JD

I am the original owner of a 1992 Honda Civic DX hatchback. Although it
is 15 years old, it only has 36,000 miles on it. It has been garaged
it's entire life in west Texas, which is pretty much a desert. The car
looks almost new.

Last month, the passenger side outside CV joint boot ruptured and I had
both half axles replaced. The driver side CV joint boot was beginning to
develop a tear and it was only a matter of time until it would have
reptured. I don't think the CV joint boots wore out from miles driven, I
think they wore out because of their age. I could be wrong.

My neighbor thinks I should replace three belts; the belt for my
alternator, the belt for my ac and the belt for my power steering and
he thinks I should replace both radiator hoses. He feels that after 15
years these items also may be worn out because of their age.

I check those items every month. I squeeze the hoses to make sure they
are not brittle or too soft. I inspect them for cracks. I inspect all
the belts for fraying or cracks. I look on the inside of the belts for
the same things.

The hoses and the belts don't appear to have aged as much the CV joint
boots. They look OK.

One other item of concern is the timing belt. Honda says to replace it
at 50,000 miles but I doubt they were planning for it to take someone
over 15 years to get to 50,000 miles.

My question is pretty simple. Which of the above items or other items on
this 15 year old, low mileage car should I be concerned about?

--
JD..