CyborgGT : 1993 Accord EX wagon

[CyborgGT]

Well, this happened. No drama, it just started right up after first priming the oil by cranking the engine a bit with the injectors unplugged, then cycling the key a few times to get fuel pressure up. Only issue is an oil leak near the filter; I'll look into that tomorrow while the engine is cold. I picked up one of those big 'spill proof' funnels that's supposed to make burping the coolant easy, so I should be good there now. But too much breathing of unfiltered exhaust gave me a headache to want to stay out there any longer...

[CyborgGT]

Seeing the filthy top of my gas tank, I realized that I never thought to get a replacement gasket. I decided to order an entire cheap-o pump assembly off eBay, just for a more pleasant swapping of the pumps, and hooked up the Walbro.




I also got some neoprene (wet suit material) with adhesive backing to make an elements-proof seal for the underside of my new access panel.

[CyborgGT]

Thanks for the tips! That reminds me, my friend that manages the storage center I'm working out of actually has one of those vacuum tools that I used on my last brake job. I'll see if the coolant is enough of a pain to make me want to push the car across the lot to his shop with the air compressor. I definitely want to keep the IACV for the practicality, though. I'm not building a race car, I want this thing comfortable and hassle-free.

[Rilas]

Cyborg, I would do as you have done and lube the cams/rocker arms. Oil goes to the drain holes in the head and goes straight down into the oil pan. Before first start up unhook the injectors and crank it over for a bit to pump oil through the entire engine. Oil picks up directly from the pickup in the pan.

Coolant just add it through the rad cap. Keep the bleeder open when initially filling it will get a lot of the air out. You can't get it all without a vacuum to draw it all in with a special tool for the job. The engine will work the little air bubbles out of the system and into the overflow tank and be gone after that. Just keep the heater open as well to try and get as much as you can in the heater core as well. Also you can drop all the coolant lines associated with the throttle body and the IACV. You can even remove the bottom plate from the IACV as well and not have the coolant nipples sticking out.

[CyborgGT]

So I've been talking to the tuner today, and the pressure's on to get this thing started on the basemap in the next couple of weeks to make sure I don't have any gremlins. Fab and dyno are scheduled to happen on my vacation the last week of April!

I think I've just got fluids to deal with, but getting as lubricated a start-up as possible has me a bit nervous - does the oil pump pull directly from the pan, or for a bone dry engine is there a better spot to pour the oil in than the cap? I've poured a little bit around the head already, mainly to lube the cams and rocker pads, but I don't know the path the oil takes as it drains down into the pan. Coolant as well: does it sound like a good plan to pour it in through the upper radiator hose to fill the block, attach that hose to the radiator, and then fill the radiator? I'm imagining it to be a real pain to get through the initial burping, especially since I'm keeping the IACV.

[CyborgGT]

Yes, I'll be putting a Walbro 255 in. Still need to drain the old 87 octane and put 91 in as well.

[SSMAccord]

This is excellent work and also on my spring project list. It has been too wintery to go to salvage and get a Civic cover. Are you upgrading your pump soon?

[Grumpys93]

Very nicely done. This is still on my to do list.

[CyborgGT]

Working on fuel pump access these last couple days...


Carefully poking holes to find the pump. Luckily, the body in this spot is stamped exactly the same in the wagon as it is in the sedan, so I had a good idea where everything was before I started, including that brake(?) line that's hanging out just an inch under the metal:




Stuck a flashlight up to the holes to find and mark the rough outline of the pump itself:




"EK" Civic sedan access cover from the junkyard:




Cut a stencil of the cover's gasket out of a piece of paper and traced it onto where I wanted to locate it, centered over the pump:




Decided on the hole I wanted to cut:




Still nervous about sparks and the potential fuel vapor leak, I stuck to using the step-bit drill to trace the hole, rather than a dremel and cutting wheel. You can see some adjustment was made to the overall hole, once I had a better view underneath:




Used tin snips to cut the small gaps of metal between the holes:




Decided the snips weren't going to get me anywhere near the cleanliness I wanted in the end, so I took my chances with the little bit of sparks this grindstone throws, stuffing the hole with plastic to minimize risk. Sound deadening definitely needs replacing; the deadening under the spare tire is so soaked in oil from the previous owner leaving a quart back there, that I don't even need dry ice to pull it up.




The riv-nut is the greatest invention ever! I was able to use standard 10mm M6 bolts here:




Sorta-finished. I need to pick up some thicker gasket material to better conform to the Accord's body, some silicone to fill that hole in the Civic's wire grommet, and I'm thinking of painting the cover a satin black to match some pieces on my engine. But I am so happy with how this turned out.

[CyborgGT]

Nope. Can't get an alignment until the car is registered, can't get it registered until it's drivable. Sadly, it appeared there was no way the F22 was going to pass emissions with all the soot it was spewing out the tailpipe, and it wasn't worth working on.

[Raf99]

ahh, i thought you went for an alignment already and had the numbers. Oh , I tried your way of taking the trans out from the bottom... ug... that wasn't too much easier. haha. The intake manifold crushed some things in the back and i couldn't lower the engine enough to really not scratch the shit out of the side of the bay and was a good 1 hour long fight. But I did do it that way.

[CyborgGT]

True that; they'll steal it if they want it badly enough. Just gotta do what we can to cost them as much time as possible.

And who knows with the traction bar, maybe my "eyecrometer" is off and the alignment is fine with the original bars, lol. Having wider wheels could certainly be messing with me. That or something might have happened during production and the little tabs on the traction bar itself weren't placed correctly. ESP's production was pretty low budget, after all. Someone else posted having alignment issues in that thread in the Suspension section and needing shorter radius rods, though, so I wanted to play it safe with options for when I take the car in for an actual alignment. At least the shorter rods were cheap, so no real loss if I don't need them.

[Raf99]

yaa. there's no real way to stop someone from stealing your car if they really want to. I guess I'll just take the wire off between my distributor and the MSD ignition system. Maybe a fuel pump cutoff switch somewhere would be helpful.
CyborgGT, I keep thinking about your ESP traction bar & if you need measurements I now have mine off the car. Just FYI. I still wish I could solve the issue for you on that..... seems weird that we would have identical setups but your alignment is way out and mine is fine.

[CyborgGT]

I forgot about the removal of the steering lock for that push button kit. I probably won't go that route, then. One of my other security plans is a removable steering wheel, so of course the lock would benefit that if a thief tried to roll the car to another location. A tracker with a good app would be great, though, I'll have to look into the brand JDi uses.

[SSMAccord]

Yeah, I think that multi layered approach is important when it comes to security. The RF reader that Will mentioned and the removable harness are excellent ideas. I also think that the solution has to be novel and inconvenient for the thief to encourage them to give up. Unfortunately older Hondas aren’t overly difficult to break into and then check the usual areas for security measures. Interrupt circuits for the main relay or ECU power supply are easy enough to add to a ground switched function on aftermarket alarm system though. Physical things that can be taken away or hidden magnetic switches might also add a layer of security.

I tend to remove my interior ecu fuse and replace it with a blown fuse if I know that I’m in public and will be away from the car for an extended period, but any Honda familiar their will know what to check.