Indeed the housing was epoxied together, but I started the tedious process of removing the clam shells by tapping a jeweler’s flat head screwdriver at an angle into the seam until a gap opened up where I took a butter knife to gently make my way around the seam to twist the rest of the glue seal open.

The factory motor was a Johnson with major drag therefore no torque. I swapped it out with a Mabuchi motor from a 2002 Civic Sedan (actuator motors were different in worm gear retention design and in actuator physical design). However, I did have to modify the motor shaft as the original Johnson had a half relief cut into it, so I had to mimic the same onto the replacement Mabuchi shaft.

Thankfully, there was a vise and a pneumatic cut off tool to use at work. I carefully buzzed/flattened through the long worm drive lock present on the Mabuchi shaft until the newly formed half crescent shaft would fit the worm drive for my actuator. It took a while, but I luckily managed to cut the shaft fairly even to accept the worm drive gear.

I now was faced with how to secure the actuator shells together. I took a zip tie and wrapped it sideways around the actuator shell. I tested the actuator and wasn’t completely convinced the shells would stay together (I also secretly desired the housing to be somewhat sealed against the elements as well), so I dribbled a bead of crazy glue (yes, I went there) around the seam and called it good.

I wish I took pictures, but you got it mostly covered with your posting. I would say that asides from fooling with all the rods and the like, the hardest part was getting the actuator’s actuator seated into the rest of the door mechanism. I broke the two side tabs and even the two plastic guide pins on the actuator … luckily form me that enough of the metal frame on top of the door mechanism secured the actuator. My only regret is that I didn’t wait until I ordered the right type of NEW motor online instead of going through that mess of just swapping used motors. But, hey, it works. Well, it’s dipped down to a windchill of -28 C here in the Canadian prairies and so far, the cheap-ass repaired actuator still does its job. Hhaha. Thanks again, even though you seemed to abandoned this convo… I know, life and duty calls all to often hence why I must go now. ;p

My initial question pertains to the opening of the actuator housing, can you please explain the steps? By looking at the photos, the housing appears to be epoxied together? This may be a possible deal breaker because I’d hate for the housing to explode within the door one day and jam up rods. I’m not very good at gluing anything together if it’s not done with super glue. Hhaha

Oh, indeed, Honda knows all about the weak automatic transmission and did cut people a break on replacements once upon a time ago. Being that I’m likely the third owner of my Civic and sequentially warranty-less, I’m up so far up poop creek without even a bottle of Febreze. Ironically, the 5-speed standard wasn’t without defects as it had a main shaft bearing issue. The main tips to preserve the automatics are to annually drop/refill the fluid, install a transmission cooler, and surely don’t hot rod the car or use it to tow. I specifically chose the automatic because I can’t stand to shift in heavy urban traffic, so I have to be prepared to have the transmission die prematurely some day… and I sure hope I’m not on a highway or expressway sharing the lane with big trucks behind me because being in ‘D’ should never, ever be like driving in ‘N’ as such when the transmission fails. Hhaha. All in all, I also appreciate the Honda/Acura line over anything domestic because the whole ride and feel are vastly superior. If it wasn’t for that worrisome and scary transmission issue, annoyances such as weak actuators and the odd wheel bearing are far more tolerable than the endless quirks of domestic vehicles.

The large flat head was another picturesque tool I noticed from another repair guide along the information highway. I’m about to attempt this job soon and wish to be as fully prepared as I can be. Armed with tips from you and tidbits from others, my car will be in good, capable hands.

Indeed I was going to print out your guides directly, but my laser printer is currently acting up and the print quality is absolutely terrible. However, I do suppose that a new toner cartridge is overdue and having a paper file is easier to follow than fooling with a laptop. Point taken and considered.

Your knowledge is valuable to those, like myself, who don’t trust or don’t wish to support dealerships (who only care about the bottom line over customer service and quality) whenever possible. I just have to give credit where credit is due, so you’re welcome for my input, but thanks again for providing the means with your home-brewed blog.

By the way, did you use a large flat head screwdriver to remove the “the exterior door handle transfer bar” from the plastic containment lock? I guess this is the hardest step of all. Any tips for us newbs?

Thanks very much for showing the ‘guts’. Apparently, after some web sleuthing, the motor in question can be replaced with a FC 280 PC/FC/PT 22125 which can be found on eBay for quite cheap.

I have a 2003 with a dud driver’s side actuator and I’m presuming the motor is at fault. There are two types on eBay, motors with copper sleeves/collars and without? Did you manage to remove the coiled worm drive gear on the motor to see if it’s a bare shaft, and how hard was it to remove the drive gear?

I think everyone with a Civic had to replace their driver’s side actuator ‘at least’ once and it won’t be the last. I had an Acura Integra with el-cheapo aftermarket door actuators that had constant use from arming/disarming of the starter/alarm for years on end and I never had one burn or wear out. Shame on Honda for using substandard parts… sort of like the no serviceable filter and crappy clutch packs on their automatic transmissions where the clutch disk material would plug up the oil pickup and starve the torque converter to the point of fatally overheating. Oh, and the loose Si/Ex driver seat bushings. Bah humbug, but I still love my Civic. ;p