1st Gen CR-V.. Any others?

28.

Adventurer
Thanks Rotbox.. I've been wondering about that.. How do you check them? also is there a way to know if belt has been changed? I know on Toyotas they place a label in plain site after job is done.. V looks good :)
 
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Rot Box

Explorer
How do you check them? also is there a way to know if belt has been changed? I know on Toyotas they place a label in plain site after job is done.. V looks good :)


Oh ya :cool: If you're mechanically inclined just follow these instructions and you'll be good to go http://www.hondasuv.com/members/showthread.php?t=37551 I also recommend setting them at the loose end of the spec. I go with .005 in and .008 exhaust and re-check twice a year.

If the belts age is questionable I'd get it changed out. When those break the engine is toast so it's cheap insurance. The idler pulleys should be changed at the same time as well and most recommend a new water pump. The first time I changed my belt I really struggled getting the timing set properly but if I had to do it again I could probably do it with my eyes closed lol. Best of luck,

Andrew
 

Naydrus

New member
I drove a 2000 CRV for years....loved it but I did find the seats uncomfortable. There's a few CRV forums out there with lots of info I would highly recommend checking out, as somebody posted, hondasuv.com is great.

Oh...and the JDM/EDM 1st Gen CRV Front Bumper Honda CR-V is a must have LOL. dsc01306wk7.jpg
 

echo7tango

Road tripping, overlanding
Hello, new guy here. I just joined and this is my first post. I have a 2001 CR-V LX, 5-MT -- the last year of the 1st-Gens. I have the LX and not the top-line EX because I wanted MT, not AT. So I gave up the leather seats to get the tranny I wanted. Anyway I'm the original owner and have put 219K on it and it's been a solid runner. No major engine work has been needed.

I've taken it on some good expeditions, lots of off-road, down to Cabo San Lucas (I live near San Francisco, CA) and off-road there in Mexico to do some whale watching at Bahia San Ignacio. Some others, too, like I've had it in the dunes at Pismo Beach, out to the Racetrack at Death Valley (now there's a bumpy road - but if you speed up to 35-40, the bumps smoothen out), and I found a back exit out of Yosemite called Chowchilla Mountain Road, or something like that. It was rainy and muddy when we did that. Not sure if people here have heard of that road, but if they have then I've come to the right place. Anyway, my wife and I like to go on roadtrips, and we like to explore.

I have a class-II hitch and have towed other light cars (carefully) and some other stuff. When renting U-Haul trailers I sometimes lie and tell them it's a Honda Passport when I need a larger trailer. Be advised that one must (MUST) be careful when towing heavy loads so as to not overload the brakes or the tranny & clutch - have to be safe, first and foremost. But, I've towed U-Haul's 6' X 12' open trailer a few times, and the CR-V is clearly not rated for that. It's too light of a car. If done very carefully, it can be done safely. I'd think that if a towing-related accident were to happen, insurance might be invalidated because of the tow setup.

On some road trips the wife and dog and me have taken advantage of the Gen-1's ability to fold all seats down to make a twin size bed. It's pretty comfy. Back in 2009 we did a 5-week road trip throughout the southwest USA, and we slept many nights in it. We did some dirt-roading in Big Bend Nat'l Park on that trip, and once had a picnic lunch at the end of a dirt road and on the shores of the Rio Grande River, not 30 feet from Mexico. In Taos, NM it was 15°F at night and we were comfy & cozy that night, although there were some icicles inside the car when we woke up the next morning. And there's nothing like waking up at 2AM to go take a leak in the snow when it's a little chilly.

Anyway when I figure out how to add pictures I'll share some. Right now I want to add 2-3" lift; it's a stock suspension setup but I run slightly larger tires on the stock rims. They sometimes rub, and I'd like a little more ground clearance.

Anyway, am looking forward to more expeditions and to reading, learning and sharing while I'm here.

Cheers.
 

RiverCityDave

красный октябрь
Little CR-V

I just inherited a 2000 LX, which came at the right time, as my 80 really needs to go down for maintenance. I agree with almost all of the previous posts on this thing, parts are dirt cheap (Entire front suspension rebuilt with OEM parts for less than 200.00). Mine is FWD only, which I'm fine with, it has over 250,000 miles, most driven around the south by my mother in law. She runs a greyhound rescue organization so she drove it all over creation picking up dogs. (The inside reflected this fact when I first drove it). She bought a new Sienna and just asked if we wanted it. Initially I said no way, we didnt need a little FWD SUV, my wife has a nice Enclave, I have the 80, and a couple of motorcycles, but now, I drive it almost exclusively. The thing has really grown on me. I'm an avid mountain biker, so it fits all my stuff comfortably, the "utility" side of SUV is really reflected in this thing, as I carry everything I need in it, including a changing chair, and I use the little table every day when I change into my riding clothes. The roof rack (Yakima Q towers) from my ol Jetta fit fine with new Q clips, and I'm about to put a hitch rack on it to carry the bike with wheels on. My plans for it have changed substantially since it has grown on me, I'm going to do some more maintenance, and keep it running as long as is financially reasonable, and honestly, I might just buy another one after that. My wife calls it "The Tardis" (its electric blue) but I call it the blue bomber because the one thing I dont like about it is the road and engine noise. The road noise is crazy. I will probably throw a little damping material int he doors when I put in the speakers from our old Land Rover in a few weeks (they were sitting in a drawer gathering dust, but according to Crutchfield are exactly the right fit). I do NOT get 30 MPG though, I'd be interested in hearing how that works, as I get about 22, and I've got OEM sized and rated road tires on it. Perhaps its due for a tune up...
 

Mikedoubleu

New member
Heres mine.
2000 lx 5 speed manual
215/65/16 tires on acura rsx wheels
Ended up doing a 3/4" block on top of the rear shocks.
Also installed a remote start and heated seat elements

76F4B7F9-BC11-46F6-86D3-E4BC57AE281C.jpg


This is after the lift block

F6AE6D33-4AE3-4070-86D3-BA5FF0BB817B.jpg

Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk
 

Jwood70

Observer
We had a 2000 CR-V that we got in early 2001. It had about 16,000 miles on it when we got it. My mom drove it for 6 years, dad drove it for 2 years and I drove it 3 years. During that time it saw nothing mechanical but the scheduled maintenance. I was driving it and encountered a patch of black Ice (no in progress pics) and it ended up on the roof. I walked away with no injuries to anything but my pride.


But I found replacement sheet metal and over the course of 2 days, replaced all that was damaged.


over the years I drove it, it dealt with 2 of the biggest snow winters in Boone, NC history (1 year saw about 120 total inches)

And I never got stuck (and I tried)

And then I added some wider thule bars, bumper/roof lights and a basket over the course of about 2 months and drove it like that for 6 months or so.


The paint job was showing its age and I was bored in a week off of work, so I hit it with some fresh paint. Bedlined below the trim as well as over the wheel arches, flat black over the rest of the body and a forest green over the hood/roof area.


And that is the last of the modifications I made to my CR-V. I used it camping, hiking, cycling and snow exploring. I've slept in it (the front seats recline back all the way when you slide the seat forward and you can lay out pretty comfortably) as well as moved into and out of multiple college apartments. They are solid vehicles for sure. I believe the largest lift that will fit is the 1.5 inch springs that were linked in earlier posts. I tried like hell to kill mine and was never able to. I sold it to a friend who was in a bind and needed a 4x4 ride and he is still driving it around. I know he uses it to haul his skis/river boats.

Another key maintenance item is to make sure you change the rear dif fluid using the Honda specified stuff.

If you have any questions about the V's feel free to ask. My family has owned 2 first gens, both went well over 200k miles and both are still running strong.
 

nemoaz

Observer
Well, its probably late in the game to tell you this but if you take the front headrests off slide front seats forward and recline the back you get an even bigger bed. My Montero did that too.
 

echo7tango

Road tripping, overlanding
Well, its probably late in the game to tell you this but if you take the front headrests off slide front seats forward and recline the back you get an even bigger bed. My Montero did that too.

What year(s) Montero did this? I have a 1st-gen CR-V and think the seats-to-bed feature is great. I've used it a few times, and describe that upthread. I don't think the 2nd- and 3rd-gen CR-Vs do it.

I'm selling mine after 220,000 miles, BTW. I just got a Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel, and that's now my expedition vehicle.
 

Rot Box

Explorer
Hope this is the right place for this... For the longest time my 98 CR-V has had a clunk--clunk--clunk sound when going over bumps. It sounds like something is going to fall off when I'm on a dirt road :Wow1: It sounds like it's coming from the front right side. I've checked the sway bar links (it sounds like those do when they go bad), suspension bushings, rod ends, exhaust, driveshaft etc etc. And I can't for the life of me figure it out. Any ideas? Do struts sound like that when they go bad? When driving nothing feels loose and tire wear looks great..
 

RiverCityDave

красный октябрь
It's 100% the sway bar end links. They are ALL broken. Takes about an hour if you don't have wicked corrosion. Best of luck if you do have corrosion.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

fattfreddie

New member
The Camel4x4 link from earlier in this thread is dead unfortunately.
I'm looking for some taller coil springs for my 1999 CR-V.
ARB lists them in their catalog, but they don't stock them anywhere and "have not made them in years".
Any idea where to get some good quality lift springs ?

Thanks !
 
S

Squatchout

Guest
For what it's worth I replaced both the sway bar end links and bushings. Clumk is now gone. Had to cut 6 out of 8 nuts off the links to get them out. Welcome to the salt zone.
 

echo7tango

Road tripping, overlanding
My son now has my old CR-V. It's gone, but still in the family. He lives 2 hours to the north and he's now the one thrashing about in it. It had 222,000 miles when he got it from me, that was about a year ago, and it's still going strong.
 

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