I just recently purchased a 1991 CRX Si (about two weeks ago). The body and interior had been fully restored, but I knew maintenance service would be required soon, even though it purred like a kitten all the way from Birmingham to Orlando. What I didn't expect was the first night out driving to dinner would end in such calamity. Long story short, the clutch disc hub was at the end of its service life and let go of a spring. No biggie. But what I discovered as I began tearing my way toward the transmission was a cornucopia of those little things we tend to forget while modding our cars. Perhaps this is just me venting about $1100 I didn't expect to spend on parts, but I hope the greater good is that you might remember to check these on your vehicle - especially if the previous owner was not akin to preventative maintenance.

I would like to take a moment to thank Majestic Honda - their schematics and pricing decimate local dealership prices here in Orlando.

The clutch pilot bearing, the fork spring, the clutch disc, a pressure plate, and a throw out bearing were obviously on the menu (I figure replace them all now). Additionally, I discovered two blown upper ball joints as I yanked the suspension apart, as well as dry rotted sway bushings (Hello Energy Suspension AND marine grade lithium grease) Typical, but let's move on to the engine bay. I noticed the oil pan gasket was leaking at first inspection, and the rear main was probably starting to go (very mild residual oil from center of the inspection plate). No worries though, I was yanking the transmission anyway. Wait... what happened to the engine support brace (I ordered one). What the heck is all this thermal heat wrap on the condenser lines? Oh boy... "Buyer beware" comes to mind.

The aftermarket header (a rather nice stainless steel piece) jutted out too far in regard to the dual core radiator that had been placed in the car. This allowed massive amounts of radiant heat on the (smooshed) engine fan as well as surrounding components. Instead of just properly wrapping the header, the previous owner lined the back of the fan and all LP/HP A/C lines with a thick urethane wrapped in low quality heat wrap. It was not evident (top side) that this was slowly beginning to melt. Instant cure - a new Fluidyne half radiator, which I luckily found priced nearly at OEM cost. Since I was replacing the radiator, I might as well replace the upper and lower hoses since they were beginning to show signs of dry rot. And while I'm in there, let's just do a thermostat too. The timing belt looked relatively new, so I'm holding off on the water pump for now (I hope it doesn't bite sooner than later).

*On a side note, I have read several horror stories about the fitment and installation of these radiators - I will be doing a write up shortly with my review of the radiator install. I also spoke with the owner of Fluidyne earlier this week - he personally wants to know if I have any issues during install so they may be corrected.*

Ok, where was I... Oh yes, I was still trying to get to the transmission. I decided to go ahead and order a new cap, rotor, plugs, AND wires after two wires broke when I pulled on them. Spark plug cylinder-wells two and three had small amounts of oil in the base of the plug chamber; tack on a new valve cover gasket and four new spark plug cylinder-well gaskets. Back to that transmission. Two of the mounts - toast - I mean completely gone. I am truly surprised the vibration was not worse in the passenger cabin. The other two - on their way to toast - "Can I have a side order of four new mounts? Thanks." And after all of that, I decided the imitation Type-R oil cap just really needed to go. It was frustrating just to look at that silly item considering everything that should have been fixed by the previous owner instead of purchasing a hokey imitation Type-R oil cap for a D16 engine. Just sing along with me now, "Ching, ching, cha-ching".

So, a few trinkets here and there on top of the large ticket items and here we are, $1100 later with everything but a water pump and a fuel filter (but mostly because I forgot to order the latter). So, if you haven't ripped your car apart recently or even placed her on some jack stands to check the undercarriage, do it, because you never know what you might find or how expensive it might be - especially if you cannot do the service yourself. Happy motoring.

 

i was about to say "so what's your question" until i read the final paragraph...!!!

 

wow

 

Holy Jesus on ice skates

 

Anyone interested in detailing my engine bay? This is such a tedious effort. I have cold stuffed-crust pizza and beer! Anyone? Anyone?

Yeah, I should have figured that pizza and beer line wouldn't work...

 

If you were in southern cali I'd be down to help lol

gl with the car man.

 

I wish I was in Southern California... I have visited too many times to not love that place!