Thanks, this is a good idea.
Thanks, this is a good idea.
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
I recently just purchased coolant/battery and oil pressure/temp gauges, already had the innovative afr gauge. Data logging with those extra inputs in a daisy chain will really help. Might be more than you want to get into, but if you want more inputs but not the gauges they make the SSI-4 box that allows you to add in several extra inputs... might do one later for rpm myself, depends on how well megajolt and innovative logs overlay.
Also, I can't wait to replace the stock coolant temp sensor with a k type thermocouple... that thing is crap!
Last edited by ShiRen; 04-23-2021 at 08:11 AM.
Purchased the AutoMeter 2-1/16" WIDEBAND AIR/FUEL RATIO, ANALOG, 8:1-18:1 AFR, GS Sku 3870
Its their GS series gauges, they are black with white letters that light up green when lit. Same as the dash, it also matches my oil pressure gauge from the same series.
2-1/16" WIDEBAND AIR/FUEL RATIO, ANALOG, 8:1-18:1 AFR, GS
Also
Realized today that sometime this month in 2001 my dad gave me this car to drive. Hard to believe that i have had this car for 20 years or that I am old enough to drive a car for 20 years. (I am 37, i know not that old but in terms of a cars lifespan its old)
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
Its been a while but I'm still kicking and the car is doing the same. Summer has been busy with camping, going to the lake, kids activities. I drive the kids to taekwondo every weekday, they love riding it it just as much as I do. I haven't really done anything to the car as for repairs other than taking a few parts off and cleaning them. Whats new is that during a 5 hour road trip to an roller coaster and water park i hit the best i have ever done with 260 miles on a half tank of gas. 34.6MPG on the entire tank.
Also I have decided not to reinstall the radio. I have been driving without a radio for over 2 years and honestly I like it. Cruising in the summer with the windows down or even in the winter you get time to think about things. So for the sake of going light weight (another goal) I 3D printed rear speaker covers to replace the metal ones, plus the metal ones have no way of staying there without being on a mounted speaker. Its a louvered design if the pictures don't do it justice. Where the radio goes, i am going to put my extra gauges, oil pressure, wideband O2 sensor, and i have room for one more but don't know what that is yet.
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
I bough this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072LDM7N6 I can't live without my radio, already have a stripped miata and it leaves a lot to be disired, but I will definitely be getting rid of the head unit because aftermarket ones always look like shit. I don't know why they all still have to look like they're straight out of 2001. Sony, Pioneer, and the lot should take a page out of Blaupunkt's book and look at the SQR 46 DAB, except for that insane price tag.
I agree about aftermarket radios look odd in any car. I have the original radio i was going to put in to be authentic but honestly its just an am/fm radio so pretty useless. But that bluetooth/amp looks pretty nice. Small package and no other user interface to put somewhere.
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
I put one of those media player ones in mine. They're shorter than a CD or tape deck. I do want an old school tape deck though for the look eventually but that's later down the road when the major stuff is taken care of (probably never lol)
Only have 3 speakers though, rear right isn't working and I did put all new speakers all around and even swapped the left and right rears just to be sure. It's in the wiring somewhere.
Originally posted by ShiRen:
Nice car or not, nobody likes losing a race to an old 4 door Honda.
My engine sort of went kaput. But as usual i think the solution will be to take it apart, clean it up and put it back together.
Friday i was driving around town and parked at a clients parking lot for about an hour, when i came out there were two big oil leak spots from me. One the size of a big dinner plate and another the size of a medium plate. On the way back home i was stuck in stop and go traffic and the engine started smoking like crazy. The oil was leaking on the exhaust header from the valve cover gasket. I'm sure people though i blew up my engine. I know what the problem is, when the car sat for years while i was doing the carb to fi conversion, cylinder #2 piston rings became stuck, its causing excessive blow by so oil leaks out of every gasket. Its been this way for 30,000 miles and i knew the day would come where i was forced to fix it. So I have it in the garage and this week i am tearing the engine down to fix that piston ring. As far as i know its not cracked and there are no scratches on the cylinder walls from when i looked at it a while ago with a boroscope. This week is the best week for me to do a project like this being that its thanksgiving week. Pics to come.
Looking forward to improved performance and probably a smoother running engine when all 4 cylinders will have the same compression after this. Although it has run and performed just fine even with this cylinder #2 problem. Typical Honda (works even though its broken)
Last edited by conozo; 11-22-2021 at 08:17 AM.
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
Good luck with it!
1988 Lxi owner since August 1995
336k miles running strong!
Now running E85.
Oldblueaccord <<< MY YOUTUBE PAGE!
I found marvel mystery oil to be fantastic at unsticking rings... but Im not sure I would believe it would have stayed stuck for 30k mi, at least not without taking out the bore with it
ok, well i got the piston out and the ring is not stuck. So now i really dont know what the issue is. I have excessive blowby where it even causes the dipstick to pop out every drive thus causing all my oil leaks. Cylinder #2 measured about 20 psi lower compression compared to the other pistons. Also a leakdown test showed %25 percent leak compared to the other cylinders which had no leak. That cylinder has lots of oil in it, you can tell by the pictures and by the spark plug. I'll spend more time looking at tomorrow.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...ton2%20(0).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2021-11-25enginedissasemblypiston2%20(0).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2021-11-25enginedissasemblypiston2%20(0).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2021-11-25enginedissasemblypiston2%20(0).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2021-11-25enginedissasemblypiston2%20(0).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2021-11-25enginedissasemblypiston2%20(0).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2021-11-25enginedissasemblypiston2%20(0).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2021-11-25enginedissasemblypiston2%20(0).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2021-11-25enginedissasemblypiston2%20(0).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2021-11-25enginedissasemblypiston2%20(0).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2021-11-25enginedissasemblypiston2%20(0).jpg
Last edited by conozo; 11-25-2021 at 07:45 AM. Reason: added link to pics because they are not showing for some reason
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...on2%20(11).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...on2%20(12).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...on2%20(13).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...on2%20(14).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...on2%20(15).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...on2%20(16).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...on2%20(17).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...on2%20(18).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...on2%20(19).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...on2%20(20).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...on2%20(21).jpg
Yes i was wearing underwear ......... yes i was using my sons old underwear as oil rags.
Now i see the #2 exhaust valve looks funny, i will look at it more. But could a bad valve cause excessive blowby?
Last edited by conozo; 11-25-2021 at 07:45 AM. Reason: added link to pics because they are not showing for some reason
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
in pic 17 is that a crack in the exhaust valve? That would cause the loss of compression. Valve stem seals would put oil in the cylinder, maybe. What led you to believe #2 had stuck rings? Really trying to think what would cause the blow by unless it simply needs rings because the bores look pretty good. I am assuming your pcv system was near stock.
If that valve is broke I've got an extra head that I only needed for the exhaust valve springs, so there is probably a decent valve in my collection Id be willing to send you
I assumed it was my rings because when i did the leakdown test i listened to where the air was going and it was leaking into the crankcase only on that #2 cylinder. It was not leaking into the intake or exhaust manifolds.
From the pictures that #2 exhaust looks sketchy. So i will need to replace it, it looks like its crumbling apart. The valve stem seals are new as of 30k miles ago but i guess thats the most probably blow by cause if the rings are fine. I am going to look closer at the rings and make some measurements.
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
I see this motor has been apart, at least for a head gasket, but was it ball honed as well? Is that correct? If its already been ringed and honed it might be time to go .040" over (or b20 pistons hehe).
I wasn't saying the valve seal would cause blow by, not even sure if that is really possible, I think it would rather go out the rest of the exhaust. If the compression was escaping out a bad valve then its going to be hard to tell if the rings were bad. And I assume the cause of death of the valve would be a burnt valve... so make sure you check that fuel injector too!
Let me know if you need a valve... I thought they were out of stock, but there seem to be a few new now.
Update: I have it all back together and have been driving it the past couple days.
I replaced all the valves with new ones and lapped them all. Replaced every gasket and seal i could. Cleaned everything I took off as best as i could with a rag, engine degreaser, carb cleaner, and compressed air. Adjusted the valves and timing. I think the timing belt is off one tooth because its supposed to be timed at 4 degrees but i could only turn the distributor to 3 degrees. I would assume i would have more room to wiggle it. As i was aligning it up it always seemed to be on the half tooth mark. That will be an easy fix, probably take about a half hour now.
Only two problems i ran into were just waiting for parts. I'd work on the engine for an evening then order a part and wait a week, work on it for another evening or day and wait another week for another part. So all in all it took about a month to complete with about 4 whole days of work with most of that time being cleaning parts. I did not take the engine block out to do this rebuild/refresh.
My diagnostics is that all three valves on cylinder 2 were not sealing well at all causing the combustion to go back up the intake and up through the intake valve guides past the valve stem seals. There was a lot of carbon in that area and also the valves were very crusty and pitted. Cylinder one had the same carbon on the intake valve stem seals. This make me replace all 12 valves. All the valve seats were pitted. I installed the valves, filled up the chamber with water and blew compressed air from the exhaust and intake runners onto the back of the valve to see if i got any bubbles. Pretty much all had leaks and especially cylinder 2. I took the valves off and lapped them, repeating the test till they sealed perfectly.
The car does seem to run smoother. It still has a loopy idle on cold starts, but thats not an engine problem its a vacuum leak, distributor, coolant sensor, or multiple things, i havent figured it out yet.
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
Pretty sure mine is an interference engine now. Didnt measure it but any carbon build up would be game over if the belt broke.
New Valves and cleaned carbon
some pistons cleaned super easy and some were very difficult to clean
Utterly amazed here. This is the original factory catalytic converter. Still good after all these years, light shines right through it. Bolts still good too, zipped right off with impact.
I desperately need a new downpipe exhaust gasket for my pacesetter header. Havent called pacesetter yet to see if they have one but couldn't find anything online.
Links if the pictures dont work above.
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...ssembly(1).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...ssembly(2).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...ssembly(3).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...ssembly(4).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...ssembly(5).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...ssembly(6).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...ssembly(7).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...ssembly(8).jpg
http://honda.conozo.com/pics_3geez/2...ssembly(9).jpg
Last edited by conozo; 12-20-2021 at 07:49 PM.
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
I am assuming you go the head resurfaced? You probably don't have the timing out, thats just the best its going to get. Just make sure your cam is advanced (lobes moved counter clockwise from stock, if it leaves you with sufficient valve clearance) rather than retarded and set the ignition timing between 6-10*BTDC. It will help if you can find actual TDC instead of going off the markings on the crank, but its hard to do with the spark plugs at an angle. Engine should run pretty good if you can manage that.
Day 2-3 now. Engine is running very good. Transmission is not. Slipping out of 1st and 5th. Before anyone says my transmission or syncros are bad i know they are not. I had zero issues with it before. I can say this with confidence because when i put everything back the clutch cable seemed odd, it just doesnt come straight off the transmission and lay across the engine bay the same way it did before. I cannot figure out how exactly it was. Pictures online seem to have it lay across the distributor, mine has never been there for sure. The big radiator hoses seem to be in the way. If i move the clutch cable to a different location, the clutch pedal feels completely different and it works for 5 miles until the cable moves in the engine bay then the gears keep popping out. Also the cable does seem to be binding at times, there were a few times when i started out in first it felt like i was dropping the clutch even though my foot was off the pedal at that point.
Its almost like its been wrong its entire life and it needs to stay that way. looking at old pictures now....
Good news is i might be on to something as to why our 5th gears go out all the time. Clutch or clutch cable issues... (5th gear doesnt necessarily pop out completely, sort of half pops out and you can hear the teeth not engaging completely as you get a whine sound especially when you let go of the gas)
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
There is a lot of padding behind the clutch pedal you might try to remove and see if it fixes the issue. I'll admit to not routing it where the cable normally goes (because its ugly as sin) but I had to get every bit of travel out of my clutch pedal as I could though. Never had issues with it binding or anything like that though. My gears don't pop out, but 5th grinds. I should probably look at the cable again, maybe you're onto something. 5th is the last to get any oil, so its basically doomed if the clutch and oil are an issue, very few of these trans are going to see their 40th birthday. The clutch pedal needs a higher pedal ratio imo, it would solve all the troubles if it was allowed ample travel to begin with, and our clutches are light as a feather.
1988 Lxi owner since August 1995
336k miles running strong!
Now running E85.
Oldblueaccord <<< MY YOUTUBE PAGE!
Dr_Snooz
"I like to take hammers, and just break stuff, just break stuff." - Beavis
1989 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe, 240k miles, MT swap, rear disc swap
Shop manual downloads available here: CLICK TO VIEW
I think when I had the head refreshed locally during my carb to fi conversion they did not get the 3 angle valve grind at the correct angle. They were all off evenly but cylinder #2 was the worst with the carbon build up in that cylinder. One problem caused another causing the original problem to get worse.
I dont know why my pictures dont show up right away. They are directly linked to my server as i have always done and there is no restriction to having it this way.
I'm still having shifting issues with it popping out of 1st and 5th. So far i have adjusted the clutch cable and can confirm it is working as it should. I loosened the motor mounts and re tightened them to let the engine settle as it was before because i though maybe the engine was tilted to much causing a weird angle on the shift rod and therefore i couldn't shift into gear all the way. I changed the tranny oil with new Penzoil Synchromech which is what i was using before. I had a though that maybe coolant had leaked down into it through the speedo sensor which is why i changed the oil but it looked just fine with no sparkles or anything.
I dont know what else to check. Possibly my exhaust pipe is hitting the shift rod, ill take a look. It feels like it shifts into every gear just fine.
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
I say best bet is pop the 5th gear cover off and see what the wear looks like, I need to do it myself. If its the shifter then I am pretty sure you would have problems in 1, 3, 5 or 1, 2, 5, R. If it is hard going into gear with the trans stationary, you need to put it into a forward gear and go back to neutral without letting off the clutch to stop everything, then something might be binding up.
I may be jumping the gun but it keeps getting better every mile i drive after the fluid change. Maybe i did have coolant in there causing fluid contamination. Been driving around half of yesterday and today using all the gears and it hasn't slipped once. Out of fear i am driving super easy on it. Wish me luck.
1988 Honda Accord LSDX-I
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