Raf99 : 1993 Accord EX

[Raf99]

Hey! Thanks for stopping by haha. Visitors are rare these days

Sooo we got the VMS valve cover kit &.......... ug.. I'm not impressed. For the cost + shipping + duty fees ug.



These "top hats" do have a fine rubber o-ring built into the bottom and top. Looks nice, but doesn't look robust.




But the cover...... ug. ahhh ... wtf... I hate being tricked like this. #1... no way you're using this anywhere but a photo. and #2, even then it's garbage.


Even with the supplied washers it sucks...


Just no way I would allow the wires to rub in multiple spots like this. Even if you poke them out the top it's rubbing. the OEM has a dome shape for a reason.


Anywho...took the car for another 20km trip to the grocery store and the new valve cover nuts/seals did fix the problem Back to dry valve cover.

And problem #2 revealed itself. I went into turbo a bit and blew a intercooler piping clamp. Got home and realized I ordered the wrong size when replacing the previous one and this clamp was as tight as it could go, 73mm. I need 65mm or less (2.5" pipe). So ordered new clamps.
And it stalled when pulling in the driveway. I hate that I can't solve that issue. The ole... off the gas and on the brakes and idle drops too low. Even though S300 is set to 800 etc. it drops below it. Have long starts too... going to check all grounds and alt / power wires.

Besides that it runs great. I'm starting to believe I actually did this job successfully

[ukemike]

I had no idea this thread was here. I may have never looked in this sub-forum before, because I thought it was just a picture forum, but dang 227 pages! That's a lotta luv you've given your car.

[Raf99]

Didn't think this upgrade would of made me so happy. Loving these eyelids.

[Raf99]

Another 10K and an issue finally appeared (Not sure why this is exciting...) . Oil in here ..... but not on the spark plug tube seals.



Let's take a peak. All looks good ..... but ya... valve cover nut bushings are soaked. Spark plug tube seals were dry.



ha... gave this some thought. .... and read online. Agree that it's probably the valve cover nut seals. Then I thought about how old mine are. Then I realized they are as old as the engine.... so ... 31 years. . OK. ordering new hardware.
But man the car drives nice. Still could use some tuning low end, idle, etc. I feel like she's a brand new car the way it handles and feels.

Plugs look good.





Old = old. The cable was always a little stiff too... + old plastic = doh. (and the knob moves easier when the engine is warm)

[Raf99]

Well big thanks to Jacob for coming out to help me bleed the brakes. Then the wheels went on and she started up fine & I'm happy to announce she runs great! Took it for a drive down the road and around the block and such (5-10min drive). Didn't get into boost really but it's there. Going to baby her for 400km and make sure the head gasket and other items play nice and get no leaks. It handles like a brand new car to be honest, as it should.

Closed loop we are pegged at 10.0 like the IACV is open ... not sure what's going on there I think I can simply adjust the ECU to compensate. But after 5min or whenever open loop kicks in she's 14.7 and has no issues. While the engine is still (if you put your hand on it), inside the cabin there is definitely more vibrations (from removing the balance shafts + using stiff mounts). You can see the hood vibrate now, the dash vibrates, and the mirrors. But only at idle really. = because racecar.

[Raf99]

This! UG. This is so hard to do every time. To get everything in always takes muscle, patience, and the usual blood, sweat, and tears. ie:
- the strut brace on the top side is so tight of a fit that the shocks need to be pushed up into it vs. you putting it on after the shocks are installed.
- the shocks need to go in at the same time as the axles. You cannot do one or the other first.
- the traction bar connection bolts will hit the axle; you need to have it jacked all the way up and at the right angle for these to go in

It's hard to explain but you have the LBJ (lower ball joint) out, while the shock hang loose, while putting the axle in the hub, while pushing the shock up.
Either way always takes me 3-4 hour per side.

[Raf99]

Mmm never thought of that. Thanks!

Got the bearing press the other day..... lol. Awww it's so cute ha.. .it was below my waist line tall. But that meant I could pick it up and do the work outside in the sun


And it worked just fine. I used it to finish that lower ball joint too, which you could see things start to bend a little, but still did it. (freezing the ball joint probably would of helped etc.)




Back in business. New LBJ (c-clips in), Hubs/bearing pressed together, fit in nice, need rotors on, knuckles in, brakes on, axles in, and then get her back on her feet.....



The vice I got to replace the old. Should do fine...

[Rilas]

As for the change in your car running for around 30 seconds. I'm leaning towards it's starting up with narrow band 02 sensor and at 30-35 seconds switches over to wideband and your fuel/timing maps. They aren't as clean and therefore you can tell when the transition happens. Otherwise your making great progress.

[Raf99]

Congratulations, you now have a massaging Honda Accord! It seems to be running pretty smoothly, now you gotta get it tuned.

Yep, runs fine I think. No leaks which is good. Ya, i really need to learn to tune myself . My own fault for not even trying..., but also not much one can do with out a dyno. (I am not road tuning..).



This is what happens when you don't use the right tool for the job. First one went fine...


2nd, not so... WTF, i'm not that strong. My compressor also shit the bed... A bolt inside holding a wire came loose over time and the wire melted the plastic around it destroying everything.

[SSMAccord]

Congratulations, you now have a massaging Honda Accord! It seems to be running pretty smoothly, now you gotta get it tuned.

[Raf99]

Well we finally got the courage to dig back into this...... story time first.

Made a mistake and ordered the hubs and bearings separate. Soooo took them to my tuner to have them pressed in, but .... he was busy I will admit. He can't find techs to do the mechanic work. But he said, np he can do them. Waited over a week and wrote him, no reply. Called him the next day and left a VM. No reply. Waited a couple days and called again, got him. Answer = Will have them done soon. I asked if he ordered the LBJ, yep.. he did. OK. Call back two days later (now next week) and tell him I'll be there Wednesday to get them (giving him two days). He says np, and to call him Wednesday morning to remind him.

Wednesday comes, I don't call him. I show up out of the blue, walk in with gloves on and grab the knuckles on the floor which haven't moved 1". He comes out saying how he can do them right now (get his tech to do them). I say it's ok, you busy, I understand. Calm. Joke about how he's supposed to quote me $400 so I just don't bring them (like I do with horrible customers or when I'm too busy). Doesn't bother me that he couldn't do them, it bothers me that he lied and said they were done. to "come get them". I also didn't ask about the LBJs that he "ordered" and just waited for him to say "do you want to pay /take those LBJ I ordered?". But I said nothing, knowing he didn't order shit.

Meh.... great tuner. But not sure why he's over booking his techs which is making him forget small details like this. I'm sure the techs or maybe himself will have garage chat about how a customer came and took their shit back after 2 weeks of waiting when he was told twice they would be done next day. Anywho...... best of luck to him. He's super busy, wish he had of just told me so. I called other shops but they are booking any work more than 1 month out.... sigh.

So... I ordered a bearing press. Enough of this. The LBJ came in too. These are Mevotech TXK9643. $95 CDN each.



- Finally got SManager back on the laptop and found the tune. Loaded it and connected / started the car. IAT read 123. hmmmm.... quick google = sensor bad. Nope, just wasn't connected. Took me an hour to find the dam thing too haha...
- After that we have good a/f, proper TPS, working alternator, IAT/ECT working.
- Not sure about timing yet, i did mark the distributor but... think i need to use the gun for that as it's OBD1




So ya, it starts fine. It seems to run fine, but there are some noticeable items...

So ya..... starts and runs fine. ha, still have the same had noise. Obviously ..... the valve springs should be done and new cams.

35 sec mark you can hear the car change the tune, struggle, ..... I always wondered why it does this sometimes.

but ya... ESP stiff motor mounts and now no engine balance shafts...= lots of vibrations.

I think my BOV may not be working......

[SSMAccord]

This sounds promising! I can’t wait for it to be rolling again.

i have also had that overlooked drain plug leak situation. I think they just get forgotten when there are so many moving parts during assembly of the engine bay.

[Raf99]

Ha... i don't have a trans leak. I just didn't tighten the drain plug all the way So I think that means Sally has zero leaks. Cool...

New "honda" drivers side fender liner. They never line up to the OEM holes....





Definitely have to do something with that eye sore intercooler pipe. It takes a lot of work to get to this point too.....


Plugs look fine...


Still missing a trans bolt. No idea where that went. I suspect I used it on the engine stand and it got mixed up in a box. That's the only thing missing.
Still waiting for knuckles with new bearings/hubs/LBJ back from a shop this week & then that all goes back together. Then it should drive technically.....

[Raf99]

Soooo got some guages hooked up and there's obviously an increase in oil pressure. But that is expected with the balance shaft delete kit.




New


Ignore the A/F as there's no intercooler on it. I definitely notice the vibration in the cab of the car but to touch the engine it's fine at idle. The car is also on jack stands. But I can tell the engine sounds smoother and cleaner. "Newer".
Soo.... next...

- Get SManager working, connect intercooler and piping / complete the loop. This should fix the A/F
- See if the car works. I know the stupid transmission is leaking a drop every night.... grrr.. dam silly idea to have a seam where the fluid collects at the bottom.
- Will check the plugs out.
- The knuckles / bearings / hubs all went to a shop to put together. Putting new LBJ in too
- Brakes need to be bled
- No idea where my power steering fluid went but the reservoir is empty & I can't find the PS pump adjuster bolt anyways...
- Need to get this car mobile!

And also packing the whole house and garage in hopes that someone buys this and then I'll be moving. For Sale sign is on the lawn! If successful we upgrading from a single garage to a double

[Grumpys93]

Oh ya first starts are the scariest. Sounds really good actually! Nice work dude!