My roommate has an 03 Type-S, just turned over 100k miles last week. The water pump is whining a lot, and the belts need to be replaced. The car is currently at the dealer, where he's got most of the service done since he bought it new in 03. They quoted around 500 for the drivebelt and waterpump job. He says it also needs a new timing/cam chain soon, as well as a clutch, which will cost a lot. I offered to do it for less... but I want to know what's involved. From what it looks like, the water pump is a pretty simple job, a lot like the one in my CRX, with maybe a little more room and no timing belt to worry about. The timing chain, I have no clue, and the clutch, I think the engine might have to drop out the bottom or something. Can someone help me out with this stuff? I'm going to charge him a little bit, but the idea is that he can spend the same or less money and get some performance parts (clutch and flywheel) put in. We did this with the brakes, he installed powerslots and HPS pads for less than the cost of new OEM pads and resurfaced rotors installed by the dealer.

 

Engine does not have to be removed to do the timing chain nor clutch.

Timing chain is a PITA to be honest. I've done it at least 8 times already and each time I learn a new trick. There is not much room on the passenger side if you look which makes removing the bolts on the chain case pretty difficult. Not to mention you need a hell of an air gun or the crank pulley socket to remove that bolt.

I don't know your mechanical ability but I would do the water pump and clutch to save your roommate some cash, then leave the timing chain to a shop. But you may want to shop around though because 500 is extreme for a water pump/drivebelt. Clutch/waterpump are definately doable by a person thats mechanical inclined.

If you want details on how to do each job or have any more questions, go for it

 

Thanks a lot man! I was getting the impression that most RSX owners just pay for this stuff to be done...

I'm pretty sure I can do it, I can build Honda engines in my sleep, and I have a full shop (lift and air tools FTW) that I run at my school. I asked about removing the motor because I was told it's necessary to do the clutch, and it IS tight in there compared to my CRX, even on that I would prefer to remove the motor for a clutch job if it didn't require buying new coolant.

Finding another shop is out, he only takes it to the dealer or to me. I'd love some details on how to do this stuff. He does have the [enormous] FSM, but it's in the car, at the dealer right now. I like to know the little tricks too, you know how these big jobs are sometimes. I'm not too scared of the crank pulley bolt, try taking one off a 20-year old car with the original motor! Is the K20 like the b-series, with the special tool to hold the pulley?

 

Yup you can use the B series tool to remove the crank pulley depending on which one you have!

Try and get a hold of the HELMs I know there is an electronic version floating around.

To remove the trans though you just need to tilt the motor towards the drivers side and pull it through the wheel well.

 

I have a friend with the B tool for his GSR (95 I think). The helms is the FSM as far as I know... And it sounds like the tranny comes out just like the D/B, but on the other side? How much does it weigh? I can do a D series alone, but the tranny can be a bitch to lift and line up the input shaft, and it's tiny.

 

Yes, if you've done D/B's you can handle the K series tranny. But I would recommend that you do it with two people. It is a little more bulky than the B/D's and for some reason a little tighter fit when lining up the input shaft. If you have a trans jack its possible but I would call a friend over for the 15 minutes you need to torque it down.

Also take a look at the pilot bushing when you remove the flywheel. The slightest little bur, dent anything and replace it. I'm sure you know but it will make lining the input shaft up that much harder.

You can download the HELMs from one of these:

http://www.savefile.com/files/450505
http://savefile.com/files/439452

 

Cool, I'll be using the lift and I have a tranny jack, but I'll probably have someone else around anyway. Do you mean the pilot bearing? Is it pressed into the crank or the flywheel on the K series? I usually just replace it anyway when doing a clutch, to be safe (input shaft bearing on older trannies too).

 

Yeah, Acura considers it a bushing when ordering it. Its definately good practice to change it, but sometimes overlooked as its a little tedious to remove.

Its is just pressed into the end of the crankshaft and can be driven back in place with a socked of the same OD as the bushing.