New to Hondas: '88 Civic Wagon RT4WD

Ralphsanonymous

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Hello everyone, I am new to this world of JDM cars and just wanted to find a forum to get Information and help. I just bought a 1988 Civic Wagon RT4WD. Here are some pictures.






From my understanding this car does have the D16A6 motor in it paired with a 6 speed manual gearbox equipped with 4wd. Can anyone tell me how difficult a clutch is to do on these old civics. I come from the world of Euro cars and have done clutches before, but I was wondering if there were and quirks to this being all wheel drive. Thanks and I look forward to talking with anyone willing to lend me their knowledge.

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XpL0d3r

I had a Civic once.
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:welcome:

Ooh a 4rd gen Civic... and AWD... and 6 speed... nice! That's a rare care you got there.

Due to the age and rarity of the car, I would check out civicwagon.com - I think they have a ton of info there that should help you out. It shouldn't be too hard though -- these things, and especially a D16 motor, is easy to work on. Rust is going to be your biggest enemy. That being said, keep us posted on this thing!
 


daperez13

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Compared to European vehicles, this should be no problem for you. Although the 4WD might arise some challenges, I have no doubt you'll be able to knock this out with a good service manual. Search online to see if you can obtain one.
 

Ralphsanonymous

New Member
So a quick update for you guys, the clutch kit is set to arrive on Monday. Also, and unfortunately I don't have any pictures, upon further investigation I have found out that this car has had a motor swap. What's in it now is the D16Z6. Can anyone tell me the difference in that motor vs the D16a6? I know it has vtec and it is a single cam. Let me know any information you have, it would be much appreciated!

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HeX

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You know you can easily search online, or use wikipedia, and compare each engine's specs.
 

Ralphsanonymous

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I have a new question for you guys, I'm trying to get a clutch kit for this vehicle and I'm trying to hunt down the right part. What I need to know is because I have a different motor will I need a clutch kit for that motor or for the 4wd transmission. I've never dealt with a car that has a motor swap in it before.

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Mr.Baker

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boofoo said:
Start by checking whether the part numbers of the stock clutches for the D16Z6 (92-95 Civic EX or Si) and D16a6 (88 Civic Wagon RT4WD) are different.
Click to expand...
They will be different, the '88 transmission is different altogether.
'90 to 2000 model year Civic clutches and flywheels are all the same, the 92+ uses a different throwout bearing.
So, you'll need the 88-91 throwout bearing.
 

Ralphsanonymous

New Member
Wow, sorry I haven't updated in a while. So I got the car running and it drives pretty well. Suspension needs a ton of work, it leaks oil like crazy, and gets 15mpg, one of my Honda gurus thinks it's because it's running off the 88 ecu so it has the wrong fuel map. Any way, I love this thing and it's going to be a long on going process.

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Ralphsanonymous

New Member
Well I also found while changing my valve cover gasket that my O2 sensor is not even plugged in. So that would be an issue. Also went to change the oil pan gasket and found that my downpipe is so rusted that I can't remove it. So that's nice. I May have to unbolt the manifold or put in a new system.

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