Honda Civic Exhaust Install: 8th Gen 2006-2012

I had an exhaust leak on my 2006 Honda Civic. The 8th generation Honda Civic includes the 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 and 2012 Civic. This was a sedan and the muffler was rusted right off. I replaced the muffler and the centre piece that includes the resonator. The centre piece is located between the muffler and the pipe connected to the front catalytic convertor. The flange bolts were pretty rust and I used a torch to heat them up to remove them. I used new hardware and make sure you use a new spring bolt kit as the threads on the old bolts connecting the muffler to the resonator will be rusted away. The links for all the gaskets and bolt kits are below.
Amazon.com
Front gasket closest to engine
amzn.to/3iqcQdb
Doughnut
amzn.to/3k1CiGi
Spring Bolt Kit
amzn.to/3IwUQID
Muffler
amzn.to/4b8xAg1
Amazon.ca
Front gasket closest to engine
amzn.to/3jSoqOw
Doughnut
amzn.to/3GRG4Lx
Spring Bolt Kit
amzn.to/3Greint
Muffler
amzn.to/3SbdXLz
As an Amazon affiliate I may earn a very small commission on a qualifying purchase, this does not affect your price at all :) Please consider supporting the channel :)

[@j.j.1118]

I drive a 2008 Honda Fit. And although the exhausts in my car, and yours. Are a little different. The information you gave applies equally to mine. *Thanks for the tips. ... literally saved me hundreds. If not thousands of dollars. Doing it myself. **Much appreciated!!! Thank you.

[@GarageKing]

Appreciate the comment, and very happy I could help out !!

[@grdsga]

Idk why I watched this whole thing like im abt to get under my own car and change the exhaust

[@GarageKing]

Its because you are great !!!!!! Thanks for watching, and just maybe I gave you a bit of entertainment :)

[@b.m.m.r.sweeney1939]

Same

[@Fabian-qo1yy]

Nah it’s cause you are

[@jul059]

If anyone cares, torques are: 33 Nm upstream of the resonator and 22 Nm downstream.

[@GarageKing]

Thank you for that !!

[@khadenherrick]

The last year of the 8th gen was 2011 btw it went from 06 to 11

[@GarageKing]

Hey Thanks for the comment, ya I was not too sure so I used wiki, here is what they wrote "The eighth-generation Honda Civic is a range of compact cars (C-segment) manufactured by Honda between 2005 and 2012, replacing the seventh-generation Civic" so I think the model years is 2006 to 2011 like you say, but maybe they were manufactured into 2012? I think different countries vary a bit as well. Thanks and you are definitely on the ball !!!!

[@khadenherrick]

@GarageKing anytime, nice Jon doing research on the topic aswell not many people do that so I give props. Nice video

[@GarageKing]

@@khadenherrick Thanks and appreciate the follow up !!!

[@karlinladeramusic]

Civics last forever

[@GarageKing]

They really do, this one has A LOT of miles on it, and its still great, minus the rusty muffler haha!!

[@karlinladeramusic]

@@GarageKing So crazy! Well built

[@GarageKing]

@@karlinladeramusic And very affordable as well, its one of the cars, like Toyota where you can get a very reliable car at a reasonable cost !!! Thanks and happy weekend to you :)

[@karlinladeramusic]

@@GarageKing absolutely!

[@kojam1]

Oh boy. Ok. Where to start? WHERE DID YOU GET THAT HOIST?!?!?! I freaking LOVE it!! Was thinking to tackle this myself, but not sure if I'll have time before the harsh Canadian winter is upon. Typically, how much should this job cost in a shop to get done? Thanks.

[@GarageKing]

Hey There, I actually got the hoist from Costco, they sometimes have them on sale and its awesome, especially for exhaust. This job would not be much if you took it in. Probably 300-400. You could do it yourself for under 300 I would think.

[@jonhnnyringo6770]

very informative video, I need to do this to my cvic

[@GarageKing]

You should! and you will save a bundle if you do it yourself :)

[@jonhnnyringo6770]

@@GarageKing where did you buy your exhaust? I’m seeing it for around 230 with shipping.

[@GarageKing]

​@@jonhnnyringo6770 I got the resonator part at the local parts store, but found the muffler cheapest on Amazon, and its still going strong, amzn.to/4b8xAg1 The problem with the resonator assemblies on Amazon is they all looked like 2 pieces where I was able to find a one piece at the local auto parts store. So to answer your question, resonator (long part) at the local store and muffler from Amazon.

[@jonhnnyringo6770]

@@GarageKing thanks man

[@GarageKing]

@@jonhnnyringo6770 Anytime !!

[@karlinladeramusic]

Great work brother

[@GarageKing]

Thank you so much 😀

[@TorontoIW]

My bolts are so bad that they just rounded when i hit them with the inpact. Soaked them in a penetrant for a few hours just woulndt budge.

[@GarageKing]

by looking at your handle it looks like you are in the GTA, well so am I and the amount of salt and brine they use here is crazy. It rusts everything. Many times I have to cut the bolts out :(

[@TorontoIW]

@GarageKing I'm trying to replace the section in the front connecting to the cat. Both bolts to cat snapped, so I ended up drilling them out and using longer bolts with large washer for the springs. I have a few holes under the heat sheilds at the welds. Just don't see an easy way of cutting those 3 bolts withing damaging the long section of pipe. I'm gonna look into possibly cutting the damaged area and using a flex pipe 🤷‍♂️ I don't really know at this point lol

[@GarageKing]

@@TorontoIW I think if I had to do that front part I would probably replace the flex at the same time. I know the flex is not super cheap, but if you cut off at the front and get the two pieces its going to be MUCH easier. Also that flex piece starts leaking many times, especially if you are twisting it around to maneuver it around. My flex pipe started leaking a few months ago, I have to replace it and now I'm wishing I replaced it when I did this job, but then my title would have been "I replaced my entire exhaust" 😆

[@caxvii]

So for my exhaust they’re having me take the screws off the end of the catalytic converter to put to newer longer ones that would fit the exhaust, how would I go about removing those? screws shown 2:48

[@GarageKing]

Hey There, see 1:26min and onward when I take the nuts off, the stud comes out for one, and the other two studs stay in. If I remember correctly the studs had a square back on them and were welded to the flange, so the one that came out was really rusted so when I heated it and put the impact gun on it, it spun free from the flange. If you want to remove them all what I would try doing is heating them red hot and then taking a hammer and giving them a tap to see if they will come free from the flange. Be CAREFUL when heating the studs, if you heat too close to the flange you could damage it.

[@caxvii]

@ Ok thanks, I’ll give it a try!

[@caxvii]

@ I don’t have a torched, would a lighter suffice?

[@GarageKing]

@@caxvii no a lighter is not hot enough, if you have a butane torch that may work, but what you could also do is take a cut off wheel and cut off the backs of the bolts from the flange and then knock them out with a hammer. That should work, but be careful to NOT CUT THROUGH THE FLANGE !!!!

[@justintso]

Heya! Dumb place to ask...! But would this process be the same for 8th Gen SI and NON-SI? The diagrams look like they both terminate the same up front near engine... but one connects to the cat there R18 and one is header! Thank you and really appreciate the camera work! Very clear and clean!

[@GarageKing]

Never a dumb question. I think it would be very similar. If you look at the parts catalog you should be able to see the differences. The one thing I do find with Honda, and as much as I love them, I find they get rusty exhausts.

[@justintso]

@@GarageKing Thank you!!! :)!!! Ya :( unfortunately, and especially where it’s all snowy :(

[@saulgamez7726]

Where did you purchase the center piece that comes with the resonator?

[@GarageKing]

I bought a Walker one from my local parts store, its not an expensive part, even on Amazon they come with the muffler for just over 200 amzn.to/4gI8BlZ

[@jul059]

My mechanic says the front pipe needs to be replaced because of a tack weld between the pipe and a heat shield has corroded and there's now a hole. I don't really see where the weld could be in the video... What is he talking about?

[@GarageKing]

Hey There, if you go to the 1min mark on the video you can see the heat shield tacked on. If your heat shield rusted off there is a chance that your front pipe could be quite corroded. Pause the vid and you can see the silver heat shield. Its in a few spots in the video, but pretty clear at the one min mark.

[@slowcivicep3]

What jacks are those? Seems super handy! Could you do this with a simple Jack and two stands, or would you need to have it jacked up from front to back / get four stands?

[@GarageKing]

Hey There and thanks for the comment, as far as the jacks go I did a video on them, kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnvWhqKNZ8aLhaM I don't get any commission or anything like that so where ever you can find them for the best price. I bought mine at Costco. To do the job I would recommend getting 4 jacks because if you only lift one side of the car, no matter which side you lift its going to be difficult at the front of the exhaust. I think its going to be too low there. The rear is no problem, its the front.

[@slowcivicep3]

@@GarageKingThanks so much for the info!

[@GarageKing]

@@slowcivicep3 Anytime and have a good day !!

[@kamryndean7368]

Great video, i'm having the exact same problem so i was really glad to find this. Could you link where you got the actual muffler/resonator from? in your description i only see the smaller parts. Thanks so much.

[@GarageKing]

Hey there 54668 is the muffler amzn.to/3nsqPBX and 53697 is the main pipe amzn.to/42bmZfn but there could be a difference if yours is Japan built. Sometimes its best to go to the parts store as its easy to return if you get the wrong part. Also there is another pipe that I did not replace, its right at the front and is a flex pipe, make sure you check that, many times they leak at the flex joint and you can't see, but you can hear it :)

[@kamryndean7368]

@@GarageKing thanks much. do you recall what size nut you got for the connection near the catalytic convertor? I'm thinking some or all of my studs and nuts may break.

[@GarageKing]

@@kamryndean7368 Hey There, sorry for the late reply. I can't recall what size nut, but I know it was metric, I think it was M10X1.5 or M10X1.25

[@GreenFyreLIVE]

2006 HONDA CIVIC

[@GarageKing]

Yup, this one was 2006, still have the car !!! Thanks for the comment :)

[@NellosThings]

​​@@GarageKingt's a reference to a live stream of SpongeBob created by an ai which Squidward repeatedly says "2006 HONDA CIVIC"

[@GarageKing]

@@NellosThings Oh haha !!! Thanks for the clarity, I was kinda wondering. Thanks and have a great Friday :)

[@NellosThings]

@@GarageKing you too

[@kega9051]

I’m planning on installing an axleback on my 8th gen civic. That means I don’t need to replace the resonator correct? Also, the part where the donut piece comes in is what I should be doing right?

[@GarageKing]

Hey there, if you are just doing an axle back then you will only replace the muffler piece, you are right, the resonator will remain on the car. You are right that the connection where the doughnut comes in, that is the connection you will be working with. Let me know how it goes :)

[@kega9051]

@@GarageKing Awesome. This will be my first mod so thank you for demystfying the process. Cheers!

[@GarageKing]

@@kega9051 Anytime, and good luck !!

[@austinl3625]

What’s the size of the 3 bolts that connect the resonator to the front pipe?

[@GarageKing]

I think I found extra bolts that were in my tool box if I'm thinking correctly. I think they were metric 8 or 10mm.

[@karlinladeramusic]

Keep it simple!

[@GarageKing]

Always!

[@philgoska2570]

Will I have enough clearance to install this without a lift?

[@GarageKing]

Its going to be really tight for sure, if you have jack stands and can lift it and stabilize on the 4 jack stands you should be ok. If you can't lift the whole car its going to be really tight, even if you lift on the passenger side and not sure if you will be able to get the front out. If you try it without putting on 4 jacks stands and you can do it, please let me know and I'll pass it along to others that ask.

[@alexabplanalp4455]

Loudwards favorite!

[@GarageKing]

Hey Thanks for the comment, Sponge Bob has crept into the comments. love it !!!

[@chance5002]

What jack is that that you have?

[@GarageKing]

Hey There, its the Quickjack. I bought it from Costco and its great as the centre of the car is left open when you jack it up, so you can do things like exhaust !!

[@fartblast5058]

Ricer install

[@GarageKing]

Ya I wonder if it needed the exhaust. It actually sounded pretty good as is !!