Backround

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42886

One month later the car is all done. The biggest set back was getting parts. Due to ordering new connecting rods, I couldn't order the rod bearings until i got those, and then when I did order them they were on back order. All in all the rebuild was a success and the car runs nice and smooth now. It only took one or two clicks of the starter to prime the fuel and bring life back to my car.

I was going to do a mini DIY for little things but my camera died during the rebuild and I just wanted to get it done. It turned out my dad did a lot of the work because it was in his garage in Washington, and I was stuck in Portland OR for school. Finals are coming up too, and if you want to become a chiropractor they torture you in school. Another reason I am not doing A DIY is there is a lot going on here. You need the shop manual and some good know how, a simple DIY would not suffice. One tip of advice, label, label and label connectors and hoses. You will most likely put the engine back together well after dissembly, and you will forget stuff. With labels on both ends of a broken connection, you just match up the letters and numbers. I will use number and letters, and come up with a code like numbers for water, letters for vacuum and electrical connections etc. Do what works best for you, so you can remember exactly what each one means.

In regard to the timing chain, I did not get any pictures about the actual process. I will say the whole engine was pulled because there was not enough clearance to pull off the time chain case cover. To get to some of the bolts with the engine in was a pain, and when we went to pull it off we were unable to pull it over the VTC control valve. If you want to pull that off, then you can do it inside the car, but by pulling the engine it allowed us a lot easier access to everything, and having a engine stand and puller. The book outlines the procedure very well. Make sure you are very picky about your timing, one tooth out will cause problems. Also with your tensioner, don't pull the pin prematurely, you will have fun reseting it. I recommend putting the chain on tight from the crank to the intake cam, and leave your slack between the exhaust cam and crank. That is where all your tension comes from so if you don't leave you slack there, you will not have your timing set when the tensioner is set. Good luck for anyone who tries this.

Picture Time!


item 7 is the VTC control valve i am talking about.


the reason for the tear down and all the problems, that thing should be straight.




damage to block. It was very minimal, the damage on the top center of the cylinder in the picture was very minimal, and well below the rings so no boring necessary.


empty bay


completed block minus the timing chain, oil pump, and oil pan.

Thats it. It was a lot of work and I found out some interesting things about the engine. This is my second engine rebuild, first one being an old boat engine that had to have a lot more work done.

If you don't have an oil catch can, I highly recommend you buy one. We get a lot of blow off into our intake and into the top of the cylinder. This oil build up was all of the pistons, and made the oiler ring very sticky to get out of the piston. if you do not believe me, a picture is worth a thousand words.


that should be nice and clean. A little discoloration would be ok, but all that build up is nasty and will affect your performance and longevity of the engine. My car had 80,000 miles on it and did not burn oil. You can get a good one for around 100 bucks for lots of piece of mind.

Items replaced:
pistons and rings all 4
4 new rods
rod and crank bearings
gaskets
water pump
clutch
accessory belt
all for just under $2000. Labor was free.

 

i'm glad everything worked out for you. free labor ftw

 

Congrats on the repair.

 

What kind of gasoline did you use in that vehicle?

 

congrats
family FTW

 

Good job bro. U really did a number on those rods, DAMN! Coolant doesn't compress very well does it? I would of liked 2 have seen some inside mods but that'll have 2 wait until I do mine then. But good job and also good experience.

 

Since I have had the car i only used premium, but who knows what the last guy used (bought the care with 60k miles). I would have like to do some internal buildups but they are expensive compared to OEM, being a student I wanted to keep it as cheap as possible with doing everything I thought I needed to do. My clutch feels a lot better then when it did before, much better feedback. Torque seems a little better too now the rings are set a bit.

 

Were the pictures taken in your home garage? If so, what did you use to lift the engine block out?! Inquiring minds wanna know.

 

Any one who has an engine stand in their garage surely has an engine hoist too.

 

SHMORK53,

Not sure what you mean by an oil catch can. Is it something that goes between the PCV and the intake manifold.

thanks
Steam

 

glad the install went well.

this type of work is way over my head. i have no confidence taking apart engine internals. i'd love to learn though.

 

Yeah all that work was done in my dads garage. We had an engine hoist and a stand so that made the work a lot easier. The oil catch can is a filter type can that goes between your PCV and the breather line on your intake. Our cars dump a lot of oil back into the intake and it goes into the upper cylinder. The oil catch can will stop that and keep it from gumming up your pistons and rings. Its was a lot of work but the Shop manual from acura made it a lot easier. Now I just have a greater appreciation for all the engineering that goes into these cars.

 

Do you have a picture of the oil catch can installed. Where did you buy the oil catch can?

thanks
Steam

 

I will work on it. I wont have any up soon, got a busy schedule this week. Do a little search and you will find tons of people who have posted pics of theirs. hopefully by the end of the week i will have something up.

 

here's an old thread on a DIY oil catch can.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ighlight=catch