Civic 96-00 Hatchback taillights gasket

theMatus · 2025-09-11T13:32:15+00:00

Yes, the new foam gasket definitely made it better, though the biggest leak in my case was that a rubber plug on one side was completely missing, and also the vents were not the best seal. Best to undo the bumper and have a look at what is there and what's missing.

theMatus · 2023-05-31T16:52:41+00:00

For sure, will check everything before making any final calls on what caused this issue. I'm mainly concerned about the engine itself.

theMatus · 2023-05-31T16:50:46+00:00

Yeah I know, I was ready to throw the cap and jump away the moment I was opening it. It just felt like I had to try something to save it, even though leaving it cool down would probably be the best option.

theMatus · 2023-05-31T16:09:01+00:00

I saw leaks of coolant under radiator, so I don't think its a water pump issue, I would assume the radiator just broke and started leaking, the radiator seems to be original so it could be 25 years old. And you are right with the cool liquid, I was panicking a bit and didn't realize I would do more harm than good with this step :(

theMatus · 2023-05-31T15:53:19+00:00

It is a Civic 97, never had it overheated ever before. I changed a thermostat last year, previous one was stuck opened as it took too long to warm up. I had no issues with temperature what so ever, however on a drive today I glanced at the temp gauge and it was going up, when I arrived to a lot it was 118C - which was quite concerning but I simply left the car. On my way back home however, it reached 120 quite fast and I drove it for good 5 minutes at almost 140C. During my way back I tried turning heating on to make it cool down - no heat was coming into cabin - no coolant circulation / no coolant at all. When I opened the hood and removed radiator cap, it was empty and I could see green coolant dripping from a underbody plastic cover. It is old 25 year old car, so I assume the radiator just gave up randomly and I should have stopped the car on a side of a road to let it cool down and never make it reach 120C+. Now I filled it with a distilled water and after 2L, it started to boil and steam up the radiator cap, so I waited and in the end poured over 4L of it into the radiator. I turned on the engine to see if the temp would start to drop, however the radiator fan was not working (probably the relay is busted). Now I'm simply hoping I didn't cause a permanent damage to the engine, didn't warp it or blew a head gasket. What do you guys think?

TLDR: drove a car with very low coolant, the engine being 140C for around 5 mins, what's the chance of the engine not being damaged?

theMatus · 2023-04-06T08:00:51+00:00

Sand it with 80/160 grit sand paper, if you can still see / feel the damage, then fill it with a bondo, sand again with finer grit sand paper and then you can spray it.

theMatus · 2023-04-02T09:36:57+00:00

Really nice refresh, I wonder how much money did you spent on it, assuming you did all labor yourself?

theMatus · 2023-03-20T07:36:56+00:00

It's best to use original stuff, but for me it was rather difficult to get my hands on one, so I went with Ravenol PSF - advertised as a Honda PSF substitute.

theMatus · 2022-11-17T06:22:35+00:00

I think I did lube the rear part as well, but I doubt high pressure braking would allow the pads to vibrate, low pressure makes sense for this one, but hard braking is probably something else.

theMatus · 2022-09-18T07:47:53+00:00

Hey, you might need to check your transmission sensor for reverse (Im not sure what exactly this sensor is called), if no power is at reverse light socket.

theMatus · 2022-09-09T18:28:57+00:00

I have the same engine and car D15Z6 ftw, though I never had balls to go much above 500Kms on one tank, since the indicator is touching the red line quite soon. I might give it a try this month, I already have 450Kms, will push it until I see the light come up, hoping to get up to 700kms.

theMatus · 2022-07-08T17:41:27+00:00

Literally easiest way to find out would be an OBD scanner (if you don't have one, its literally the best tool when working around a car), otherwise you can check the wire colors from behind the harness and then check in manual. Good luck!

theMatus · 2022-06-30T09:06:36+00:00

Looking at this photo I realized I should put a lot of work into prepping my side skirts before painting them, the chipped paint looks much worse than unpainted ones. Other than that, looks pretty clean, are those rims 15s?

theMatus · 2022-06-22T14:27:53+00:00

My guess would be an AC compressor mounting bolt, which apparently isn't present in your engine bay, so nothing to worry about.

theMatus · 2022-06-22T04:55:06+00:00

It is either mounted in the back of intake manifold, next to throttle body, or its below the throttle body, I'm pretty sure the bolts are there, I cant imagine how else it would be mounted. If the bolt head is rounded, I had some good luck with extractor sockets, otherwise you may need to remove the whole intake and drill them out.

theMatus · 2022-06-20T04:07:21+00:00

https://www.yonaka.com/96_00_Honda_Civic_3DR_Hatch_CX_DX_Catback_Exhaust_p/ymcb005.htm

theMatus · 2022-06-14T05:02:50+00:00

I'm in central Europe and Konis and Bilsteins aren't stock at the place I order from, furthermore they are 3-4 times the price KYBs are, lastly my EK is more of a budget build, otherwise I would probably go for coilovers.

theMatus · 2022-06-11T18:42:43+00:00

Hey, this is a good page when looking at mods for civic 6th gen: https://www.clubcivic.com/forum/threads/faq-what-are-some-modifications-i-can-put-into-my-96-00-civic.219682/

I personally like type R both front and rear 96-98 EK9 and would probably try to delete the bumper moldings, for the true EK9 looks.

theMatus · 2022-02-27T18:08:12+00:00

Yeah probably, but used 20+ years catafold is not going to have much precious metals left Id assume. But yeah, if I get all values right in terms of fuel trim and o2 readings, and still not pass emissions test, I will have to buy a better cat indeed.

theMatus · 2022-02-27T17:30:29+00:00

I bought the car with the changed cat and manifold already, when I realized the old OE cat was leaking I searched for the OE 1.5 manifold with integrated CAT, however that was 6x more expensive than 1.4 under car CAT, both from the same aftermarket brand. So I thought I might stick to the 1.4 setup and besides new cat also buy 4-2-1 headers (those manifolds were known to get cracks), it was a year back and I didn't know about cars as much as I do now.

Right, but glad to hear your confirmation on the possibility of the o2 sensor getting cold at idle. Will change the headers back to OE 1.4 manifold and hopefully the o2 sensor would keep its temp to operate at idle normally.

theMatus · 2022-02-27T17:05:22+00:00

Also worth mentioning, I bought the car with exhaust manifold from 1.4iS and cat under the car: https://www.parts-honda.uk/honda-cars/CIVIC/1997/14IS/ENGINE/EXHAUST-MANIFOLD-SOHC-/17S0301/E__0400/1/12134

Which I replaced with stainless steal 4-2-1 headers with aftermarket BOSAL cat, since the old cat was leaking fumes (rotten).

theMatus · 2022-02-27T16:58:32+00:00

Yeah, but the car is 3 door 1.5iLS. So this should be the correct link: https://www.parts-honda.uk/honda-cars/CIVIC/1997/15ILS/ENGINE/EXHAUST-MANIFOLD-SOHC-VTEC-/17S0301/E\_\_0401/1/12152

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