My "New" 98 Civic Si Project

[Chrysler kid]

Originally Posted by mechman600

So if I go and buy a used factory Civic CD deck (which I want to do), isn't there some sort of code derived from the car's VIN of the deck's donor car that I need to make it work? Is there a way around it? Can I then get any old keyless remote and somehow program it to work?

I have been attempting the same thing with my vehicle. However due to their poor visual design many times junker cars are even missing the factory radio. The radio was up top and the cd player or cassette player is behind the cup holder.


I believe the 96-98 models do not need a security code. You would need to source a radio from a hx/lx/ex model which came with power locks. The rf unit is a separate assembly affixed atop the radio on the back side. So you're looking at $60 us for a used factory radio and $50 for an rf fob. At that price it's almost better to purchase an aftermarket keyless entry kit. The radio also has a Honda service sticker you can call and have them give you a security code


Majestic Honda is a great place for honda parts and more importantly wiring and part diagrams

[mechman600]

Done. Block heater, new coolant and timing belt.

Now a word about the Kats block heaters from NAPA. It isn't located anywhere near where Kats says it is. The instructions say front right corner of the engine block. Nope. After some Google searching I found that it screws into the block coolant drain just above and to the left of the oil filter, beneath the intake manifold.

The block plug is a large, threaded plug with a 19mm hex head, and let me tell you how tight it was: bloody friggen stupid awful tight. And it requires a 6" extension, so awkward. I should have said awkward too. I nearly blew out an o-ring getting that one loose, and when I did, I sizzled two nice burns on my arm from the still scorching catalytic convertor. Nice.

Oh, and I did the timing belt/idler too, which was easy once I had the proper 50mm crank pulley holder tool for removing the pulley bolt.

Now I am mad because the block heater cord isn't making good contact with the block heater. My timer turned it on this morning for a nice 1-1/2 hour cook, but my Kill-A-Watt said ZERO. After pushing the plug as hard as I could, hearing arcing and general electrical carnage, it started working….for now. So for today we will see how much of a difference a 45 minute coolant cook will make on my commute.

[Xist]

Mechman, I am sorry, that sounds like one of my stories, and I never enjoy hearing others having Xist-scale frustrations. Good luck!

[mechman600]

This past weekend I went on a trip to Osoyoos and back with my brother in law, which is a 366 km (227 mile) run each way, consisting mostly of mountain roads, twisty corners, and massive hills. I absolutely drove the SNOT/PISS/CRAP/ETC out of it. Many 7000+ RPM shifts, 130 km/h (81 mph) cruising, etc. And the old girl didn't miss a beat and as a bonus rewarded me with 6.3L/100km (37 mpg) round trip!! It's a fun car when you keep the revs up.

The clutch really shutters/chatters a lot when I slip it taking off from a stop. Kind of annoying. It never slips at full torque, so I'm not too concerned. Does anybody have a cheap fix for this, or would I need a new clutch & flywheel to correct this? If so, I will just live with it.

[Daox]

I can't think of an easy fix. Sounds like it needs to be resurfaced to me.

[mechman600]

The shuddering goes away when the engine is warm. This morning I ran the block heater before work for two hours and the valve cover was warm to touch, and presumably the flywheel as well. No shudder.
I will do the clutch and flywheel eventually. The rear main seal is leaking anyway. It's not bad enough to worry about at this point.

[War_Wagon]

Si's are pretty geary, you should almost be able to let your foot off the clutch without giving it any throttle from a stop and have it be smooth, so if it's really shuddering I'd double check the engine mounts etc. My CX shudders hard when it's cold as well, but it's been doing that for years, so I wouldn't worry about it any time soon as long as it's not slipping. Mine was worse before, but I found one of the bolts on the lower engine mount was almost falling out, and the other bolt was finger tight.

[mechman600]

Well...it's a plug in hybrid now. Of course I am using the term very loosely, but it's technically....TECHNICALLY, sort of true.

The problem I am having is that on my 4 mile (each way) commute, I am EOCing so much that my battery is going flat, and my alternator can barely keep up during the times that the engine is running. The good news is that I am achieving a round trip of 5.2-5.4 L/100km (43-45 mpg), which is spectacular for such a short commute, especially keeping in mind that I only use the block heater before the morning commute.

So today I installed my small trickle charger, which will be powered by the same timer as my block heater in the morning, and will run for 2 hours each morning. So yes, some of the energy that my car consumes will be powered from the wall. Ahem...PHEV....ahem.

The trickle charger is the same 2A unit (more like 1.2A when actually measured) that I used in the Electric Booger for a while:


And the "wall to vehicle interface".....oh boy....:

[Xist]

I have been wondering about that, but I think that an inherent component of hybrid systems is the electric drive and recharger.

I think that we need to come up with a new term for this.

Why use your alternator at all?

[mechman600]

OK. A word about Kat's block heaters. They suck. They burn out quickly. In hindsight, I should have read some reviews online, because they agree with what I have now experienced.

First off, the cord never really fit into the heater correctly and I had to monkey around with the terminals to get it to make a circuit.

Secondly, just the other day I plugged it in and it worked for 10 seconds and then fizzled out. I monkeyed around with the cord again, but soon realized that the heating element went open circuit. Crap. No, I never ran it dry, and yes, I did properly purge/de-aerate my cooling system before ever plugging it in. This sucks because it is such an annoying heater to change on this car.

I plan to try a different brand of block heater. Hopefully I can get a replacement from NAPA where I bought it and then sell it on eBay or something. But that's a bit of a moral issue for me, as I will be knowingly selling a piece of crap....

Side note. I did a test for EOC vs idle coasting in neutral. Over 6 days I alternated each method and averaged my results. All were ~55F mornings, 8 mile round trip commute and 2 hour block heater cycle for the TO WORK leg of the trip.

Average for three days idle coasting in neutral:

TO WORK: 4.9L/100km (48.0 mpg)
FROM WORK: 7.9L/100km (29.7 mpg)
AVERAGE: 6.4L/100km (36.7 mpg)

Average for three days EOC.

TO WORK: 4.2L/100km (56.0 mpg)
FROM WORK: 6.6L/100km (35.6 mpg)
AVERAGE: 5.4L/100km (43.5 mpg)

DIFFERENCE: +18.5%

Not having a block heater in the morning (35F mornings) has now increased the TO WORK leg to 5.9L/100km for an overall MPG change of -14.8%, which sucks. I tend to P&G much less at the beginning, at least till there is heat coming from the vents.

EDIT: I picked up a Zero-Start/Temro block heater and installed it yesterday, and I rant about it here:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post456137