My 1998 Civic DX coupe has 220,000 miles on the odometer, and for those of you who don’t know, I plan to keep it until it hits 300,000 miles. Issue #1 - About a month ago, I was doing a brake job on the front end, and I noticed the rubber boots covering the steering linkage are not completely seale…

#1. the inner tie rods are booted. The outers are not on our Acura. Just so we’re clear: you’re talking about the part that comes out of the steering rack that threads onto a threaded end and is locked with a nut, right? #2. Is it truly a hole now? You can’t properly fill that with anything other t…

#1, I didn’t take that close a look at all the linkage. It’s just something I noticed, so I don’t know if it’s the inner or outer tie rods, but I am thinking they are the inner ones. Are the boots on your inner tie rods fully sealed, or do they just kind of lay on top of the linkage? #2, It’s not…

For a cheap $5 hackjob (worthy of a 98 Civic) Why not just crazy glue a small square of sheet metal onto the hole, after sanding/priming?

Yeah, try to flatten it with a hammer from the inside. Don’t be too tempted to bang it in from the inside, though - that will just reverse the dent to the outside and likely stretch the metal. Instead, put a bit of pressure on it from the inside and carefully tap the outside edges, nursing it to co…

@RemcoW , thank you for the tips. I have a very small brass hammer I found in my grandmother’s tool box when she passed away, and that is what I’ve used for other amateur body work. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again for the ideas.

That may work. You want the hammer to be nice and flat with slightly rounded edges so you don’t ‘donkey hoof’ the steel. Snap some pictures when you’re done! This boat has sailed in your case but sometimes, if the dent is fresh and the paint isn’t damaged, dent just pop back, requiring no filler or…

Crazygluing steel to a body is how I might fix a BMW, Econobox, after I decide to not use duck tape and sheetrock compound, like they do in Munich.

@RemcoW , I finally got around to doing the body work, and you were right that a gentle touch would be required. I thought I was being careful, but the metal is dimpled. I should have cut a hole in the head liner before I started tapping it with a hammer. Still, my main goal is to prevent rust an…

Look at the bright side- it’s a '98 Civic with 220K. It’s not like you are working on a Shelby Cobra. You want to prevent rust and leaks and have it look good- you are there. Good job.

Mayday beat me to the keyboard. You are looking to get only 80K miles from the patch. Even if you have to re-do it after 40K, sounds like it’s no big deal.

6th Generation Honda Civic - Two Questions

Maintenance/Repairs

common-sense-answer November 6, 2012, 7:17pm 19

Ouch !

CSA

Topic		Replies	Views
Hole in roof rust Maintenance/Repairs	52	60764	May 4, 2014
Whatever happened to body filler? Maintenance/Repairs volkswagen , atlas	29	8874	October 11, 2018
Civic (Honda 1996 LX) Rust Problems Maintenance/Repairs honda	24	4633	February 13, 2019
Should I even bother fixing this up? Please advise me I'm so lost Maintenance/Repairs civic , honda	40	2934	September 5, 2022
Dent in 1998 Corolla Maintenance/Repairs toyota , corolla	5	926	December 30, 2009

6th Generation Honda Civic - Two Questions

Related topics