In general, when should certain things be replaced? Is there a guideline, or just replace when they fail?

fuel injectors
catalytic converter
wheel bearings

I ask b/c I'm still running these original parts (except I've had the wheels bearings replaced at one corner) and am curious about failure (well not really curious about the cat, thats obvious).

10/1/2008 9:29:09 AM

had 330k on factory wheel bearings, 88 accord, no issues.

[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 9:39 AM. Reason : factory as in factory installed, never replaced- ]

10/1/2008 9:31:11 AM

all depends on factors..

type of fuel/conditions/road surface/this and that.

i mean, i can say 150K you should change your wheel bearings, but ^ has been goin for 330K (if thats original miles on those bearings)...

my civi powR has 235K on it... im pretty sure i could use a wheel bearing change, but its not necessary right now, same with the injectors and cat. im pretty sure the injectors are factory, same with the cat.

10/1/2008 9:35:46 AM

on a car with as many miles as yours, you wouldn't be wasting money to replace all of the above. however, the cat is the only thing i would definitely say to replace. many of them just slowly clog over time, and you don't notice the lost performance, slight decrease in fuel mileage, etc. if it's still performing perfectly at this point, have the thing dipped in gold and sent to the smithsonian.

as for the other stuff, injectors will usually present a very noticeable symptom when they fail or clog, and wheel bearings are simple the check just by jacking the car up and checking for excessive play. so, you could not worry about that stuff for now.

10/1/2008 9:42:13 AM

^do you mean, "would" be wasting money?

I'm not entirely sure if I can tell when the wheel bearings are going bad. But I recall the noise my car made before when that one corner was going bad (about 100k ago). Like a very faint rotational rubbing more noticeable when cornering or going over bumps. Makes me wonder if they should all be replaced. I'll jack it up and take a look sometime soon. Would bad wheel bearings hurt gas mileage?

And I notice dips in the power curve sometimes too, not sure whats up with that. (probably start with replacing the copper plugs)

[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 9:46 AM. Reason : unless someone's got a hydraulic press I'm not dealing with the bearings myself!]

[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 9:49 AM. Reason : mileage]

10/1/2008 9:44:40 AM

you shouldn't have to worry about replacing bearings anyway since they're sealed. you'd have to replace the entire hub assembly. another thing to consider if you're still tracking the car is replacing all the bushings with polyurethane. world of difference in handling!

10/1/2008 9:49:54 AM

yeah, should just be a simple bolt on/off affair... no press. i've got a press if you ever need to use one though. to check the bearings, jack the wheel up off the ground. grab the tire with one hand at the top and the other on the bottom. rock it back and forth, pushing alternately to and from the car (i.e while one hand is pushing torwards the car, the other is pulling away). it should feel tight except for any flexing in the tire. if you feel any excess play or get clicking/banging noises, replace.

no, i meant what it said... you wouldn't be wasting money to just go ahead and replace all those parts with as many miles as the car has. what is it, 275k or something? the further explanation was just saying that if money is tight or you simply don't want to spend anymore than absolutely neccessary, the cat is the one thing i'd definitely do. the other stuff could wait until a noticeable failure occurs.

10/1/2008 10:04:14 AM

^^Yeah I'd like to replace the bushings with polyurethane. I have no doubt the originals are dust by now, lol. I do plan to track the car more, after I get another DD and time to restore the car to track condition.

Hmm, well I knew the bearings were sealed but me and Duke tried to take off the hub and sweet Jesus we couldn't budge it.

10/1/2008 10:26:49 AM

probably siezed/rusted to the spindle. there is a special tool made for pulling them. wouldn't be terribly hard to make one either. maybe baonest or somebody has one, or possibly one of the parts stores loans them... otherwise you'll have to get creative with some pb blaster, a bfh, slide hammer, air chisel, or something.

[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 10:46 AM. Reason : maybe a dumb question, but i assume you removed the axle nut...]

10/1/2008 10:44:56 AM

and since you're living back in nc now i would only replace the cat with a test pipe since you are now emissions-exempt.

10/1/2008 10:50:00 AM

yeah, but technically they can still visually check and fail you for not having a cat... or so I've been told. So just reuse the cat housing and straight pipe it and you should be fine...

[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 10:57 AM. Reason : .]

10/1/2008 10:56:17 AM

Quote :

"had 330k on factory wheel bearings, 88 accord, no issues."

those cars were amazing. not much to look at, but even a set of shitty tires would last 20k.

10/1/2008 10:58:40 AM

^^^yeah thats what we couldn't get off, if I recall correctly. Of course I've had both front axles replaced within the last year so hopefully they're not stuck on so tight.

I used to have a test pipe on the GS-R, and I'd just swap on the cat every year for the emissions test. Last time I got inspected they did do a visual check under the car. Maybe I could just tell them I got the sleek thin model cat? lol.

I also meant to mention that I'm still using my original O2 sensor. Any signs of that going bad, other than check engine light on the dash?

10/1/2008 1:03:06 PM

o2 sensors go bad so slowly that you'll notice a loss in performance, before it throws a code.

bad o2 = eventually bad cat.

10/1/2008 5:36:34 PM

if you take it to a jiffy lube then most likely they won't even look hard enough to tell a difference between a test pipe and a cat. (the t.p. i'm talking about kinda looks like a cat, not just a pipe bolted in the cat's place.)

10/1/2008 9:02:27 PM

change the o2 sensor for gas mileages sake.

10/1/2008 9:25:10 PM

^^actually the only time I've had the car inspected at Jiffy Lube they were the most meticulous and anal I've ever seen.

^Yeah good idea. Wonder how much those cost...

10/1/2008 10:46:51 PM

^ They have a lot of rules. For instance, they will not back a car in or bring it around from the other side.

My miata wouldn't fit over the stupid metal bar on the floor and I suggested just backing it up from the other side so that the rear wheels were up on the lift. That way they'd be able to look for the cat and everything.

They refused and said "If the car don't git ovur the metal, the car don't git inspected."

10/2/2008 5:59:49 AM

^^ My civic was like 18$. I wouldn't be surprised if yours has the same PN. Mine was 1 wire. I saw a jump in mileage. I averaged >48 for about 6 gas tanks after. Due to this out of gas, gas skyrocketing crap my gas log has been screwed up for that car. I'll try to update it and see if i can find where I installed it.

10/2/2008 8:10:37 AM

upwards of 48mpg in a civic? What in the hell are you driving

10/2/2008 9:08:35 AM

it's an old 1.5l CX hatchback. the vx model has a stock wide band and some lean burn algorithms to get sig. higher then the CX. I would expect high 50's every tank in a VX compared to my CX where I hang around 48. Max I've ever seen was 50.something

10/2/2008 12:42:03 PM

$18 is freaking sweet. I have had a close look at mine a few times and its just one wire. When I installed my aftermarket cat-back exhaust I had to transfer it over from the stock exhaust and it as a real bitch, it was tight.

Man that mileage is ridiculous. If I keep my speed low enough on the interstate and don't use my AC I can get 30-31mpg. Wonder what I can get with a new O2

10/2/2008 1:16:11 PM

Quote :

"Hmm, well I knew the bearings were sealed but me and Duke tried to take off the hub and sweet Jesus we couldn't budge it. "

Quote :

"maybe a dumb question, but i assume you removed the axle nut...] "

I finally got the axle nut removed...I ended up bending a 3/4" drive breaker bar, haha!

that's been like 8 years ago, probably. i don't even remember why he wanted the axle nut removed, now. i just remember having a helluva time doing it.

10/2/2008 1:36:35 PM

that's when you rotate the wheel/breaker bar until it's against the ground, then do a clutch dump in the appropiate gear (1st or reverse).

10/2/2008 1:43:21 PM

^lmao

^^Duke I've got a grocery list of things to fix on my car. Lets go to your grandfather's in F-Q in the spring when you're back in town. Or maybe I'll just go to Ivan's.

10/2/2008 3:13:58 PM

bosch's reccomended interval for O2's is 100k.

i'm about to replace mine. mileage is not what it used to be.

10/2/2008 6:13:06 PM

^^^That's my crank pulley bolt removal method too.

10/2/2008 6:37:50 PM

yah, axle nut is easy. stick a screwdriver (a lifetime warranty one) in the the rotor from the caliper. then goto town with breaker bar.

10/2/2008 7:43:17 PM

i had to use a 3/4" drive breaker bar (the handle was at least 1" in diameter) with about a 3-4+ pipe slipped over it. i jumped up and down on it and that STILL didn't move it. i finally got it down low and basically deadlifted the extension pipe. that bent the breaker bar, but it loosened the axle nut.

10/3/2008 10:04:39 AM

i used an 8' long pipe once..could only get like 1/5th of a turn..had someone in the car so i used the brakes like a ratchet

..damn old dodge truck

[Edited on October 3, 2008 at 10:06 AM. Reason : and yea, it took a 3/4" drive too]

10/3/2008 10:06:36 AM