I'm fed up and I took action - pic

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by mini-e

I was thinking of getting my no A/C civic tinted as good film blocks UV and heat..

http://www.glassessential.com/Window...w-Tinting.html

I can't remember if it was Brookstone, or Sharper Image that sold the "Personal a/c Units" It was a battery operated collar that got cold, and cooled you off because it cooled the blood in your carotid artery. I couldn't find it, but I did find this on Brookstone's website: Heated & Cooled seat covers.

http://www.brookstone.com/store/prod...er&prodtemp=t1

[white90crxhf]

ive driven the last 4 summers without ac in southern virginia. It wasnt a problem, you get used to the heat.

[bigrobrn]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

Check your timing and don't use lighter than recommended engine oil. Also make sure you get some cold air into the engine as hot air will increase knock in the summer time at least. Guess I should have had my 1 liter pulled out of my Metro at the junkyard - probably crushed by now used to get over 50 all the time.

I'm not sure how to check my timing, but the engine is new and professionally installed with a new timing belt. It has a 1 yr warranty and is running perfect. The OM states to use 5w-30 and that's what I just put in it during my 1st break-in oil change. I may switch to 10w-30 since the summer is here.

Any secrets to getting some more cold air into the engine?

[GasSavers_JoeBob]

Stay with the 5w30. You'll use less gas with the lighter oil. Also less heat. My '91 does just fine with Wal-Mart synthetic 5w-30...with 172k miles I get about 2k miles per quart.

[mrmad]

My HF didn't come with AC, but a member here removed the AC from his CRX and I bought all the parts. It was a bit of work, but I got it in there and it is working. I mainly use it to cool the car off for a few minutes after it's been sitting in the sun and then shut it off, but that makes a huge difference in 105 degree heat.

[atomicradish]

My Galant didn't have working air when I got it, but luckily it is fixed now. Some people here can go without a/c, and that's fine. I just got tired of going to meet friends for dinner dripping wet from sweating so much and my shirts always being wrinkled in the back.

The Geo looks great. Be warned though, the sedans do not get as great of fuel economy as the earlier model hatchbacks. They have a bigger motor in them. FE is still pretty good though.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by bigrobrn

I'm not sure how to check my timing, but the engine is new and professionally installed with a new timing belt. It has a 1 yr warranty and is running perfect. The OM states to use 5w-30 and that's what I just put in it during my 1st break-in oil change. I may switch to 10w-30 since the summer is here.

Any secrets to getting some more cold air into the engine?

If your owners manual says 5W30, don't put 10W30 in it. You may damage your bearings. If anything you may want to try a 0W30. 10W30 is old skool, for engines with tolerances that were not built to the tighter tolerances that engines are built to today. My recommendation is that if the manual says 5W30, use that. Don't switch.

[JanGeo]

If the engine was never timed it may be off or tuned to run strong but knock a lot - my 3 cylinder pulled great at low RPM but was in a state of constant slight knock at highway speeds on hot days. Usually there is a couple of knotches in the pulley or in my Geo's case on the flywheel that you viewed through a plug on top of the bell housing when you ran a timing light off plug#1. Easy way to adjust it is to make sure you can loosen the distributor bolts but before you do that mark the flange that is at the engine with a good scratch or paint mark so you know where the alignment was to start. Then loosen it up and either lightly tap it with a hammer or rotate it by hand a hair counterclockwise (? I think) to see if the idle drops a little which would indicate a slight retarding. Then drive it and see. By a hair I mean if you scratch it with a screwdriver then move it so the line on the distributor base just moves next to the scratch on the block.

Yeah keep with the 5w30 like a Castrol synthetic blend or full. I ran my for 90k miles with really long oil change intervals and didn't have any oil problems.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

If the engine was never timed it may be off or tuned to run strong but knock a lot - my 3 cylinder pulled great at low RPM but was in a state of constant slight knock at highway speeds on hot days. Usually there is a couple of knotches in the pulley or in my Geo's case on the flywheel that you viewed through a plug on top of the bell housing when you ran a timing light off plug#1. Easy way to adjust it is to make sure you can loosen the distributor bolts but before you do that mark the flange that is at the engine with a good scratch or paint mark so you know where the alignment was to start. Then loosen it up and either lightly tap it with a hammer or rotate it by hand a hair counterclockwise (? I think) to see if the idle drops a little which would indicate a slight retarding. Then drive it and see. By a hair I mean if you scratch it with a screwdriver then move it so the line on the distributor base just moves next to the scratch on the block.

Yeah keep with the 5w30 like a Castrol synthetic blend or full. I ran my for 90k miles with really long oil change intervals and didn't have any oil problems.

Yes, a quality synthetic with extended changes. Personally I run nothing but Mobil1 5W30 in the beast with 5,000 mile changes. 10 years old and over 150,000 miles it still runs great. Just passed emissions last week with absolutely no problems. When I had it in for the 150,000 mile service over the spring the dealer said it ran just as good as a new one.

[Mayhim]

Originally Posted by bigrobrn

Its the 1.3L 4cylinder.
As far as the a/c goes, I could get it fixed, and probably will. Yes it will be a hot summer.

I changed the compressor and accumulator on my Camaro, got it flushed and recharged at a local shop. Total cost was between $400-$500 with parts from Advance Auto.

The compressor wasn't any harder to change than most starters, and the other stuff was simple wrenching.

Might be worth a try if it gets too bad for you. I find that the 2-60 method has worked pretty good, but if my commute was mostly city it wouldn't do so well.