Nearly any online auto parts store. Just Google whatever part you want, the type “civic” before it.