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Came across a great deal on the 4G Side Skirts (L&R) brand new and painted CBP. So 1 down and 2 to go for the complete "under body spoiler" kit. 😁
Not sure if I want the Rear pieces, but I definitely want the Fonts.
Ugh. My knock count has gone up to an avg of 3-6 hits per trip according to the Ktuner display. I always use Shell or BP gas and we are lucky to have 93 everywhere around here, I didn't think it was related to low octane fuel. So I drove around with my BlueDriver OBD2 plugged in and saw that there was some misfires happening, GREAT. So later that weekend I pulled the plugs to inspect to see if they were soaked or anything looked weird. They were bone dry, but what I did find stumped me good! Somehow 3 of the 6 cylinders had warped openings at the plug holes. It appears that the [Magnesium] Valve Cover housings have come into contact with the the SP tubes (???) and have been causing spark-out or some type or arcing situation thet has compounded the issue. So weird!
SP #5 was the worst, but #3 on the front bank and #4 and 5 on the rear bank were the ones warped. The openings for #1, #2, and #6 were still perfectly circular and fine.
You can see here on #3 how the VC is making contact with the SP tube.
#5 was so warped that it cracked the Coil Pack! OOF
Ok, now that COVID has hit the US pretty hard it is time to hit up the parts stores and take advantage of this work from home time.
While waiting on replacement parts I picked up something else... kinda boy racer maybe, but I really like how it changes the dynamics of shifting. Different is good from time to time. 👍
RACESENG makes top quality products. My OLOGY Core shift knob is from that company and it's an awesome weighted piece with a Delrin sleve that prevents hand scalding on those hot summer days. Their Gen1 extenders went on clearance and I picked up this 100mm for a steal compared to the normal price.
Ok, next post is almost a given... Par for the course when modding, you change one thing only to realize you need something else to make the most of the first thing. Hahaa.
The extender made the shifts a MILE long, so HEELTOE to the rescue! They still stock the CT Engineering Short Shift adapter. Wohoo!!
Getting the shift box out was a bit of a pain, but in the end it was worth it. Only 2 clips were sacrificed in my effort to gain access.
Pictures of the blue linkage cap swapped over from the stock arm to the CT adapter. A HUGE tip I found was to use 2 small wrenches to pry off the cap, interlink them and then push down on the lower larger one and the cap should pop right off. Otherwise it will take forever to get that thing off the stock arm.
I also picked up some cheap solid aluminum base bushings from ebay. Bought the same ones I installed in my EP3 many years ago. Nothing fancy is needed here, don't spend $36 on parts like this that you will never see, in a pinch a stack of washers (not the crush type, haha!) would accomplish the same thing.
I used some RTV to hold the solid bushings (both top and bottom) in place while assembling the box back into the car. There is no way I could line up those things up blind or have them stay in the correct position while muscling the box back into the car around all the crap there in the center stack. This made life 100% easier for the install.
Once the shifter box was properly mounted in the car and all the brackets and plugs were back together I noticed the center cable had some tension on it and it was now rubbing on the box. The additional length of the adapter was pushing the cable down and putting some tension on it. So I applied some additional Honda Shin-Etsu grease in this area to help the cable sleeve glide over the plastic to plastic contact.
The shifts are much shorter and crisper now. And even with the 100mm extender the throw length at the top still feels shorter than stock was before.
A few weeks later my replacement Valve Covers, Gaskets, and Coil Packs finally arrived. All Honda OEM bits.
I already had the new spark plugs so everything was now in order to start the small overhaul on my engine in hopes that this would fix my misfire issue. At any rate the VC's needed replacing from the state they were in.
Magnesium. I knew the Intake manifold was made of Mg to save some weight, didn't realize the VC's were the same! Cool.
That's a lot of parts and love for the TL. Sorry to hear about the misfire, hope all those new parts take care of it for you
Thanks, I appreciate it. Yeah man, me too!
My J37 does not appear to have the oil burn issue... so I really hope I'm not dealing with many other underlying gremlins. 🙏
Badass updates, man.
Warped valve cover openings is a bit odd.
You sure you didn't miss that someone maybe used a
4# sledge to seat them last time?
Good work on the shifter...I have the same short shifter...have had it for a long time and love it...
Did you also do the hybrid racing delrin bushings in the engine bay said at the tranny?
Seems counter intuitive to have such a long shift knob now, throw with the SS is probably
back to stock with that height. I would love that extender though to get the shift knob above my
massive contigo coffee mug
Badass updates, man.
Warped valve cover openings is a bit odd.
You sure you didn't miss that someone maybe used a
4# sledge to seat them last time?
Good work on the shifter...I have the same short shifter...have had it for a long time and love it...
Did you also do the hybrid racing delrin bushings in the engine bay said at the tranny?
Seems counter intuitive to have such a long shift knob now, throw with the SS is probably
back to stock with that height. I would love that extender though to get the shift knob above my
massive contigo coffee mug
Haha, right?? Best I've come up with is the grommets were over torqued and put the VC close enough to the SP tubes to cause them to melt and bridge the gap to contact, OR it was just the coil packs failing and causing arcing or spark-out at the top there causing the same result. I'm still not completely sure what caused this. I posted the warped pics in the J-series community in Fb and a few guys responded that they had seen this happen before, with various hypothesis's.
I did not install cable bushings [yet]. I have the set of Acuity ones in my EP3 and I believe they also fit the TL. Was thinking about swapping them just to test and see if I could feel a difference. Access on the Civic is right in your face easy (w/ my CAI), but the TL has them buried under the intake and a pretty hefty cable harness that I didn't feel like messing with at the time.
Yeah, the extender was just for fun to have a different experience, but it does help my hand clear a 30oz tumbler that I like to use. 👍
And I still have my check valves so the extender is helping to save my gears at the moment... hahaa.
LOL...
I don't think you can overtorque the nuts/bolts holding down the VC...you'd snap them first.
I picture someone putting the VC into a vice to struggle to get the spark tube o ring gaskets swapped out...
they are in there hard. Maybe you just never noticed the bends before?
I don't know, I can't see heat being the cause...
Either way, hoping it fixes your issues.
I had an EP3 also...still miss that car.
Thank you, I hope it does too. Yeah, so weird. I keep in touch with the previous owner and he confirmed the engine had never been opened up only basic scheduled maintenance. Which makes sense for the mileage, I've owned it about a year and the car still only has under 60k on the clock. He never had a reason to check the plugs and I didn't take the car apart when I bought it. Wouldn't have mattered, NBD now 😁
On to the repair...
Last edited by bigwavedave25; 07-27-2020 at 03:33 PM.
June 2020:
I decided since I was doing the repair myself that I would take the opportunity to paint the Valve Covers. I'm a big fan of J's Racing teal color so I set out to find a similar color that I could paint at home and not have to pay someone to powercoat. I ended up finding something close in AMC Engine Blue, evidently their engine blocks were painted this color back in the mid to late 60's. There were 2 options in a can and I went with the cheaper, and more readily available option - "Seymour EN-66 Hi-Tech Engine Paint, AMC Blue". I ordered a can along with some VHT hi-temp primer and clear coat.
The VC's were pretty raw, so I went to the effort (I know, I'm a little crazy) of grinding off the casting marks and sanding down the mold release peaks in the more highly visible areas.
Before -
After some filing, sanding, and a fine prep scotch brite pad I had most of the high points from the mold release knocked down and a decently even surface to paint.
After a few coats of VHT hi-temp primer I laid on the color. LOVE how it came out. This was the only picture that looked true to color, my Pixel 2XL was over white balancing and most of the images came out too blue. But this is a perfect Teal color and exactly what I wanted. I believe this was from paint only, before the clear coat. It is metallic so there is some shine but it is mostly a Satin finish out of the can.
And here we go after application of the VHT hi-temp clear coat, which the gloss added some nice depth to the color.
I could not be happier with how these came out, can't wait to get them on the car!
Ok, nice tip I learned from "AHC Garage" on replacing the VC Grommets is to cut the old ones off and then push on the new ones with a little dab or oil or silicone spray. I had previously seen on a highly reputable Acura/Honda channel where he clamped them in a vice and proceeded with beating them off the stem with a soft-face hammer and then beating the new ones back on. I thought this was a terrible way and he even mentions to buy extra grommets because this method causes some to rip. Well I have nothing against this youtuber bc I love his content, but this is just asking for a bent bolt or trouble. 🤷♂️🤦♂️
Here is the AHC video timestamped 4:10 to the way I did it and had zero issues, new grommets went on the bolts perfectly, no extras needed. 👍
While I had the Intake Manifold off the car I disassembled it to clean it the best I could. The top plate butterfly valve on my J37 had a bit of build up around the flaps so this was easy enough to take apart and clean. Here is the result, wish I had taken a pic of the before for comparison, but believe me the ring around the flaps looked like it had a rubber seals... haha. Gasket was still in good shape, cleaned all that junk off and looks good as new. It prob wasn't needed but I added some blue loctite to the screws when reassembling the valve top bracket, don't want that thing rattling lose. 😁
Last edited by bigwavedave25; 07-28-2020 at 11:54 AM.
With the IM off you can see that there were a few small leaks, so good thing I was replacing all the VC gaskets! Hopefully the IM gasket is good to go, will be reusing that one for now.
Ok, actually this will be up next before the PCD install... collecting a few mini projects here. Scored a used K&N intake [69-1210TS] for the 4gTL/8gAccord off ebay for around half price of new and in great condition.
Quest for more intake SOUND, more air would be nice also. I know it's been stated many times here that the stock "CAI" airbox setup flows quite well and works better at keeping IAT readings lower than any of the current aftermarket intake options from AFE or K&N. Yes, truly they are all SRI options and not CAI as stated. Since I'm not looking to raise my intake temps, but I do want to add that nice intake sound, my goal would be to piece together a true CAI setup using the K&N as a starting point.
I've already recorded intake temps at various points through Ktuner and also made a data pid report export from BlueDriver for the complete stock setup. Seems like under normal driving conditions at 45-50mph IAT reads around 12-15 deg(F) above exterior temp.
I plan to do the same for the stock intake box with the resonator chamber removed and also for whatever I piece together for a CAI setup. I'll try and put some data numbers behind these options and my findings so if anyone wants to try it they can also see similar results. I'm hoping to have a nice data chart put together in a month or so. Will be a week or 2 before I can get started, but I'm excited to see if I can get that nice intake sound while keeping intake temps around 10 above ambient or better.
Why did you coat them prior to installation? Is there a pragmatic reason to do this? Love the updates!
Thanks, man! So, as with everything, I read about it on the internet, haha... in this case youtube. A channel I follow "Sweet Project Cars", (which has hacks, simple remedies, and fixes etc... dude is kind of a nut also) recommends treating new tires with 303 and letting them set for a week or two [and place in the sun] to build up an extra layer of UV protection to seal the rubber and help prevent that browning from the break down. Supposedly this helps extend the life of the tire. As someone who doesn't drive a whole ton, the sidewalls on my old Civic Si actually started cracking before I ran out of tread life. So, I thought I would give this a shot, it's my first time trying it so I can't say for sure if it really works. Additionally mounting the tires is easier for the shop, but the primary reason for me was the UV protection and attempt to extend their life any way possible.
Since I'd been using 303 for a while prior to seeing this, it made sense to me as the product is really good and I trust it for UV protecting interior plastics. Another benefit I have noticed is my tires have still not looked "dry" since doing this and I have not had the need for any tire shine. Just gave them another light coat of 303 at each car wash and the tires still look brand new. I'm not a fan of the gloss wet tire look, so this is perfect results for me so far. 😀
Took my bumper off to start thinking about routing for the additional intake tubing and where I could fit the cone filter for a future pieced-together CAI. This also allowed me remove the Stock resonance chamber located behind the bumper to take some additional Air Flow and Temperature readings for my comparison chart. So driving with this part out did nothing for my intake sound that I could tell, but my exhaust is a bit overpowering to hear any minute changes in that area. Also had no real affect on the chart data, but more on that later.
Love that the SH-AWD versions have the front brake cooling ducts, pretty cool feature even if it's not really needed for most of us... haha. It does limit some access for my DIY-CAI attempt.
This is what I am thinking at the moment. The lower access into the bumper area is very tight. Since the K&N has a larger tube diameter at 3.5" it will be difficult to keep the full diameter through the opening behind front support bracket as it allows access up behind the battery. I highlighted the solid areas to clear in red, and the filter mouth opening in blue to make it easier to see. Luckily I do not live in a flood prone area and have had an Injen CAI on my EP3 Civic for the last 12 years with no issues.
Clearance behind that support to the fender inner splash guard is pretty much exactly 3.5" but I think I will need a silicone elbow here or something flexible that can change diameter a little. I foresee needing to squish it to get access through that area. This task is looking tougher than I thought.
PSA: BUY THE K&N AND NOT THE TAKEDA (aFe), IT'S WORTH THE EXTRA $40!
No step down to the provided intake tube like the Takeda (diameter lost before the TB), the K&N stays a hearty 3.5" the entire length and uses a small reducer to attach to the TB. The Takeda uses an enlarger coupler to attach to the J37 TB. Supposedly both intake kits are designed for multiple platforms Accord/TL etc, but the K&N is definitely better suited for the larger J37 Throttle Body over the J35's.
K&N = MORE AIR!
After running the stock airbox with the lower resonance chamber removed for about 2 weeks, I went ahead and installed the K&N "SRI" kit to see how it did in the temp numbers game. Desire got the best of me and I really just wanted to hear how this thing sounded most of all... hahaa. Sometimes buying used you have to improvise. The main support bracket would not reach the lower mounting point on the tube, either bent or not really meant for this application. Luckily I had some spare rubber isolators that I had saved from an old backpack blower tear down that were the perfect offset and thread pitch (random, I know). I used 2, one shown in the image below and another at the lower mounting point for the heat shield.
Look at that big fat tube! 😋
Intake attached and ready to suck in some air... (and not as much hot air as you would think from my readings)
I left the stock intake main inlet piece (shown lower left in the image above) attached to the car. I do believe this continues to bring in some outside air when the car is moving and deposit it in the area below the intake. Obviously with less volume due to no vacuum from not being attached to anything but it does at least provide a channel for air. If the brake cooling ducts actually work to pass air from the bumper to the wheel well, then this should be no different. I typically run the car with the engine bay plastics all in place which provides a top cover to block off some heat from the engine also.
07-17-2020, 12:40 PM
I posted the warped pics in the J-series community in Fb and a few guys responded that they had seen this happen before, with various hypothesis's.
