Slow 92 CX Build

[Locruid]

Hey all, it's been awhile.


Friend loaned me a car for now (he bought a 90 Accord for $250!!! Runs GREAT). So today I finally dissembled the engine:

Block and Head go in tomorrow for checks and the rebuild kit is standing by. Going with an MLS Gasket this time instead of the damn Graphite one.

 

[Locruid]

Just a quick update....

Got the Block and head machine, dipped, checked $199
Got everything assembled.
Started good. Temp steady.

Took it for a spin. Little smoke from assembly. Ran great.

Took it to Work this last Monday. Drove beautiful. No smoke, no drips no nothing. Checked Fluids. Everything good. Driving home, I get about 3 miles from home and the temp suddenly shoots up. I keep it from redline but it likes to climbs.

Coolant still full. Oil is fine. Changed thermostat. Idles normal but when try to drive it around the temp climbs.

Checked Compression 185, 185, 180, 190. Came down with Bronchitis so waiting this weekend to check it out. Think the Water Pump isnt working as my Heater is also cold (brand new water pump though.....)

 

[Locruid]

So my BRAND NEW head gasket blew.

Anyways put a new one in and got everything back together.

Drove it all week and running pretty damn good. Haven't got on it hard yet as the rings are still setting (heard 500 miles breakin)

Still lopes though at idle. Haven't decided to replace the FITV or just get a new TB that eliminates it. But since the car is running pretty good I can now start doing the other things:

Bluetooth Stereo
Aux Lights
Cluster swap (want a tach)
Subwoofer
Re-paint the wheel (want them black instead of white)

Wife said I can pick up a D16Z6 and rebuild it. Theres one on CL right now for $500 Complete with computer and SI transmission (unfortunately wont have the money until mid Feb).

The car is pretty fun now. I imagine with a D16Z6 I'll be completely satisfied. Anyways, I'll either sell the B7 to make up some costs or I'll just wrap it up in plastic and store it somewhere in case my Z6 down the road becomes inoperable.

 

[Locruid]

Hey all another quick update

Car is running fantastic now. Haven't picked up a Z6 yet but a friend gave me his old Z6 intake manifold complete with everything on it. Gonna install that tomorrow

Added new headlights:

The light is freakin AWESOME. MUCH better than stock. have the Halos on with parking lights and theres 3 little LED's thta are wired up as daytime running lights.

The smoked tail lights were wrong. They sent me the 2/4 door version and I ordered the HB ones. Replacements Should be here Wed

Got my new stereo installed. Bluetooth, GPS, DVD on 7" slider screen. new Kenwood Speakers all around and a 12" sub in the back.

Still have to locate a SI Gauge cluster and a new front fender.

 

[Locruid]

It's that time again.

Lights work fantastic. Car runs so much better. Getting 33 mpg with 70% rural without trying. Got my hands on a Z6 Head and Complete Z6 Intake for $100. Gonna put them in "storage" until I get the other parts. Couldn't pass up that deal lol.

On a trip to the coast, my Harmonic Balance fell off. Wife brought me my brand new one, a spare bolt I had lying around and a keyway that I had stocked up on just in case. Replaced it all.
Been trying to chase down a massive Oil leak (quart a week). FINALLY found it. My Valve Cover gasket is warped lol. Didnt see it leaking. Found the remains all over the steering axle and Alt. Thought maybe it was the Crank Seal. But when I got the timing cover off everything was dry as a bone. That led to my search. Placed the Cover on a flat service and it would rock a whole 1/4". Grabbed my old one for now.

Other than that I'm super happy with it for now. Thinking of locating a Auto SI next. I really want an SI for all the goodies. I'd transfer all the Auto stuff to this one and move Manual stuff to the SI then give this car to the wife lol

 

[jameswanser]

good thread, just read it today. Seems like you've had nothing but trouble from that mini-me engine. I didn't think the compression with the y7block/y8 head was bad enough to blow brand new head gaskets. That was the MLS one, right? Was it the one for the y8 engine?

 

[Locruid]

Heh maybe I should have worded it better,

I'm just running a B8 block, B7 head (for now), and a Z6 Intake. Turns out the first 2 Head gaskets were just s**t. the last one I bought was a FelPro MLS and it's been great ever since. I had a friend who has a Y7 Block and Y8 but he's decided to put it in another car after he said I could have it .

Anyways I have a Z6 Head in storage atm just waiting for a ECU and Vtec Solenoid. Money is a bit tight atm so prolly wont even look for those for a month or 2. Meanwhile somehow I missed the fact my Oil pan was warped and was STILL chasing down a bad oil leak. FINALLY got that fixed just last week and now it's staying dry as a bone lol. Gave a 90% effort for mpg last couple weeks. First return was 35.6 mpg and this week was 36.7 mpg. I drive 17 miles to work and is about 85% rural. So I can't complain since having the EX transmission I can have some fun too when I'm bored lol. And when I dont try to get MPG I usually get about 31 mpg which still isn't TOO shabby.

Got my front wheels painted Black instead of white and will post new pics once I have all 4 done AND I get my Coil Over kit installed (want to lower it a couple inches and have brand new struts waiting to go on).

 

[Locruid]

Hey all quick question hopefully someone can answer...

Fueled up yesterday and when I started the car the Check Engine light came on. Car ran great with no issues. Got home and thought maybe my O2 sensor signal wire was loose. Fiddeled with it. Started car, engine light off. Drove to a friends house today no issues. Drove into town and as I got in town engine light came on. Again car ran great. Stopped at one place and when I started car, the light was off again. Made one more stop and the damn engine light came on when I started there. Got home and jumpered the diagnostic cable. No codes to be read....

wtf lol. O and just drove into Dari Mart for the wife and no engine light.....

 

[jameswanser]

No codes at all in memory? Ok, that's a little weird. I've got a spare B7 engine I bought about 10 years ago that's completely torn down. Picked up complete z6 head and p28 ECU about 5 years ago, with intention of doing a mini-me swap of my own. Even have complete gasket sets for block and head, as well as new rings. I just never got around to putting everything back together. Perhaps I'll get back on this over the summer. My 92's trans has started to make some noise when the clutch pedal is out, so it seems I'll be needing to replace some transmission bearings soon.
If I had the funds, I'd LIKE to swap the trans from my 99 EX into the 92, and just drop a B series into the 99 instead. But, money's VERY tight right now.

 

[Locruid]

The EX trans is definitely fun, course I came from a CX transmission so even a DX Transmission would have made a difference lol. yea, I went to Dari Mart again today. Damned Engine light came on soon as I started down the driveway. Car ran great. Got home, put the jumper on. Engine light came on and stayed on (signifying no codes to read from my understanding). Turned off key and pulled the jumper. Started up car and idled for like 3 minutes no engine light. Beginning to suspect if I have a VSS issue again (the clip for the harness is broke and had to dab some silly cone to help it stay in place until I can replace the harness connector) It would throw a light when it was not making good contact.

 

[Locruid]

Slight update on my car. Read that some 92-95 ECU would erase codes when ignition turned off so took the advice and ran codes with the engine still running. Code 41, O2 sensor. Time for a new one!

On a side note, made of like a bandit today:




1988 Accord LXi. Completely stock. Family owned since bought brand new (Grandpa, mother, daughter). Has 321k on body, 52k on motor and transmission. EVERYTHING WORKS but the Stereo and power antennae. Came with complete set of Aftermarket Wheels and Studded tires with 80%+ tread left as well as complete set of Honda Factory rims with tires that could use replacing. Picked it up for $500. Yup that's not a typo......Five Hundred Dollars. They thought the engine rings were worn prematurely and it did smoke pretty good under heavy load. So I took it home smoked like a steam train climbing a hill or 2, but otherwise ran fantastic. Was gonna rebuild the motor later. So I go outside and was checking fluids when I noticed the oil disptick had a lot of oil on it....about 2" past the max. WTF lol. So I drained ALL the oil, and put in 3.5 quarts. The oil that came out was pretty freakin new (sticker in window says oil changed just 3 weeks ago) so I decided to bottle it back up. Took 7 qts.....so in other words it was 3.5 quarts PAST THE FULL MARK lol. Took it for a spin and didnt smoke at all and had more power rofl. The distributor seal is leaking though but that's a minor fix. I originally bought the car for the wife as her commute is 37 miles round trip each day in a Durango.

 

[jameswanser]

that's why you change your own oil, kids. Not as likely you'll add new oil without draining the old. Glad it was an easy fix.

 

[Locruid]

It's that time again my friends....

So the Accord is shot. Found a pile of oil in the Intake Box so I rednecked a Oil Catch Can...wow....yup motor is toast. Still driveable. They prolly blew it when they over filled the motor. The rebuild kit just came in a couple days ago and got my check today where I can spare the expense of a Machine Shop so my weekend is booked But the Good news is the Accord will be a very nice driveable "cruising" car in about a week. Which is perfect cause in July I got a Manager's Meeting to attend for a week and the location is 300 miles away.

Civic running great. Replaced the O2 sensor and havent had an engine light since. Also returning 36+mpg on 2 fill ups. Still havent done much on the civic since last post as my extra income has been going to get the Accord back up to Optimal Conditions. But after the rebuild and stereo foe the Accord it'll be done, then I can re-focus my energy back onto the Civic.

 

[Locruid]

Hey Hey....

So the Civic has been running fantastic since i changed out the O2 Sensor. Still gotta strip and paint the rear wheels. My last 2 fill-ups have averaged 36+mpg which isn't too damn shabby with a EX transmission.

Got the Accord busted apart. Turns out the block was bored .020 over but they did a s**t job. The damn Cross Hatches from the honing were deep and causing issues. Anyways, took it to my Machine guy and gonna bore it .040 over. Shouldn't hurt it too much as all it's gonna be is a daily driver and traveling vehicle.......the civic is my runner lol. Anyways spending more than I had planned on it but still gonna come in around $1000 I paid for it and to overhaul it. Bluebook lists $2400 for a CRAP version so I'm still extremely happy since mines anything but CRAP lol.


Once I get the Accord up and going gonna REALLY decide if I want to D16Z6/Turbo or B18/B20 the Civic. Both have pros and cons. I'm pretty sure I'd be happy with the Z6/Turbo. That would put my car whereas I want it. I know the B's have WAY more potential, but I think mid 13's to low 14's is enough for me. Been in the Low 12's/High 11's and I was BEGGING for a ticket everytime I went out lol.

 

[Locruid]

Hey Friends,

I've been down but not out. Monday while I was re-assembling the Accord, I slipped and tore a 4" gash in my left forearm so haven't been able to do much but catch up on movies and sleep lol.

The civic returned a new MPG record for me...41.13 which is fantastic considering the transmission I have in it.

I'm gone most of this coming week to a Manager's Meeting so it'll give my arm time to heal so I can put the Accord's motor back in. Then it'll be time to save up for my Z6 motor!

 

[Locruid]

Hello My Friends,

I know it's been a couple months lol. Car has been running fantastic. Constant 40 mpg every week. Added a Z6 intake to it. Definitely feel the response at 4k rpms+. Have been fighting a internal debate. Whether to put my Z6 Head on (still have to get a ecu, Distributor for it) or just add a 1990 A6 cam to my current setup. Theres pros and cons to both but I'm leaning more to the A6. More constant power (instead of revving up to a set rpm) and slightly more potential with the A6 (mistabone db7beast build comes to mind lol).

Found a Arm rest at the junkyard yesterday:

I know it's black. But not easy finding a Blue. Prolly gonna paint the other half of it (the shifter area) black also. Also gonna fabric the arm rest portion.

Also knabbed a clock:

Funny story. Couldnt get the damn thing to work. Finally figured out how but it just seemed wierd. After further research and a duh moment, the 7.5 amp fuse was blown. Replaced the fuse and suddenly it started working properly lol.

So anyways that's where the Ole Girl is at for now. Probably gonna find an Integra Cluster and put it in, still fix the front fender and then I'll replace the seats with cloth ones. O also added a Short Shifter and FINALLY painted my rear wheels black lol.

Until next time.....

 

[xxBLOOD88SHOTxx]

Good stuff. I wish I was getting 30+mpg.

 

[Locruid]

Snagged an A6 cam for $40.
Got it put in Sunday. Ran decent
Drove it to work Monday. Had some pinging and it felt....ok. Nothing to brag about. Started thinking this was a bad idea. Noticed I'm consuming more fuel (20 mile trip to work).

Got home and got my timing light out and that's when I noticed I couldn't get my timing marks to align. So took the covers off and brought it to TDC and somehow I got the damn thing off by one tooth. Set TDC, put it back together and noticed a pretty nice pickup this am. Can start off in 2nd without lugging it. Got off work and finally decided to jump on it.....holy hell lol. This D15Beast7 idear has some pretty good merit. This thing RIPS off the line. Can't wait to tune it

 

[Locruid]

Wife and I carpooled Yesterday. I jumped on the car ripping 1-2. Wife's eyes went wide and she threw up her hands to the dash when I hit 2nd LOL.

Car returned 34.6 mpg. Had that one day of 40ish miles with the timing off pretty good so I'm gonna guesstimate I should get 35-36 mpg on average IF I can keep my foot off the pedal I'm sold on this D15Beast7 build. This car is HELLA fun to drive and she'll sit you in the seat pretty good all through the power band.

Anywho, today I'm replacing my clutch. The throwout bearing bearing has been chattering and lately has gotten pretty vocal. Grabbed a Stage 2 clutch for my future turbo build. I'm seriously thinking of upgrading my Connecting rods instead of going with a D16 motor and just turboing this BEAST build. O well, I got a couple months to roll it through my head. Heading to the Wrecking Yard tomorrow and seeing if I can snag a Integra Cluster.

 

[Locruid]

Got my clutch in. Not only was the throwout bearing bad but I think one of the bearings inside is going bad too. It's not REAL loud yet.....but gonna price another EX transmission and rebuild that then swap it in.

Car is running pretty damn good. Almost to 1/2 tank at 183 miles which was roughly where it would be normally. Course I been gentle with the girl breaking in the clutch.....

Gonna throw some new pics up soon.