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Old bolts bottomed out at this point Got some new 3/4” long ones Pipe off and filter jammed in there
Had hoped to get the turbo and radiator fully installed tonight. Didn’t quite get there, mainly because some of the hardware from my old turbo was not compatible with my new one. The bolts for the oil drain flange were too long, and the down pipe bolts had a different thread pitch. So I had to take a couple trips to the hardware store.
- Got the turbo clocked properly first
- Clean drain flange with dremel, then used coat of RTV copper gasket maker on it
- Got all oil fittings attached with some pipe thread sealant on all connections. Goal is no leaks!
- Bolted turbo in place, connected oil lines
- Changed oil and filter since old stuff was getting burnt
- Remembered I wanted to install my new K&N filter I bought. There was no way in hell to fit it down in there, not from top or bottom. It’s slightly larger than my old filter.
Ended up taking the top charge pipe off from the turbo and smashing it to get it in there. I was determined.
Yeah I’ve noticed the crack. Looks like it may have happened when it was made due to the design or contaminants in the steel. Either way it’s not yet to the point of leaking or causing a structural issue, so I’ll wait and see if it gets any worse. It’s not holding much weight.
But thanks. As much as I am a perfectionist and want to tackle everything, including cosmetic issues, I am trying to stay focused on functionality first.
I’ve had the car almost a year now, it’s come a long way. To recap, here is a list of everything I have replaced or done to it, as far as I can remember, in no particular order...
- S300 v3
- Oil, filter, spark plugs, fuel filter, MTF
- Rebuilt shift linkage
- Transmission
- Clutch
- Flywheel
- Axles
- Rear main seal
- Radiator and fan
- Turbo
- Starter
- Main relay, starter relay
- Ignition switch
- Slipstreams 15x7
- New street tune
- Injectors cleaned
- Lower ball joints
- Relocate gauges
- Fixed some wiring
- Mounted battery and redid terminals, cleaned all grounds and connections
- Replaced alot of various missing or improper hardware with new OEM
Probably forgetting some stuff.
Hopes to complete for 2018...
- Fix vibration issue if it still persists
- Connect heater core
- New coilovers
- Fix drivers door wrinkle
- Dyno tune (maybe add boost by gear?)
- Install the correct fuel pickup, new pump probably while I’m at it.
Yeah I’ve noticed the crack. Looks like it may have happened when it was made due to the design or contaminants in the steel. Either way it’s not yet to the point of leaking or causing a structural issue, so I’ll wait and see if it gets any worse. It’s not holding much weight.
But thanks. As much as I am a perfectionist and want to tackle everything, including cosmetic issues, I am trying to stay focused on functionality first.
Not to be a debbie downer but I'd be willing to wager even that hairline crack is having a minor impact on turbo spooling and AFR readings. Not a huge impact, but I'd definitely be willing to wager there's at least some small performance loss/hiccup right there.
Also definitely not saying you can't put it off to fix later. You've got solid plans for this car either way Hell, if you're planning on replacing the manifold anyway I'd just take some liquid steel or whatever to it as a temporary fix (assuming you plan on replacing it at some point in the future, would never recommend this as a permanent fix).
True. Well, if I get around to it I’ll probably find a shop with a good welder and have em lay a new bead over top of the cracked area. Probably cost less than $50 and problem solved
Again, did not get that much done today. I ended up having to trim quite a bit out of the upper radiator support to get the fan to fit. Wasn’t too bad but added quite a bit of time.
Radiator is in, and I was able to reattach the downpipe using the socket head bolts I picked up. But it took me an hour of fighting with it to get all the bolts in and tightened, because access to them is so limited. Just need to put the wastegate back on and I’ll be able to start it up.
Fan mounted with zip tie kit. Might have trimmed a little more than necessary on the rad support... ah well Plenty of room in there now! Almost ready to go
Only had about an hour to work today. Got the wastegate back on, the catch can, installed the coolant tank and filled the radiator.
I could probably start it up, but want to at least get the wide band hooked up first. All that’s left is wiring for the fan, and the gauges I relocated. Hoping to get some time tomorrow.
This is as far as I got today. Before I started wiring up new stuff, I wanted to clean up the wiring that was in there.
I started tracing wires and unwrapping electrical tape for stuff that I didn’t know what it was for. This is all the stuff that went to nothing at all, so I ripped it out.
Oh, and I finished remounting the gauges on the dash and wiring them up.
Finally got her started up last Friday, everything seemed to go perfectly. Only issue was being 10 degrees outside with snow on the ground, I couldn't drive it, and it wouldn't get up to full temp just idling in my driveway. So I was unable to test out the fan and relay setup, which I now have wired to the ECU so I can control the temp thru Hondata. As soon as we get a decent enough day, can't wait to take her on the road again!
All of the other wiring and stuff I did seems solid though. Also, just pulling in and out of the garage, the car doesn't shake when the clutch engage anymore..... Hoping like hell that means by removing the solid front mount it has gotten rid of my vibration and shuddering problems. I guess we'll see.
Don't really have any more work to do on the car now until I can take it out and drive it.
Oh, one issue I did find though, is that my hood won't latch anymore. I think it might be hitting on the radiator cap, or I just misaligned the latching mechanism when I had the upper rad support disassembled. I messed with it a little, I can push it down and it'll catch a little but it pops right back up. Thinking about just getting hood pins.
looking good buddy. I found some hood clearance issues with the skunk2 radiator as well. It's just the radiator cap that sits a little high on mine, I had to bash in the webbing of the hood a little bit right at the front before my hood would close properly
I had the same issue with my Skunk2 rad, I got the EG one before they made one for an EF. I had to make custom lower mounts on my KTuned traction bar to get it to clear. It ended up working out great because I could move it over for the back door FMIC.
Damn. Wish I had known about the S2 rad fitment issues. If I crank down on the hood pretty hard, it'll latch slightly, but if I pull back up it'll pop open again. It is CF and just bends around the rad cap.
I am going to take off the upper mount and see if I can get it to close just leaning the top of the rad back. If not, yeah I'll have to somehow lower my mounts =\
I ended up cutting the underside reinforcement on the hood to clear the radiator cap. Couple minutes with the dremel and it shuts good now this hood is junk anyway.
The car is pretty much ready. Just a couple things I need to do once it’s nice enough to bring it outside again. Getting 6-8” of snow tomorrow though
Was able to take the car out today. Didn't drive it, but let it warm up in the driveway. The cooling fan works like a charm! It took a long time to get up to temp just idling, but as soon as it hit about 190, the fan kicked on and cooled it down to 180 in under 30 seconds! You could feel the air rushing out of the engine bay. I do not think I will have any more cooling problems.
But of course, you fix one thing and at least one other problem pops up. The car idles fine, but when I hold the throttle steady to bring it up to say, 2000 or 3000 rpm, it will stay there for a second then it drops back to idle all on it's own. When it drops down, the throttle pedal is completely unresponsive. Only after it idles for a second will it rev back up. This is going to make it impossible to drive, because if I rev it to take off from a stop, as soon as I almost have the clutch fully engaged, the throttle cuts out and will just about kill the engine.
Things I have read about this so far include cleaning the IACV, or possibly a bad O2 sensor. I can try putting it back into open loop next time to see if that helps. Hoping it is not an electrical problem or distributor problem.
Re: 1991 CRX Turbo B18 project/build thread
Hell, if you're planning on replacing the manifold anyway I'd just take some liquid steel or whatever to it as a temporary fix (assuming you plan on replacing it at some point in the future, would never recommend this as a permanent fix).
