Reposting the beginnings of this rebuild thread which I had mistakenly started in the wrong category. I had asked several months ago that it moved here but no response.

Documenting the rehabilitation of our faithful old 2000 EM1 that we've owned since it was new. It was my Girlfriend's daily driver until late 2007 when she moved onto an '08 Accord. I gave her 8K for its down payment and took over the old SI. It had 78K miles at the time and I proceeded to add another 220K miles of nearly trouble free service as my daily driver. This is why I insisted she buy a Honda in the first place when looking for a new car. It burned a valve in 2019 at 250K miles so I had just the top end redone at the local dealership and kept going until last November. Then another dealerships misdiagnosis of broken timing belt at 298K miles put me on a track for an entire engine overhaul. I was pissed to later find out that it wasn't broken and that I most likely didn't have to pull the motor just yet but hey, I've had a great run and now was the time to give back this car. I'm done with dealerships and am rebuilding it myself with the help of a couple of good buddies.

One of many things I love about this old girl is that through all the years and miles its gone it has never left me walking. This last 700 mile one way road trip was no exception. It got me in the driveway, then it restarted fine an hour later so I could pull it into the garage; A week later... the motor just cranked over and wouldn't fire. It acted like it was about to, but no go. The only bright spot was that it happened here in the garage and not out in the middle of nowhere. I suspected it was the fuel pump as again it seemed to almost fire up. Its the original pump and now being 23 years old with almost 300K miles on it, it seemed the likely culprit.(BTW: you can see the actual miles on it above. Just missed 300K by about 1,500 miles.) I had no tools there so I was pretty much at the mercy of a shop. I decided to have it towed over to the local Honda dealer for diagnosis and repairs. As you can see above they came back with a broken timing belt. I had a hard time believing that, as it only had 40K on a new replacement when I had the head redone. If they were correct then I was worried about internal damage to the Valve train etc. They offered to install a new timing belt but made me no guarantees that it would solve the problem. I wasn't going for that.

I declined and had it picked up and towed back to the house the following day. A lot of money wasted to be right back whare I started. Two tows and a misdiagnosis ran me over 300 bucks!

Eventually I had to get this car and myself back to Nevada so I started looking up quotes for auto transport and a plane ticket. Once I had an approximate total I thought of asking my lifelong buddy if he'd be interested in taking a little road trip. I offed him what it was going to cost me to get us both back. I thought better in his pocket than theirs. He was up for it so I rented a dolly and this shot was taken on the morning we left.

Late that evening we had it safely in his shop. Begin pulling the motor to find out exactly what happened next.

In the process of unplugging all the systems, bagging and marking all the bolts and hardware. Took several photos of the engine bay as it went to hopefully help me get things all back in the right place once its over.

For the next session, we made the hard push to get the motor and trans dropped out of it. Fortunately my buddy Eric has a really nice shop with a two post lift which made so much easier. Thats him trying to pound out that roll pin that connects the shifter. We heard from several Honda guys that its one of the most frustrating things to remove. It did not disappoint.

By sessions end we had the drivetrain out, disassembled with the motor stripped down to a long block.

Mounted on my stand and began stripping off the layers of dirt and grease before its opened. We did confirmed that the cams were still rotating with crank as it turned freely so belt was definitely not broken as the dealership told me it was. I'm still thinking it was the fuel pump after all but I'm not quite there yet to confirm it.

While I its out I began presoaking the engine bay in degreaser as well. The transmission and every related component and bolt will also be cleaned and replaced as needed. I was building my parts list and it was already getting very long.

 

First round of replacement parts:

My welding and fabricating mentor beat it into my head as a young man to buy the best and cry only once about it. He had an old First gen. Toyota 4runner and he was a stickler for factory OEM parts only. It always ran tight and I definitely found his advice to be true later on trying to beat the system by going to Autozone for the free "lifetime guarantee" on alternators and starters etc. A free replacement means little after you're left stranded not the mention the time invested of repeated installs. So with lesson well learned I always step up and buy OEM when I can get my hands on it. The years have slipped by and I got a reality check on just how old this car actually is now and its effect on parts availability. Thanks to the internet though I've been able to round up a lot more discontinued parts than I first thought.

One of the first discontinued parts I was so relieved to find was the air intake elbow. The original had never been removed and once I did I found it had cracks and breaks in several places. I think this might be a reason why my check engine would come on and then go off every so often. Anyway this vendor, all the way from Japan had two new ones so I snagged them both.

First round of parts ordered where mostly the basic items for the engine block. Again, I want OEM if I can get it but I did step up to ARP hardware for the head studs.

Three of the motor mounts were broken and the other two where generic replacements installed by the dealer when I had the top end redone in '19. Really happy to be putting a fresh set of all five factory units in when the time comes. I wasn't close to being done yet, I kept studying the factory parts diagrams for every seal and o-ring I could find. I also kept finding more broken and/or brittle components as I went.

Second round of mostly engine parts. Probably doesn't need an oil pump but its down this far and my goal is to never have the motor out again while I own it. The same with the water pump it seems fine now but for how long? Now is the time. Some of these parts like the smaller heater hoses are fine but I thought I had better get them now while I can still find them. I'm still ordering parts though I have the drivetrain pretty much covered now. This wouldn't be the last order as the list would grow again as it progressed.

Fast forward a few weeks and my buddy Eric's coworker a former Honda tech for several years dismantled it to tell me exactly what was going on inside. Once he had it apart he said that the timing belt was fine. The dealer totally misdiagnosed it. The other dealer issue: I'm stickler for OEM parts which is why I always took it to the dealer as I thought that is what they would use. Well, after this disassembly I learned that wasn't the case at all. In '19 when I had the head redone. The dealer installed a Fel-Pro head gasket, a cheap clutch assembly and cheap Chinese inner CV boots. The Tech said that they don't care about OEM parts especially as the car gets older. Its down to what is most readily available so they can knock the job out. Makes sense of course but for the 5 grand I dropped on that job I was expecting OEM parts. Another valuable life's lesson, no one is going to care more about your car than you. The low compression diagnosis could be attributed to the shear amount of miles on it? It didn't smoke but it was using oil, about a quart every thousand miles or so. I began adding high milage oil treatment and that seemed to slow the oil consumption down a bit. The Tech thought it might be the igniter unit in the distributor but it seemed fine after his inspection. I was still thinking its probably the fuel pump but it would later turn out be an even much simpler problem than that.

Fast forward again: The block and head back at my place from the machine shop. I had them install the new rings, rod and main bearings and finally the rotating assembly once everything check out for tolerance.

The head was disassembled, milled and given a valve job. It needed no new valves, seats or guides. So the pistons did not contact a valve. The silver intake valve is the one that was replaced in '19.

I was ready to have it bored over but it didn't need it. No significant tapering or barrel wear. No detectable wear ridge at the top. They said that walls were not polished and even retained some of the factory hatch marks.

Some minor ring scoring and a few pits but nothing you can catch with your nail. They just honed, cleaned the original pistons and re-ringed them.

All the journals checked out fine. New standard mains and new standard rod bearings installed. The machine shop could not believe this motor has gone 300K miles. All those regular oil changes at 5K intervals paid off but I have to admit once it started using oil I stretched them to the 7,500 or so mark. The wear ridges on the crank flanges from the front and rear main seals do give it away though. Hopefully those won't cause me sealing problems for a while.

The rocker arms do show some normal wear. The machine shop did not mention them so I assume they are fine. At this point I would have went for replacing them but new OEM is unavailable and so are new OEM cams. Had to just go with it.

Cam caps are also showing some wear in a few areas but these are machined with the head and cannot be replaced.

The cams and lobes by contrast are in really good condition so there was at least that.

I had lots of cleaning to do both inside and out. Deep cleaning like this is only something you'll do yourself so I am glad that its me handling the rebuild at this point.

Wanted to confirm my new valve job so inserted a plug and topped off the combustion chamber(not quite full in this shot) with lacquer thinner and checked the ports for any seepage.
I'd let each one sit for about 20 minutes. In the end I ended up with 6 valves weeping just slightly. I ended up running the head back to the machine shop so they could lap these just a little more. It was knocked out the next day and I retested them. All good to go.

While in process of cleaning all the head related parts I realized that the front two oil galleys for the V-tec system were plugged with Honda bond...

Both sides... The cams weren't necessarily starved for oil but I don't see how the V-Tec would have been able to engage.

Both sides are supposed to get this O-ring. No signs of any being reinstalled in '19...just "honda -bond" plugs. My whole opinion of dealership work has been completely blown.
BTW: up until a few weeks ago I knew nothing about these engines. I ran across this great Youtube EM1 restoration series that AHC Garage did. I'm sure a lot of you guys have seen them. Anyway, I've watched the engine assembly video about 10 times. Extremely informative with a couple of Techs who really know what their doing. The knowledge and tricks they share gave me everything I need to confidently put this thing back together and helped me identify what these plugged passages do. Also Installing the belt, setting the valves and critical areas where the honda bond is needed etc. Here's a link to it:

You Tube

 

Learning Curve:

Assumed that the O-rings went between the caps and the head...

Fortunately for me I caught another engine build video and it showed that the seals actually go around these metal spigots.

Their both tapped so you can thread a small bolt in and extract them. The original seals were actually still in good condition but I'm here and I have new ones on hand so they were both replaced. Thank god I watched that before I finished reassembling this motor; always learning.

Next round of OEM just parts arrived. This pretty much gives me everything I need to finish and reinstall the drivetrain.
Thanks for looking.

 

Took a few minutes and indexed the spark plugs. After a few tries I got three out of the four in the pack to orient in the direction of the intake valves once torqued to spec.

Instead of buying the index washers I bought another pack of plugs to see if I could get that last one to line up right once tightened down. The first one out of the second box turned the trick. All four plugs open towards the intakes. I've seen a lot of videos on whether this actually makes any difference or not and at best it is minimal if anything but it just took a little effort and if it helps with efficiency over time why not.

This wear ridge was little concerning...

I was able to snug the new seal back just a touch more and hopefully enough to give the lip will have fresh surface to seal against.

New oil pump installed next then onto the windage tray and the scavenger tube in preparation for the oil pan. Honda bond was applied over the joints of the oil pump and the rear main housing before this new seal was installed as described in that engine build video.

Oil pan installed then flipped over to finally get the head reinstalled. ARP studs now in along with the new head gasket.

Head installed and studs torqued to spec in that cross pattern working from the center outward. Getting ready to install the cams next..
Thanks for looking.

 

Cams installed with cap bolts torqued to spec at 20LBS. The smaller 10MM bolts at the ends only tightened to 7 LBS.

Coolant tube and crankcase breather with new grommets installed next. Some corrosion on the hose fitting on the thermostat housing but nothing serious. I would have replaced it but it's another discontinued part.

Also some electrolysis along the water pump mounting flange.

Wiped Honda bond along the flange to both ensure the O-ring wont leak and to provide a protective barrier to stop or least slow down any further corrosion.

New water pump installed along with the cam sprockets and base cover. Timing belt next..
Thanks for looking.

 

Timing belt install:

New factory tensioner and spring.

The old spring and idler seemed okay but after 24 years now was a good time to put in a new set.

Crank all set at TDC cylinder # 1. That was the easy part, getting the timing marks on the sprockets to stay lined up turned out to be a big PIA as the lobe tension kept kicking them out of alignment. I didn't have that designated holding tool on hand so I was searching for something in my shop to jamb them into the sweet spot. I saw one video were a guy clamped them with a pair of vise grips but I wasn't comfortable doing that.

After about 20 minutes of trying to find a tool or scrap section of metal that would be just the right diameter/shape to jamb these two into alignment I eventually found the perfect holding jig in this sharpie pen. I was getting desperate and this was one of my last attempts as I was just about ready to order the tool...but this worked and most importantly no chance of damaging the sprockets with it in there. All the timing marks lining up here; including the lateral one on the plastic shroud.

These marks are on both sides of the plastic base and also one in the middle between the sprockets. I love how the Japanese give you every opportunity and guide not to screw things up!

I began installing the belt on opposite side of the tensioner just as the Tech recommends in the Video. To do that I needed an extra pair of hands to keep the belt from jumping off the sprockets as I made my way down to the water pump and tensioner. These pair of C-clamps kept the belt in place as I fed it over the pump and onto the tensioner.

Loosened the tensioner bolt and the let spring do its work as I rotated it counterclockwise three teeth as described.

It took up the slack beautifully. I had the same amount of play on both sides of the belt also described in the assembly video.

Tensioner bolt was torqued to 40Lbs as specified. Belt guide and crank sensor re-installed. Ready to close this up and move onto the valve adjustment next.

Thanks for looking.

 

Valve adjustments with an issue.

Bought a new set of feeler gauges and the specialized adjustment and tightening tool. Rolled the cams over to the base circle and set the Intakes at 7 thousandths and the Exhausts to 8 thousandths as recommended in the assembly video.

I was almost all the way through the adjustment and decided to recheck the valves I had set earlier. Much to my surprise some of the valves where now too tight and others too loose! Eventually I figured out that this discrepancy is just due to the wear on the cams and the rocker faces.

I was at a loss so I called my cousin Dave who is a professional engine builder that specializes in Viper motors and asked him for his advice. After rotating the motor over and over while checking the lash as the cams cycled through I did confirm that the discrepancy was only about a thou. from one side of the base circle to the other, some were a touch less. Dave recommended that its better to be on the loose side rather than too tight so with that advice in mind I set the tighter ​​​​​​ side of the base circles to the 7 thou. on the intakes and 8 thou. on the exhaust side. When I cycled the cams again the more worn side would run out to that additional thousand on average. Not the way I'd prefer it but this was my best average adjustment with the cams and rockers in their current condition. Still shouldn't have any ticking sounds once everything gets good and warm but I'll keep an eye on it.

Getting my head around that problem ate up a couple of days but I was now finally comfortable enough with the final adjustment to close it up. Cleaned the valve cover up added the new seals and applied Honda bond to the 90 degree corners as recommended once again in that great assembly video.

Cover snugged down then added the plugs and wires. Can't tell you what a relief it was to finally get that head capped off.

Reinstalled the original cover with new cap nuts.

Also kept the old cap but installed a new seal. That old seal was as hard as the plastic cap itself.

Now that the technical aspects are complete other than setting the timing the more relaxing and straight forward part of bolting on components can begin.

Bolting on the intake and accessory brackets next.

Thanks for looking.

 

A big mistake I made before I sent it of to the machine shop was not taking all the sensors and fittings off the block and head. I got some back but not all. The Knock sensor did not come back.. a very pricey mistake.

Knock sensor installed and intake manifold ready to remount. After all those miles a very thick layer of carbon and deposits built up around the injector heads and completely lined the intake runners and the rest of the inside of the manifold. It took several rounds to finally get the inside of this unit clean. This one of those chores you'll only do yourself. The dealer just put it right back on all gummed up and hastily removed the old gasket remains with a roloc wheel. I had to hand block the flange to eliminate the grinding marks and clean the surface up as best as I could but some surface scars remain. It should seal up fine though.

Intake installed. Still amazed about how much room this intake occupies in the engine compartment.

Ready for the accessories and brackets.

Again, many an hour spent here cleaning all these components for reinstallation. Corrosion is not an issue out here so all the original coatings on the parts have survived as well as all the gold zinc plating on the hardware.

Began with the alternator mounts.

These two were actually left raw and unpainted from the factory. They did flash rust so they were soaked in acid and once clean were treated in black oxide and coated in a thin coat of clear to preserve the surface.


Then it was onto the AC/motor MT. bracket, the power steering mounts and finally the little heat shield for the timing belt cover. Gone about as far as I can on the engine stand. Dismounting it next to install the flywheel, clutch and finally the transmission.
Thanks for looking.

 

Nice rebuild write up. I have never seen those two brackets left raw without the black coating. The sending the head back to the machine shop because they didn’t do what they were supposed to do was a first too. I would suggest replacing the ac tensioner pulley bearing or pulley itself while you are in there. I had two fail on two cars within a week. The itr pulley bearing failed, and another itr failed. The first car got the original itr pulley and the em1 had to go on the other car. It was a superseded part that has a bolt instead of the Allen head flushed bolt. If they aren’t available anymore you can press the bearing out and replace with a Japanese manufactured bearing.

 

OP, it appears that you have installed your ECT (instrument cluster) sensor on the back of the block where the oil pressure sending unit (oil light on the cluster) on the back of the block goes. You need to move that sensor up to the distributor end of the cylinder head and install the oil pressure switch in the hole on the back of the block in the above photo just to the left of the oil filter mounting position.

 

Thanks for taking a look through it.(stin1) Yeah, the Alternator mounts were never coated. They had flash rusted through the years of course so I went ahead and treated them with a barrier that replicated their original finish just short of leaving them raw again. As for the valves, six of them just need a bit more lapping was all. I used lacquer thinner instead of water to test their seal which has more penetration properties. The ones that did end up leaking just weeped slightly after several minutes. Probably could have just left them but I was here and the work was guaranteed so I could not leave it. I should have replaced that idler bearing; a good point. It wasn't singing so that was an oversight on my part. I will go ahead and order one so I have it on hand if and when the day comes. Right now the car has been back on the road for 1,500 miles with no issues but I will get one ordered; I replaced everything else I could get my hands on.


Transmission:

The trans was not leaking but while I'm here I went ahead and purchased all the seals that are offered for it. Axles, shifter and cover boot, fork boot, speed sensor O-ring. Surprised that there is no main input shaft seal...

Release fork removed so I could clean the housing down in behind it and of course it has never been cleaned. The T.O. bearing was just slapped on at the dealer along with the old grease which I found impregnated with lots of granular impurities. The operating sleeve does show some mild wear. New axle seal ready to be installed.

I purchased the recommended Honda Urea grease for this application.

Not worn or old enough but am replacing the dealer installed generic T.O. bearing with a factory Nachi unit.

Release fork cleaned with pivot point packed with the urea grease. Operating sleeve also coated in it for the new T.O. bearing to run on.

Much to my relief it operates smoothly with no detectable wear or slop. Just have to install the new fork boot to seal with area out.

Clutch assembly:

When I had the Head done in '19 I also had them install a new clutch while it was down. It felt fine and wasn't slipping but we were still on the original clutch at 250K miles. They showed it to me and it still had some life left...Damn!

After I got the car back I did notice that if the revs weren't high enough that the clutch would now chatter! I was hoping it would resolve itself after some time but it never did; I just learned to operate around it, most of the time. When we broke this clutch down I was expecting to find greasy residue on the clutch surfaces but they were clean. I can only attribute the chatter to the quality of this generic clutch assembly that was installed.

I have no confidence in that unit so it was never going back in. Taking my cue again from that EM1 assembly video I followed their lead and purchased the same Street version ACT pressure plate. I didn't buy their kit as I already had a factory T.O. and Pilot bearing.

I was going to buy the ACT's street disc but I found this new C.C. disc for half price from a guy online. Motor is off the stand and am installing the fly wheel and this new clutch assembly next.

Thanks for looking.

 

Good catch on that there jr. I was going to tell that story later on in this post but since you caught it I'll tell it now. The machine shop had actually reinstalled it here. This being my first Honda tear down and rebuild I assumed it was the correct sensor in there. Right, this is an oil temp sensor that goes into the head and not a pressure sensor as it should be. This mistake scared the hell out of me after the first few start ups. With the motor idling and warming the oil my pressure light on the dash would slowly come alive and glow; I immediately shut it down. I was freaked out at first and I thought how the hell am I gradually losing oil pressure?? Its a new oil pump Etc. Etc. After some investigation with part numbers, I eventually figured out this mistake. Its funny now but not as it was first happening. Nice catch on that again, you know your Hondas...

 

Clutch install:

Motor off the stand and fly wheel installed with new OEM pilot bearing with bolts torqued to spec here. Even the pilot bearing that they installed was garbage as it didn't spin smoothly. Again my machinist recommend no resurfacing at this time.

Both surfaces cleaned thoroughly with thinner and now time to put this unit together.

Really like the quality of this assembly versus the one that was in there, no comparison. Shouldn't have any issues with chatter now. All set and ready for the transmission.

Trans remounted. This unit is surprisingly light so my one man installation went very smoothly. Now onto adding all the various accessories and systems.
Thanks for looking.

 

I jdont care what your machinist says, get that flywheel resurfaced or replaced, it will have hot spots that you cannot see, chances are good it will chatter if not resurfaced

 

agreed and I would use a oem clutch

 

While this car is very high mileage now it has led an extremely easy and well cared for existence over the last 24+ years with us as its original owners from new. I was still on its original clutch at 249.5K miles when it burned a valve in '19. The clutch was still fine then with no slippage or trouble but I figured I might as well have it done anyway while the drivetrain was out. I got to see the original disc and it was still in good condition with some meat left on it. I did have the flywheel resurfaced then and now its been 40K miles since that first cut. I was more than willing to have it machined again but the tech looked it over and said it just wasn't necessary. I appreciated his honesty as he could have easily added it to my job by simply saying yes.
The point I am making here is that I have been very easy on its clutch and flywheel assembly through the years (in fact the entire car) and was just as nice if not nicer through the last 40K miles since it was resurfaced. As you've probably gathered this not a modified tuner and never was. This my faithful old A to B car which starts every morning (except twice) has A/C in the summer and heat in the winter. That is my interest in it. Its not my go fast car, that is what my old Corvette is for; now its flywheel has shown some heat put to in its past. I have never had the desire to flog this car and I drive it like an old lady. Never tried to light up the front wheels and have engaged the V-tec system only rarely. The clutch has never gotten excessively hot or even smelled hot, ever. I'm catching this post up because someone asked as this cars been up running for several months now with no issues...the clutch operates beautifully with no chatter. Thanks


If you've been looking through my earlier photos you'll see that I step up and buy Genuine Honda OEM parts when I can get my hands on them. (except for the head studs) I got a quarter of a Million miles of service out of the original clutch assembly and I know I could have squeezed another 30K out of it at least. I most certainly was looking to replicate that longevity.
A new Genuine Honda pressure plate and disc assembly for this particular car is now N.L.A. To my amazement its yet another discontinued component. As a consumable like brake pads and air filters I thought for sure it would still be available through Honda but it isn't. I'm not versed enough in the Honda aftermarket world so I followed AHC Garage's lead for a suitable stand in assembly. I'm very happy with it 1,500 miles later.

BTW: Another consumable part I couldn't get from Honda was the ignition rotor. I was still able to get a new OEM distributor cap, internal cover, and seal but the rotor is N.L.A. Had to look to the aftermarket again.

Engine harness rehab:

Sections of the harness sheathing have given up but the wires have survived fine.

The conduit is readily available so I replaced the sections that needed it and rewrapped all the leads with electrical tape as done originally.

I had repaired it several weeks ago so it was ready to remount on the day I needed it. It was a bit of puzzle laying it back on and routing it correctly as I had initially installed the main run upside down but fortunately becomes self explanatory as the fitment progresses.

Shifted gears and went back installing some new fittings and sensors. Again I could not get a new thermostat housing but the cap is still available. The neck of the old one shows some electrolysis so I bought a new one along with a new fan switch sensor while I was at it.

The heater hose fitting on the back of the cylinder head also needed replacing. That sucker was in there tight and I was down to a pair of vise grips and dead blow hammer to get it out.

All the new fittings and sensors back here now installed.

More accessories installed like the starter motor which further confirmed the routing and fitment of the harness.
Thanks for looking.

 

Power steering pump rebuild:

The pump has been a leaky pig for quite a while. My initial plan was to take it into Honda for their rebuild and exchange program like I did for the alternator and the starter years before. Much to my disappointment they no longer offer the service for a car this old. I can't even get th Alternator exchanged with them anymore. Nothing wrong with mine now but I thought what the hell, lets do that too while I'm in here. I looked around at other exchange programs but found nothing that seemed trust worthy. There was one outfit offering an EM1 version pump priced at 300 plus the core. My red flag with them was their rebuilt unit was spray painted flat black. I surmised that it was camouflage for the old grease and grime they left behind. If they can't be bothered to clean housing thoroughly what kind of rebuild quality could I really expect?

I could still order all the seals and main bearing from Honda for this unit so I decided I'd rebuild it myself. Its the original unit this car came with and while it has nearly 300K on it, it never made any noises, just leaked.

I was all set but I soon ran into a snag with this housings back cover. There is a pressed bushing in it that the end of main shaft rides in and I found that it had worn through the hardened surface coating of this bushing.

I was stuck. I could put it back together but how long was that really going to last with the bushing worn through like that? I was hoping to find an NOS EM1 pump but nothing ever came up. As I searched I did find this NOS pump for an 02-04 Odessey. I studied it and studied and other than housing configuration everything else looked identical. The seller was firm at 375. I could have a partial mystery rebuild from that shop for 300 bucks+core or I could take a shot and have a "new unit" in the end for 75 bucks more? I decided to roll the dice. Took delivery of it here and things were looking good!

Once I pulled the back cover off everything was confirmed; it would all transfer over. On the right is the original cover with the worn bushing and on the left is the new cover with a nice evolutionary upgrade. Needle bearings in place of the previous bushing. Problem solved!

The pump unit itself, the main shaft, internal valving, all of it fit into my old housing I was about to have technically brand new unit with a needle bearing upgrade. Too good to be true?...It was. As I got more involved with it I realized that all the internal valve channeling etc. mirrored the original internals. The back cover side by side photo shows it clearly. The new donor pump was designed to spin in the opposite direction. My gamble turned out to be total bust.

The best I could do was reseal the pump with its original internals and replace the bearing.

Resealed and ready to install. It does work fine with no leaks but that worn rear shaft bushing is a concern. Keeping an eye out for an NOS em1 version in the mean time.


I assume the V-Tec solenoid still works so just resealing for now.

Same with the idle module. Cleaned and blew out the inside of it and just reseal. Will only replace either one of these if I absolutely have to.

Added those on along with the alternator and few other parts. The harness was slowly running out of loose plug ends.

Thanks for looking.

 

Onto prepping the exhaust manifold mating flanges for its reinstallation.

Rear shield installed and Confirming the gasket fit.

I almost didn't separate the header pipe from the manifold this time around as the original exhaust manifold cracked and was dealer replaced only a few years ago. The original catalytic converter partially plugged and created back pressure that eventually cracked the manifold. They were both replaced just right around 2019. I assumed the dealer replaced the seals on the header pipe but it looks as if they have never been replaced and the right one shows a crack. So glad I separated these two.

Flanged all cleaned with new seals installed and it too is now ready to remount.

Shifter assembly:
After all these miles you can imagine how many times that shifter lever has gone back and fourth. I decided now was also the time to replace any bushings and seals related to the shift linkage.

The leather cover on the **** gave up years ago. While I was ordering the other lever related parts I went ahead bought a new OEM replacement.

Once I got the pivot assembly apart I was shocked to find all the internal seals and bushings in great shape with no excessive wear or slop. The pivot boot had dried up a little but other than that it could have been reassembled as it was. I didn't do that as I had all the new parts on hand but just one more example of how great Honda engineering is.

New OEM boot, pivot ball cage and seals all ready for reassembly.

Pivot assembled and ready for re-installation into the base housing. BTW I also purchased a new rubber mounting base for the tail here and also the donut bushing for the front. Both are still in excellent shape so I'll keep them on hand until they need replacing.

Shifter unit ready to install. Had to throw a couple of tack-weld on those studs as the shouldered holes hogged out on me. One more step closer.
Thanks for looking.

 

Awesome job man! engine looks great! should last you a long time! I like how every new part is OEM!

 

Nice work, I love the attention to detail!

 

Thank you! (wunfstgsr) It was a reality check as to how many OEM parts are now discontinued for this old car but I rounded up all that I could find. Can't go wrong using OEM parts right?

Appreciate that! (Blazin SI) I had a look at the Blue Civic you're currently building...Its coming along nicely!


Half shafts:

While at the dealer in '19 I was told that one of the inner CV boots was torn so I had them install a new pair while it was down. Like the clutch assembly and all the other parts they used for my job these were not genuine parts here either...Surprise. OEM Boots this time and a new intermediate shaft seal over on the left there.

Instead they installed cheap Chinese silicone boots. I found that the small boot strap had actually bit through this one so there was no chance these were not going to be replaced.

Genuine Honda inner CV boot kit can still be had. Joint thoroughly cleaned of all the black grease and checked for any wear. I mocked them up dry to check for any play or slop but both sides turned out to be in excellent shape with no detectable play. I was looking at the R-axles site for possible replacements but there is just no need for it at this point.

Joint and cup packed in the Honey mustard grease supplied with the OEM boots and ready for reassembly.

Had to order the special strap installer.

Would never draw the straps tight enough without it.

Inner CV boot installation complete. After confirming the condition of the axles I ordered the outer boot kit for later.

Poked and prodded but the original outer boots are still intact. I'll keep an eye on them and will have the new kits on hand when the day comes.

The only other issue I had was that wider right side vibrational dampener had broken. The internal rubber spokes that attached the metal ring had given up. I was able to get my hands on pair of NOS dampeners. Check out the vintage blue labeling.

Since only one side was broken I decided I'd try and repair this dampener before the new boot went on. I super glued the spokes back into position on the ring and let sit overnight. Then I packed the both sides of the cavity with RTV to both support the spokes and bond the unit together further. The other unbroken dampener was packed with RTV the same way as a precaution. Don't know whether it will work or not but I have the new ones on hand if it doesn't.

Repairs complete and ready for reinstallation. Onto the next deal. Thanks for looking.

 

Another parts order:

Original over flow tank cap has rotted but am replacing the entire unit. Keeping the original Power steering tank but installing a new scavenger tube.

Then onto the distributor. I bought everything new OEM that I could. Cap, seals, lower inner cover but again, I could not get the rotor!

That rotor is the original one so I couldn't put it back in there. Bought one from a trusted name in performance ignition instead.

As along as the ignitor module is good this unit is ready to go.

All my Honda fluids came in. Using a different motor oil for the break in though. Used just a standard motor oil with no Moly in it so the rings would seat.

Stepped up and bought an entire new OEM motor mount set.

The unit on the right was dealer installed. Its not broken but based on all the other parts they've installed I'm feeling better about an OEM unit this time around.

Thanks for looking.

 

Yea man! I'm doing almost the same engine rebuild but on a B18C5 ITR, I tried to round up as much OEM parts from Japan as I could, I use a guy on ebay who ships everything from Japan, I picked up a few parts that will soon be gone like OEM Vtec solenoid complete! OEM IACV Denso!, OEM fuel pulse damper, and OEM fuel pressure regulator! and a few other stuff here and there! I like how you did your axles!

C.A street sleeper!! want feedback/comments lots a pics!!*** - Page 36 - Honda-Tech - Honda Forum Discussion

 

Thank you for documenting this. It's refreshing to see content again on the forums.

 

Thanks!(wunfstgsr) I did exactly what you're doing. I found a reliable parts supplier out of Japan and purchased all these OEM parts from him. Again a lot of the parts on my wish list were N.L.A. Like you, I bought spares as well.

My pleasure! (Shinsen Tuner) This post is also for my own documentation purposes when the day comes to finally let this car move onto its next owner. I will of course advertise that the drivetrain was gone through and refreshed at 300K but the next logical question would be how well or thorough was the rebuild? What was the condition of the original block and heads? What was the quality of the parts used? They can come by here anytime and have a look.
Thanks again.

Getting closer to reinstallation time:

All the remaining accessory parts installed including the lower stuff like the intermediate shaft, bell housing cross braces, and the fly wheel cover.

All the belts (A/C staged) along with the rebuilt power steering pump installed.

My parts pile was getting down to just a few items by this point. It was really going well until I started torquing the exhaust manifold bolts to spec (33Ft. pounds)

I got to this bolt and it snapped on me. I was so relieved to find that the shank had not broken off level in the head. One too many heat cycles through all of those old bolts so I went ahead and ordered all new hardware for the manifold.

Another issue: The crank sensor lead seemed to be too unsecure below the band at the water pump. After looking through the parts schematic there is supposed to be an anchor that secures it at the connection plug. It never made it back on through one its past service repairs. I was going to add it to my hardware order but it too is no longer available. Frustrating part of repairing old cars...

I kept going back and fourth whether just to leave it as is or not but eventually decided fatigue would eventually become an issue. Between engine and road vibration combined with airflow; there was a reason the factory secured it at the plug. I had no idea what it looked like so I based a paper templated on function. I used the mount up by the distributor as a model for the tang. Using a section of thicker 16 gauge to ensure it holds the needed shape.

Basic part with a more final shaping and filing to go.

Final needed mount. Small little bracket but it can easily eat up an evening before you have what your looking for.

Plug now anchored like it should be. I feel much better about this now.

Onto the next deal. Waiting on my new manifold bolts from Japan at this point along with a few other parts that were on my wish list.

Thanks for looking.