The_Honda_Guy

The 97 DX has been coming along nicely lately, so I've decided to perform a few more things. This car is a daily driver driven summer and winter as well as being built solely for reliability, gas mileage, and looks. I know it's odd to built it like that, but it's mainly the girlfriend's daily driver and our "long trip" car.

Well, I finished up the cooling and fuel systems this past week, here's what I all did:

Fuel system

Inspect fuel system components for proper operation, leaks, and wear
Perform fuel pressure test
Honda OEM fuel filler tube cap
Honda OEM fuel filter
Marshall white-faced, 0-100 PSI, 1.5” diameter, 1/8” NPT male fitting, liquid silicone-filled, fuel pressure gauge
Russell Performance M12x1.25 aluminum banjo bolt with 1/8” NPT female fitting
Russell Performance brass crush washers

Since it's a gas mileage daily driver I didn't feel it worth the time or money to replace the fuel pump, fuel rail, FPR, fuel lines, or change the fuel map. The fuel pump will be replaced with a better unit once the stock one does fail, but until then stock one FTW. The stock fuel rail will support 400+ WHP and aftermarket ones will just be expensive bling, so that's something that will be put off. Since the fuel map isn't being changed there's no need for the aftermarket FPR. Changing to stainless steel fuel lines would be a waste also, and the only lines I'm considering changing are the rubber ones. And lastly there's no need to change the fuel map since the car won't see a change in cam or FI.

Cooling/heating system

Inspect cooling system components for proper operation, leaks, and wear
Perform cooling system pressure test
Perform cooling system flush and fill
Honda OEM water pump
Honda OEM water pump gasket
Replace OEM cooling system hose clamps with Ideal screw-type hose clamps
Honda OEM radiator cap
Honda OEM radiator drain plug
Honda OEM radiator drain plug gasket
Honda OEM reserve tank radiator hose
Honda OEM reserve tank cap
Honda OEM reserve tank cap hose
Gates Racing upper radiator hose
Gates Racing lower radiator hose
Honda OEM idle air control valve coolant inlet hose
Honda OEM idle air control valve coolant outlet hose
Honda OEM breather pipe cut and modified for AEM air intake assembly
Honda OEM coolant breather heater hose
Honda OEM coolant bypass hose
Honda OEM thermostat
Honda OEM thermostat gasket
Inspect heating system components for proper operation, leaks, and wear
Replace OEM heating system hose clamps with Ideal screw-type hose clamps
Honda OEM heater coolant inlet hose (A)
Honda OEM heater coolant inlet hose (B)
Honda OEM heater coolant outlet hose
Honda OEM heater core grommet

That list will handle everything besides the radiator and cooling fan. I didn't want to up the pressure of the radiator cap since the car never gets hot and I'm not wanting to put the added strain on the cooling system. The stock radiator will get replaced after it wears out and fails but until then it does the job perfectly, and the same goes for the cooling fan. They will probably get replaced with Mishimoto aluminum replacements. Other than that everything there covers the cooling system components.

Exhaust system

Inspect exhaust system components
Swap to 92-00 Honda Civic EX exhaust system
Dorman stainless steel exhaust system hardware
Megan Racing 4-2-1 stainless steel 2 piece header (includes piping, gaskets, and plug)
NGK OEM style upstream oxygen sensor
Magnaflow OEM style catalytic converter (49 state legal)
NGK OEM style downstream oxygen sensor
Password JDM 32” oxygen sensor wiring extension
Apex’i World Sport 2 stainless steel catalytic converter-back exhaust system
(piping, mufflers, gaskets, and hardware included)

The only thing that I didn't change on the exhaust system were the rubber exhaust hangers. Those are something that didn't need replaced since they were still plenty good and will be replaced after they fail in the future.

Intake

Check and adjust idle speed
Perform manifold vacuum test
Replace OEM vacuum system hose clamps with Ideal screw-type hose clamps
OBX red brake booster vacuum hose
3A Racing red fuel pressure regulator vacuum hose
Inspect and adjust throttle cable assembly
Honda OEM throttle cable assembly
Remove Honda OEM intake assembly
AEM polished finish short ram air intake assembly (includes hose clamps, vacuum tubing, filter, piping, and mounting hardware)
Remove and clean throttle body assembly
Honda OEM throttle body gasket
Remove and clean idle air control valve
Honda OEM idle air control valve
Honda OEM idle air control valve gasket
Replace OEM positive crankcase ventilation system hose clamps with Ideal screw-type hose clamps
Honda OEM positive crankcase ventilation valve
3A Racing positive crankcase ventilation valve hose
Replace OEM emission system hose clamps with Ideal screw-type hose clamps
3A Racing red purge control solenoid valve hose
3A Racing red charcoal canister inlet hose
3A Racing red charcoal canister outlet hose
3A Racing red charcoal canister drain tube
OBX red charcoal canister drain hose

That takes care of all everything besides changing the throttle body or intake manifold. I was debating swapping the manifold, but I don't think it'll be worth the effort and will be just a bling item and I feel the same about the throttle body.

So, now my questions. Are there any manifolds or throttle bodies I could use that would be a direct fit and not sacrifice driveability or gas mileage? Any opinions on the other stuff?

sde780

y8 manifolds are best I hear, but it's not worth the hassle in my opinion. did you change the timing belt with the water pump?

The_Honda_Guy

Yea, that's the same thing I hear too. Apparently the Y8 manifold is like the "Type R" manifold for the D series motors (besides the D17). The only problem with swapping manifolds is going to be that I'd need to swap a lot of stuff. I know I'd need the automatic D16Y8 IACV, the Y8 air intake, and various vacuum hoses and such.

Yea, I changed the timing belt with the water pump. I went with a Gates Racing timing belt (same manufacturer of the Greddy timing belts) and am very pleased with it, plus it smelled the like inside of an Old Navy store. lol I also swapped all the other belts to Gates Racing belts along with swapping to the new style crank pulley bolt and torque spec.

98civdx

y8 manifold flow better then the y7, but for a daily i really dont think youll see a big difference

The_Honda_Guy

Yea, that's my main concern. I'd imagine the Y7 manifold was built for the Y7 head for a reason and that no other setup used it for a reason. I'm not sure if it was more for gas mileage or what, but I can't imagine they made a completely different manifold design for no reason.

The_Honda_Guy

I did some more looking at the Y8 setup today. The big things I noticed are that the IACV is on the manifold instead of the TB like the Y7 is and that it's a different connector which would pose a problem to using it in the Y7. There's also a few other big differences too, like the intake tube being different, vacuum hoses, coolant hoses, etc. I was tempted to try a Y8 or Z6 throttle body on the Y7 but they both have the IACV on the intake manifold, so no go there. I'm thinking that the only TB that will work is the Y7 since the IACV is on the TB itself, not the manifold. The only nice thing is that if I use the Y8, it looks like it has the same fuel lines and fuel rail setup as the Y7.

The_Honda_Guy

I've decided that I'll most likely just stick with the "gas mileage" Y7 manifold and TB. I can't swap the TB's on the car anyways because the Y7 has the IACV mounted to it instead of the intake manifold like every other car. No sense in going through all the trouble to get the parts to swap everything over when I'm not going to really gain anything.

I went through and changed all the vacuum hoses too. I then ran into some problems with a few things though. First of all I found that the 3A racing silicone hose was not thick enough for the purge control solenoid valve and that under vacuum it would collapse. I ended up replacing it Gates thick-walled rubber hose and now there's no more problems. Also, I replaced the PCV valve hose with the thicker OBX tubing instead of the thinner 3A Racing due to the same problem. Also, in my haste I didn't realize the stock brake booster vacuum hose had the check valve built into it unlike the older Integra's and Civic's so I took the check valve from my 94 EX and installed it into the new hose I made, so that solved that problem. Also, I ended up taking the metal breather tube and cutting it off the coolant line and leaving just the coolant line on the car and routing a hose straight from the valve cover to the intake. No sense in using those lame little filter things that look lame and don't do anything.

Any other comments you guys have before I move on from this stuff?

The_Honda_Guy

Well, the intake mods are all completed as of now. Got all the kinks worked out of things and ready to move on.

Up next I'm going to be fixing a few misc. parts that need replaced. I'm going to be replacing a few of the brake and fuel line clips as well as the trunk latch. At this point in time I'm wanting to move onto transmission mods.

Now, I've already drained and refilled the tranny with Honda MTF and replaced both axle shaft seals with Honda OEM seals and also replaced both axle shafts with new GSP lifetime warranty shafts. I've also bled the clutch line and replaced the fluid with Castrol GT LMA. Also, I'm wanting to install stainless steel clutch lines to replace the rubber lines that will eventually fail. Also, I'm going to install the Password: JDM drain plugs for the oil and tranny. Also, I'm going to order the Password: JDM reservoir covers too. I'm now wanting to replace the shifter bushings since they've begun to wear out and possibly installing a different shifter.

Now, as far as a short shifters goes I've heard lots of mixed reviews about them. I know that they generally will rattle which is the problem I'm having now with the worn out bushings. Also, I know they tend to cause problems with shifting correctly and can cause premature wear on transmission components. Also, I hear that the ES bushings cause shifter rattle also because they are so stiff. At this point in time I'm thinking I may stick with the stock shifter and install new OEM bushings. I'm not quite sure who to go with for the stainless lines either.

What are your thoughts on brands and such to go with?

sde780

dont forget, its a DD; i dont see the advantage you'd have for that goal with a short shifter

The_Honda_Guy

Like I said, I'm pretty well set against getting one because of the complications they have. More so I'm wondering if there's any bushings out there besides the OEM ones that would suit my needs. As far as the stainless lines goes I have no idea, but so far the Techna-Fit ones were looking promising.

MHDesigns

I dont remember who made them, but I have a set of Very hard urethane bushings in my shifter. They work great, they got rid of the sloppiness in my shift. I will try to find you the name. They work killer though. I'm running a stock shifter too.

The_Honda_Guy

Well, I've decided that I'm going to go with OEM for the shifter bushings. This way they'll be cheap, no rattles, perfect fit, and won't give me problems like the aftermarket ones do.

Now, about the stainless lines. I'm going to end up needing to get the brake lines, so I'm going to probably buy them as a packaged deal. It seems that nobody in the Marketplace carries the Techna-Fit lines anymore, which is a shame because they were selling the brake and clutch lines for 100 dollars shipped, which is a damn good deal. Does anyone here know where else I could get them for that good of a price?