Converting DX to DX-I project.
Heres the story: My tires on my wheels need replacement. Last time it cost me $400 with a buy 3 get 1 free. This time im much poorer. So i realized that i could fix everything on the car, get new winter tires, and have some spare parts if i buy a parts car. So the search began, three weeks later i found an 88 LXI 5 speed for $300. Body exterior and interior are in bad shape, engine, transmission, and FI parts are all in good condition. Also my car just rolled over 200,000, so to celebrate that, i'm giving it an upgrade.
I will be converting from carb to fi, fixing rear brake issue i have had for the past 100k miles, converting the a/c and heater controls, sway bars, auto to 5 speed, refinishing honda wheels for winter use, and other miscellaneous parts.
Pics of the parts car.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/p...%20%282%29.jpg
Wheels in good shape, really just need cleaning, but i will refinish them.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/p...%20%281%29.jpg
5 speed and fancy power window buttons.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/p...%20%283%29.jpg
So today i got both cars in the garage and started taking body parts off the parts car.
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
So awesome! Congrats! Keep us updated with pics.
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Sweet! How much for the weber?
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
my car looks almost as bad as your parts car lol....my interior's not too bad except for the half broke armrest
EDIT: WOW 3 POSTS AT 6 18
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bass Man
Sweet! How much for the weber?
I will be selling the weber in a week or two, once i make sure i can actually do this conversion, lol. Also my automatic tranny is in very good condition, it was rebuilt about 55k miles ago because my friend put it in reverse when driving. I'll put those on the trading post when the time comes.
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Will you be using that blue shifter console?
I need one for the hatch!
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
carotman
Will you be using that blue shifter console?
I need one for the hatch!
Possibly, im not sure yet. It depends if the heater controls fit in the casette holder so i can have room for the touch screen above it. I'll let you know soon.
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
thats cool hope this becomes a how to/update on your car
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Yesterday i worked on the car a bit. What i started doing was removing the interior on the parts car. Since it didnt matter if i broke anything i would know how to remove it when it came to my car. I also wanted to make sure that the wiring harness was in good condition, since it appeared that they had to rig up a switch to turn the headlights on, but that wasnt the case. The switch didnt go to anything. The only thing they did was wire a panasonic tape player directly to the wiring harness. Ill be taking the end off mine and putting that on there just incase i would like to use it correctly later. Currently i dont use the radio wiring harness in my car, i have separate power and speakers wires.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/d...282%29_Vga.JPG
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/d...283%29_Vga.JPG
Disregard the oil, but the brown stuff is coolant if you cant tell. This car was in need of some serious maintenance for a long time.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/d...284%29_Vga.JPG
It may be hard to tell but you can see clearly into the engine bay, from a 1 foot long gap. This is on both sides of the car too.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/d...810%29_Vga.JPG\
Carpet was absolutely disgusting, moldy on the bottom too.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/d...812%29_Vga.JPG
Dash is out and next ill be taking apart my car then working on the fuel line.
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Good work so far man, this is a serious project so make sure you take your time and account for everything/get it all right!
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
It's comming along nice :D
How's the trunk carpet? (I'm leeching parts here lol)
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
carotman
It's coming along nice :D
How's the trunk carpet? (I'm leeching parts here lol)
Not sure, it would definitely be dirty, but ill check to see if its torn or worn. It might be a week before i know about the part around the shifter too.
Day 3 of work. Took the day off today to work on it. Part removal went smoothly, but found a few surprises. Surprise 1 is rust reaching the inside of the car on the rear wheel wells, my brother-in-law has a welder, so i will fix that after i get it up and running. Surprise 2, shop who rebuilt my engine did not use any new gaskets for anything that connects to the engine. They were all brittle and broken. Surprise 3, i had oil leaking from the distributor O ring, and they used the wrong size, but it was new so at least they tried.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/day3%281%29_Vga.JPG
Took the interior and dash out, saved the carpet for next time.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/day3%282%29_Vga.JPG
Surprise 4, lots of oil in the intake and on valves. Is this from leaking valve stems seals? Should i take the head off the other car if it doesnt have any oil and put it on mine or replace the valve seals, im not sure what that involves. Doing this project is a big step for me, i dont feel quite comfortable tinkering with engines yet. Supposedly this is a rebuilt head with 20k miles on it but i dont think so. Car does use oil, has great compression, i think it has little blue smoke until warms up.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/day3%283%29_Vga.JPG
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/day3%284%29_Vga.JPG
This is the worst one but the others ones arent much better.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/day3%286%29_Vga.JPG
Removed so far was most coolant hoses, distributor, thermostat housing, intake manifold, alternator, part of the wiring.
Cant work on it tomorrow, but sunday i will. Going to put both cars on blocks, remove everything else i need to from my car, start installing the fuel line and tank, cabin wiring harness, and heater.
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Good job man! wish i would of have got my old DX running and ditched my lxi lol
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Scary to think people drive 80mph with their strut-towers rotted like that...
Done yet?
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
I'd took that head off and send it to the shop for a nice cleanup and replaced Valve steems and new manifold also, get it cleaned... That looked nasty
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
nice progress my friend.....That head dont look to healthy i would get it touched up before install
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Yes i am definately going to fix it up, but not sure how. Is there a how to on valve stem seal replacement.
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
do the a20a3 efi motors have a different compression ratio to the whatever your dx motor has? if it didnt i would just swap the efi onto the carb motor haha
good luck with the swap, seems like your having fun. i know i had fun with mine hah
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AccordB20A
do the a20a3 efi motors have a different compression ratio to the whatever your dx motor has? if it didnt i would just swap the efi onto the carb motor haha
The block in my car is a rebuilt A20A3 engine. So i would assume that the heads are the same.
I didnt find a how to on the site to change the valve stem seals, but i did find a nice how to in my haynes manual. So i will be doing that, then working on the rest of the FI swap.
Are the ebay gasket sets any good? I dont plan on using the head gasket from this kit, but would use almost everything else. Here is a link to one ebay gasket set
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
yeah all the gaskets besides the head gasket should be good from what i here... use a felpro hg
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
You can go to an import parts store and get some nice gaskets for cheap!
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
The head might be rebuilt but if they didn't change the valve guides, the thing can wear fast.
Worn valve guides will put stress on the seals and they will fail quite quickly.
You can slap any head on that engine and it will work with the EFI conversion.
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Day 4
Today i only had a few hours to work on the car. So didn't get a whole lot done. But i did remove the wiring harness from the engine bay, side panels, some more coolant hoses, heater, ac, carpet, and other small misc parts.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/day4%281%29.JPG
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/day4%282%29.JPG
Tomorrow im going to order a gasket kit, hoses, and everything i think i need now. Then it will probably be untill next weekend before i can work on it again.
Re: Converting DX to DX-I project.
Yesterday i did a little work. I completely removed the pedals, lowered the steering column, removed the wiring harness from the car, and removed other misc parts to get to free the tranny. I started to remove some parts to get to the fuel line from the parts car.
Today im hoping my friend has the day free so we can remove the auto tranny. I'm concerned that i wont be able to lift the car high enough to slide the tranny out from under. I guess well just try it and see. I should be getting my gasket kit today so i can work on the valve seals.