Team Honda Thread

[darcane]

Originally Posted by cbaber

If you haven't done anything like this before, it seems like a daunting task. When you get the head off and you are staring at your pistons you will be overcome with a fear that you did something terribly wrong and will never have the engine running ever again.

But then things start to come together, your anxiety decreases. You get the head bolts torqued down to spec, you double check all the connections. And when you sit in the drivers seat and put the key in the ignition all those fears suddenly come rushing back, and you just know the moment you turn the motor over something will blow up and all that time will be wasted. But then it starts right up and you never have a problem with it again.

Or at least that's kinda how it went for me!

Yeah, something like that...

I did headgaskets on an El Dorado with a Northstar V8. The heads can't be removed with the engine in place and I had to drill and tap new holes for all the head studs.

The Civic will be simple compared to that.

After all the work I put into it last summer (new tranny and clutch, new struts/shocks/coilovers, new timing belt/water pump, new motor mounts) my wife is probably not going to be real keen on it taking up her spot in the garage again. So, it will either be work on it outside or pay someone.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by darcane

Yeah, something like that...

I did headgaskets on an El Dorado with a Northstar V8. The heads can't be removed with the engine in place and I had to drill and tap new holes for all the head studs.

The Civic will be simple compared to that.

After all the work I put into it last summer (new tranny and clutch, new struts/shocks/coilovers, new timing belt/water pump, new motor mounts) my wife is probably not going to be real keen on it taking up her spot in the garage again. So, it will either be work on it outside or pay someone.

I'm for doing it yourself outside! Yah!!!

[MetroMPG]

Simple, yes! No biggie. Take stuff apart, clean surfaces, replace part, put stuff back together. It's not like there's anything else on your to-do list, right?

[darcane]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Simple, yes! No biggie. Take stuff apart, clean surfaces, replace part, put stuff back together. It's not like there's anything else on your to-do list, right?

Precisely.

There is a good chance I will need the head milled, but that's not really a big deal.

I'm a little concerned about the exhaust manifold though. There is a hairline crack, and I really don't want to make it any worse. It's $1000 for a new one if you can even find them. I believe these are an HX specific part.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by darcane

I'm a little concerned about the exhaust manifold though. There is a hairline crack, and I really don't want to make it any worse. It's $1000 for a new one if you can even find them. I believe these are an HX specific part.

Ouch! Could you weld it, like this guy? Honda Civic Weld cracked exhaust manifold ETA for failure? - Automotive | DSLReports Forums Another nice and easy repair, right?

BTW, new fill, close to 64 mpg and best miles/kwh I think I have recorded.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

Ouch! Could you weld it, like this guy? Honda Civic Weld cracked exhaust manifold ETA for failure? - Automotive | DSLReports Forums Another nice and easy repair, right?

BTW, new fill, close to 64 mpg and best miles/kwh I think I have recorded.

That was an option I had considered. Welding on cast iron is tricky enough without it being a part that is heated and cooled repeatedly. I do have several AWS certified welders at work I can chat with to get tips and advice from. Occasionally I can even get them to weld things up for me.

64mpg is pretty darned good. On my commute, I struggle to hit 50mpg. I can get 60+ for short stints (15 miles or so) but I can never keep it up there for a whole tank. I suppose that head gasket doesn't help any.

[cbaber]

Filled up last night, it was my first 500 mile tank! 51 MPG, 9.9 gallons. I could go farther but I never let a tank use more than 10 gallons if possible.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by cbaber

Filled up last night, it was my first 500 mile tank! 51 MPG, 9.9 gallons. I could go farther but I never let a tank use more than 10 gallons if possible.

Cool. Congrats! I also try to avoid going over 10 gallons. When you go much past 10.5 the fuel pump has trouble keeping pressure up and the car will often stall on bump start or key start. You can always solve that by double-keying to prime the pump, but that's a PITA.

BTW, I also did a fill-up. I'm confused. My numbers are not climbing in the heat like they should. But I can't really tell what the cause it because I have changed several things about my driving technique: shift points, DFCO, and more freeway, and some steady cruising. I probably just answered my own question. ...see fuel log if curious.

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

I also try to avoid going over 10 gallons. When you go much past 10.5 the fuel pump has trouble keeping pressure up and the car will often stall on bump start or key start. You can always solve that by double-keying to prime the pump, but that's a PITA.

Been there, done that. When I did a max-distance tank I was triple and quadruple keying it. So far the Fit hasn't shown even a hint of that issue.

[sarguy01]

Originally Posted by darcane

Precisely.

There is a good chance I will need the head milled, but that's not really a big deal.

I'm a little concerned about the exhaust manifold though. There is a hairline crack, and I really don't want to make it any worse. It's $1000 for a new one if you can even find them. I believe these are an HX specific part.

Still looking for a manifold? The SRT-4 manifold used to have hairline cracks. Mine did and I never worried about it. Once it heats up, the crack seals. Sure, once it cracks it is only going to get bigger, but I'd wait until it really needed to be replaced. I also would not weld it. Cast iron is very tricky. You can weld it easily, but keeping it from cracking again is really tough.

On Hondapartsnow.com, they don't sell just the HX manifold for the 2001. But, on the 2005's, the HX and LX use the same part number for the exhaust manifold. The O2 sensors are different. So, you might want to check and see if the LX manifold will work. If so, they should be pretty easy to find in a junkyard.

I found those part numbers when I was doing some research into an HX swap to my LX sedan. Well, a modified HX swap. The heads are different, but the HX and EX heads are the same and the EX heads aren't too expensive. The cams are different though. Then there is the O2 sensors, ECM, transmission and wiring harness are most of what I'd need to swap. But, I don't know how much more of a difference the swap would make. A used HX transmission is about $600-800. Not cheap. The head, wiring harness, ECM and O2 sensors should be under $1,000. The gains would probably be minimal. I am already getting 41 mpg. Even if I were to get a 20% increase in mileage and it only cost $1,600 to do the entire swap, it would take 121,000 miles or so to pay back.