94 Civic Si

You checking for straightness?

jdblock

Yep. For alignments. Now I have a baseline for future suspension changes, and can also quickly make changes trackside.

I should measure how un-level my garage is, but I'll leave all that for another day. I have some ideas I need to work through.

jdblock

Made sure the string is square, and the car was square to the string.

Did a major suspension overhaul almost 2 years ago, that was the last time I strung an alignment. After all that time, only one wheel is out of spec.

Now to get rid of this negative camber...

jdblock

Ate dinner last night around 6, then I head into the garage and get a start on the work I was going to do today. Ya, that plan failed.

My plan for today was to get the alignment 100%. Well, I had parts I wanted to swap out, and had to brush some more aluminum. So after dinner last night, I went and stripped the suspension off the front end. Glad I only got that far, and didn't get the rears off. My boss called, said we're working tomorrow (today). I look down at my car and told him I'd be there.

Did I just throw the parts back on? Nope. I moved my plans ahead.

I pulled the stock upper control arms for the S2 arms I had. The boots on the S2 ball joints are said to be poor, and the rips proved that. So I installed the boots from the take offs (had adjustable Moog bj's). Also pulled the extended top-hats and gave those the brushed treatment. The front ride height was really low, so I raised it a good 1.5-2". After reinstalling and adjusting height, I then had to set toe, and at midnight, I was glad I had my alignment jig. Took about ten minutes to set the front toe. I then still had to put the bumpers back on. Yep. It was a long night.

The one shot I got, just about 1 AM.

CandyRedRC46

Busy night lol. Glad you pulled it off. Last time this happened to me, I called out of work and dropped the car off at firestone for an alignment, the next day. You're a better man than me lol.

94 Civic Si

Nice work!

How difficult to R&R bumpers?

jdblock

I kinda laughed, and took it as a challenge.

Bumpers are easy. I just didn't want to deal with it at midnight. I wanted sleep.

jdblock

Is 0° camber a good thing or bad thing?

I was dialing out negative camber, and without trying, I randomly set every corner to 0°. RIde height from hub to fender is 13" front, and 12.5" rear.

jdblock

jdblock

Josip.

Great thread, and even better photos.

Can you tel me what kind of those moog bj are? part number?

Btw, you maybe want a little - camber, because when cornering you're getting + camber, and then you don't have full tire on the road, only a half. I don't know how to explain that to you completly.

Btw, what kind of suspension caps are those?

jdblock

I took off the Moog bj. You don't want them. They add an inch above the upper control arm and smack into the strut towers easier. Those are skunk2 in the pics above, I put the boot from the moog on because the skunk2 boots were torn.

This is the closest I've come to finding the camber curves for the EG. The camber gain isn't much with 2° body roll. Track Alignment Specs: EG/EK Honda Civic & DC2 Integra | Speed Academy

I ended up setting my camber to -1.5° front, and -0.75° rear. Zero camber didn't feel right on the country roads I drive. Guess I have more than 2° body roll.

Those are Ground Control extended top-hats. They keep the shock in the happy spot on lowered cars.

Josip.

Well, my car is not lowered that much, and I have a EJ9, so I dont know whill it smack into my tower. But I understand you, thanks!

Yes, definitely better than 0 ( how do you make little o at the number top haha ) camber.

Yes yes, I meant who made them, skunk2,hardrace or custom? :D

jdblock

Ground Control is the company who makes them. https://groundcontrolstore.com/colle...nt=40958120771

The Moog adjustable bj is Honda Accord Front Upper Ball Joint | Moog-K90492

hold alt, type 248, let go of alt. °

jdblock

Started going through the engine harness and cleaning things up. I've got some consistent electrical gremlins I'm hunting for. Check engine comes on when I decelerate (in gear) from highway speed. I forget the code, will check it if I didn't accidentally fix it below.

I started by cleaning all engine ground contacts, and doing a visual check on the engine harness. Found the wires going into one of the distributor plugs weren't connected well, like someone pulled out the wires. One of the wires fell off when I grabbed the plug, and another was spliced together from the previous owner. So I pulled the pins and made the connections solid again and got rid of the butt-splice.

Also calibrated the throttle body and TPS. Throttle wasn't closing 100%, adjusted the closed stop. Set TPS to .48V closed and 4.51V open. Closed voltage was only getting down to 0.58 before setting the throttle body. Took it for a drive after, and low RPM throttle is much nicer, not that I use those revs much.

This is just a start, still a lot of wire harness left. The car shuts off after warming up, like the car hesitates when going from a "cold" map to a "hot" map. The fuel gauge only reads correctly when under 2 gallons. Lights dim when an electric load is applied. The car is showing it's age.



Also cleaned up the look a little. Don't think I'll ever tuck the harness, but that doesn't mean it has to be in your face all the time.

jdblock

CEL 1 and 4. O2 sensor and crank sensor.

evasive_one

Nice work!

jdblock

Think I found the problem I've been having, it wasn't the wiring at all. The car gave one clue a few days ago before quitting on me, the revs bounced around for a few seconds, only time it did it. I thought when the ignitor went, the car would just die (happened once to me). With that, I was able to search for the problem, and it came back to the ignitor inside the distributor.

I've had a BNIB ignitor, for a 91 Integra, for about 20 years. Had been trying to sell it for years. Well, I searched "ignitor compatibility" and found that others have used any random ignitor and have had no issues. So I installed it and the car fired right up. The engine would die when it got warm, and wouldn't start again. After installing it, I let it idle for about 40 minutes, and the engine kept running. I'll take it for a drive tomorrow and see if the problem is repaired.

jdblock

Happy day. Drove the car for about an hour and no hesitation or loss of power, and she kept running! Had to stop and start the car a few times while doing errands, and never had an issue starting. I think this case is closed.

Still get a CEL when decelerating for the O2 sensor though. Have two extra O2 sensors, I think one is new still. I'll swap another in and see if the problem persists.

09chaplak

This thread brought back memories of my 98 ex and all the late night projects I had. Good stuff OP!

Freedo_Civegra

jdblock

Thank you guys.

I went and dug into the O2 sensor issue today. Found the Denso O2 sensor is hitting the T bracket and a wire is shorting out. Looked in my parts bins and found a Bosch O2 sensor, it's a little shorter and has a protective sheath where the wires come out of the sensor. Guessing the Bosch was on the car when I got it, and I installed the Denso as a tuneup part. So I installed the Bosch O2 and there is clearance around the wires. Should fix the code 1 problem.

I think I found an oil leak at the oil cooler contraption. Bought an o-ring for it and replaced it. Cleaned off all the grime and oil so I can keep an eye on it.




Pulled the engine harness and cleaned the loom and wrapped it in fresh electrical tape. Installing it, I tucked it under the intake manifold as nicely as I could, fits pretty good. Not sure where it's suppose to be, but it was just kinda thrown in there and dangling around.

jdblock

Pulled the dash and heater to clean 25 years of dust and grime. Cleaned some wiring and got rid of some dead weight.

Should of taken pics of cleaning everything in the shower.

Freedo_Civegra

I thought you had fallen off the earth! Good to see you keeping at it. Lots of tediousness pulling that dash! Are you going to find a heater box with cabin air filter compatibility?

Josip.

Plan on installing some sound deadening at the firewall?