kev

Adding a quick update to this thread...I've been in discussions with a member on FB who is rebuilding his transmission as I write this. I was able to dig out the custom tool I made to pull the large center bearing off the main shaft for transmission disassembly. Note: that I lost the photos of this step in the process. Also note, that I made a similar tool for the input shaft bearing removal prior to realizing that I could remove the input shaft and bearing as a whole on an 88/89. Here are the tools. I made these out of 4140 steel, which is pretty high strength. This may have been overkill. I also wrapping them around the bearing as much as I could to limit flange deformation....again, may have been overkill. The lip is only .050" thick in order to get between the underside of the bearing flange and the transmission case. As seen, I used some scrap hollow structural steel and tacked it to the tool halves once around the bearing....being that the material was 4140, it doesn't take kindly to welding and my tacks broke...which caused no issue. Thus disregard this feature, it isn't needed. The holes are drilled/tapped to 1/2-13 thru and I used ASTM A193 B7 all thread rod (which is basically 4140 steel too) as the extension to a standard puller bar. Obviously, these were made on a lathe and mill. I had access to a local machine shop at the time who let me create these while on my lunch breaks at work at the time. Probably more elaborate than most would have done, but you can use the principle to design something similar. I use to have actual drawings of these but they were also lost with the photos. But they are easy to make...measure the diameter of the bearing flange and the bearing body with a .050" thick lip. The total thickness of these are 1/2". Definitely could try a much more crude tool made out of 1018 or A36 steel with 1/2-13 nuts welded to them in lieu of the tapped holes. I don't have a tranny a part to show the setup on but thought I'd at least post pictures of the tool on one of my spare center bearings. The member on FB ended up not using anything like this but rather setting up the transmission in a harbor freight shop press and pressed down on the main shaft...using the transmission case to resist the bearing as the shaft was pushed off of it. He has a nice little video of it on FB showing the process, which I'm trying to figure ou how to link here. He said he may put it up on youtube for the purpose....I'll update this if he does.

Some more progress. I had really hoped to get more done this weekend, but my garage was so hot and humid (my mini-split system died over the winter..which was planned to be replaced this past spring if this accident didn't happen). So, here is what the car looks like currently. The car is functional and I took it out for a drive a week or so ago. Have also driven it out and into the garage bay a few times since. BTW: when I connected my wiring in the engine bay after the engine install, I inadvertently didn't connect the ground that goes to the EGR valve for the ECU system. It was close enough to have contact to fire up the engine, but then it arced. I literally saw the arc to the fuel filter....scary!!! It blew out the brown fusible link and shut the car down. I couldn't believe the amount of smoke emitted from that little fusible link! Took the time to clean up all three grounds pertaining to the ECU system (the one on the EGR, the one behind the igniter box, and the one up in the passenger side corner by the airbox). And a new brown fusible link from DAD...fixed! I also had a leak on my primary inject o-ring...adding to the scare of the electrical arc to the fuel system! So, got some new injector seals from DAD on the same order...fixed! I'm really happy how the core of the actual 'car' came out. Now it is on the cosmetic stuff. Focus has been mainly on the bumper support. This is my spare bumper support that I got off a parts car I had back in 2003. It has been sitting on a shelf since. But, as always, there is rust. The lower flange was rusted pretty good with some internal rust. I cut it open and removed the 'outer' sheet on the lower pinch flange...for there was barely any remaining from it. Did a good blasting and used some scrap sheet to restore the lower flange. Tacked on stainless washers and nuts to restore the bolting features. I really 'should' do further patchwork on the structure where it started rusting through, but I don't think I will. Going to put it in two coats of epoxy primer. Then will either use fiberglass to seal up the holes or seam sealer. My goal is simply to keep it from rusting further. After some cutting/grinding: After blasting: After restoring the lower flange: After a good 'bath' in rust convertor: I had a goal of finishing this car by July 28...for I scheduled my yearly state inspection that day (it expires in July). Not sure I'm going to make it. I still have to finish this bumper support and then get on to the repairs to the front spoiler. After that, it is sanding down the bumper, header panel, fender, marker lights and paint prepping them. I already know I have a ding in the fender than needs to be addressed and I'm sure I'll find some other minor areas to putty. Lots of prepping and will need primer, probably twice in the process. Then BC/CC followed by wet sanding/buffing. Too much for two weeks, especially with only working a bit on weekends. I may slap this thing back together just enough to get it through the inspection. I don't like lapsing the state inspection, for I 'could' make this road worthy in just a few hours if I had to use the car.

Thanks! No cool photos this week, because I wasn't doing body work. I put the engine back in it. Figured everyone has seen tons of pictures of that. The full engine bay is almost back together. I'm in the process of cleaning up my replacement radiator. I was contemplating having it professionally cleaned but the internals of this thing are looking good. I can also tell that it has been worked in the past...pretty easy because there is a metal tag on it from the radiator shop that did the work haha. I believe it has been re-cored. I'll finish that up this coming weekend and hopefully will turn the key to make sure everything is operational. Then it is on to paint prep of the cosmetic panels, as well as some rust repair in my replacement bumper support. I ordered the paint products on Friday; more epoxy, base, and clear. Still need to buy some new vinyl decals but that can wait a bit. techboy, Rummaging through boxes in my garage for something and ran into a set of oil cooler lines! So, I'll bring yours back next time we meet up. Thanks again! kev

Usually, bad valve seals will blow smoke all the time but most noticeably while on acceleration. If it blows after let-off, it's probably blowby past the rings. Clean up the breathing system first and see if that helps. But, yes, there is an o-ring on the JVE kit. So shelby is correct. Have I ever seen one leak though?...no. I don't know the o-ring size but it is most likely a standard dash size being that they are probably Goodson JVEs. They might tell you if you called them, but the kit is only $30.

Not too much to show after this weekend, although worked on it about equal time as the last few weekends. Just starting to assemble the engine bay. This alone cleaned up my garage a bit. I'm very happy on the color. A little road grime in a few months will match it all well haha. I did find a ding in the blue fender. It's actually pushed outwards, most likely some minor damage from being in storage for years. Fully fixable but I was really hoping the body panels would have been as simple as sand, prime, paint. But good thing is that the header panel is looking that way. So, the big question..if you poked your head under the hood now (not knowing any of the history of this car), would you notice that it was hit? I have since swapped that rusty horn out with the original. These are probably the most interesting of the weekend results..unmasking the wheels. And this was simply unmasking, I still need to do the final polish which probably will wait until I mount the tires. Example 'Before' photo (well after paint stripper): And 'After': (the rim on the left is the same as the one above...which actually was an easier rim because it didn't have curb rash. I forgot to take photos of the initial start on the rear wheels, which had a lot of curb rash and were in overall worse condition) I was really debating the color of the insets...going with a more original gray vs black. Black really does pop on a black car but my goal on this particular car was to retain it stock (although, I have been slowly deviating from this). Obviously, I chose gray. It is an early 90's Honda Pewter Gray, paint code NH-537M, if anyone is curious. Looking forward to seeing them on the car. Speaking of retaining it stock, I believe I made the decision to yank out the A/C system. There was absolutely no freon in there. This car originally was an automatic which has the second condenser...which is mangled up good, someone hit a curb or something in the past (most likely the main source of the leak but I'm sure all the seals and crimped hoses really need to be repaced). I'm not looking to try to revitalize the A/C system at the current time and being that a good portion of it was removed for the repair, I'm going to leave it out and open up the engine bay a bit. Of course, I'll save and store the parts if my mind changes in the future.

Time for another update on the weekend's progress: I think you all probably know that I can't leave things alone, haha. I scuffed up the black epoxy. Some of the filler work I did had pin holes in it (as expected because it was such a quick job), so I used a little glaze putty to fill them. Then reshot with serbia black BC. No clear, for I wanted it to have a more of a satin look to match the rest of the engine compartment. I think it came out good, although I still need to unmask to see how close it really is. I still don't like that corner, but I really need to accept it for what it is...for I'm not going back now. Sprayed the headlight bucket as well, which use to be burgundy. The bracket on the left was bead blasted to bare metal, two coats of epoxy and two coats of BC. The bucket itself was just a quick wipe down and one coat of BC (It's fully hidden but didn't like the burgundy overspray on it) And while I had the spray gun out, I decided to work on my project that was in process prior to the collision..refurishing my spare set of 7/8s. I had these all polished up over the winter but needed the insets painted. I really do wonder if the accident would have ever happened if I had finished this project earlier (with new rear tires on). Really curious to see how these look after removing the tape...I haven't touched them since, just letting the paint cure well.

Unfortunately, no. But the good is that these transmissions are very easy to remove. 2 bolts for the starter, 1 small bolt/nut for the transition plate, undo the 2 bolts on the clutch slave cylinder, remove the driveshaft, unplug the reverse light/speedo/sensor, and undo the shifter (which probably is the hardest part because you have to take out the center console...or sneak up there from below in the tunnel with a wrench and small hands). Then four tranny to engine bolts and it is out. It's also not too heavy. Regular floor jack is sufficient or even muscle it out by hand.

This week's progress: Got the affected areas of the engine compartment in epoxy primer. The first coat laid a good satin finish, but I added two more coats heavy which resulted in some gloss...typical for the primer I use. Normally this is a good thing, but I was trying to get more of a satin look to match the rest of the compartment. I wanted to get the epoxy nice and thick though such that it does its job. I drive this car, it isn't a garage queen like my other cq, so I want the coatings to be durable. Still debating if I'm going to leave it as-is or lay a thin coat of just Serbia Black base (with no clear). That's as far as I went this weekend because I put my attention on my blue cq and got it going for the season (not bad because I did both of these in the same day). Although, I did compare the core support on it to this car (not sure why I didn't do this prior). In all, I probably should have spent more time on that corner to get it looking a bit closer to stock but I'm not fussing with it anymore at this point. Everything lines up and the repair isn't too obvious.

This weekend's progress: It doesn't look like much but here is the result of several more hours of work. Basically using some filler to smooth things out. Mostly focusing on that upper right core support that will be most visible when you pop the hood but also putting a little on the frame rail and even on the front sheet metal supports to just mask the crinkled steel a little bit. Also applied seam sealer and did a thorough washing of the engine compartment. Next up is epoxy primer and then paint. My concern now is actually matching the paint. I'm worried BC/CC will put too much of a shine compared to the rest of the engine compartment when is more of a dull black. I'll start with my black epoxy and see how it looks. May just BC the top of the core support with serbia black but not use clear. We shall see, that is next weekend's project. Also, pressure washed off the 'new' body panels to start into the paint prep. May first focus on the engine compartment and getting everything under the hood back together and getting the car running again. I could definitely use the garage space that is being occupied by all of the parts from this car. My other conquest is pretty much trapped in the garage and I haven't yet been able to take it out of winter hibernation as a result. This rail is pretty darn straight now and there isn't much Duraglass or filler in there!

Some more updates. Spent a few hours working on the final welding/grinding in the engine compartment. I must have test fit the outer body panels 50 times by now...maybe more! I did run into an interference when I put the black plastic on around the headlight. It was hitting the outermost sheet metal slightly, just enough to rub it a little. Not the biggest deal but being that I only had it tacked in position, I made sure to address it. I popped the tacks and spent some more time reshaping that panel. Plus, with that out of the way, I was able to grind down my welds on the other panel easier. Also, the bolt on the core support for the headlight motor wasn't lining up the best. A couple minutes of work with the slide-hammer resolved that. One thing I'm learning well....test fit, test fit, test fit! Test fit everything, even the smallest part when it comes to a repair like this. Don't want to find issues when everything is all painted and looking good. This is the time to address all of these things, when it still looks ugly haha. This is the ugliest visual of the repair but given the state it was in, I am very impressed I got it bent back and everything lines up. Although, this is the most noticeable spot of the repair (easily seen when you pop the hood). I got the rubber bump stop functional again (not exactly like it was stock but it works). I need to make this look a bit better. I did some welding to build it up and grind it smooth(er) I applied a little Duraglass on a few of the areas to help mask the repair some more. And spraying a coat of quick primer on everything. Still have some work to do to make everything look good before paint, but it is really close now. I also reshaped my air can. The one tab on the body was bent too which required some manipulation but I was able to reshape it without drilling out the spot welds and rewelding. Still have a little sanding to do on the frame rail (mainly just the rolled edge), but the Duragalss took care of the ugly remnants of the 'kink'..hammer marks, etc. I'll also put some seam sealer back in before final prime/paint. i did make a custom nozzle to prime the inside of the frame from where I applied heat. I'll apply paint there too and then follow up with some further treatment when it is all done to inhibit rust in the future. I still have to play with this a bit. Will sand it a little more and get out the body putty..Duraglass is a bit hard to shape the contours. I want this looking better than what it does currently.

Possibly, it looks like there is a bit more orange peel than what was original especially with how polished this car is. The rear bumper looks how I'd expect it to. I agree though; if you are investing in such a low mile car, you want it all original. Even the tinted windows and black wheel insets detract from the originality.

There is a starion on fb right now in Maryland for $1000. Has a blown engine and a lot of patina...but they are out there. I've seen several go lately on FB for under $1500, you just have to keep your eye open and be ready to bite as soon as you see one.

Also, I don't like that version of the TPS/ISC reset that was posted above. I follow the one in this thread (the original posted by KO but is mike c's wording...the 9 steps). I know, there are so many but most have forms of simplification which can run you into problems. Follow mike c's reset procedure to the T.

There are many things it could be, but being that things changed after the new injector clips and TB cleaning, I'd place focus here.....but, take into consideration what was said on a previous post. You could be stuck in closed loop. If you unplug the CTS (the one that goes to the ECU and is vertical with the prong facing up) and put a 200 ohn resistor between the two terminals of the plug, it will trick the ECU into thinking the car is fully warm. Obviously, you will have to start the car and let it come to temperature to do further testing...but this will rule out CTS issues as you further diagnose. If still having idling issues, now start going through what you have done. Did you make a mistake on soldering in the injector wires...inadvertently switched a wire, cold solder joint, etc.? Did you replace all o-rings using a TB seal kit and NOT use any type of sealant that could have gotten into an injector port? Did you attempt to do a TPS/iSC reset...probably not being that you can't get it to idle, but have you moved the TPS to see if it makes a difference? Did you inadvertently touch the idle screws on the TB? On that note, there are two idle screws...one for the ISC, which is the primary idle adjustment...the second on the throttle plate itself, which is the secondary that should be set a turn or so less than the ISC to 'catch' it if the ISC allows the idle to drop and not stall the car. Note: there is a popular youtube video out there that shows the incorrect way of setting the idle by turning the fixed idle screw on the throttle plate....although it is incorrect, you can try that first to see if you can get it to idle but know that you will have to go later back it off and go through the TPS/ISC reset procedure in very good detail to get the electronics and the idle properly set right. To me, the new idle issue seems to be either a bad connection on the new injector clips or a blocked injector. Also note that the black injector is known to gum up if you let it sit awhile. The green injector only opens when you push the accelerator, as soon as you let off or hold it still, it will stop spraying. So, if your black injector isn't opening, it will stall out in these conditions. I greatly suspect this is your issue...confirm it and if it is, find the cause..it's either gummed up, not getting the signal to open, or blocked. As to the temp sensor for the gauge, if it is an aftermarket sensor (assuming so since you said you changed it), they are known to have different calibrations. I've tried a couple different aftermarket ones from rockauto and ended up with ones that show the car almost overheating and another that showed it barely heating at all...yet the car was running at the proper temperature. I always ended up back with an old OEM one. I'd also be very cautious on an aftermarket ECU CTS.

I do remember that previous one...didn't realize it was the same. Hmm, I wonder why the emblems were changed? Not fond of seeing cars being flipped to make a buck.