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I am going to change the timing belt, water pump, crank seal and cam seal on my 91 Civic sedan 1.5L.
I will be asking newbie questions as I go along. Here are some of my questions:
1. Before removing the engine mount on the driver side, I need to support the engine with a hydraulic jack. I will have a 2×4 between the jack and the engine. Is the oil pan strong enough to support the weight of the engine? If not, where should I put the 2×4 and hydraulic jack.
2. In order to remove the upper timing belt cover, I need to raise the valve cover a bit. Do I need to remove the spark plugs in order to raise the valve cover?
3. Should I change the cam seal and crank seal if they are not leaking?
4. Do I need to drain the engine oil first before replacing the cam and crank seal? I changed the engine oil 3 weeks ago!!!!
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Jotmon1, Thanks. But that VManual is for the 4 cylinder Accord and is not for the 91 Civic D series engine. Eric is working on the D series VManual. But I like to finish it before winter sets in.
91 Civic does not have the crank pulley which uses the hex type crank pulley holding tool.
The pulley has holes around the parameter. What is the best way to take the crank pulley off?
I ran into problem of getting the valve cover off.
It has 4 crown nuts holding the valve cover. The rubber grommet is holding the bolt very tight. I use a screwdriver to pile below the grommet. It does not want to give.
Any idea how to get the valve cover off. TIA
I find a picture of 91 Civic valve cover on eBay. There are big holes at the crown nuts/washers/grommets locations.
But I had used a screwdriver to pile the grommet out. But no luck. Any help will be appreciated.
make sure there are no other fasteners holding down the valve cover when you take the nut off then the little cap grab a small pocket screw driver to get the rubber gromets to come out. if that doesn’t work, then take the oil cap off pull upward through the hole and while lightly taping the sides of the valve cover with a rubber mallot.
Wish I had the D series video edited but I’ve just been too busy lately. I’ll answer your questions in order.
You will need to support the engine with a floor jack with a wood block when you take that mount loose to replace the belt. Just remove the mount, you don’t need to jack the engine way up to do this.
I would just remove the valve cover completely to remove the upper timing belt cover. As for the problems you’re having with that just leave the rubber in place and pry up on the valve cover after you remove all the fasteners. The rubber may or may not pop out, it really doesn’t matter. Just make sure you get them back in when you reassemble.
If the cam seal is not leaking leave it alone. If you replace it and you don’t get it in properly or you use a part that’s not OE then you may actually create a leak.
You should not need to drain the engine oil to do any part of a timing belt job including replacing seals.
The crank bolt is the FIRST thing you should do. If you can’t get that loose you’re done and it’s a waste of time to do anything else. I can normally break it loose with an impact. Do not use a chain wrench or anything to hold the pulley in place, it’s cheap metal and will break if you do this. Try wedging something in the flywheel to keep the engine from turning to break it loose if you don’t have an impact gun.
I have an electric 350 ft-lbs impact wrench which used to change tire. It did not loosen the bolt.
I put a 3″ socket extension though one of the pulley holes. With the help of a long pipe over the breaker bar, I was NOT able to break the bolt loose. But I bent the socket extension in the process. Tomorrow, I will find something stronger to wedge the pulley.
I was turning the pulley bolt in counter-clockwise direction. Am I correct?
you may need something stronger than that impact wrench, although you did say your using the cheater bar method, try spraying penetrating oil(wd-40) on the bolt and some behind the pulley to get it to soak in. and yes counter clockwise is the correct way…
DO NOT stick anything in the crank pulley, you’re lucky you didn’t break it. I can’t stress enough how that pulley is made from very fragile metal, you could have cracked it or worse damaged the block in some way.
Remove the cover from the back of the engine and the front of the transmission. Wedge something in between the flex plate and the block to hold the crank in place while you try and break the bolt loose. A pipe on the end of your breaker bar will give you more leverage. Also since you’re on the ground push with your leg, the bigger muscles in your leg give you more force.
Thanks Eric for the tips. I will try that next time when I have time.
You can tell how much I know on car repair. May be I should wait for your D series VManual before I make serious mistake on my 63,000Km 91 Civic. I have 2 other cars which I can use. I will put my Civic in storage for the winter.
I understand that you’re new and I want to help you but I did mention in a pervious comment not to use anything directly on that pulley, I’m serious when I say it can break on you and that would suck for sure. Keep us posted on your progress and good luck.
Thanks again Eric. I thought the pulley is the flywheel. lol. Now, I know the flywheel is located at the back of the engine.
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