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Well, boys and girls... All the parts that were slated for delivery yesterday have been postponed until today. The only thing I did yesterday was pull the oil pan. I had to pry the **** off because of the gobs of sealant on the pan gasket. The damn bolts weren't even tight; no wonder it was leaking! Once the pan was off, I test fit my Ebay downpipe; the header was installed this past weekend. It looks like it'll fit, but it's gonna be close to the block. I really hope that "great deal" doesn't turn into a "great big pain in my ***"! My new cam seal cap, O2 sensor, rear main seal, oil pan gasket and NGK plug wires should all be here this afternoon! I should have more updates tonight!
For some reason, it won't let me edit my post. It just gives me the option to delete it, and the original message doesn't show up in the box. Anyways, my new wheel bearing should be here Friday, which sucks. That will delay the car being finished until after this weekend. I may get antsy and bring the hub and new bearing into the shop at work and replace the bearing this weekend.
Well, I got the oil pan installed (newly bead-blasted and painted). I was surprised by the wonky fit of the FelPro gasket. I NEVER have issues with their gaskets; it may have just been cold or something. It didn’t want to cooperate! I installed my new Skunk2 cam seal and the valve cover, to the engine is oil-tight! I fought the exhaust for an hour and decided to focus my efforts elsewhere instead of spending all my time messing with it. By the looks of the rig-job this dude tried to do on this exhaust, it doesn’t look like he knew what he was doing. It looks like he cut the resonator out and tried to weld a piece of pipe in its place, but he must have measured wrong because I’m about 3” short between the flex pipe and the cat. I’ll worry about the exhaust last! Tomorrow’s plan is to install the new rear main seal, flywheel, clutch and finally the TRANS! We’re coming down to the wire, boys and girls!
I've also got a mystery oil leak somewhere on the upper passenger side of the engine. I replaced the VTEC solenoid gaskets as soon as I bought the car (they were leaking terribly). Even after sitting for a week, I still had a tiny drip spot on the passenger rear of the engine, right where the trans bolts up. I'm HOPING it's just leftover oil that was pooled on the block deck and not a head gasket or something more serious...
Happy New Year! I've done a ton of work on the Prelude, and I'm very close to first fire! UPS lost my O2 sensor so I'm waiting on that (should be here tomorrow afternoon). With the help a good friend, I was able to get the trans in and mounted without too much trouble. Oddly enough, we ended up using a 4' step ladder to help lift the trans (crazy, I know). We laid the step ladder across the engine (on 4x4s,) parallel with the car. We tied clothesline rope to the eyes on the trans and wrapped the rope around the ladder. Using the extra leverage by lifting the ladder, I was able to get under the trans and hold it on my chest until my friend could tighten the ropes. We did a few steps of that and finally used sheer cajones to get the trans in place and bolted up!
I filled the engine with oil to do a first "leak-check" and didn't see anything. The top and bottom sides of the car are totaled buttoned up, including my exhaust! I found out that the bolt holes in the downpipe flange weren't drilled 100% straight with respect to the cat studs, and wouldn't allow the studs to go in. I removed the downpipe and redrilled the holes slightly bigger. All is well now, everything is bolted up and looks good! The suspension and axles are all back together and torqued to spec!
Last night, I removed the trans drain plug again and noticed some water/dirt/old oil still dribbling out, so I think today I'm going to take advantage of some Autozone coupons and get a few quarts of 10w-40 for the trans. I'll run the car for a few days for a flush and then swap out to Honda MTF. NOTE: I find it extremely odd that the service manual doesn't specifically recommend Honda MTF for the manual trans cars... Every other Honda that I've owned (mostly Civics) has been Honda MTF, according to the manuals. I dunno; probably not a big deal. Can anyone shed some light on this?
Sounds like that was an exercise in perseverance to get that tranny back in! Glad you got it...
I was looking at the FSM for tranny fluids recently; my Civic FSM called for 10w-something, while the Integra FSM called for Honda MTF. Strange, I know!
Weird. When I went into Autozone and asked one of the "experts", he pulled it up on his computer and it said that Honda MTF was required, but 10w30 or 40 are acceptable. BUT they could cause firm shifting if left in for extended periods of time. So I bought two quarts of 10w-30 and I'll just run the car around a little bit and swap it for MTF. If i find that the MTF isn't doing what I want it to then I'll go with Syncromesh. Hopefully she'll be on the ground and running tonight!
I went ahead and orderd my PS Pump seal kit since my trip to the salvage yard was a total waste... plus some honda PS fluid and a new o-ring for my oil cooler. I guess I'll swap that out on the next oil change!
Aaaaand cue rant...
So I went to the local salvage yard Saturday. The 3 Preludes they had were listed in rows 925, 992 and 999. According to the sales people, 900-999 is a private lot. So instead of pulling parts off the car you want, you have to leave your tools in your car, go find the car you want to pick from, go back and pay (a ******* premium price) for the parts you want, and then you're allowed to go pick the parts. They wanted to charge me $55 for a PS pump off a car with unknown miles, and I have to pull it myself! On their site, they list PS pumps as 29.99. So how is it fair that I have to pay double that because it's off a car in the "Private Lot"? That lot only goes up to around 950. The other two Preludes were in the "PRIVATE Private Lot" (950-999) and I wasn't even allowed to look at them. What the hell kind of **** is that? I understand that the Prelude was Honda's luxury sports coupe, but come on. Basically the same power steering pump can be found on any civic, accord, integra with slight variations. So you're telling me that the same part is worth more because of its location???
My plan was to go back down there Monday to look at the seats in the same Prelude (95 SI). The seats are in great shape and don't smell funny like my current set does. Then I thought about it... Any car seat, front or back, is listed for 25.99 on their site. I can only imagine what they would charge me because its in the Private Lot.
I'm missing my Civic right about now...
/rant
Last edited by LiteraCola; 01-02-2018 at 10:09 AM.
I would stick with Honda MTF after you flush it with the 10w-40. Best shifting fluid I have used aside from Super expensive stuff I went to once my car was off the street.Looks like you have come a long way, and are almost able to enjoy the fruits of your labors!
If you still have oil leaking from the head, take a look at the rocker shaft plug seal rings, I had somehow forgotten one once, and it was infuriating to not be able to find the source of the leak until I pulled the head back apart.
Yep, you read that right; it's ALIVE!
...but I still have a pretty bad exhaust leak right behind the cat. Homeboy Frankenstein'd (in keeping with the meme) the hell out of the cat-back. Luckily, I have a friend with a lift and a mig welder. It should be fine until I decide to buy an actual catback.
No issues at all on the road test, so that's a good thing. I did forget to install a new hose on the vent line from the valve cover to the intake, but it didn't seem to affect the car too much. Since my PS pump is leaking profusely, I removed the belt and road tested with no PS. Not a huge deal, but a few tight turns did cause the reservoir to overflow so now I have a huge mess to clean up! I have a set of rear mud flaps coming, and I'm still looking for passenger side mirror glass. I don't really want to buy an entire mirror assembly but I'm afraid of breaking the glass. Mirror glass is one of the many things that, once installed, it should be left alone forever.
This weekend's project will be the PS pump rebuild and swapping out the trans fluid for actual MTF.
As if I needed to actually say it, but I think this might be a keeper....
Glad to see this thing hit the roads, even happier to see its a keeper!
As for your junkyard rant, I had a similar issue with a yard in Indianapolis. I would make the trip (only a 1 hour drive 1 way) only to find that any and every Honda was picked clean by someone the moment they entered the lot. Turned out someone was paying there friend to hold the cars in the back. long story short I wasted TOO many trips, it was mainly aggravating because usually this yard a surplus of anything I or my friends need at a good price. Was happy when I found out whoever the guy was got fired. So I feel your pain on the yard issue.
But back to thread topic, glad to hear its a KEEPER!!! so whats next after pump rebuild. any big HP goals?
Glad to see this thing hit the roads, even happier to see its a keeper!
As for your junkyard rant, I had a similar issue with a yard in Indianapolis. I would make the trip (only a 1 hour drive 1 way) only to find that any and every Honda was picked clean by someone the moment they entered the lot. Turned out someone was paying there friend to hold the cars in the back. long story short I wasted TOO many trips, it was mainly aggravating because usually this yard a surplus of anything I or my friends need at a good price. Was happy when I found out whoever the guy was got fired. So I feel your pain on the yard issue.
But back to thread topic, glad to hear its a KEEPER!!! so whats next after pump rebuild. any big HP goals?
I'm pretty sure the employees have friends whom they notify when anything of any value shows up. Plus, I'm sure the employees get to cherry-pick any good parts off the cars before being "checked in" to the yard. I can't say I wouldn't do the same if I worked there, or had an inside line! Either way it's frustrating.
Haha as of right now I'm just trying to get the car 100% road-worthy, feel everything out and just drive it. I've been driving my 2012 Ram 1500 Hemi for weeks now and the 15mpg is killing me! I think the Prelude will be an on-going project daily, and then a while from now maybe I'll turn it into a trackday/autoX car. It's funny you mention the HP goals, becaause the first thing my 4 yr old daughter asked was "Daddy, are you gonna this car into a racecar? The other car (the Civic, she means) was slow." So now, basically I HAVE to do something with the car other than daily it!
I hope it can too! Last night I took her on her maiden voyage since the work was finished. About 35 miles round trip. First impression is that I love the car! I just need to repair the exhaust leak to get it to sound not like a fart can, fix the power steering so I don’t feel like Popeye after a drive, and she should be good!
However, I don’t particularly like the ride from the Tein Street Basis coilovers.. it’s a little bouncy in my opinion.
I was able to test out the brakes also. A gigantic deer ran out in front of me and I had to stand on them haha
So I was called in to work some OT yesterday (into the night) so I decided to take the Lude on its first inter-state voyage with the new setup. Within 5 minutes of driving, the CEL lit up. I turned around and plugged my scanner in; P1491 Insufficient EGR Valve Lift. I figured it was just a random glitch so I jotted the code down, erased it and went about my business. The CEL popped back up within a few miles of the house. The car ran fine and threw the same code. Knowing that it's no big deal, I drove to work, and then home (the CEL came back on). I got thinking this morning, "Did you reattach the vacuum hose to the EGR valve when you reinstalled the intake?" No... no, I did not. I plugged it back in this morning and VOILA, no CEL haha.
Onto another issue. While driving, the ABS light came on. I have yet to investigate this since it's literally 0 degrees outside this morning. The only thing I can think of it being is the right front ABS wheel sensor. That's the only sensor that I've touched (I removed it when I pulled the spindle to install a new bearing). I'll investigate it further this week when it warms up (into the 40's).
So I removed the PS pump and brought it to work for the rebuild. I used the Gates 348810 seal kit. I found that the kit didn't have the correct o-rings for the flow control valve or the outlet port. I was disappointed, but luckily we have mountains of o-rings here and I found some that worked fine. Upon disassembly I found that the bearing was worn. I should have ordered one and had it ready for the install. I decided for time sake to just use the old bearing over. I installed the pump when I got home, started the car, bled the lines and all is well! No leaks and I finally have power steering back!
Over the last few days I've left an ozone generator running inside the car to cut down on the smell and kill some of the supposed mildew in the seats. I was skeptical, but surprisingly, it made a huge difference! Once I replenish my air fresheners it should smell lovely!
I was finally able to get my windshield washer pump working (the **** has been frozen for a week) and realized that the hose has broken right there the hood hinge is. I'm in the process of getting some new tubing to fix that today when I get home. Not much else going on, but I'm going to try and clean the car up this weekend to get some decent pictures!
So I removed the PS pump and brought it to work for the rebuild. I used the Gates 348810 seal kit. I found that the kit didn't have the correct o-rings for the flow control valve or the outlet port. I was disappointed, but luckily we have mountains of o-rings here and I found some that worked fine. Upon disassembly I found that the bearing was worn. I should have ordered one and had it ready for the install. I decided for time sake to just use the old bearing over. I installed the pump when I got home, started the car, bled the lines and all is well! No leaks and I finally have power steering back!
Over the last few days I've left an ozone generator running inside the car to cut down on the smell and kill some of the supposed mildew in the seats. I was skeptical, but surprisingly, it made a huge difference! Once I replenish my air fresheners it should smell lovely!
I was finally able to get my windshield washer pump working (the **** has been frozen for a week) and realized that the hose has broken right there the hood hinge is. I'm in the process of getting some new tubing to fix that today when I get home. Not much else going on, but I'm going to try and clean the car up this weekend to get some decent pictures!
Glad it doesn't smell like a sack of ******** in there!
Alrighty! Well not much has happened since my last post, just replacing odds and ends, trying to decide if it's worth it to keep this car or go with my gut and buy a decent eg hatch! Either way, this project isn't finished. I've recently developed an issue with the ABS light. I figured it was the RF wheel sensor since that's the only one that I touched during my build. Turns out, it's a code 2-1 which involved the E Brake system. The light comes on intermittently and then I lose my BRAKE light on the dash (won't come on with Ebrake applied). According to the manual, it's either low fluid (had plenty), the float in the reservoir is malfunctioning (it tested good), the lamp is broken in the dash (it's not, I switched bulbs and all is well) or the switch in the console is bad (it tested good). I'm officially at a loss for words. The manual says there could be a short in the wiring from the switch to the bulb, or the bulb to the reservoir cap. Something tells me it's not the wiring since this problem has been intermittent and the problem can't be replicated by simply wiggling the wires. Any thoughts?
I'm still dealing with the intermittent P1491, EGR Insufficient Lift. I've tested all the vacuum lines, seemingly no leaks. I removed and tried my best to clean the EGR valve itself and couldn't get it to move at all. I'm thinking of getting a junk yard EGR and seeing if the problem persists. While the EGR was off, I didn't clean the ports into the intake; I probably should do that once it warms up again. Any ideas on that one?
Now back to the "Hatch Thought". I like the Prelude, and can't pinpoint one particular thing that makes me not feel "at home" in it. Just a collection of things and the seemingly abusive history this car has. It's definitely not a practical car, for one. The market for used and aftermarket parts is much smaller for the Prelude. I've had a ton of problems finding used parts. But all over the place, civic partouts are a dime a dozen! I'm struggling here, guys...
Glad to hear progress!!!
What material was the oring you used?? Usually the ones in the rebuild kits are made of Viton, which can handle the chemicals in power steering fluid. Standard Buna material orings are the most common around, but they wont last long. just a heads up in case it leaks again in the future, might decrease the time searching for a leak.
Glad to hear your maiden highway voyage went good! Mine went well also, but talk about 70mph *** pucker
12-27-2017, 03:42 AM
Re: New/Old Prelude Owner
