Bradshaw

well still no alarm installed. gonna hope my effed up front end will deter theifs for the time being. she stays garaged kept for the most part so just the few times i go out i am always careful.

as for the a/c, all parts are ordered/bought and i'm waiting on 2 packages from rockauto!

manifold gauges, vacuum pump, new belt, orings, some flush and refridgerant. not pictured is my 15gal 5.4scfm @ 90psi air compressor. should make easy work of this a/c install


hopefully the alst 2 packages will be here by today/tomorrow so i can get this show on the road on sunday! cause after that my free time will drop to zero once school starts.

also what is happening right now:


getting tired of my car not starting randomly so its time to do some resoldering of the main relay.

thats all for now!

DCRB

in for this build! sucks about the accident but glad you're not letting that get you down. any plans for power adder in the future?

Bradshaw

for the meantime, no. trying to keep this thing factory fresh and well maintained. if the motor ever craps out on me, a b swap would be very likely. but lets hope thats not for a while. main plan is to try and take some nice road trips once i get all caught up on mods/maintenance. which will for sure be by next summer. gf has been getting annoyed and thinks i love my car more than her (whoops LOL) so hoping to get some nice road trips/experiences in next summer with the gf to make up for it.


Current Info:
183,xxx miles
mpg avg: 44

Engine:
-K&N Drop in Filter
-Richporter Dizzy
-NGK ZFR4F-11 plugs
-Synchrotech VX trans
-Autozone Clutch/Flywheel
-Spectra Radiator
-Upper/Lower Rad Hoses
-Block to Heater Core Hose
-Fresh Brake/Clutch Fluid

Exterior:
-Moog Inner/Outer Tie Rods
-Autozone Bellows
-Autozone Duralast Gold Front Pads/Rotors
-Duralast Gold Battery

Interior:
-Alpine Headunit
-Sundown SA12 in 3.5cuft @ 35Hz
-RD 1750.1
-Resoldered Main Relay


Future Mods:
-A/C (coming very soon)
-Viper 5704 (just need to install)
-Power Windows/Door Locks
-Core Support/Hood/Fender/Bumper Cover
-Bodywork/Paint (same color)
no particular order after here
-Coilovers (small drop)
-Some suspension goodies
-New Ball Joints/Wheel Bearings
-Rear Brakes (disc conversion?)
-Alpine Type R Components/Coaxial Front/Rear
-MPGuino
-Si Tail Lights
-Projector Retrofit
-New Seats (black, leather, and comfy whatever i can find)
-Short Shifter
-Audio Console
-Double Din Radio
-Cup Holders in stock radio location
-New Steering Wheel Shroud
-New ignition bracket (damn thieves broke it before it was mine)
-Knee Bolster Panel

94preludeguy

Damn I wish my VX was like this. I paid $600 for mine and it has twice the miles and in way rougher shape. Although it had a good trans and was able to drive it home 2-3 hours.

Bradshaw

more pics of everything. waiting on the install because i made one last order from majestic honda for new foam surrounds on the evap box as well as the foam tape that holds the expansion valve. other than that just cleaned everything up. you have no idea how bad i want to go throw it in right now. gotta be patient. lol






this is before cleaning parts.

on another note, have not have a single starting issue since resoldering the main relay! i could be wrong but even the fuel pump sounds very slightly louder/stronger when it primes as well as slightly better starts. very happy with the outcome and no longer have to go buy a $20-40 part or make another trip to the junk yard

Bradshaw

So time for some updates.

last night and today, i finished up the A/C install. Buttoned everything up and went to pull vacuum. wouldn't hold. i have replaced every o-ring and triple checked all connections. so i decided to fill it and see what seeps out. sure enough, the compressor to condenser rubber line had deteriorated and started immediately leaking. made a trip across town for a new one, swapped it and refilled. sure enough, the other and only other rubber hose was in the same condition just not as bad (evap to compressor)

so now i'm waiting on a new hose from majestic since they have the best price and i can't even get one in town. guess thats what i get for using 20 year old junk yard rubber hoses. not even worth going back and exchanging for some other 20 year old hoses.


it was blowing super cold and everything for the time i had it charged. i've been so damn patient on this thing. just gotta be a little more patient. UGH

thats about it for now.

Bradshaw

well bringing up my old build thread back from the dead. not much has changed.

last summer i fixed the a/c in my tahoe and drove that around most of the time. then once things cooled off i've been driving the honda. now that its warming back up, its time to once and for all kick this a/c's *** and get it working.

i think i've narrowed it down to the evaporator. its the only thing really that hasn't been replaced. so i've got a new one of those and a new drier on the way since i'm sure this drier that's been sitting there is all but ruined now.

also my rear motor mount is shot. gear changes are not smooth because of it. decided to bite the bullet on a full set of hasport U62A mounts. would have loved them in anodized red but the funds aren't there for that. silver looks good anyways.

lastly i ordered a new fuel filter. i'm sure the original one is still in there and probably clogged to hell.

time to get this vx to shine again and pull better than 38-42mpgs (although i know a/c is going to bring it down a bit. if i can keep it in the high 30's with a/c i'll be happy)

also my clutch makes a nice squeak every time i push it down so i'll need to look into that. hopefully just something that needs some grease somewhere.

teggyluva90

CX-Adam

If you're concerned with MPGs, check out ecomodder.com. I've read a lot on there and, without modding my car, I now get better than 40 mpg in my 6th Gen. Civic CX with winter gas. Last summer I had a tank average over 50 mpg.

cbaber

+1 on ecomodder.com

The VX is only good at fuel economy, so try to maximize it. Swapping to a shorter gear ratio transmission is hurting it a bit. That squeak you hear when you push in the clutch is the throw out bearing, eventually it will give out and leave you stranded. If I were you I would look for another 92-95 CX/VX transmission and then put a new clutch/throwout bearing in when you swap it out.

eHMxhACk

iTrader: (17)

This thread needs some car pics! (The only pics I can see start at the painted calipers)




eH.

Bradshaw

the transmission is a 2 year old fully rebuilt vx trans from synchrotech. i would have some serious problems with them if my trans is bad. throw out bearing should also be just as new. it only makes the noise as i depress the clutch. and it sounds like its almost coming from the pedal itself. doesn't sound like its coming from the trans. i may have someone press the pedal while i try and hear for it under the hood.

clutch is a shitty one from auto zone. want to throw in the exedy clutch and flywheel when funds are available. possibly this summer.

packages today contain a new evaporator, fuel filter, and some hasport goodness





also have a line on a core support i may pick up today for $30. and if this other guy would get back to me a new hood, fender, and bumper and they're all the same faded red color so i don't have to repaint or worry about having a multicolored car! i would love more than anything to get this thing in really good shape this summer.



and sorry about the lack of pictures of the car itself. here ya go



back when she looked better


pulling out the motor to replace the trans and other various stuff

forgot a vacuum line LOL whoops

empty engine bay

motor is out

new clutch and pressure plate (this is #1. it got soaked in trans fluid when i realized i was missing the drivers side cv/trans seal. went back and replaced it as well as the flywheel but didn't pull the motor that time. would have been easier if i just pulled the motor looking back on it.)

stickers from previous owner and a random b18 from my previous project. ended up just selling that motor. too much work to get it running and i needed it running asap at the time. also pictures is a b series cable trans, the original vx trans, and a dx i got from a friend that was not much better than the vx that was in there. ended up getting a brand new rebuilt one from synchrotech

old clutch was pretty bad i would say...

missing trans/cv seal throwing fluid everywhere -_-


one of the few clean pics i have

nonsense stickers removed


shiney new transmission

her backside (goodside)

front is not so good :/

teggyluva90

Dam you got work ahead of you dude with that front end but my 93 dx coupe has hella work lol keep up the good work.

WagoGuy

wow, thats a pretty messed up front end. Good luck dude.

Bradshaw

front end looks a lot worse than it is. basically the car kinda slid on top of mine so it wasn't a blunt front end hit so zero damage to the frame just the radiator support. i was able to bend it back some but i'm thinking about grabbing a ratcheting tie down and pull more of it back till i'm ready to replace more parts.

small update today. replaced the fuel filter with OEM one (oem came with new crush washers for the banjo bolt too FTW)


i've got a pretty massive parts pile thats waiting to go in. includes:
EXEDY 08022 OEM Replacement Clutch Kit
EXEDY HF501 Chromoly Racing Flywheel
Hasport DCSTK-62A OEM Kit Motor Mounts
OEM Thermostat (mine's stuck open. guess better than stuck closed)
New Evaporator Core (Only part in the entire A/C that isn't brand new. Hopefully that's where my leak is coming from)

thinking about doing a new water pump and timing belt while i'm at it. i'm pretty sure the timing belt was replaced when i got the car but just for safety's sake.

future mods include
Moog Trailing Arm Bushings
Eibach Pro Struts/Springs
Front end parts (hood, pass fender, front bumper, rad support, bumper beam)
More body work after that (PDR, new paint same milano red)
Rear disc conversion
Timken hubs on all 4
replacing as many bushings as i can in the suspension
really like that other guy with the vx's suspension with the sway bars and stuff. may look into that.

shotoutacc0rd

If you use moog bushings for the suspension please tell the forum how they work out for you. And I suggest getting swaybars for sure, it certainly makes the car feel more stable while driving. My EX feels loads better than my DX. The down side is I doubt your lower control arms have the holes for the sway bar fasteners.

also you're lucky to get the crush washers with the fuel filter, I didnt. I expected to but all I received was some red plastic bits in the threads, instead of crush washers like I expected. They always came with oil filters I bought from Honda, dunno why I didnt get em for my fuel filter

lunchpale

Little by little it'll all come together.

Quick question: what hitch do you have and how's it mounted?

Bradshaw

moog is all i use for my tahoe, so i trust them with the honda. i know a lot of guys are extremely honda OEM but i think there's a lot of hype to it.

i'm surprised your filter didn't come with the crush washers. it was all packaged sealed in one bag when i got mine. either way i had a a real fun time loosening the fuel lines replacing the old filter so i was glad to have some new ones.

lol slowly but surely.

the hitch was on there when i got it, so i have no idea. i can take pics of it sometime this week.

Bradshaw

finally finished my last summer class on thursday so the teardown began immediately after i got home from class lol.

spent most of the afternoon with a ratcheting tie down and try and pull out some of the radiator support. as much as i would love to replace it, i just can't justify spending another large amount replacing it. and my luck on finding anything used on craiglist or the junk yard has been futile. ideally i would like to find at least a used hood thats already red so i don't have to worry about paint and save some money. a front fender, bumper, and radiator support would be even better but i'll settle with a hood since thats the most damaged part of the front.

ANYways, after i got that done, i threw the bumper back on, reorganized the garage so i had more room in the front, pulled the hood off and called it a day. worked two 12 hour shifts yesterday and today so no progress there, but tomorrow i'd like to have the motor out so i can begin replacing parts.

parts list as follows:
oil pan gasket
exedy oem replacement clutch
exedy 10lb flywheel
hasport 62A motor mounts
oem thermostat (mine's stuck open)
new evaporator (hopefully where my a/c leak is coming from. this texas heat is killer)

Possible other parts:
aisin water pump WPH006 ($29.79 @ rockauto)
gates T223 timing belt ($21.30 shipped @ amazon)
timing seal kit dayco sk0005 (14.98 shopped at amazon)
timing belt tensioner NSK 57TB3705B91 ($32 shipped @ amazon) (hard to find aftermarket versions of this part. hopefully this one has NTK bearings.)
oil pump (undecided part/brand)
exedy clutch master cylinder MC238 ($14.67 @ rockauto. clutch feels soft)
exedy clutch slave cylinder SC646 ($8.13 @ rockauto. clutch feels soft)
ngk 8034 spark plug wires (42.74 shipped @ amazon)

and anything else i see that needs attension. pretty sure one of my valve cover bolts is cross threaded into the block. might grab a helicoil and fix that one. i can see where some oil has slowly seeped out it was like that when i got it unfortunately.

anyways here's how she's sitting till i get back to work tomorrow and pull everything out

Bradshaw

today's progress.

pretty much everything in the engine bay is disconnected/removed except for exhaust and 3 main motor mounts. oh and drivers side cv. hopefully i'll get it all pulled tomorrow after work.

also took apart the entire passenger side suspension trying to get the damn cv out. still couldn't get the lower bj to separate from the lower control arm. totally forgot about this trick. used it last time and it worked great. will be sure to do it for the drivers side tomorrow.

also ordered all the parts i had listed above minus the oil pump. also now that i took apart the suspension on the passenger side, i'm really wanting to order the eibach pro struts all around as well as new bushings for all the control arms. also thinking about picking up a press from harbor freight for doing all the bushings with. just depends on how many hours and how much $ i can save up these next couple weeks while its down and i'm working 40 +/- 5 hours a week. whether or no it will be done before class starts, that is the question LOL

parts ordered
ngk 8034 spark plug wires
gates t223 timing belt
NSK belt tensioner
aisin water pump WPH006
exedy clutch slave cylinder sc646
exedy clutch master cylinder mc238

some parts i have in line..
oem oil pump
eibach pro kit
timken rear wheel bearings
timken rear wheel bearings
Energy Suspension 16.18103G HyperFlex Master Kit bushings
Energy Suspension 16.7106G trailing arm bushings
moog K9802 front lower ball joint for drivers side (already have one for passenger side)
moog K90492 front upper ball joints

Bradshaw

Yay! more parts and LOTS of pics!!

fel pro valve cover gasket set VS50499R




felpro OS30542R oil pan gasket (ITS BLUE will definitely add at least 10+hp)


NGK 8037 HE76 Premium spark plug wires
also checked the resistance in the wires. service manual says 25k ohms is max for plug wires
old wires: 1 - 6.77 kohms | 2 - 8.2 kohms | 3 - 10.08 kohms | 4 - 11.15 kohms
new wires: 1- 3.56 kohms | 2 - 4.25 kohms | 3 - 5.20 kohms | 4 - 5.98 kohms
new wires should make a nice improvement in spark quality. while the old ones certainly weren't at their limits, when in rome? (proper use of phrase FTW) (also BLUE plus another 10 hp!!) (but seriously i wish they were black)



exedy MC238 (also known as equal) clutch master cylinder (it was $8 i almost felt like i had to)



exedy SC646 AKA equal clutch slave cylinder



honda oem timing belt tensioner (named as NSK 57TB3705B01 on amazon but it is identical to oem honda 14510-p08-004 as you can see the part number on the box. amazon had best price at $32 shipped)

dem japan bearings


aisin water pump WPH006





Gates T223 timing belt



exedy HF501 10lb flywheel





Exedy OEM 08022 clutch kit







hasport DCSTK 62A motor mount kit (rear mount is already installed. kit also comes with a few new bolts that will need to be used as they are longer than oem and made to work with the new hasport mounts)



moog K9802 lower ball joint for my passenger side (fits of rage with hammer trying to separate ball joint. been rolling like half a stud and no cotter pin. had this thing laying around probably about 2 years now LOL time to install this thing and make this car really safe again)




thats all for now. adding more parts to the list though! the plan now is to replace as many gaskets and seals as possible on the entire engine. as well as all coolant/vacuum hoses. the upper and lower rad hoses are already new so just some of the heater hoses and random hoses on the engine

FEL-PRO Part # TCS45989 Crankshaft Front Seal Set
FEL-PRO Part # BS40430 Rear Main Seal Set
tube of hondabond for some of the seals
3.5mm vacuum hosing (if you have any suggestions on better quality hosing let me know. but i think this kind of stuff is all the same. also i can buy a whole **** ton of the stuff in bulk for the same price honda wants for ONE of the 300 vacuum hoses. so a nice bulk set would do. this seems to be the most decent set i've found)

lunchpale

Nice! Remember to add brake grease to the socket and ball on the clutch slave cylinder so it doesn't squeak.

Bradshaw

thanks for the tip! i think i may have had that problem last time as i might have cleaned out the grease and forgotten to put some fresh stuff in there.

haven't separated the engine and transmission yet, but i was getting some squeaking when pressing the clutch. hoping its just that and not a throw out bearing.

regardless i have a new one that came with the new clutch and flywheel. just be a bit upset that my old brand new throw out bearing would wear out so fast. we'll see.



also, did someone say parts pile? its growing stronger every day!

suspendedHatch

That was a nice car. Shame you wrecked it. I would have preferred a red one but I got a green 92 VX late last year. New parts are very much worth the money for that car. Do you know how hard it is to find a decent EG hatchback these days? Especially a red VX...

It's probably too late to mention this but you could have got an evaporator and box from a CRV because it incorporates a cabin filter and bolts right up (easy 3 wire swap). The CRV evap has a tighter fin design. It's probably more efficient being that it's design is 10 years newer. The one I got was bright and shiny thanks to the cabin filter.

Previous owner swapped a R134a system in and I've been getting it working, albeit slowly as I've been very busy. How well did those Harbor Freight tools work out? I didn't know they sold a vacuum pump.

I'd be interested to hear your opinions on that flywheel. The stock VX flywheel is 13 or 13.5lbs if I remember right. I'll be rebuilding my trans soon and so a clutch/flywheel replacement would be in order. I'm all for anything that will squeeze out a little more fuel economy and acceleration, but a previous lightweight flywheel I had on another hatchback made a lot of scraping sounds.

I know NGK wires are sacred on this forum but they're about the same price as Magnecor. They aren't widely known in this scene but their wires are far superior. I've had a set for over a decade. I've been swapping them from one engine to another.

That Felpro oil pan gasket will start leaking again in less than a year. Be liberal with the sealant, torque it in sequence and let it sit for 24 hours before you start it up. Maybe you'll have better luck than I've had.

Bradshaw

Thanks for the response!!

you have no idea how devastated i was when the accident happened. The plan is to eventually find some used oem honda front end parts to swap over. but in the meantime, a heavy duty ratchet strap was able to pull the radiator support back to about 90% from where its supposed to be and i can live with that. if i can find a new hood and fenders in the same faded red paint to avoid repainting, i'd be happy. i've love to give it some fresh paint one day, but its not worth it right now. the main priority is to get it running right and worry about the way it looks later.

as far as the crv evaporator, i know i read that somewhere and completely forgot about it! considering the engine is in pieces, i haven't gotten around to installing the new evaporator core. i might look into trying to send it back and snag the crv version. if not i might just do it anyways and cut my losses. anything to give it that extra cooling power is well worth it here in texas and the cabin filter is a nice extra.

the harbor freight tools are working just fine! the vacuum pump works great but make sure you have a good air supply. i just went to the shop i work at and used their air supply as my air compressor couldn't keep 90psi through the pump for long enough. haven't had any issues with the manifold gauges either.

i've seen so many different weights listed for the oem vx flywheel i don't even know what to believe any more. all i know is i stupidly tossed mine and replaced it with a crap one from auto zone back when i put the new trans in. even with the new clutch/flywheel i've had a decent amount of clutch chatter. really hopping this lightweight one works out. i've read the extra weight is good for keeping momentum into the drive line so we'll see.

i've got the oem ngk plugs in, figured i might as well use their wires. already tested the resistance and it looks to be a 50% improvement over what was on there if you saw the numbers i put by the picture.

i'll be sure to be liberal with the honda bond as well. current oil pan gasket leaks so hopefully the fel pro one will be at least an improvement over that haha.