That looks really good. Hope you have it on the road soon.

 

Got it on the road and did a few hot laps. This radiator upgrade seems to be working out quite well. Temp never went over 196F and it is a lot warmer out now than it was in February. When I got home though I did notice a coolant smell outside of the Civic. Popped the hood and noticed a bit of a mess. Looks like the rad cap failed for some reason. Not sure if maybe it just wasn’t seated correctly or what. By the time it cooled off and I got it cleaned up I didn’t have time to take it back out. It just so happens that I accidentally ordered two rad caps, so I have a spare if that is really the problem.






In other news, I went to seal up the transfer case o-ring when I noticed that my hydraulic throwout bearing is already leaking. Now I’ve got to go and take the trans off again, which means pulling the engine to do so just so I can fix that. Always something seems to be the theme here.

 

Tried a couple of things and still getting a leak around the rad cap. I can’t get it to do it while the car is stationary. It’s only after I drive it and it’s under load that it starts spitting coolant out. Contacted SpeedFactory and they are sending me a new filler neck. It’s hard to believe that’s what the problem is, but who knows. Maybe they just made an odd ball and I got it. So back to the drawing board.

Other than this issue the Civic is running great. Even with the cap spitting out coolant I don’t see the temp go above 192. If I can figure out this leak thing in time I may get it out to the drags on the 21st.

 

Impressive work brother

hats off

your have giver your dream the shape of reality 😎

 

Damn it man!! I was having similar issues with the Speedfactory Filler neck as well. I had another radiator cap that was not seating correctly and doing the same thing. I called Speedfactory and they said I needed their cap so I ordered one, I hope that I do not run into the same issues as you under power.

 

Thank you, it's been a long journey.

So I sent them some pictures and they got back to me...... I had a good laugh at myself... Apparently I was not turning the cap all the way. I thought the notches on the cap sat in the grooves of the filler neck. It made sense to me being in that position because the cap would sit straight in orientation and look how the cap on my radiator would sit. But I guess the cap has to be turned passed those grooves, which locks it down tighter, but does not look right. I tired it and it does turn more. I just haven't gotten to test it out yet. So give that a try.

 

These are the photos they sent me. I had it so the tabs on the cap were lined up with the nipple for overflow can. You can see here that the cap goes past that.

 

Great article and writeup. I have made the rear diff modification to my 2003 CRV to try and get a bit better (user controlled) off road capability - ie I wanted to be able to engage the rear diff when required. I have made a couple of small changes such as adding a compressor tank, air pressure regulator and solenoid operated pneumatic valve to pressurize the line/diff. This works instantly assuming the compressor has been run previously.
I have set the pressure at 60psi, and will test off road in the next few days. Do you have any thoughts on min/max required air pressure? ie a lower pressure I would imagine will allow some or more slip of the clutch plates, and too high a pressure may blow out the o-ring..
Once again many thanks for taking the time to write this up - amazing project.

 

I don't want any slipping of the clutches for my set up as I want it fully locked to get the best launch possible. I am using my rear diff and AWD system for a completely different reasoning/effect than what you are trying to achieve. So I really don't worry about a min/max pressure setting for the compressor. As long as it produces enough pressure to fully lock the clutches, then that's all I need. The compressor I am using puts out more than enough air pressure for what the piston for the clutch packs need to fully lock, but not too much that it has caused an issue with the o-ring.

 

Just read all 31 pages, what a build!!!

I am wanting to do an awd setup on my 1994 del sol, I had written off the crv differential early on, but it is really quite interesting what you did with the air lockup. Have you noticed any slippage using the 80psi of lockup pressure? I figure if you got some good launch videos you might be able to tell.

I would love to have an awd setup more oriented to a track/circuit type driving style, but none of the awd honda systems are really great for that since they are all fwd bias. What would be really awesome is that if you could have the same type of variable system, but flipped around, where the rear wheels get "full power" and the front drive is controlled via a clutch similar to Subaru.

I also just got a crazy idea... Since you are using air pressure to lock up the drive to the rear differential, there isn't any reason it couldn't be controlled via an ECU, and a steering angle gauge, now that would be interesting!! I bet that is something an ecu like a Haltech could do easily. You could even have modifiers for road speed. unlock when during an agressive steering angle, and slowly unlock as speeds increase.

 

Just a quick update. Mine worked fine off road over reasonably steep logging tracks. Will get back to my property after lockdown, the big test will be when the tracks are wet. I put on a standard air compressor pressure regulator so can vary the pressure up to tank pressure, so variable control of pressure should be fairly simple - life of the clutch pack if there is slip would be the only issue.

 

Sick build nice setup!! Read all 31 pages.

 

Any updates?

 

No sadly. It took eight months to get my IM from Skunk2 and in that time I have had to start planning a wedding and everything that goes along with one. It's also hot as hell here, so this is when the Civic sits. I've also had my hydraulic throw out bearing spring a leak and I just haven't had time to pull the motor to fix it.

Over the past year in a half I've picked up a new turbo, manifold, IC, IM, and TB. The plan is to install those parts and have someone build new IC piping and an new downpipe. I've almost got everything to convert the front end to a '99-00 spec. I want to replace the radiator support first before I do any of the other work and while the engine and trans is out. I also purchased an M&M Honda wide body kit a couple of years ago from Manspeed Auto that I still haven't seen and am currently in arguments with the owner Nako in trying to get my money back. For now I am just going to scrap the wide body kit and keep it simple. It's time for the 25 year old gal to get new paint and some body work done too.

All of this will have to wait until after my wedding though. So for now she sits. I'll take her out again when it starts to cool off.

 

Thank you for the update, I'm excited to see all of the upgrades and some new track times