1. neither fan turned on during the coolant refill stage. Engine on idle for about 45 min [while I was cleaning up and preparing for oil change]. Temp remained just above 1/3

--but, after driving it for several miles, I noticed fans came on very briefly. So, that was a relief

--But, why didn't the fans turn on while idling with full heater?


2. accessory belts squeals for less than 10 seconds upon engine crank. Some say the belts may be loose and needs tightening [e.g. 1/2" deflection]. I reused these belts because they look really good. I don't know [because my elderly mother drives it and all past repairs/maintenance were done at shops under several family members' knowledge] but I think they were replaced about 1 year ago. But, they felt quite adequately tight. I'll probably try tightening them a bit and see

--didn't squeal previously when engine was turned on during coolant refill, before the car was lowered to the ground. Did lowering the car shifted alignment of pulleys causing squeal?


3. I was banging my head about the torque discrepancy of the side engine mount bracket. I was taking toooooo long trying to research for a definitive answer, but found various numbers, which some of you probably would say the difference might be negligible.
--the side bracket has 3 varying length bolts to secure horizontally to the engine
--this side bracket has 1 permanent bolt ["through bolt"???] and a bolt hole

*In the end, I torqued these to 40 ft lbs. I am wondering if the the through bolt should be 47? I think the 47 is for the through-bolt for the front mount [facing radiator]? Wondering what is the definitive answer for a 6th gen 2000 accord f23a4???

Bolts [3 horizontal, mount to engine] .....Through Bolt & Nut [2 vertical bolts, securing to upper mount bracket]

++Chilton [soft cover book]: 40 ft lbs ..... 47 ft lbs
++Chilton online [via libray]: 35 or 40? ..... ?
++Service Manual [p.131/2530]: 35 ..... ?
++Instructions came with parts [Aisin]: ? ..... 47?
++DriveAccord.com FAQ: 40 ? 28 Mount-to-chassis bolts
6th Gen FAQ (Read Before Posting) - 6th Gen Accord DIY and Performance Forums

pic of side mount bracket. Hard to find the connecting upper bracket.
https://honda-tech.com/forums/want-b...acket-3207628/

4. I was and still am concerned overall whether the oil pan was a solid base as as a support for the engine. Is the aluminum that solid. I would think the pressure create a dent and/or move the gasket mating

I completed the project, but will need to address the above. The project seems simple on paper, but I encountered many small things that lengthened the time by a lot! Was frustrated many times.

 

the fans only come on when it gets hot enough

the belts are too loose

you can just tighten them with a breaker bar til they stop moving

you don't put a jack directly under the pan you use a wooden block that covers the pan fully

 

 

Yup.
Honda makes a pretty good cooling system. Under no load and level the fans usually don't kick on at idle.

Tighten em, then tighten em a little more. As long as they are not glazed, cracked, or oil contaminated they are probably still good. If there are witness marks on the adjusters make sure they are at least at the previous setting.

Seems like you removed the engine mount bracket from the engine. No need to do that. Just remove that upper bracket when removing/installing the lower cover and when changing the timing belts.
The three bolts are 35lbft that attach the mount bracket to the engine.
The nut and bolt that attach the bracket between the mount and the engine mount bracket are 40lbft(tighten these two first) and the nut on the mount itself is again 40lbft.

Oil pan is strong enough. The majority of the weight will still be on the rear mount, front stopper, and the trans would not allow much cantilevering. Pushing up on the pan is just to support the engine as you remove/replace the belts and cover. As long as a block of wood was used there is no concern. On 98-02s there is no oil pan gasket, just sealant. The pan shape, clamp load from the fasteners, etc, would take quite a bit of abuse before the pan shifted. Unless the bolts/nuts for the pan were loosened, there is no way for the pan to have shifted.

 

"The three bolts are 35lbft that attach the mount bracket to the engine.
The nut and bolt that attach the bracket between the mount and the engine mount bracket are 40lbft(tighten these two first) and the nut on the mount itself is again 40lbft"

Thanks for the feedback. But do we know definatively that the 3 bolts securing to block are 35 ft lbs, given the discrepancies that I listed above? I torqued all the bolts and nuts to 40. I don't think I would want to remove the bottom cover to loosen them to 35. The side engine bracket was removed to give better view and easier access [e.g. water pump]

 

It's from the 98-02 Honda Factory Service Manual, so its pretty definitive.

All the listings you have are similar, but I suspect they are not taking into account that the 98-02 cars use a different engine mount than the 90-97s which do use a through bolt. That is the bolt that is 47lbft. Your car does not have this horizontal through bolt on the engine side mount, so it is not applicable. You have a vertical stud with a nut.
The engine mount bracket that attaches to the engine is not normally taken off. So its torque specs are not in the 'engine mount' section, it's in the engine reassembly section. FWIW the 90-93, 94-97 cars also have this bracket, or one very similar to it, and the three bolts are also attached at 35lbft. That bracket has a hole in it to allow removal of that one 10mm headed bolt for the water pump. It's either a 1/4" drive 10mm deep socket or 1/4" drive normal socket with a stubby extension.


First you would remove #22 nut off the engine mount(proper) stud. Then you would support the engine with a jack until the mount side of #9 started to lift off, then you would remove bolt #15 and nut #22 to remove bracket #9. Same procedure when replacing the engine mount #5.

FWIW, Bolts #12, #18, & #28 are the through bolts that require 47lbft. 90-97 Accords have a horizontal through bolt on their engine mount that use this torque spec, 98-02s do not have a through bolt on the engine mount.