3 Days on a lift

[Vinny]

Well tomorrow Starts 3 of some much needed attention for the sedan. I've got about 800 bucks worth of parts setting in OEM Honda boxes in the garage and 3 days at the shop on a lift to do all the work. Just about every seal, O ring and Gasket are getting replaced (crank, cam, pan, breather chamber, oil filter housing, Distributor, valve cover and PS Pump O ring) New Timing belt, tensioner and all that. Pulling the tranny to get rid of that annoying ass click in reverse (I'll let people know what that is in a fewe weeks when I tear it apart) new Flywheel (didn't feel like resurfacing the old one), clutch pressure plate, release bearing, spring, clutch cable and a few other parts down there. New Driveshafts, Upper control arms (front and Rear), poly radius rod arm bushings, Tie rod ends and new drain lines and BS for the never draining roof. Plan on going in at 430 or so and have everything dropped and apart by the time they close at 8. Then start piecing it back together Friday morning at 8 and quitting at 7pm. Sat will be the same if I need it and Sunday, which I hope to be home drinkin beer is always a backup day from 11-6. Hopefully the car gods will cooperate with me and I can knock this shit out.

Anyone have any good advice or shortcuts on doing any of this feel free to post em up. I'm always wiling to listen to better ways of doing things. Other than that wish me luck, I may need it :D

Oh and if ANYONE NEEDS PICTURES OF ANYTHING LET ME KNOW NOW. I can't promise anything but while everythings dismantled I'll see what I can do for future reference

[SteveDX89]

Damn, sounds like it's gonna a tough couple days. Good luck with your repairs.

[86LXi|JustONE]

i agree...have fun...thats huge stuff to tackle in 3 days

[k-roy]

Damn thats a lot to get done, good luck. I would give you some advise but it sounds like you allready know whats up. I would get new lower balljoints on the front, then a 4 wheel alignment to go along with that.

[Vinny]

Debating on the balljoints as we speak. The old ones seem fine, boots are good and they are tight. I guess I might was well since basically the whole knuckle will be loose minus the brake hardware. Alignment is a no brainer. I may or may not put it up on the rack and see how far off I am on Sunday but I don't know for sure. We'll see where I'm at by then. If I don't align it myself I may just go to Firestone and get the lifetime alignment

[DanLXI88]

Good Luck Vinny !!

[shepherd79]

good luck man.

[HostileJava]

Goodluck!

[k-roy]

Umm, are you replacing the wheel bearings? If not you should at least greese them up along with the rest of the chassis. I don't know what suggestions to throw out since you allready know your shit.

[NXRacer]

damn thats a lot of work but it should go a lot easier since you're lucky enough to have access to a lift and shit. That makes any job working on a car 1000% easier. And plus the fact that you have air tools to use. should be a breeze.

[guaynabo89]

Umm, are you replacing the wheel bearings? If not you should at least greese them up along with the rest of the chassis. I don't know what suggestions to throw out since you allready know your shit.


bearings are sealed. If you can take them apart they are broken.

[Vinny]

bearings are sealed. If you can take them apart they are broken.
Gee haven't we gone through this before? Oh yeah that was the banshe wailed scream I heard all the way from Orlando to Valdosta

[Vinny]

Well I diidn't get nearly as far as I had planned in my 2 hours last night. Had to fight 2 overly stck axle nuts and a frozen lower ball joint. Tranny is still in but just by one bolt, axles are out and swapped with new ones, radius rod arms are out and bushings replaced. I picked up the fly wheel and suprisingly enough........its a NEW not resurfaced one. Not bad for 52 bucks and no core charge. SO looks like the tranny should come right out and then off to work on the oil seals. Hell I may actually be done today, unless I milk it :D

[ivanfbi]

Hmm, you are inspiring me, I need the same work on my car. Maybe I should seriously think about that....

[blazin3gen]

vinny u da man! that sounds like a shitload of work!

[Vinny]

vinny u da man! that sounds like a shitload of work!
Glad I'm inspiring someone because this isn't going nearly as well as planned. The trannys back in along with the new flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, and new rear crank seal. The pan gasket is chaged as is the oil filter housing gasket and the breather O-ring. New upper control arms are on in the front along with the tie rod ends and lower ball joints. I snapped the neck to PCV line on the brather chanber and had to JB weld it. Hopefully its dry in the morning. I still have to replace the axle seals on the tranny as well.
And to top the shit offf..............................
I had to hang the tranny by myself since there was no one around and their tranny jack sucks. Of course it was then that I noticed there werent any dowel pins in the tranny. Gee how come this things splined but it keeps rotating :D Well hopefully tomorrow. All thats left is putting lil things on here and there. Then its the timing belt and front oil seals

[Vinny]

Ok todays a rant day so deal with it.

What a fackin nightmare. Glad I planned ahead and added extra time. Todays drama was having to search all over town for a 12x1.25 die. Had the mech at the shop help me pull the crank pulley since I couldn't budge it. He used a 2 jaw pulley and it dicked the crank threads. So let the fun begin. Small towns suck, lowes sucks, and Napa Sucks. No one had the damn die. Ended up finding it at a local ACE hardware store. The other mechanic was a no show and the shop was full of people with no clue so things were slow going since some things require 2 people (lining timing marks foir TDC and such) Plus dumbass people who think I work there or some crap because they keep bothering me to ask how to do stuff on their cars. Hello do I look BUSY??? And some lil jackass airman kept taking MY tool. Not the shops tool that I signed out, MY personal tools. Hello snap-on tools not your go sign shit out http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/1861ok.gif . Anyways I decided to do front brakes as well since I alreay had the calipers apart and the rotors off, so add more to the list.

Tomorrow looks like adjusting valves, torqueing front suspension, maybe set the timing, possibly rear upper arms but I doubt it.I can almost see the light atthe end of the tunnel.......I hope it aint no fackin train :rolleyes: Thank god its almost done. Hopefully it starts up and I can atleast call it good til next weekend

Oh and I started smoking again. Damn car

[Cheeseburger]

hey vinny if you ever find your self her in Los Angeles feel free to come to my house and do the same thing that you did on your car to mine=)

[Bloodlust]

Damn Vinny sounds like a bitch. Hopefully everything will work out. Good luck.

[Vinny]

Well the most definite leak I found so far was the front crank seal. The rest looked so so. The oil filter housing was a solid chunk stuck to the block that I had to take off with a pneumatic scraper, oh those things kick ass by the way. And no you don't have to take off the sending unit to pull the filter housing. You CAN get to the top bolt using a stubby 10mm wrenc, The open end fits in there and its short enough to turn without hitting anything. I didn't feel like cutting the old dry boot on the sending unit. The breather chamber O ring was totally flat and hard as well. Lots of aging going on and lotsa potential leaks

[deadlight]

Well, looks like you're learning the first thing I did working on cars, the time frame you plan to have your car done in will inevitably be doubled. Good luck with the rest.

[AQcz]

Good luck with it

[Vinny]

Well, looks like you're learning the first thing I did working on cars, the time frame you plan to have your car done in will inevitably be doubled. Good luck with the rest.
Psst dead, I'm 33 years old. Been working on my own cars since I was 15 some 18 years ago. I worked civilian, commercial and military flightline aviation for the past 15 years. I learned that lesson when most people on this site were a gleam in their daddy's eyes. I know what your saying though.

Lifes lesson boys and girls. Always give yourself extra time as its better to finish easy than to be late :D

Plus I like bustin yer chops......time travel boy

[deadlight]

Psst dead, I'm 33 years old. Been working on my own cars since I was 15 some 18 years ago. I worked civilian, commercial and military flightline aviation for the past 15 years. I learned that lesson when most people on this site were a gleam in their daddy's eyes. I know what your saying though.

Lifes lesson boys and girls. Always give yourself extra time as its better to finish easy than to be late :D

Plus I like bustin yer chops......time travel boy

You rat bastard, :lol: you just seemed so surprised that nothing was going according to plan or on time. :D

[Vinny]

Tellin ya my brother when I find that Murphy guy Ima kick his AWSS. Not suprised, actually its par for the course. Today I was just pissed and wanted to vent. Its all good though I just bought a NEW AC compressor of ebay for 53 bucks shipped. I can take the 250 buck one I have in the garage back. Life turns on ya like that sometime :D

[k-roy]

bearings are sealed. If you can take them apart they are broken.
Wow, I learned something today. Maybe thats why OEM bearings last for soo long.

[POS carb]

my bad I havent read all the way to the end but...
If you can, go for replacing the wheel bearings, lower ball joints, and suspension arm bushings, those will make such a difference believe me

[MoonScryer]

Vinny: by the time you are done, you coulda bought another car. :D

[Vinny]

Vinny: by the time you are done, you coulda bought another car. :D
What fun is that? Anyone can buy a new car. Amatuers LOL. You should see all the "kids" that come into the hobby shop on base who can't change their own oil, do a brake job, or get this, rotate their tires.

Oh and all this BS was for not. The tranny was shit. No 5th gear and reverse is about shot. I filed a grievance with paypal. I'll be taking the original tranny that sounded like it was grinding rocks in reverse in to a local shop this week to have it rebuilt. Looks like atleast part of it will have to be done again.

Good news it fired right up and doesn't appear to be leaking anything. Suspension feels really good as well.

Oh and one more thing. DO NOT but the upper arms or sway bar bushings off the guy on ebay. Eaton Auto parts. The bushing kit is only good for the bushings. The bolts are too long and the nut bottoms out before they are tight, much less at the 16 f=tlbs or tirque and thi sis the second set of upper arms I've had problems with the through bolt and inner collar. Get what ya pay for

[nswst8]

I did my stuff at the NAS Jacksonville Auto Hobby Shop. I did it in 3 days everything went pretty smoothly and yeah I understand your fustration with your fellow shipmates, just remember shipmates help shipmates. I was hoping to be done in three took four. But its done and I got it all done before the PCS to Groton. Good thing too, they shut down the Auto Hobby Shop up here now that pisses me off. Rat Bastards trying to force me to utilize the local mechanics. That will be the day. Guess I just have to by more tools :) .
Or just go to Newport, R.I. :sad2: Think I'll just by more tools :)
Remember your still ahead of the game, the $800 I spent was like spending $3000 to some shop to do it. More money to buy toys n tools :)
Good job Vinny, now your ready for the Koni's
Phil :cheers:

[MoonScryer]

Damn dude, that blow :mad:

Well, least you got to meet me on the trip for the tranny. Next time, I'll see if I can buy lunch this time.

[NXRacer]

Hey Vinny, if you need another A/C pump, i have a couple in my garage that are just taking up space. . ... :D

I've come to the conclusion this weekend that i need new axles, new bearings, and probably new bushings up front. Everytime i go above 55-60 mph my front end shakes like a mofo. I'm guessing my tires aren't balanced well (or at all) cause my tires are perfectly fine except about 1" in the inside edge. And im not even lowered! :wtf:

Whats the easiest way to do the bearings? Take out both hubs and take em down to a machine shop and have the bearings pressed out and the new ones put it?? Im looking for the least amount of down time possible.

[nautic321]

I have a set of weapon R circuit pro coilovers. I bought them for $200 but I have a bad oil leak on my 88 Lx-i 2 door, so it's really not worth installing them now. I also have front KYB GR-2 and rear tokico HP struts that i bought for around $200. If anyone needs a full suspension, this would be a good pick. I really wanted to put these on my car but now I might as well get rid of them. I'll sell everything for $300, so if anyone is interested email me at [email protected]

[Vinny]

I'll plead the 5th on what you may or may not need, all i can suggest is let em put it up on the rack and tell ya how the alignment is and balance the tires for starters. As Ben found out it could be anything from radius rod bushings tie rod ends, upper and or lower balljoints or a combination of all of the above. If you just randomly start changing things it adds up tp be VERY expensive by the time you are done. Look at it yourself, you know all the checks for everything as far as tie rods, upper and lower ball joints and such. Then take it to a few places and see if they agree. Better to have too many opinions than too little.



Whats the easiest way to do the bearings? Take out both hubs and take em down to a machine shop and have the bearings pressed out and the new ones put it?? Im looking for the least amount of down time possible.

Honestly????? You want to do it with no downtime at all? I didn't do the bearing, probably should have but I didn't. I'll do them later if the car stays for over another year. Anywho. Best bet, IMHO, is to pick up another set of knuckles either of your parts car or one in salvage. Take them in and have the new ones pressed in. Go ahead and do the lower ball jointsat the same time. That way when you are ready to do it you have 0 downtime. To do the axles you have to break loose the lower balljoint and tie rod, at that point all thats holding the knuckle on is upper arm the the caliper. Just my opinion though, I've only done complete susprension 2 times so far this year




I have a set of weapon R circuit pro coilovers. I bought them for $200 but I have a bad oil leak on my 88 Lx-i 2 door, so it's really not worth installing them now. I also have front KYB GR-2 and rear tokico HP struts that i bought for around $200. If anyone needs a full suspension, this would be a good pick. I really wanted to put these on my car but now I might as well get rid of them. I'll sell everything for $300, so if anyone is interested email me at [email protected]


Put that up in the market place not on my thread. We are talking about COMPLETE suspension (upper and loer balljoints, tie rod end, radius rod bushings, sway bar bushings and the like, not JUST struts and springs.



http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/1861shuthefuckup.gif