‘Take the car out of the motor’: Mechanic shows just how difficult it is to work on a Honda Civic

A mechanic showed the difficulty he had taking a bolt out of a Honda Civic to free the alternator, but some thought he was doing it wrong.

The short video showing the struggle came from creator Nathaniel (@natepowell1999), getting more than 970,000 views as of Monday.

In it, the creator uses the song “Mechanic” by Gmac Cash to accentuate the challenges of working on the Honda Civic. He shows himself trying to loosen one of the bolts holding the alternator in. He gets it loose and unwinds it, but before it comes out, it butts up against the interior wall where the engine is held, and doesn’t appear to be able to get out.

But aren’t Hondas easy to work on?

@natepowell1999 #honda #hondacivic #civic #mechanic ♬ Mechanic – Gmac cash

Even though the creator doesn’t specify what year of Honda this is, some believe Honda to be easier to work on than many other models.

According to a post on the r/MechanicsAdvice subreddit on Reddit, Honda Civics are among the easiest cars to work on.

“You also need to consider that you’ll have to find not only parts, but information as well,” one respondent reasoned. “There are millions of videos dedicated to guys working on 7th-9th gen Civics.”

He also pointed out that the abundance of Honda Civics can help as well. “Additionally, you want to think about the ‘dumb sh*t,’ like plastic trim and switches and knobs and stuff. These parts you can easily get at ‘pick-n-pull’ junkyards for super cheap, instead of having to order a $100 shifter knob from the manufacturer.”

Others, however, favored trucks or Toyotas, particularly Corollas.

Thoughts from commenters

A few commenters expressed familiarity with Civics.

“I’ve done this before,” one reminisced. “The bolt comes out far enough for you to loosen the bottom bolt to rotate the alternator far enough to realize that you still can’t get it out and you have to cry about it.”

Another suggested, “I actually have the solution. Before I swapped out my D series, on the alternator there’s a bushing where the bolt goes through on the mount. You need to push that in and the alternator should move freely and come out. As for removing the bolt, the mount that holds the alternator on comes off as one piece.”

One commenter maintained, “If my math is correct you don’t have to pull the bolt all the way out. The alternator should turn out with the bolt like that.”

Someone else noted, “The motor was actually built around the alternator.”

And finally, another quipped, “Why not just take the car off the bolt?”

The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Honda via email.

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