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Well, I guess I'll turn this thread into my build/progress thread!
Here she is, my 1996 Azure Blue Green Prelude Si VTEC. 173K miles, bone stock except for some Tenzo R wheels, Si seats (gross), TEIN Coilovers and a decent stereo. I purchased it from a gentleman here in VA with the original intention of flipping it. The car was (still is) in pretty rough shape. The paint is tired and begging for a good cut and buff, the tires were "iffy"; the right front was shredded and the wheel well was full of rubber...I wonder what he was doing with the car? The clutch is wonky, meaning it chatters like a byotch and once warm it is very difficult to shift, but shifts like butter when cold. I've narrowed this down to a damaged pressure plate (definitely not from being repeatedly dumped..). The car probably hadnt been thoroughly cleaned since it was new; I've never seen so much shredded cheese stuffed under a car seat in my life! It has a very leaky VTEC solenoid and is dripping oil everywhere. The valve cover gasket is leaking, along with the spark plug tube seals. When I ran my plug socket down in there in preparation for a compression test, oil splashed everywhere. All 4 cylinders had the same issue. My compression tester broke while testing No1 cylinder so I didn't get solid numbers. I'll update on those. Other than those issues, the car needs little odds and ends... light bulbs, assorted interior pieces and a new header/downpipe. Nothing a trip to Pick a Part can't fix!
Last edited by LiteraCola; 12-20-2017 at 10:43 AM.
First update since purchasing the car! So far, I have replaced the VTEC solenoid gasket, valve cover gasket, spark plugs, and hood prop grommet. I gave the car a thorough wash while my better half removed the seats and shampooed the interior. The seats are still not clean and smell like a "bag full of rotten ********" (That's for you, 94 Civic Si). I replaced the goofy "JDM YO" aluminum lug nuts with some proper chrome plated ones. During the install I ran each nut on with my 1/4" impact driver very carefully. One locked up immediately and I ended up breaking the stud trying to remove it. Add it to the list! After that incident, I ran a die nut over all the studs and tapped the threads on all the remaining lug nuts and all went well. I also got a great deal on a matched set of BFGoodrich tires at the local used tire joint. The car is currently in the garage waiting for her new clutch/flywheel and axle seals. I had a plan of removing and painting the header heat shield until I found a huge crack in the No 1 primary. This afternoon I bought an Ebay header and downpipe (I know, I know... sue me). I wanted a Megan or a DC, but if I'm not keeping the car, whats the point of spending too much money? I still want to be able to make money on it and I'm rapidly approaching my "break even" number. The current tab is $1755.07, including the price of the car. And I haven't even decided 100% if I want to flip it or drive it...
Parts on the floor or on the way:
Exedy OEM Clutch Kit
Exedy flywheel
Rear main seal and axle seals
Egay SS header and downpipe
NGK Plug Wires
Oil Pan Gasket
I'll throw up some pics later on tonight when I get rolling!
In for more on this.
I want to see the process of making the decision between flip or keep.
if its a keeper, what is the plan for updates and mods?? end goal and time line?
Always wanted one of these. never knew anyone who had one, so they are the unknown to me.
If the engine is healthy, you should definitely keep it! The body seems to be straight too from what I can see. ��
You might want to get a cam cap too since you'll have the valve cover off. I recall reading how OEM ones were prone to leaking and the redesigned rosko racing ones worked much better.
And for sure check the condition of the timing belt if the last change interval is unknown. Good luck and hope you don't run into too many gremlins.
Pardonany spelling mistakes in this post; I was up until midnight and then up again at 5am for work! Good thing today is my Friday!
Anyways, I made some progress on the Lude last night, and let me tell you... the H22 trans is a ******* bear compared to the Civic S20 trans. The last time I pulled the trans out of my EG, I had it on the floor in under an hour. This, on the other hand, was a nightmare. The shifter/selector cables and bracket, VSS brackets, various wiring harnesses, etc were all in the way. If there was something for the trans to get hung up on, it got hung up on it. I got started about 5pm, took a dinner break at about 7pm and finally had the bitch on the floor by about 10:30, after multiple "MF'ers" and "I'm gonna sell this F'ing car as soon as it's done". That's all normal for me. Every car I've ever owned and extensively repaired or modded, I've thought/said the same thing. She's not going anywhere as of right now.
There is a mystery oil leak somewhere on the passenger side of the motor (besides the VTEC solenoid which I've already repaired). I know it's not the dizzy. It's possible that it is a cam seal, suggested by Northernlightz. I'll look into that! Once I removed the front motor mount and tilted the motor down to aid in removing the trans, i had a pretty good drip around the back side of the motor. Everything is covered in oil as it is so it's going to be a bitch tracking it down.
Anyways, the trans is on the floor. Here are some photos from my fun night!
I added a few more photos from my phone. For some reason, the photos were posting sideways, even after editing a saving on my work computer. Hopefully this works better. As you can see, the trans is an oily piece of ****.
glad to see stuff on the fast track here. gonna try to save or re cover the seats? or they on the replace list??
I think I'm gonna try and get them clean and keep them in the car. I love the feel of them, but they still smell funny. If i can't get the smell out, I'll be on the lookout for some replacements.
My wife makes her own carpet and upholstery cleaner for our Bissell Power Scrub and it seems to work well on most things. I'm thinking these seats came from a junk yard card that sat without windows or doors for a long time. They smell like death when wet. Once the car is back together and out of my garage I'll stick the ozone generator in there for a few hours and see how it goes.
Thanks man! After fighting the transmission for an hour or more trying to drop it, I finally got fed up, laid under the trans and shook it and twisted until it finally fell onto my chest. Who needs a trans jack?!Haha that’s my GF’s jammies! She was out there getting her hands dirty with me while I cussed at the car! She uses OxiClean, hydrogen peroxide and fabric softener, equal parts I assume. It seems to work pretty well and smells better than most carpet cleaners.
Well, boys and girls, I think I found my shifting issue! There were two metal tabs broken off the clutch disk, along with the disk springs being loose in their perches. Also the center splined hub was loose in the disk. The flywheel and pressure plate both look like they were abused pretty badly. Stress cracks and everything! The throwout bearing made noise when spun by hand; I’m surprised it wasn’t making noise in the car!
I damaged my brand new rear main seal during install, So now I get to wait on another seal. I installed it too far in and when I tried to ease it back out, I cut the lip slightly. I don’t want to risk it so I’ll just wait on another one.
Next, onto the header and downpipe removal! I may have to cut the flex pipe off to better access the bolts. I had a 36” breaker bar on one and it still wouldn’t come loose. The same goes for the O2 sensor. I’ll cut the pipe and stick the piece with the sensor in the vise and give it hell. That or I’ll just buy another sensor.
Tomorrow’s project is to give the trans a thorough cleaning and continue with the exhaust removal. Time to bust out the Sawzall!
As you can see, they're the tabs that actually help hold the springs into the disk. I guess that's what happens when you dump the clutch repeatedly! Dude definitely needed a #DriverMod!
Look what came in the mail yesterday! I was finally able to get the downpipe to cat bolts loose; I had to basically hammer the socket onto each nut because of the rust. I was fully prepared to cut the bitch off to better access the bolts, so I lucked out there! I also have a new O2 sensor on the way since I gave myself a pretty gnarly booboo when the wrench slipped off and my hand made swift contact with the rear motor/trans mount. In my experience, I have found that giving myself a heart attack trying to break old O2 sensors loose just isn't worth the trouble. I'd rather just replace it all. I spent most of the day soaking and scrubbing the trans. It's not 100% but it sure as hell looks better than it did before I started! Also, I stripped, cleaned and painted the valve cover and spark plug cover. Kayla (my wife) did the masking of the letters; she's always been the more artistic one and has a steadier hand and more patience than I do! For prep, I was able to use our little mouse sander to fix some of the rough casting marks on the valve cover. I think it turned out great!
My plan today is to drain the oil and drop the oil pan for a thorough cleaning. The gasket looks like it was resealed at one point, but they used so much sealant that the gasket must've crushed out too far, or they just tightened it too much. The new gasket will be here Wednesday. The drain plug seemed to be the main culprit for leaks on the bottom side though. Slowly making this bitch oil-tight! To answer your question(s), I always use Honda MTF. I believe a 10w40 is also allowed. The oil in the trans didn't look like MTF; looked more like motor oil, and was quite brown. No metal shavings though, so that's a good thing!
The valve cover looks incredible! Your wife must be a keeper. I heard an ad on the radio for pajama-gram as a christmas present and laughed. Hope you got her a good present!
I am going to try the GM Synchromesh FM MTF in my b-series tanny, + some MolySlip. TomCat was saying good things about that combo for shifts like buttah...
Header installed! I'm going to leave the downpipe off until I get my oil pan resealed. I drained the oil and it looked like it hadn't been changed in probably 10k miles; I've never seen it so black! I didn't get a chance to drop the pan because I was dealing with a few other things I found. For one, when I went to replace a broken wheel stud, I found that the front passenger wheel bearing was a little rough, should be here by December 29. The few times I started the car lately, I noticed I was getting a slight belt squeal on startup, but it would go away immediately. When installing the header, I noticed that the front and rear seals are both leaking on the power steering pump, so the fluid is hitting the belts; there's the reason for the squeal. The local PickaPart has a 10% off/free entry day on Jan 1st so I might add a pump to my shopping list! I've still got a mystery oil leak that and I can't figure out where it's coming from. If the cam seal and VTEC solenoid gaskets are brand new and not leaking, where the hell could it be coming from? Good news: Most of my parts will be here December 27-29, so I may have this thing back on the road before I go back to work on Jan 2. Bad news: I have officially surpassed $2k in total investment. I'll be hard-pressed to make any money if I decide to sell it...
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! No more updates until the festivities are over!
12-08-2017, 04:24 AM
1996 Prelude VTEC Rescue/Revival
