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You brought up in the video how you got to experience the car getting better each time you finished a phase. Obviously the subframe was dire and that must have been one of those night and day feelings but how bad was the rest of the suspension parts your replaced? I’m guessing since your car has fairly low miles you wanted to just freshen the whole thing all at once?
Greg D. Yes, the subframe was a night and day difference. When I got the car I didn't realize that the car was not designed to feel like that. It felt like the car was still trying to drive out of the turn instead of into the turn. The reason I decided to replace all of the front was the corrosion observed on the bushings. specifically the lower and upper control arms had the most noticeable issues. When I thought about it and looked up the cost and factored in the loose lower balljoints that needed to be replaced; i said what the heck... might as well just refresh everything at this point and since it pretty much all had to come out for the subframe replacement, just made sense. Eventually I'll do this with the rear components as well since they have the same signs of wear and corrosion too. I think the biggest issue isn't the mileage but the age. Some bushings were rock hard and splitting while others just had worn to the point they weren't tight against. The biggest example of this was the swaybar bushings, they were just holes for the bar to slide through causing horrible noise and sway in the turns.
Originally Posted by Greg D
Yes it does. There’s a bracket under the headlight that the bumper cover slides into. It’s not that difficult to remove though.
What he said... the dang clips breaking is your biggest challenge.
I see that you've done the front rear subframe, but did you look at the radius rod bushings in the front support area? Also known as the strut rod bushings. They do so much work and really control how the car feels under load.
When I took mine out they were mushroomed out of shape and hard and brittle. A new set of urethane bushings made the biggest difference in wheel hop reduction during launch, gear shifts and overall getting the power down. More so than all the mounts and bushings I did elsewhere. If you didn't replace those I strongly suggest you and anyone else reading this to do so.
Lol needs a washing after storage for the winter (well still in storage due to all this coronavirus stuff). Does have honda clearcoat issues on the roof. My kids still prefer the blue CL-S to the black 2013 TL 6 speed.
I see that you've done the front rear subframe, but did you look at the radius rod bushings in the front support area? Also known as the strut rod bushings. They do so much work and really control how the car feels under load.
When I took mine out they were mushroomed out of shape and hard and brittle. A new set of urethane bushings made the biggest difference in wheel hop reduction during launch, gear shifts and overall getting the power down. More so than all the mounts and bushings I did elsewhere. If you didn't replace those I strongly suggest you and anyone else reading this to do so.
I see that you've done the front rear subframe, but did you look at the radius rod bushings in the front support area? Also known as the strut rod bushings. They do so much work and really control how the car feels under load.
When I took mine out they were mushroomed out of shape and hard and brittle. A new set of urethane bushings made the biggest difference in wheel hop reduction during launch, gear shifts and overall getting the power down. More so than all the mounts and bushings I did elsewhere. If you didn't replace those I strongly suggest you and anyone else reading this to do so.
Thanks for the tip. I did replace these with Moog poly bushings. There was considerable wear and deformation on those bushings when I pulled them out.
Today I replaced the gas cap gasket and let me say that I believe this was the most likely culprit for the light. The new gasket was thicker and more pliable vs the old gasket. As you can see in the photo attached the old gasket had a number of missing chunks.
Then I moved on to the vent valve and what a PITA! those little f'n screws are. Unreal! I ended up having to drill them out and knock them loose with a hammer. I tried penetrating oil and my impact screw driver to get them out and they wouldn't budge. When I did get the old valve off I tested it and it functioned.
EVAP leaks are such a pain! I totally get why so many people just say F it and replace everything at once and call it a day. The dreaded northeast rust on all the little nuts and bolts... I felt your pain as I’m looking at the pics lol. My exhaust is going to have to come apart at the J pipe soon and I’m completely dreading it
EVAP leaks are such a pain! I totally get why so many people just say F it and replace everything at once and call it a day. The dreaded northeast rust on all the little nuts and bolts... I felt your pain as I’m looking at the pics lol. My exhaust is going to have to come apart at the J pipe soon and I’m completely dreading it
Spray those bolts now with some penetrating oil my friend. Why are you taking it off?
Oh those pics of the EVAP cannister bring back memories...more like nightmares! It took an afternoon of PB blasting and prying things apart...had to MacGyver it back together after replacing the valve(s?). I forget if it was one or two valves.
Love the video. Keep em coming! I have the same hangup with body panels not being the originals with vin stickers. Its one of the first things I check on a car im buying. I think in your case it should be ok considering you can prove the hood wasn't replaced due to a wreck and you plan on using an OEM hood.
Love the video. Keep em coming! I have the same hangup with body panels not being the originals with vin stickers. Its one of the first things I check on a car im buying. I think in your case it should be ok considering you can prove the hood wasn't replaced due to a wreck and you plan on using an OEM hood.
Thanks.... I might have an idea to get a VIN sticker too. We'll see.
Right now I have the quote for the body work and replacement hood and it comes to 2,600$. I need to get two stickers for under the hood (I'm not looking at it but I believe one is the EVAP and the other is the SRS, don't quote me) and then a reproduction vin sticker. Stay tuned!
Small update on tires for the car. I know Michelin tires were OEM but I felt with the suspension changes and the fact that the OEM tires are old technology, this was a better fit. Some new Hankook Ventus V12s were in order to improve the road noise and driveability. Found a factory fresh brochure for cars and coffee meets
Its great to see someone else taking an interest in these special cars. Tons of time and $. But true car people do it for the love of automotive history and seat of the pants thrills
Its great to see someone else taking an interest in these special cars. Tons of time and $. But true car people do it for the love of automotive history and seat of the pants thrills
Great choice on the Hankooks. The Michelin’s are nice when they are new but after a few miles they get noisy and just generally don’t perform that well. I had a similar Hankook on my Accord V6 and liked them a lot. I like to try different tires and just took a chance on Sumitomo HTRs because I wanted to keep that cost down and got a great deal and for the price I’m super impressed with them.
HTR's are the shit...I had some 3's and now 5's on my S2000 and I love them.
Best tire I've ever had period hands down have been Michelin PSS though.
The V12 are a great tire...although the one time I had them before they ended
up cupping. Then again, right now I'm running some Achilles sports I bought for
$240 new from Amazon on my TL-S and they are actually impressive too.
I'm currently running what the previous owner put on. Kelly A/S tires which i find to be complete garbage. They are also going on 6 years old and have some pretty bad cracking so that may be why
Changing from the oem tires to the michelin pilot sports a/s was a big improvement when I made the change. I would hydroplane on the oem michelins, but the pilot sports a/s had me looking for puddles to run through! The oem tires limited the handling of the car quite a bit if I remember correctly (but that was a long, long time ago!).
Got one part of the restoration checked off today. Big thanks to Nick, Tyson and Jason for the help on the window sticker. It came out amazing! There will be a video showcasing the build and vintage elements pulled together to make this car an original rare automobile. Took care of my Ridgeline too.
Congrats on your great CLS! I've had two 2003 CLS 6MTs. First was a certified white/tan no Navi in 2004. I loved the car so much I sold it in 2005 and replaced it with an Anthracite Navi with 7500mi. At 160k mi today it's my daily driver. Still fun to drive.
I love to see people saving these. I sometimes get notes left on my car to buy it. I had 2 Legend Coupes before this.
Acura/Honda's 6cyl/6MT coupe days are long gone. So glad I could drive them all. Good luck on your hard work!
Got one part of the restoration checked off today. Big thanks to Nick, Tyson and Jason for the help on the window sticker. It came out amazing! There will be a video showcasing the build and vintage elements pulled together to make this car an original rare automobile. Took care of my Ridgeline too.
Ok. That is freaking cool! It came out great. How much info did you have to change?
Perhaps it's easier to show the original one that was used as the template.
The example was a NHB with ebony interior, but all of the specs lined up so it was a matter of matching the dealership info and car info. There is an easter egg in it too which ties back to the original service records. You'll notice that the "HN" code is not an "AL" number but instead a "D" number. This is the stock number the dealership used to identify the car and knew it was part of their life time oil change program
Today it was a restoration of the tools. According to the service records the original owner blew a tire on average every 2 years with two occurrence with one month. Needless to say, these tools got some use and because of that they were rusted and bashed. I sanded them down and sprayed enamel paint with clear coat they are factory fresh now.
Well.... Got potentially my first problem with the car (outside the EVAP code and restoration). This morning, I decided to take the car to work and immediately I could tell something was off with the driveline.@ 50-60 mph there is a humming noise occurring and a slight vibration... very slight, but noticeable.
It feels to me like axles or potentially intermediate shaft. I did notice that the axles are all original and the rubber (bushing?) on the driverside was ripped the last time I looked at it. Both axles have considerable corrosion on them, but decided to not replace them since they were fine. The car seems 'fine' at speeds above 60 mph. I'm not thinking tires since they are new to the car and felt fine on a couple of drives so far, but suppose I couldn't rule that out either. Additionally, the car has been a little jerky in 2nd gear below 2,500 RPM.
You guys know the drive-ability better than I do so I'm curious on your thoughts.
^
It could be something to do with the inner / outer CV joints. Sounds like you gave it a good 'once over'; however, it might be necessary to recap because you sure would not want what you see below to happen and leave you stranded. It's been know to happen with these 'road salt' exposed axles. The original OEM axles on my project CL-S look just like what you see on either side of the rubber 'damper'. No paint and nothing but shaft rust. Heaven knows what it looks like under the damper.
I believe the half shaft assembly has been discontinued, though the bearing and seal are available. If it came to having to replace the whole assembly, you might be able to cross reference to a + or - year specific Accord for a replacement.
Originally Posted by TheSauceBoss
Here's the old axle. You can tell the donut/harmonizer just traps that salt, dirt, and water. Yikes. I'm afraid to look under the one on the pass. side!
Wow. Okay, I'm definitely going to re-examine the driveshafts now. That's crazy! I would say the d/s shaft looks more corroded than the one pictured too. However, that one seems to taper a bit where it weakened. I think I would have recalled something like that if I saw it. Nevertheless, that looks awful.
Well.... Got potentially my first problem with the car (outside the EVAP code and restoration). This morning, I decided to take the car to work and immediately I could tell something was off with the driveline.@ 50-60 mph there is a humming noise occurring and a slight vibration... very slight, but noticeable.
It feels to me like axles or potentially intermediate shaft. I did notice that the axles are all original and the rubber (bushing?) on the driverside was ripped the last time I looked at it. Both axles have considerable corrosion on them, but decided to not replace them since they were fine. The car seems 'fine' at speeds above 60 mph. I'm not thinking tires since they are new to the car and felt fine on a couple of drives so far, but suppose I couldn't rule that out either. Additionally, the car has been a little jerky in 2nd gear below 2,500 RPM.
You guys know the drive-ability better than I do so I'm curious on your thoughts.
Hmmm. I was thinking more axles until you said it seems fine above 60. In my experience axles when they are failing make whatever noises they make most of the time and at most speeds but tires can make a noise and have balance issues at a specific speed but then clear up at higher speeds. I’d rotate the front tires to the rears first and see if there’s any noticeable change.
I had an axle snap on an 03 Accord in the exact same spot as the picture noted above due to corrosion but it made no noises and gave no warning at all prior to snapping
I had an axle snap on an 03 Accord in the exact same spot as the picture noted above due to corrosion but it made no noises and gave no warning at all prior to snapping
Geezum.
Yah, I'm thinking about the tire rotation too. Thanks
Frame that thing! 
No paint and nothing but shaft rust. Heaven knows what it looks like under the damper.
