so for those that dont know, I was given a FREE 88 crx si, from my original owner grandfather who had 117K on it when he gave it to me. He never wrecked it or anything, but didnt do much maintenance. So for a 50 dollar car (title swap) i cant beat it. I am at the point now where I have decided that since I am still in HS and stuff, going to college in two years, I am gonna try and make my car as reliable as possible, without a full rebuild or anything. I am looking for a car that is just fun to drive, worry free, so help me out and tell me what you guys would do if you are a 17 yr old that is trying to fix up their car.

What I have done the past 6 months:

Honda replacement parts:
timing belt-valve cover gasket kit-waterpump-tensioner-tensioner spring-distributer cap and the rotor

"Aftermarket" parts:
K&N air filter, NGK plugs, NGK wires, AMSOIL motor-oil change, Redline MTL tranny fluid change, Mobil 1 oil filter(i dont care what your opinions are on oil filters! Koni yellows, and Eibach Pro-Kit lowering springs

Edit: didnt mention I just did a valve adjustment when I was changing the cover gaskets/o-rings

What I am planning:
Both axles (pass side has a slight click), tires, Brembo blank rotors, brake pads/shoes, MOTUL brake fluid change, all new OEM suspension bushings, shifter bushings, and complete pressure wash and "truck bed coating" on underside and wheel wells. If i have any more money, then a new windshield (flipping gramps used SCOTCHBRITE to get pine sap off, shoot me!) and a custom 2.25 or 2.5 inch exhaust

After this i will start looking for performance upgrades, but to make a reliable "confident" car, what more would you guys do? sorry about the long post, but much thanks to anyone who responds!

Modified by gator88 at 6:45 AM 4/18/2007


Modified by gator88 at 6:51 AM 5/25/2007

 

Wow, I wish everyone would take the time and educate themselves and then post a intelligent and well thought out post like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like you got all your bases covered! Bushings, brakes! Replaced the timing belt, and water pump. Awesome. You did not say anything about the valve lash adjustment, it’s free and I do it any time I mess with the head or every year whatever comes first.

Also cap and rotor, sometimes the coil or ignitors go out. but overall it sounds like you have a solid plan. Take care of what you can and it never hurt to have some cash money in the bank just incase something unexpected goes out. good luck and get some pics up.

 

To save you some money on the axels if you dont plan on upgrading them (which isnt neccessary until you start puttin down some decent tq #s) try to find a local shop that rebuilds them. Trust me its ALOT cheaper. With the bushings since you plan on upgradin the car, price some aftermarket sets. They will probably run you the same price as oem and they will perform better.

 

thanks guys, I edited my post and put in that i just did a valve adjustment. Not doubting your knowledge AzCRX, but is the quality the same with rebuilt axles? Do you mean the core exchange ones at ADVANCED AUTO or an actualy axle shop. Also you say about aftermarket bushings, I have read several times that binding occurs with the polyurethane bushings. This is the reason I was going to use stock in the control arms. I was looking to use ES for some of the other bushings, such as the shifter ones and for motor mount inserts.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by abnaasefmb &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Wow, I wish everyone would take the time and educate themselves and then post a intelligent and well thought out post like this!! good luck and get some pics up.
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I am simply trying to prove that not all teenagers on HT are uneducated ricers, that some still respect the knowledge of those who have leanred through doing. thanks for your help.

 

More good stuff:

New OEM grounding wires
New Bosch O2 Sensor (the cheaper universal 1-wire is fine as long as you can solder)
Lots of idle and timing adjustment
Helms Manual

 

groudnign wires are good. new oem ones when i installed my stereo, since i was cleaning up wires and re-wrapping, the grounding wires were ugly **** brown, so i got new ones which were black. ill do the o2 sensor then, i just recently removed it and made sure there was no carbon buildup on it, looked good, but i will see.

 

thermostat & coolant, pcv, clean some sensors, maybe a new clutch cable. Mine broke, and so did one of my friends- he got stranded for a good few hours before someone saved him.

 

If I were you, I'd probably save money and do a b16 swap. If done right it will be just as reliable, if not more than the stock engine. Plus it will def. have a lot of power and potential if you want to mod it more in the future. You're already on the right track with suspension, new bushings, etc. Once that was done I'd throw some decent wheels and tires on it and if you aren't satisfied maybe a JDM front. Being in highschool makes it hard to work a 40 hour week (I know, I did it) so you have money to mod your car, but the end results are well worth it.

 

nope, i dont want anything to do a with a b16. sure, maybe a b16 has less miles, but whats to say it wasnt ran to the limiter every shift? my grandpa drove this car like a golfcart. engine is mint. With what i would spend on a b16 swap i could turbo or supercharge my d, and smoke a stock b16. I dont want to turn my thread into b vs d!! I have money, but i race dirtbikes A LOT and my parents handle the entree fee plus transportation, I buy everything for my bike. The majority of my money goes towards what I am very talented at, and that is racing. This past summer i worked 60 hours a week, bitch work in construction. 4 am to 4pm. It sure sucked, but I dont mind working hard for my stuff, but i wont blow hard earned money on a b16. B18 if any swap.

 

Hey Gator...visit the stealth site in my sig if you into racing motox....

This dude is my best friend and will hook anyone up that I send his way.
He knows his ****. Was a pro rider, and so is his son.
Check it out.

Otherwise....you seem to have your bases covered on the maintenance deal.
Just treat her nice.

GET A GOOD ALIGNMENT.

 

Impressive. I like your thinking. This should be a sticky!

 

Just want to add my $0.02. You are a good man for not jumping on the B-swap bandwagon and spending your money on actually improving your vehicle. Stick around here for a while longer .

PICS?

 

very well put wizco!

 

hold it down for the teenagers
definetly check your cap and rotor. and the ignitor.
a good alignment and tires are a must!
good luck and may your CRX live to see many more years

 

Okay, ill get some pics up shortly. I have a track meet and dad is takin it to get inspected tomorrow, then i can drive somewhere and get pics. I have my sisters old crappy sony, so not very good quality, but i will get pics
Thanks guys for your help!

What I was told engine codes stand for in EF's. Bandwagon --- Helluva tight fit, --- Fun to be different --- Kills competition and the check book --- Disregards the bandwagon, and wants to SAVE THE SOHC. lol, my friend chris with a civic tells me that all the time, sorta funny i think!

Oh yeah Sired, I checked out that link in your sig. Pretyy cool stuff. I actually race hare scrambles. If you dont know what those are, they are a 6-12 mile loop through the woods, race for 2-3 hours (depending on sanctioning body) and make as many laps as fast as you can. Check one out some time if you are into bikes.

 

Sorry I missed your post ********, I also did the thermostat since i had the coolant out anyways and it was only twelve bucks. Fresh rad full of Prestone too! I honestly dont know what a pcv is? Pressure control valve? lol, im just guessing words that fit the initials? am i right though, where is it at and what benefits to replacing it? commom problem? Also while my grandpa still drove this car, he had the dealer throw in a Honda clutch about 1200 miles ago. that too is good.

 

I wouldn’t totally discredit the b swap. It is a very reliable well-designed engine. I loved my stock b16, now I have it built and boosted I’m always hypersensitive of what’s going on, na I would just beat the **** out of it and never give it a second thought, but I digress. There is a right / cost effective way to do the swap unfortunately it involves everyone least favorite thing… patience.

If I was to do it all over again instead of calling the jdm engine dealer of my choice and dumping a few grand on all the parts so I could have it NOW, I would just start piecing together as I could find. I would shoot for the following set-up.

Ls block, crank and rods. You can find these real cheap. you need to look at the cylinder walls. I can almost guaranty they will look cherry as long as it wasn’t boosted or been lsvtec. autos are great.

B16 pistons, used ones almost always look and are still shaped like brand new. The only stock pistons I have ever pulled out and we’re F’ed were the ones I boosted (11psi cracked ringlands) cheap!

Vtec head, they seem like a dime a dozen lately **** I have three extra ones in my garage now. Try to find one with intake manifold and injector and all the other stuff. Any head (b16, gsr, itr) would work but the b16 could use a stock intake manifold and would be simple

Arp rod bolts, oem b16 rings, water pump, oil pump.

A ls cable tranny. They’re not geared as low as the b16 but are still ok and you will get better gas mileage

And just piece together the other stuff. I would convert to obd1 and use crome to get it tuned

Ok I know this doesn’t sound cheap at first but if you take your time you can find crackhead prices on most of the stuff you need. You will have to fork over some cash for the new oem parts but I have found them to be worth every cent over time. You do it a hundred here and a couple hundred there, and over time it won’t hurt too bad and in the end you will have a great power plant that will be good for years and the peace of mind knowing it’s new and you did it right.

I have a friend (my bosses kid) that has been doing this for his DA teg it’s been about a year and he has almost everything he needs to do the vtec head and convert to manual. Every time I touch a wrench he shows up at my house and does most of the work with me telling him how and why. He’s only 16 but he must have built at least 3 engines by now. I give him parts I don’t need to pay him for the help.

Here is a link to a great write-up on building a lsvtec
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1676914

 

thank you for your informative post. I still couldnt spend that much money though. I would rather boost my a6, or a mini me i could do out of one of the two y8 heads and intake manis i have, and end up with decent around town power for the same amount. I like the idea that if i blow a d-series, im out 350 bucks, not a 1200 dollar motor. I dont have anything against b-series, but why get rid of a perfectly healthy motor? I just couldnt do that, and its just plain stupid if you ask me. In all honesty, with all my other expensive hobbies, I just cant afford a B-swap, plain as that. I like to do stuff right like you said, so I would have WAAAY too much money into it. When I go to college, my grandpa will help me out with a new car, most likely my sophmore year. So i guess a 2010 civic si will replace this car, letting me make it a weekend warrior/auto-X car.

 

Engine doesn't smoke at all right? I wouldn't guess, because the way you talk about the car and the way your grandfather drove it, it sound's mint. Good find, good thread

 

Looks like you've done your homework. Good job!
The only thing I see that you've missed is the fuel filter.

 

no smoke whatsoever! It is mint, thats for sure, excpet one nickel and one dime sized rust spots. Also a few tiny dings from him parking under a walnut tree, lol. Ill change the fuel filter soon. It passed inspection tonight, so that made me happy. I need tires since i have 1/32" left on the rears before they are at the limit. Ill get them, then a fuel filter and buy my front koni shocks so i can get it lowered. Thanks a million for all your help gentlemen, it sure is appreciated!

 

pcv valve = Positive Crankcase Ventilation valve
cost like $5 and 1 minute to change.

might as well check your brake lines, calipers, wheel cylinders too when doing your brakes. loaded calipers are pretty cheap($20?), rebuild kits are even cheaper($8?), and so are wheel cylinders($20?) - got questionmarks since im just throwing around numbers from the top of my head.

 

wheel cylinders? is that the same as hubs or wheel bearings?

 

x2. i replied to someone who had a post that looked like this-> no caps or defined paragraphs or organization or anything and it looked like he was really bored or hyped on caffiene pills and speed at the same time and holy crap isnt it annoying to read this? case in point your lucky that i replied


Just my thoughts...
use quality parts (no china/korea or mexico crap... basically anywhere they have slave labor= inferior 'goods'. I prefer USA, Canada, or Japan parts for me; includes rebuid parts. Besides, if you buy an American part, you're helping save someone's job.)

Just a thought: polyurethane bushings are good for performance, but you'll feel more vibrations from the chassis. Depending on your goal, it might be worth your while to invest in these off the bat rather than get the OEMs, then upgrade later. Weigh the benefits and risks before making a decision.

 

You do know you just bumped a thread that was last posted in during April of 2007