Oh where do I begin? I have had my 1990 CRX Si for almost 12 years. I have owned CRXs since 1996 and Hondas since 1990. I picked up a low mileage 2007 TL-S 6MT as well for my daily. These two will probably keep me busy for a while.

I have a ton of pics of the 2013 refresh on the CRX over at the crxcommunity website. Perhaps I will pull some of them over. But for now, I got around to giving him a bath which hasn’t happened in a while. He is running well, but I need to do some work on the transmission while swapping the clutch and rear main seal.


Spent time cleaning up the wheel wells:

Back end:

Interior: (trying out the new Bissell upholstery cleaner)

In the end:

 

So here the 2007 TL-S 6MT I picked up for my daily.

Mission now is to replace everything I can think of that grows wrong. In the process, I am removing/replacing and refreshing components that I encounter. I need this to be as reliable as ever for it being lower mileage. But I plan on having a little fun with it as well.

Initial pick up: (so dirty)

I needed to be able to find it before I could work on it... so it got cleaned up:


The side mirrors looked a little rough so they had to go along with the actuators:


Power steering next up. In desperate need of two little o-rings, flush and new power steering tank to clean things up:

Every engine cover panel back on:


Time to go after the brakes. Cleaned everything up as much as I could along with replacing the rotors and pads:
Back left corner:


Back right corner:


Front right corner:


Front left corner:

Encountered a frozen bleeder screw on the FL caliper that broke off: (fun)
New caliper ordered and picked up:


Changed over bulbs to LED: (before and after)


Detailed after the initial work:


Seat warmer bulb (driver side) was out. Converted the bulbs over to LED:


Coming up:

Adjust parking brake


Install EndlessRPM SS catback exhaust
Install XLR8 high-flo cat or test pipe
Swap out clutch master cylinder for K-Tuned unit
Swap out clutch slave cylinder (check valve removal)
Install XLR8 J-Pipe
Need to take off front bumper and modify intake tubing for K&N drop in filter
Remove/Replace transmission fluid
Install ISC/Swift spring coilovers
Remove/Replace rear swaybar with Progress RSB
Remove/Replace front upper control arms
Remove/Replace front lower control arms
Remove/Replace rear deck speakers and 8 inch sub
4-wheel alignment
Valve adjustment, new gaskets and new spark plugs
Timing belt, water pump, belts and look to see if oil pump service is required.
Remove/replace brake lines with SS brake lines

And then go from there...

 

Long time since updating...

So the diff bearing died on the CRX...

Prior to having the transmission rebuilt, I thought I would clean things up and refresh the outside.

Prior to the transmission work, detected an oil leak and ended up replacing the front main seal, timing belt, tensioner and water pump. Turned out to be the cam seal...








Converted the CRX over to LED lighting and eliminated the hyper flashing.

 

Status pic of him after being cleaned up.

 

Looks good man, the interior is super clean!

 

supper CLEAN!!!!! both cars ....

 

Thanks guys!

 

did you take the Y to the pavilions this past saturday?

 

Yes.

 

saw it parked over by filibertos

 

I can tell already this thread is going to be great! Thanks for posting quality pictures with the build, looks fantastic. How did you find a CRX this clean in 2025?

 

Nice! Yeah. I probably should have moved it into a lane and parked it. Was it the 1885-1990 lane?

 

Oh, if you like this, then you should check out my CRXCOMMUNITY thread. I picked up the CRX in San Jose back in October 2011. In 2013, I replaced/overhauled everything underneath on the CRX less the gas tank, fuel pump, transmission and engine. The car basically has around 22,800 miles on it with the new parts. Now with the transmission rebuilt/refreshed, I only have the gas tank and pump and motor.

I will see if I can post some highlights here...

 

Some pics

 

Some highlights…

 

 

 

 

So it looks like I added another car to the stable… The CRX and TLS are staying of course… this is a plus one.

2008 and in really good shape. It’s her car… build will be mild but still fun.
Color code = NH745M = Chicane Silver Metallic.

Post detailing/color correction:

 

Some maintenance items on the S2000.
Mildly irritated that the dealership we purchased from did not do this stuff… According to the Carfax, the transmission and diff fluid was swapped out last year. And the dealership recharged the A/C, swapped oil, new tires… and that was about it…

Once the dust settles with maintenance items... I may swap the trans and diff fluid once again so I have a baseline.

Cabin filter was gross. Drive belt was stretched to the limit, the clutch fluid was gross and the brake fluid was gross.

Cabin Filter

Status Pic






A little bit of cleaning was needed. I plan to do more in the next round…


Drive belt was replaced…
Stretched out…
New belt on

 

VTEC can be heard more now. Not to mention the ability to move around a bit easier in the enginebay. Only disappointment with the K&N unit is having to drill a hole for the air intake temperature sensor. But oh well.



Clutch Fluid




Brake Fluid




Next up as parts are inbound…

Remove/replace thermostat, radiator cap, upper and lower hoses and flush the coolant (preventative)
Remove/replace idler pulley, belt tensioner (preventative)
Clean up the engine/block
Remove/replace brake rotors and pads
Calipers are going red

 

Spent some time with the CRX recently. I fixed the hatch release cable issue I was having. You pull the latch and the hatch does not unlock. Only way to get into the trunk was to turn the key and at the same time lift. So pull the trunk plastic out and took apart the mechanism, clean it, greased it and added a couple of shims to the cable. Now when you pull the level, the cable pull the lock open (click) and the hatch can open.
Moving forward, I wanted to play with the hood release cable.
I found that pulling the bumper cover and bumper off the car to gain access to the hatch release was fun. It works fine, the cable pulls the locking piece all the way open releasing the hood. But the hood does not pop open. So I am guessing its the spring and being old/tired.
Passenger headlight was off about 2.5mm from the driver side headlight. So I adjusted/massaged the headlight and now I am within 0.1mm of the driver side headlight so I think that works.
I got bored back in 2022-2023 and taught myself how to paint. So I've been picking up odd things for friends to get to a point where I can tackle the CRX. So with any luck, I will be repainting the CRX (Y-49) later this year. So this was a good refresher to go through. I plan to tackle this in manageable bites with the hood, front bumper and fenders coming first. Not to mention, the 90s pinstriping drives me nuts. Anyway... the pics...

Highlight painting pics:

 

Passenger headlight is not in alignment




Following the lines now



Buttoned back up


Interior pics as he stands today...