Leroy's "Lets make my DC nice again" thread!
12-22-2009, 05:27 PM
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Leroy's "Lets make my DC nice again" thread!
Sup fellas. I know a lot of people enjoy build threads, so I figured I'd make my own. However, since I'm a broke *** college kid, and the days of dropping my entire paycheck into my car is long gone, I won't be "building" as much as "rebuilding". I didn't want to get everyone's hopes up in anticipation for some crazy build, so we'll just call this my "make my DC nice again" thread. Here, I'll be asking a lot of questions, learning a lot, and probably ****ing up a good bit. Hopefully you all can either be entertained, and maybe even learn a thing or two at my expense.
Basically, I only know of a couple things I'm going to do for sure, and the rest is up for debate...so opinions are highly valued.
What promted this entire process is me snapping a hole in my transmission at my rear motor mount (t-bracket). Because this meant my rear motor mount was useless, I eventually ruined the rest of my motor mounts as well. Yes, my dumb *** did drive like this to get my car down to school from my parents house.
A brief history about my car:
-Bought when I was 16. 3 months later, the transmission is bad...
-Friend and I replace the transmission, in my driveway. Took some things out, like A/C, powersteering, etc. I have had experience working on cars here and there for years, including a racecar for a local track. However, working on a racecar and a daily driver are two completely different things, and due to lack of knowledge / me being a dumbass, corners were cut and **** wasn't done right.
-Next, my car was getting old, so I opted to replace the timing belt. I really wanted to turbo my car, but knew that if I turbo'd it before I replaced the timing belt, it would never get done. I couldn't afford another GSR motor, so...I figured I'd replace that.
-While I was doing my timing belt, I thought my headgasket was bad. I had a little oil leak between the head and the block, but I'm 99% sure my HG wasn't actually bad. Nevertheless, while my head was off, I took it to a shop to get a mild build.
-While doing the timing belt / HG, once again, my lack of experience and immaturity meant I did **** incorrectly. I still have leaks / **** from my head, missing bolts( ...I know), etc.
Realistically, I blame it all on my original transmission install. From the day I owned my car, I've had problems (literally). I'm tired of my car being a piece of **** that only I love, and everyone else in my life is scared shitless of (everyone thinks / expects it to break down ever 5 miles hahah).
With this, I've decided the only way to fix all of my mistakes, is to start FRESH!. And here we are today...
Step one: The plans...
Obviously the transmission is coming out. The case has a hole in it, and while it could be fixed, it's not really worth it with so many lying around. This isn't going to be a difficult process, as I've done it before, but this would be a perfect time for me to take out my motor. So that's out too, ready to go on an engine stand.
Transmission:
Originially, I was going to just buy a GSR transmission and swap that in. But, the one I bought is bad, and I don't know what's wrong with it. If you stick your finger into where the axle goes, and lift, the differential bearing (right?) moves freely. So, thanks to our wonderful guys in the transmission section, I've determined it's either the bearing that's bad (best case scenario), differential (2nd best, I guess...), or, because I'm yet to actually drive / use this transmission, the entire thing could be shot. Because I'm (once again) a broke *** college kid, I can't just buy another one.
There's a couple really nice how-to's on fixing transmissions. I've always been scared of them, but I've found confidence to at least crack the case. I'll be popping both open, for an initial inspection. If I run into problems along the way, or can't seem to figure **** out, I'll bring them back home to a shop near my parents house and get him to at minimum switch over my internals from my B16 transmission (the case with a hole in it), to my GSR transmission (the bad differential / whatever).
Motor:
Now the motor is out, sitting in my spare room (no garage =/). With my motor, there are several potential problems:
1- VTEC doesn't work, never has. My speedometer hasn't worked, either. I'm not some street racer kid, so while it annoyed me that it doesn't work, honestly...I didn't give a ****. I've tried putting in a new cluster, and I swapped my transmissions, so...I'm not sure what the problem is. I know VTEC won't work unless my speedometer works, but my speedometer has worked rarely in the past, but VTEC didn't. I think I've put like 3,000 miles on my cluster, whereas I've probably put 15,000. So I'm not sure where to even begin with this...
2- Oil leaks galore. I'm not losing oil at an alarming rate, and while I'm very good at checking my oil and such, I don't have to...meaning I don't burn oil / have any crazy leaks. I have a small leak around / under my distributer, and at the front left corner of my motor. I thought this was my headgasket, but unless I ****ed that up, when I replaced it, the problem didn't go away. Also, my oil pan leaks, but I'm missing a nut or two and will replace that gasket and that should solve that.
3- Misfire. Probably the cap/rotor, already have both of those.
4- Timing belt tensioner. When we put the new timing belt on, we tightened it with something else, and didn't even use the tensioner. Don't ****ing ask why, but I'd say it's a pretty good time to get it in there, even if it means redoing my timing...
5- Cam seals. Bought them when we did the timing belt but didn't put them on.
My head should be good. As I said, I got that mildly built. BC springs / retainers, stock valves, mild port and intake portmatch. Any problems internally would have been seen by my builder, and he would have fixed them.
With all that, here's how my car sits today:
-Motor:
Head - ARP head studs, BC springs / retainers, new timing belt, new head gasket, new water pump.
Block - 100% stock. ~ 115,000 miles (max)
-Transmission:
B16 w/ hole in block, good internals (should be, anyways)
GSR w/ bad (diff bearing / diff / who knows)
Also, I've taken out the power steering, cruise control, and A/C. I need to finish taking them out (I left any A/C lines I couldn't easily reach in, and left half my cruise control in, and never relooped my p/s)
Some pics for reference:
Basically, I only know of a couple things I'm going to do for sure, and the rest is up for debate...so opinions are highly valued.
What promted this entire process is me snapping a hole in my transmission at my rear motor mount (t-bracket). Because this meant my rear motor mount was useless, I eventually ruined the rest of my motor mounts as well. Yes, my dumb *** did drive like this to get my car down to school from my parents house.
A brief history about my car:
-Bought when I was 16. 3 months later, the transmission is bad...
-Friend and I replace the transmission, in my driveway. Took some things out, like A/C, powersteering, etc. I have had experience working on cars here and there for years, including a racecar for a local track. However, working on a racecar and a daily driver are two completely different things, and due to lack of knowledge / me being a dumbass, corners were cut and **** wasn't done right.
-Next, my car was getting old, so I opted to replace the timing belt. I really wanted to turbo my car, but knew that if I turbo'd it before I replaced the timing belt, it would never get done. I couldn't afford another GSR motor, so...I figured I'd replace that.
-While I was doing my timing belt, I thought my headgasket was bad. I had a little oil leak between the head and the block, but I'm 99% sure my HG wasn't actually bad. Nevertheless, while my head was off, I took it to a shop to get a mild build.
-While doing the timing belt / HG, once again, my lack of experience and immaturity meant I did **** incorrectly. I still have leaks / **** from my head, missing bolts( ...I know), etc.
Realistically, I blame it all on my original transmission install. From the day I owned my car, I've had problems (literally). I'm tired of my car being a piece of **** that only I love, and everyone else in my life is scared shitless of (everyone thinks / expects it to break down ever 5 miles hahah).
With this, I've decided the only way to fix all of my mistakes, is to start FRESH!. And here we are today...
Step one: The plans...
Obviously the transmission is coming out. The case has a hole in it, and while it could be fixed, it's not really worth it with so many lying around. This isn't going to be a difficult process, as I've done it before, but this would be a perfect time for me to take out my motor. So that's out too, ready to go on an engine stand.
Transmission:
Originially, I was going to just buy a GSR transmission and swap that in. But, the one I bought is bad, and I don't know what's wrong with it. If you stick your finger into where the axle goes, and lift, the differential bearing (right?) moves freely. So, thanks to our wonderful guys in the transmission section, I've determined it's either the bearing that's bad (best case scenario), differential (2nd best, I guess...), or, because I'm yet to actually drive / use this transmission, the entire thing could be shot. Because I'm (once again) a broke *** college kid, I can't just buy another one.
There's a couple really nice how-to's on fixing transmissions. I've always been scared of them, but I've found confidence to at least crack the case. I'll be popping both open, for an initial inspection. If I run into problems along the way, or can't seem to figure **** out, I'll bring them back home to a shop near my parents house and get him to at minimum switch over my internals from my B16 transmission (the case with a hole in it), to my GSR transmission (the bad differential / whatever).
Motor:
Now the motor is out, sitting in my spare room (no garage =/). With my motor, there are several potential problems:
1- VTEC doesn't work, never has. My speedometer hasn't worked, either. I'm not some street racer kid, so while it annoyed me that it doesn't work, honestly...I didn't give a ****. I've tried putting in a new cluster, and I swapped my transmissions, so...I'm not sure what the problem is. I know VTEC won't work unless my speedometer works, but my speedometer has worked rarely in the past, but VTEC didn't. I think I've put like 3,000 miles on my cluster, whereas I've probably put 15,000. So I'm not sure where to even begin with this...
2- Oil leaks galore. I'm not losing oil at an alarming rate, and while I'm very good at checking my oil and such, I don't have to...meaning I don't burn oil / have any crazy leaks. I have a small leak around / under my distributer, and at the front left corner of my motor. I thought this was my headgasket, but unless I ****ed that up, when I replaced it, the problem didn't go away. Also, my oil pan leaks, but I'm missing a nut or two and will replace that gasket and that should solve that.
3- Misfire. Probably the cap/rotor, already have both of those.
4- Timing belt tensioner. When we put the new timing belt on, we tightened it with something else, and didn't even use the tensioner. Don't ****ing ask why, but I'd say it's a pretty good time to get it in there, even if it means redoing my timing...
5- Cam seals. Bought them when we did the timing belt but didn't put them on.
My head should be good. As I said, I got that mildly built. BC springs / retainers, stock valves, mild port and intake portmatch. Any problems internally would have been seen by my builder, and he would have fixed them.
With all that, here's how my car sits today:
-Motor:
Head - ARP head studs, BC springs / retainers, new timing belt, new head gasket, new water pump.
Block - 100% stock. ~ 115,000 miles (max)
-Transmission:
B16 w/ hole in block, good internals (should be, anyways)
GSR w/ bad (diff bearing / diff / who knows)
Also, I've taken out the power steering, cruise control, and A/C. I need to finish taking them out (I left any A/C lines I couldn't easily reach in, and left half my cruise control in, and never relooped my p/s)
Some pics for reference:
12-22-2009, 07:25 PM
#2
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Re: Leroy's "Lets make my DC nice again" thread!
Go BIG or go HOME. lol jk. Ok umm what do I want to say...
This is all IMO but ultimately its your car and your project, your the only one whos opinion really matters! Remember that and **** the haters! This is just my opinion..
Why are you pulling out the ac, power steering and cruise control? If its not gonna be any kind of extreme build which you said its not then those are great things to have. If you are going to say weight reduction then that would be extremely half *** If your gonna do it do it right imo. I understand though not everyone has a daily driver and a project they can have sitting forever and you need your car to get around.. Especially if your leaving half the lines in there because you can reach them, you also have a lot of **** under the dash that goes along with that ac. Im assuming your going for weight reduction because I cant see why anyone else wouldnt want no AC or power steering in there car, cruise is nice every now and then too. Dont mean to get your hopes ruined, but from the parts you removed your integra isnt gonna be any faster just worth less money. Im reducing weight in my build, but im going to the extreme, EVERY SINGLE thing I dont need will not be put back into the car, im talking down to the last bolt! If you follow my build you'll see what im talking about. And any parts I need that I can replace with lighter ones will be swapped for lighter parts.
Im not 100% on this but im pretty sure that VTEC has nothing to do with the speedometer. The speedo is simply a cable that runs from the intrument cluster and plugs into the speed sensor on your tranny. I would say your cable either got unplugged, kinked, or you had a blown fuse. VTEC runs and kicks in based on your RPM's not how fast your car is moving.. I think its somethings else.. Not to mention if your car came from the factory with VTEC and it was not working, your car wasn't running right either. The motor is built and designed for vtec to work and play a role. I would have checked all your wires, fuses, and your vtec solenoid.
Either way good luck man, builds of all types are cool and respected. Its your car, your build, your life. Have fun
This is all IMO but ultimately its your car and your project, your the only one whos opinion really matters! Remember that and **** the haters! This is just my opinion..
Why are you pulling out the ac, power steering and cruise control? If its not gonna be any kind of extreme build which you said its not then those are great things to have. If you are going to say weight reduction then that would be extremely half *** If your gonna do it do it right imo. I understand though not everyone has a daily driver and a project they can have sitting forever and you need your car to get around.. Especially if your leaving half the lines in there because you can reach them, you also have a lot of **** under the dash that goes along with that ac. Im assuming your going for weight reduction because I cant see why anyone else wouldnt want no AC or power steering in there car, cruise is nice every now and then too. Dont mean to get your hopes ruined, but from the parts you removed your integra isnt gonna be any faster just worth less money. Im reducing weight in my build, but im going to the extreme, EVERY SINGLE thing I dont need will not be put back into the car, im talking down to the last bolt! If you follow my build you'll see what im talking about. And any parts I need that I can replace with lighter ones will be swapped for lighter parts.
Im not 100% on this but im pretty sure that VTEC has nothing to do with the speedometer. The speedo is simply a cable that runs from the intrument cluster and plugs into the speed sensor on your tranny. I would say your cable either got unplugged, kinked, or you had a blown fuse. VTEC runs and kicks in based on your RPM's not how fast your car is moving.. I think its somethings else.. Not to mention if your car came from the factory with VTEC and it was not working, your car wasn't running right either. The motor is built and designed for vtec to work and play a role. I would have checked all your wires, fuses, and your vtec solenoid.
Either way good luck man, builds of all types are cool and respected. Its your car, your build, your life. Have fun
Last edited by sl0wDA9; 12-22-2009 at 07:38 PM.
12-22-2009, 08:45 PM
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Re: Leroy's "Lets make my DC nice again" thread!
You know what, let me correct myself a little. I had skimmed through your post and missed a couple things so..
You said what you pulled out was done when you initially pulled out the trans, I missed this part and the part where you said (finish taking out the parts).. Again, seeing as your just going for a clean looking good running car and your not going for a full blown track car by any means, I would suggest trying to reinstall the ac, pwr steering, and cruise control, that would bring it back closer to being "nice". Assuming you did this for weight reduction which im sure was the case.. Otherwise if you want weight reduction then go all out especially if your pulling out the motor/trans. But I dont think this is necessary if you just want a "nice" car imo. If I were in your shoes and just looking for a nice clean ride nothing more nothing less, this is what I would do:
-Reinstall the uninstalled (i dont need 2 say it again lol)
-Buy a new or rebuilt transmission by a proffesional rebuilding a transmission is not an easy task but dont let me stop you lol
-Rebuild your 115k mile motor..why not its coming out of the engine bay and I cant see why this is something you couldnt do yourself. Just hope you have a good set of tools. spit shine the block while your at it
-Degrease and just clean your bay, make it look like new again along with everything else thats in there
-get a decent paint job and a nice set of wheels
-maintain everything after that
With that said I think that would make for a nice clean looking simple vehicle. I think i've said enough already lol, sorry, I get into these. Like you said builds are awesome, they are. But I'd just call this more of a Refurbish haha. Goodluck, keep us updated.
You said what you pulled out was done when you initially pulled out the trans, I missed this part and the part where you said (finish taking out the parts).. Again, seeing as your just going for a clean looking good running car and your not going for a full blown track car by any means, I would suggest trying to reinstall the ac, pwr steering, and cruise control, that would bring it back closer to being "nice". Assuming you did this for weight reduction which im sure was the case.. Otherwise if you want weight reduction then go all out especially if your pulling out the motor/trans. But I dont think this is necessary if you just want a "nice" car imo. If I were in your shoes and just looking for a nice clean ride nothing more nothing less, this is what I would do:
-Reinstall the uninstalled (i dont need 2 say it again lol)
-Buy a new or rebuilt transmission by a proffesional rebuilding a transmission is not an easy task but dont let me stop you lol
-Rebuild your 115k mile motor..why not its coming out of the engine bay and I cant see why this is something you couldnt do yourself. Just hope you have a good set of tools. spit shine the block while your at it
-Degrease and just clean your bay, make it look like new again along with everything else thats in there
-get a decent paint job and a nice set of wheels
-maintain everything after that
With that said I think that would make for a nice clean looking simple vehicle. I think i've said enough already lol, sorry, I get into these. Like you said builds are awesome, they are. But I'd just call this more of a Refurbish haha. Goodluck, keep us updated.
12-23-2009, 12:41 AM
#5
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Leroy's "Lets make my DC nice again" thread!
IMO if it were my car i'd re install the a/c and cruise control at min, maybe power steering. about the time you take out cc is when you're going to take a long drive and kick your self in the *** for not keeping it. same with a/c. if you're that worried about it, you can always just remove the a/c belt untill it gets hot out. if you took them out for the "clean" look, instead, tidy up all the wiring. instead of it just being thrown in there from the factory, re route it so that it's less visible and so it cleans up the bay more.
if anything wouldn't you be able to get a tad bit more for your car if all the accessories were working? just a thought
props to you for fixing your mistakes instead of dumping the car on some one else!
if anything wouldn't you be able to get a tad bit more for your car if all the accessories were working? just a thought
props to you for fixing your mistakes instead of dumping the car on some one else!
12-23-2009, 01:03 AM
#6
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Leroy's "Lets make my DC nice again" thread!
IMO if it were my car i'd re install the a/c and cruise control at min, maybe power steering. about the time you take out cc is when you're going to take a long drive and kick your self in the *** for not keeping it. same with a/c. if you're that worried about it, you can always just remove the a/c belt untill it gets hot out. if you took them out for the "clean" look, instead, tidy up all the wiring. instead of it just being thrown in there from the factory, re route it so that it's less visible and so it cleans up the bay more.
if anything wouldn't you be able to get a tad bit more for your car if all the accessories were working? just a thought
props to you for fixing your mistakes instead of dumping the car on some one else!
if anything wouldn't you be able to get a tad bit more for your car if all the accessories were working? just a thought
props to you for fixing your mistakes instead of dumping the car on some one else!
the AC removal and fidanza flywheel are probably the easiest 50lbs you can shave off the nose.
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12-23-2009, 07:54 AM
#8
Re: Leroy's "Lets make my DC nice again" thread!
I'm in a similar boat with my GS-R. I let her get a little neglected and now I'm trying to make her really nice again. Mine's started off in a little better shape though! LOL. Good luck with your restore. It's fun to follow these project threads.
12-24-2009, 05:53 AM
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Re: Leroy's "Lets make my DC nice again" thread!
Yeah, the A/C and powersteering thing is a bit of an issue. I took them out a long time ago, and 99% sure I'd have to buy a/c parts off somebody else, because I don't think I have them / they're not in good condition. I actually kick myself every summer for taking it out, but I can't emphasize how broke I am, so I don't have the $100 to buy new a/c. Maybe, though, I will leave what's still in there, there, and one day finish putting it back in (but...the whole idea of this "rebuild" is to have my car running great for a lonnnnnng time (relatively), and not have to build / fix anything in the engine bay for a while).
Power steering / cruise control....whatever. I can deal without. I have moved on from the whole "zomg i want my car to be fast!" thought process, and honestly, I'd much rather a TSX that's lowered, clean as ****, wheels, a system, and that's about it. I want a luxury car more than anything, so p/s and cc would be nice, but I can definitely deal without these.
I took them out originally more to take **** out of my engine bay. I've never raced my car, though had long term plans to, it was never realistic. So while the weightloss wasn't bad, it really doesn't make that big of a difference.
Also, with the VTEC / speedo thing. Vtec doesn't actually have anything to do with the speedometer / speed, but if the car is at 0mph, VTEC won't engage because the computer thinks you're just sitting still revving the motor. (I think) You have to be going > 20MPH before VTEC will engage.
Power steering / cruise control....whatever. I can deal without. I have moved on from the whole "zomg i want my car to be fast!" thought process, and honestly, I'd much rather a TSX that's lowered, clean as ****, wheels, a system, and that's about it. I want a luxury car more than anything, so p/s and cc would be nice, but I can definitely deal without these.
I took them out originally more to take **** out of my engine bay. I've never raced my car, though had long term plans to, it was never realistic. So while the weightloss wasn't bad, it really doesn't make that big of a difference.
Also, with the VTEC / speedo thing. Vtec doesn't actually have anything to do with the speedometer / speed, but if the car is at 0mph, VTEC won't engage because the computer thinks you're just sitting still revving the motor. (I think) You have to be going > 20MPH before VTEC will engage.
Last edited by CRJenkins13; 12-24-2009 at 06:59 AM.
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