Ren: My '92 Civic

[Sven7]

Actually no blood drawn, surprisingly.

Apparently I was supposed to get the alignment guy to get those bolts out himself then press in the new bushing. Didn't understand that obviously. So I'm going to get it apart myself and press in the new bushing myself. Chalk it up to "experience".

Got a spring compressor and replacement socket this morning after work. NAPA didn't have a part number for the bolt so I'll bring in the mangled remains afterward.

(My friend said he'd build me an MPGuino for about the price of the screen, so once everything else is in order that will happen)

PS- does anyone have a good DIY on a Honda WAI? Is it as simple as extending the intake tube down behind the radiator?

[arcosine]

I take the WAI from the exhaust manifold. Was up to 220F on the interstate yesterday.

[Smurf]

Originally Posted by Sven7

A(My friend said he'd build me an MPGuino for about the price of the screen, so once everything else is in order that will happen)

.... Interesting. I'd love to get an MPGuino for less than the ~$50 average.

And congrats on finding the successor to the Probe!

[Sven7]

Originally Posted by arcosine

I take the WAI from the exhaust manifold. Was up to 220F on the interstate yesterday.

Would that be too warm? I do intend to beat on it from time to time, so whatever permanent mods I make have to withstand some abuse.

Originally Posted by Smurf

.... Interesting. I'd love to get an MPGuino for less than the ~$50 average.

And congrats on finding the successor to the Probe!

Thanks!

---

The spring compressor hooks didn't fit between the spring coils so I couldn't use it. The front suspension is sitting in a box at the moment until I figure out a good way to pull it off without air tools.

The stealership had the rear bolts in stock so I bought the one they had and ordered another.

Time to relax for some Monday night TV... maybe have another beer. Who knows- I live a wild life!!

[a8ksh4]

It's probably not a safe thing to do, but I've cut springs off w/ an angle grinder before. Nothing too exciting happened. Just wear eye protection. ;P

[Sven7]

Rigged up a spring compressor. It works but the nut won't come off. Torx end on the shock is now stripped. Even a torch and vice grips couldn't get it. WTFF

PO probably grossly over-torqued this nut like very other thing on the car.

[slownugly]

my recomendation, take it to a shop and have it done right. when i do struts at work it gives a labor time for r+r strut assembly then add .3 of an hour if it needs a spring removed. average shop labor rate is 50-75. that comes out to about 20 bux a strut worst case. if you flash cash in front of them they might do it for cheap and pocket the money (thats what i would do

[pjbgravely]

If you mean the top nut that holds the strut to the top plate I usually loosen it up while the strut is in the car and weight is on the spring. Try a large pipe wrench on the strut shaft to hold it. You could get another bearing plate and what not and go all new. They sometimes wear out.

If the nut is rusted try acetone/ATF mixture. Also check online for hints that others have found in removing them.

Be careful with the map gas. the strut could explode.

[Sven7]

Cut the nut off (wasn't even rusty)... coilover sleeves won't fit over the damper. Great!

My dad suggested I try to get the next nut off without the spring compressed, similar to your idea, pjb. Note taken on torches. But, until I figure out how to make these coils fit, it won't happen. Why in the world would the dampers be too wide for the coils to fit over?

I might put it all together stock, buy snow tires and save up for some $400 ebay full coilovers (that include shocks). Then it will be a straight swap over.

[Sven7]

Wow, time flies. I put the front end back together completely and torqued everything to spec. The car is still sitting in the barn.

We ended up taking a sawzall to the bushing on the bottom of the rear damper, so it is free to move around. Next, trying to pull the strut assembly out, I was told to remove the outside bolt on the lower control arm, lower the arm and pull the strut assy off. Would have worked great, but that bolt sheared off as well.

Sick of dealing with the Minnesota rust, I called a friend who does mechanic stuff on the side and he is going to come look at it on Tuesday and see what can be done. I'm tired of trying, then failing and messing it up further. I want it to be on the road.

For Yule my parents got me one thing off my list: Hella 500 driving lights. Once it's on the road I'll get those installed.

Just got a text today from mechanic friend and he said: "If I got my hands on a well cared for but 300k mile eg vx would you be interested in a straight trade?" He doesn't know a lot about it at this point but I could glean this:

Pros:
Great fuel economy
Awesome 90's teal paint (red is my least favorite color)
Only option is (broken) A/C, aka crank windows, manual locks and steering, etc.
I trust him and he's not the type to screw someone over

Cons:
Even for a Honda, 300k is a lot
Ren's D16Y7 will be more fun
No pics yet and condition of chassis is unknown
I've already spent almost $100 in parts on Ren- not a lot, but I didn't pay a lot for it either

Notes:
Hail damage and some rust- sounds cosmetically similar to Ren
It would be great to have a car that drives right off the bat, and a straight trade may give me that. I don't know if it has any issues.

Any preliminary comments on the VX?

PS- I took an EG around the Nurburgring in Forza awhile ago and it was very, very fun! Seems like it will be a very tossable chassis. The Mk1 GTI in the game was quite accurate to real life, and those two hatches felt like FWD brothers to the Z432 (if I am allowed to compare its holiness).