I have been convinced, local shop guy comes back on the 1st. Somehow always has prices cheaper than online for name brand parts so im waiting on him, leak isnt too bad. Getting cam seals (even tho mechanic claimed to have already did them) and already did dizzy/vtec solenoid. So it will be cam seals and head gasket and bolts (def ARP ) along with valve cover seal, IM gasket, EM gasket. I will probably also check the valves to see if they need adjusting, and if there is anything anyone else can think of that should be checked while im in there let me know.

Plan on doing this this weekend.

as far as oil goes, im thinking of switching to 0 weight from one of these brands (Fuchs Pro S, Millers CFS, Motul 300V, Redline and Gulf Competition). This is based on a little reading around on ek9.org and i would like to try lighter oil to see if i notice a difference...

also plan on flushing clutch fluid and greasing clutch components to get rid of the squeak it causes!


EDIT:: So after talking to HMO and several other honda people along with searching online, it is most likely the passenger side cam seal leaking so I will be replacing that along with other seals involved. Mechanic said he replaced cam seal when engine was out of the car but who knows.... Ordered skunk2 seal and walbro fuel pump, highly considering grabbing type r 5 lug conversion if they would only lower the price a little more....

 

Thank you to cvcrcr! Here are my gauge clusters, will be using the dual cluster cluster (lol) for (probably) A/F ratio and voltage.







Also picked up valve cover seal and cam seal (skunk2) today, i will probably do it tomorrow just need to get a torque wrench and i guess some oil...







Also grabbed the Walbro 255LPH fuel pump:



Decided to do this tonight since it seemed easy, and it was for the most part just had to figure out how to make it fit in the bracket as it got pitch black out lol. Just needed to cut the rubber line that connects to the pump (about 1/2" was cut off). This pump is louder but not noticable over all the fans from PC/Amps/Inverter/brakes/ECT ....... anyway...



So much for no pressure in the lines, even after draining it fully of pressure (as i was instructed to) at least it cleaned everything up lol...







Then reversal of removal! I do want to dyno it again with the pump and see if the old pump was actually holding me back at all, but given the numbers i dont think it will make any higher of a peak but it make get rid of that lean curve, i hope. One more thing to cross off the list... Went to H-Motors Online today. The very best deal he can give me is about 1550 for 5lug swap and the ITR 16" rims. I hate being broke. I think I will be buying the ITR rims sooner rather than later so i can sit on them for about two months (then i should be able to afford the 5lug). Brakes are making all sorts of weird noises now, mainly the drums, makes me nervous but also dont care because i just wanna swap them out already. Back to relaxing on the ride. Will update once i swap cam seal.

Here is a h22a that was at the parts shop, very clean:



Here is a shot from a crappy video of me driving, the tach just cracks me up...

 

The RPM'S! THEY'RE OVER 9000!!!!!!!

 

^^^ lmfao

 

Are you getting the H22? Just wondering.

Good to see the pods will be put to use!

 

Should order they gauges by then end of this week!
H22a is not mine haha i wish! I would buy another civic frame just for it!!


Today was a nice day...

Already have a lot of these but here are pics before i went to work:


cam seal:


oil leak:


Switching to Casto(sp?lol) Oil 5W-40 since it is the only oil in the nearby stores of that type that is not specifically meant for diesel engines (not sure if that matters and didnt wanna risk it). No filter since i just put a honda one in less than 200 miles ago!


Torque wrench and feelers! $13 together!!


Halfway through the job i had to go buy extended sockets, lucky i had a skateboard laying around -_-:


Started popping the plugs cap and plugs out:


VC came off no problem:










Another reminder of why you should never let a mechanic touch your car... first there is metal shavings all around the spark plug holes, that was not there when i bought the engine which was the last time i looked.... also the f&*^ing plugs werent even plugged all the way in.... ^#&*ers.........


VC is dirtyyyy:


Cleaned it up a little with brake cleaner:


there cracks and roughness make me nervous but i will just assume they are typical for now...


oil rail off and OEM cam seal out... why the mechanic choose an OEM cam seal is beyond me since the first thing you find when looking up b cam seals is not to use OEM but ill get more into that later):






New seals on VC:


paint is chipping by the spark holes but no biggie, ill paint match the ride one day... lol...


So here is pretty much the end result (putting back was reverse of removal, everything was torqued to spec), now this is where i lost all hope for mechanics, notice the rubber bolt and nut seals have a silver top with the new VC seal kit. This is the same kit i bought and gave to the mechanic to use when he dropped engine it yet if you go back you can see that he didnt use the metal capped seals, probably didnt use the new VC seal either, probably never even replaced the cam seal, b!tchassness:






drove around for a while after, not sure if this is by chance or as a result of this work but engine is noticeably quieter and def picks up faster from low RPM, it really is noticeable (maybe the seal was leaking noise and the lighter oil just makes that much of a difference?) Anyway i am very happy, also there was no leaking oil after the drive as where there was last time i cleaned it then looked after (before replacing seal and i had driven less distance). Exhaust is really loud again because it is cracked again because certain roads out here are unbelievably bad so ill look into getting that fixed tomorrow, also think i need a new cat since the other one was falling apart after falling off the car due to initial exhaust being mickey mouse welded so i might do all that at the same time.

two other concerns (kinda), why is my oil always BLACK, this oil was in there less than 200 miles and its black already when draining, whatever leaked was negligible though because i drained the 3.7 qts i put in there the other day. Also (to remind everyone of my novice skills) i couldnt get the cams to turn to check valve lash... i didnt look into much but from what i read you just turn in but that was not going to happen for me... i wouldnt have felt comfortable to be pulling harder than i was and i was getting nowhere fast. Maybe someone can give me a tip for next time? haha excuse my noobness...

side notes:

shift linkage boot looks pretty messed up (i think its safe to blame the mechanic that did the swap cause it was not like that when i got it) probably should be replaced:


i forgot that i had the 6 from my street address sign holding a piece of plastic to block off old AC ports... so much for being temporary ahaha:


my first car sticker ;P




also considering trying to ITR cluster to EK swap!

More soon to come!

 

Rockstar energy drinks are better than Monster

And for the cluster swap... doooo it! Shouldn't be hard at all.

 

my oil light was bothering me, turned out it wasnt plugged in all the way, but i get an oil pressure gauge anyway... along with voltage...

before hand:


rip it up:


find oil pressure switch:


ditch stock one cause im lazy:


find hole in firewall:


wire up:


the voltmeter goes to an accessory line. lights go to a light in the cluster, i tried hooking up to the dimmer but i wasnt getting good results, i think if i ground the lights to the light ground rather than the car the dimming will work, something ill fix if the brightness gets annoying, really i should replace all the bulbs with LED and then fix this to make dimming a reasonable option (the lights are weak now and its always dark). Everything is grounded to body. The oil pressure is just a pressure crimped plastic tube.... lol i guess its fine... $20 per gauge at pepboys and they change colors from like white, green, blue, red and then lighter versions of each.

def wanna do the ITR cluster swap but i just dont have the money right now, to cvcrcr ill probably just get a MPH one once i can afford it >_>. 0-1k RPM is blocked from view, not that i really care, and the gas meter never worked on mine lol... i wanted black backed gauges but the ones they had were cheap (in the bad way) so i went with these. side notes; cata has big crack in it so im replacing it next week (its from when it fell off on the freeway....), was talking to the guy about a roll cage and we came up with some great ideas and checked out a 350z race car that he did the cage for and its damn nice looking. but money money money.... he also suggested getting strut/sway bars first so ill get on that sometime, brakes first if i can ever afford it! anyway i digress:







hows that oil pressure? just started and idled for about a minute(from what i understand, below 60 is a potential problem?):


also, haters gonna hate, this kid gets mad every time i post a car photo lol, he loves his 280z (i think thats it):

 

FB is gay. Haters gonna hate.

That Oil PSI is fine IMO. Once warmed up 100%, it will drop to like 15-ish at idle.

No worries about the cluster. Let me know if you change your mind. Just remember, the kph itr clusters go for about $125ish, and the mph itr clusters go for like $300 I believe as they are not as common.

 

Very beautifull proyect, great job. I love this car. I will follow it to the end