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  1. #1
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power hoodedreeper's Avatar
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    Chris' Honda Accord Sport Mk7

    You may have seen my latest post on my MX5 NC1 build thread, the R34 has a couple of large bills coming up and unfortunately the MX5 has to go to free up some money.

    Which means I'll need a new daily driver. At first I told myself I didn't care what it was as long as it was cheap to run, easy to work on and can save me money. Trawling through the typical selling sites, I just couldn't find something that wasn't either a complete rot box, had bad MOT history or had already sold.

    My expectations are always too high when buying a used car, so having to lower them to buy a car sub £1500 was going to be tricky.

    I came across the Honda Accord Mk7 and remembered it was almost a year to the day that I was researching the K24 variant as a replacement for the Colt CZT. I had a few friends who had previously owned the 2.2 i-cdti model and they had nothing but good things to say about it.

    I came across a blue saloon for sale locally, myself and a friend headed over to take a look. The car was MOT'd 3 weeks ago, I think the tester must have been blind, or was it more like this...



    It needed 4 new tyres, anti roll bar bushes, drop links, rear discs and pads, the handbrake didn't work. He claimed the car was serviced every 10k, but the last stamp in the book was 12k ago and the oil was black on the minimum (I understand diesel cars can blacken the oil quicker than petrol). He also failed the mention the damage to the bodywork, cracked headlight and door mirror, lacquer peel on the spoiler etc etc

    He declined my offer and we drove off, dodging that bullet.

    Speaking to one of said friends who had previously owned one, when he mentions his old grey Saloon is currently for sale. I messaged the seller and arranged to view it the following day.

    My friend came with me again (he's a mechanic and MOT tester which certainly helps) and he pointed out a few things that needed attention. I threw in an offer and we agreed on a price.

    Honda Accord Sport
    2006 Registered
    2.2 i-cdti
    157k

    Half leather
    Satnav/6 CD changer
    Aircon (needs a regas)

    When my friend Daniel owned the car he installed BC Coilovers and Civic FN2 Type R wheels which were still fitted.



    The headlights need a good restoration and I'm unsure whether to remove or replace the universal lip on the bumper



    Luckily ride comfort hasn't been compromised too much, its just the right balance





    Someone had installed a cheap dashcam and reverse camera at some point. The reverse camera didn't work, upon removing the boot lid carpet the signal wire wasn't spliced into the bulb harness. I did this and it still didn't work so I'll rip it all out.







    Not much to say about the engine bay except it needs a good clean. I noticed a sub wire there but couldnt see anything else, so I'll remove that too. There's also some silly little things that need sorting like the missing battery clamp, trim clips missing etc.



    Probably the longest intro for an average diesel saloon car but hey ho nevermind lol

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  3. #2
    Individual-1 ☚ ☻ ☛ Agent☣Orange's Avatar
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    I'm glad you dodged that first bullet. Sounds like a lot of deception going on and who knows what other problems were lurking. I like the accord Accord you ended up with. The used car market in the US is crazy right now with cars costing twice as much as before Covid. Now with car-loan interest rates sharply rising, buyers are looking for good used cars but they're also expensive.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

  4. #3
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    Its certainly been an expensive and testing couple of weeks of ownership. I'm still in the middle of some of the jobs so I'll get them posted once completed.

    The dash trim to the right of the steering wheel wasn't snug against the main dashboard. While investigating I found a flick switch tucked behind



    I traced the wiring to the fuse box and it wasn't looking great





    The positive of the (speaker?) cable was joined to what looked like a thin positive cable for an amplifier



    The wiring went down the driver side and tucked behind the rear seat. I found the main fuse for amplifer wire tucked inbetween the rear seat and trim. This could have caused a serious issue if things went badly. The rest of the wiring was shoved underneath the boot carpet.

    With that removed, I also removed the dash cam and reverse camera (which didn't work)



    Next up was to replace the brakes and fit both rear calipers.

    The fronts didn't need changing but it made sense to do them for the low cost of the parts



    The rears on the other hand....



    Driver side rear disc dust/heat shield was barely holding together with the amount of corrosion it had





    After fighting with the handbrake cables everything was fitted and bled.



    Next up was the top dash display. I noticed this would work when it wanted to, a gentle tap and it came back to on.



    The green socket is attached to the circuit board. With the wiring harness attached, it pulls down on the socket causing it to disconnect. Some have found dry solder joints, but unfortunately my soldering skills aren't that intricate.

    I recycled an old wiper blade rubber and put it in the gap. So far it's worked a treat



    While I was removing the reverse camera I noticed the number plate lights were rattling around. I ordered some LED replacements rather than sourcing OEM units and then fitting LED bulbs.

    You can see the plastic tab on the right had broken in half





    The first thing I did after purchasing the car was removing the Mugen badge from the bootlid. This had left evidence of the original Accord badge lifting the original lacquer. I found a replacement badge on AliExpress for the grand total of £5.00 posted.

    Unfortunately it's a little shorter in length but it'll do for now



    New rear number plate fitted due to the original had started to delaminate



    Moving onto the front. I colour coded the grille with aerosol paint and it's come out pretty well. I also fitted an import number plate to match the rear. Since the photos the two 35mm holes either side have been blanked using cupboard blanks from eBay





    Thats it for this update, I'll have another one in a week's time or so

  5. #4
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    Its certainly been an expensive and testing couple of weeks of ownership. I'm still in the middle of some of the jobs so I'll get them posted once completed.

    The dash trim to the right of the steering wheel wasn't snug against the main dashboard. While investigating I found a flick switch tucked behind



    I traced the wiring to the fuse box and it wasn't looking great





    The positive of the (speaker?) cable was joined to what looked like a thin positive cable for an amplifier



    The wiring went down the driver side and tucked behind the rear seat. I found the main fuse for amplifer wire tucked inbetween the rear seat and trim. This could have caused a serious issue if things went badly. The rest of the wiring was shoved underneath the boot carpet.

    With that removed, I also removed the dash cam and reverse camera (which didn't work)



    Next up was to replace the brakes and fit both rear calipers.

    The fronts didn't need changing but it made sense to do them for the low cost of the parts



    The rears on the other hand....



    Driver side rear disc dust/heat shield was barely holding together with the amount of corrosion it had





    After fighting with the handbrake cables everything was fitted and bled.



    Next up was the top dash display. I noticed this would work when it wanted to, a gentle tap and it came back to on.



    The green socket is attached to the circuit board. With the wiring harness attached, it pulls down on the socket causing it to disconnect. Some have found dry solder joints, but unfortunately my soldering skills aren't that intricate.

    I recycled an old wiper blade rubber and put it in the gap. So far it's worked a treat



    While I was removing the reverse camera I noticed the number plate lights were rattling around. I ordered some LED replacements rather than sourcing OEM units and then fitting LED bulbs.

    You can see the plastic tab on the right had broken in half





    The first thing I did after purchasing the car was removing the Mugen badge from the bootlid. This had left evidence of the original Accord badge lifting the original lacquer. I found a replacement badge on AliExpress for the grand total of £5.00 posted.

    Unfortunately it's a little shorter in length but it'll do for now



    New rear number plate fitted due to the original had started to delaminate



    Moving onto the front. I colour coded the grille with aerosol paint and it's come out pretty well. I also fitted an import number plate to match the rear. Since the photos the two 35mm holes either side have been blanked using cupboard blanks from eBay





    Thats it for this update, I'll have another one in a week's time or so

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  7. #5
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    A video for the previous update

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PKQYy1wNwM

    I installed a front and rear dash cam by a company called Cobra. I didn't take any photos but I did make a video

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYNjXwMWJU0

    So the its the 2nd bank holiday in May, and its the 2nd weekend the car is in pieces because things haven't gone to plan. What should have been an easy to do, basic service soon turned into a huge headache!

    I drained the oil, changed the oil filter and air filter and climbed underneath to fit the new sump plug, but it kept on turning.....noooo! I removed the sump plug and out came the threads and what looked like RTV sealant

    (for personal record, mileage 157,724)



    A quick forum search and the rear dog bone mount and aircon compressor has to come off to remove the sump. Doesn't sound too diffucult, right?

    How very wrong! The car has a wrap around front subframe which gets in the way for most things. It took me and my friend Danny 4 odd hours just the remove the sump. If the subframe was dropped down completely it would be much easier, but that was going to be last resort. We ended up undoing the subframe bolts leaving a couple of turns and prying it down as much as we could, eventually it gave enough clearance.



    I had to wait until Tuesday to find someone who could repair it. I contacted an independant engineering company (who had previously skimmed a couple of flywheels for me) who was happy to help. I got a call an hour later saying it was completed and ready for collection, charged me £30 which wasn't too bad.



    In the mean time I installed some Nighteye LED H1 bulbs to the dipped beam (I know, I know....they're not legal)



    I also gave the lenses a quick resto with some wipes from a brand called Armourall. I've used these on previous cars and they have worked really well





    I managed to remove the broken terminal in the fog light plug and both fog lights now work. While the bumper was off I gave the lenses a tint too



    Danny came back round Thursday evening and it took us another 4 hours or so putting it all back together including the front end and wheels. I certainly couldn't have done it on my own and I'm very thankful for his help.

    Took it for a test drive the following day, I got a few hundred feet away from the house and heard a horrendous scraping noise. I managed to stop and saw this



    The undertray was left off to make it easier to check for leaks. I forgot the arch liners attach to the undertray, oops! Luckily I had some cable ties in the boot which was enough to get me home. Both arch liners and undertray need replacing anyway so I'm on the look out for those.

    Grabbed this photo as I got home, it's slowly coming together.



    I'm sure it won't be long until it's pulled apart again. I'm waiting on the correct socket for the fuel filter, that should be here next week.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLKuLF9ZFy4

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  9. #6
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power hoodedreeper's Avatar
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    After my post about doing a quick restoration on the headlights I received a message on Instagram from someone local who might have a pair of headlights. After some messages back and forth I managed to get the pair for just £10

    Happy days!



    I must have a little OCD because seeing the stock tail lights not being symmetrical was driving me mad. The japanese CL9 models have two clear inner light units but shipping will be a killer. I found out european models have the same (I think their fog lamp is on the left, I'm sure someone will confirm). Found a seller on Ebay with one and it was shipped from Lithuania and arrived a few days later



    I couldn't find a chrome red W21W 582 bulb, but I did remember modifying a chrome red W21/5W 580 double filament bulb for a previous car. I used a 6v battery at work to find out which terminals on the base were for the 5W and cut them off, making it a single filament 21W

    It was time to tackle the fuel filter. Seeing forum and FB posts about this job didn't give me high hopes of it being a nice and simple job. Like ANY job so far has been nice and simple haha

    The filter is attached to a bracket tucked at the back of the engine bay



    With the battery disconnected and the air box removed it gave me much more room and access.

    The hardest part of the whole job is removing the two bolts on the bracket to the bulk head and refitting them.



    I originally bought a Bosch filter but after numerous people saying to only use genuine I bit the bullet and spoke to the local dealership. A genuine item cost me £54, ouch

    I made a video for Youtube because there doesn't seem to be one for the facelift

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImNghqf5-Vo

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  11. #7
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power hoodedreeper's Avatar
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    double post

  12. #8
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power hoodedreeper's Avatar
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    A common issue with these is the ABS, VSA and /!\ (exclamation light) will illuminate. Most of the time the diagnostic report will come back with a 66-1 error which is 'Brake Pressure Sensor Failure'

    I'd led to believe the brake pressure sensor is part of the module. A UK company called ECU Testing are highly recommended for refurbished units. You can either send yours to be repaired or buy one off the shelf which is more money. Not wanting the car off the road for another 7+ days I opted for the unit off the shelf.

    Prior to purchasing I sent them an email with a photo of my unit and asked them to confirm if it's the correct listing. They confirmed and also said it shouldn't need coding because its the same serial number.

    I purchased the unit at the cost of £325 (you can see why people don't bother repairing it) and received a phone call to say they didn't have the complete unit with the ABS pump in stock, only the module. A minor issue but nothing that couldnt be sorted, just a little extra fitting time. I was told because of this, I was owed a partial refund.

    The module arrived and I noticed a note added to the invoice reading "Customer advised will need dealership level diagnostic to recode". I rang Honda, they told me it didn't need recoding.

    I rang ECU Testing to query this along with the refund. They told me the person who did the invoice was on 'auto pilot' and automatically added the note without thinking. Because it's the same serial number it wouldn't need recoding. As for the refund, that isn't going to happen. Her words were "Its a flat rate price whether they have one or both parts in stock and no partial refunds are given"

    Oh, thanks for that...NOT! So I've got half the product for the full cost. Seeming as its the module at fault not the pump, I need it sorting so I just got on with it.



    There's much more access with the bumper and headlight removed. With the 6 brake pipes undone, theres 2x 10mm bolts holding the side Y shaped bracket on, followed by 3 or 4 bolts holding the main bracket to the car. With a little bit of wiggling it was out.




    Splitting was very simply, just 2x torx bolts



    The new module fitted to the original pump



    And all back in and bled



    We cleared the codes but the lights remained on. The live data showed the ABS sensors were working so it wasn't them. We tried doing the reset procedure but it kept failing.

    The following day I went to my local Honda dealer and asked them about resetting the light. They want to do a diagnostic first at £85 and THEN they'll look into resetting the lights. They'll only tell me the same code I already know, I wasn't prepared to pay for that on top of how ever much they'd charge for the ACTUAL job I need doing.

    A member of the Facebook owners group has offered to help. He's a couple of hours away so I plan on visiting him to get this sorted at some point next month.

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  14. #9
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power hoodedreeper's Avatar
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    The bargain pair of headlights I mentioned in a previous post got some attention.

    I begun by heating up the adhesive around the edge of the lens, using a flat head screw driver to loosen it. Once the lens was split the next task was to remove the inner trim/bezel. There's a ball and socket in the middle, this had broken off on the driver side light. The last thing holding it in was an adjustment screw on the inner corner.

    Next up was prepping the surface ready for paint. I used a maroon scotch pad to key the surface and a tack cloth to clean up the dust and any grease/dirt



    I had an idea for the sidelight/position light lens cover. The two stripes are clear where as the rest is frosted, which seemed like a good plan to mask and paint. Lets see how this turns out...

    With the high beam reflector masked it was time for some paint. I used Simoniz Tough Satin Black, I've used this alot and it covers really nicely





    The broken ball got glued back on with JB Weld Plastic Weld



    The projector and indicator unit got refitted



    Then it was time to re-seal the lenses. I originally used some C shaped locking pliers but they kept popping off,luckily I had a couple of normal locking pliers to hand which did the job.



    I used the Armourall headlight restoration wipes again just to see if they'd improve it. Although not as cloudy,I did noticed some very small areas of cracks. I'm guessing this is due to age and UV exposure.









    A comparison of the original and new units



    I've had the bumper and headlights removed countless times in the short amount of time I've owned the car, so this next part didn't take too long. I swapped over the bulb holders, LED dipped beam bulbs and fitted some LED sidelight bulbs







    Although the lenses aren't 100% perfect it was a great opportunity to experiment, especially with the whole job only costing me £20 including the lights and consumables/LED bulbs.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvqh-avWaUY

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  16. #10
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power hoodedreeper's Avatar
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    The time had come to embark on the next large update that awaits this car.

    A serious issue with these cars is too much stress on the ball joint, eventually they give up and break. When this happens the wheel can turn 90 degrees damaging the front wing/fender and a high chance of pulling the driveshaft or the very least damaging the inner cv joint.

    Rather than being attached to the lower suspension arm, Honda decided to press these into the steering knuckle/hub to make things that little bit more awkward.

    As most of the suspension needed loosening to swap, I may aswell replace it all while I'm there.



    Not wanting to do this job again for a loooong time, I didn't want to chance aftermarket ball joints, so off to the main dealer I go! I'll do a run through of costs at the end.



    A friend had kindly offered the use of his 2 post ramp and workshop, which would make things much easier and more forgiving for my back and knees (I think old age is starting to kick in haha)

    Some photos of the suspension before I started





    Everything undone easily except for the stabaliser links, the angle grinder made quick work of those



    I startered with the passenger side while I filmed for a Youtube video. By the time I moved round to the other side, things were much easier and I kinda knew what I was doing

    I found it much better to remove the lower suspension arm first followed by the steering knuckle.



    Driveshafts were next. The reason for changing these was because between 20-30mph and at 60mph I had a shake. Looking on the owners pages/forum majority of answers pointed at them being the issue.

    At first I struggled trying to pry the passenger side as I looked straight at it. Turns out if you go through the subframe its much easier and worked with some wiggling.

    The new lower suspension arm was loosly bolted up, to help support the weight of the driveshaft.



    With the shock absorber/spring (or in my case, coilover) floating it gave much more access to the upper suspension arm bolts.

    I purchased a pair of used steering knuckles to have the new ball joints fitted to. While I was there I also had a pair of SKF wheel bearings pressed in. Finished off with a lick of smooth black hammerite.



    Its starting to look like a complete car again



    There's normally a veeeeery veeeeeeery small chance that original ABS sensors would come out. The ones on the spare hubs broke and I knew the originals on the car were going to be the same fate. I ordered a pair of replacements incase it went wrong, luckily I did because the first one snapped (despite taking my time and using lots of penetrant oil)

    The new sensors come with brackets which was handy and saved some time.



    This was the first time I've taken apart and reassembled the front suspension on any car, I've only done one or two componants in the past. The only headache I had were the stabaliser links and the passenger driveshaft initially. Its been a good learning curve

  17. #11
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power hoodedreeper's Avatar
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    Next job was to change the gearbox oil. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos, only video for Youtube.

    Comma recommend their MVMTF 75W80 fully synthetic oil. The inital fill is 2.5 litres, service fill is 2.2 litres.



    The fill plug can be found on top of the gearbox, it has a square drive. I found it much easier with the airbox removed. You can use a 3/8" drain plug or socket extension bar.I made sure I could crack this off first before draining.

    The drain plug is on the front of the gearbox, again a 3/8" square.

    While I had access to the ramp I wire brushed the calipers ready for paint



    With the car being a dark grey most colours would go with it. I made a list of what colours my previous cars have had and red seems the most popular so far. Green or purple hadn't been done but I wasn't keen on either of them.

    I had a search on eBay and found the colour below and took a gamble. The best way to descibe it (because all screens/monitors are different) it's very close to the Project MU colour (turquoise)



    Before I decided to change the driveshafts I asked the tyre fitting centre next to my work to check the wheel balancing. The previous owner used the car to deliver fast food so I can only imagine he was up and down curbs alot.

    It turns out 3 out of 4 FN2 Type R wheels were buckled, two needed quite alot of weight to get them 'straight'. I could have purchased another set of Type R wheels, but wheres the fun in that?

    It turns out the Accord has a high offset from factory (much like our Mazda 6 GJ). These wheels are 18x7.5j +55 with a 15mm spacer up front and a 20mm on the rear. Making the wheels +40 and +35 offset.

    I always struggle to find wheels I like, when I do they're usually the wrong PCD or the offset is too low Throw in a price budget and its a receipe for disaster. Even brand new gave very limited options without going crazy with the cost.

    I happened to come across a Facebook Marketplace advert, the specs looked good and suitable for the car. The best part was the price. I picked up a set of Work Emotion XT7 for £400, they came with centre caps and brand new spoke stickers.

    My head was telling me to swap the current tyres and run them as they are. But my heart was telling me not to and to get them refurbed due to the curbing. I then find myself visiting a local alloy wheel refurbishment company (the same company who repaired my Work Emotion Kiwami wheels on the Skyline just before the Covid pandemic). We went through a few colour options, left the wheels with them and they were ready to collect a couple of weeks later.



    Originally I wanted to go with a bronze, unfortunately the samples they had were either too dark or too close to a gold. I played it safe and went with a bright silver.











    I had 4 new 225/40/18 tyres fitted, only budgets but they're going to be better than the 4 odd ones I previously had on the other wheels.

    The caplier colour pops nicely against the body and wheels, I really like it.

    An expensive couple of updates but this car needs to last me along time. Yes the wheels didn't NEED a refurb, but c'mon! Look how awesome they look

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  19. #12
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power hoodedreeper's Avatar
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    https://youtu.be/1yGaCG1vwrQ

    The next big job was to replace the exhaust manifold. While I was doing the suspension change I noticed the turbo oil drain gasket was leaking. With the turbo needing to come off to swap the manifold it made sense to do all of the turbo gaskets at the same time.

    What should have been a 5-7 hour job turned into a 3-4 day job. I must have had every single obstactle and issue thrown at me, it really was physcially and mentally draining.

    I go through the process in detail in the Youtube video, but I'll do a quick run through here in text form

    - Remove engine cover studs
    - Undo, remove/move engine breather hose, turbo actuator vacuum, brake servo hose, clutch master resevoir
    - Undo/remove 3x 12mm bolts holding the heat shield on
    - Jack up the car, put on axle stands
    - Remove 2x 12mm cat to flexi bolts (these have springs on them)
    - Remove 3x 14mm bolts holding the bracket between the cat and engine
    - Push exhaust flexi hanger out from the exhaust rubber (blank/block this part to prevent anything falling down)
    - Undo 3x 14mm nuts at the top of the cat where its mounted to the turbo (I had to use an extra long spanner from underneath)



    - Disconnect the 2x intake hose clips (philips screwdriver or 10mm socket)
    - The engine breather pipe you previously removed goes to the airbox intake pipe. This breather tube can be removed by undoing a spring clip (a coolant line is attached like a T shape so be aware)
    - Disconnect the short coolant hose that goes to the hard pipe on the turbo
    - Undo 1x 17mm coolant banjo bolt found under the heater hose on the engine (right hand side as your looking at it)
    - Undo 1x 14mm oil banjo bolt found to the left of the cat
    - Undo 3x 14mm nuts holding the turbo onto the manifold (top nut is accessable from under the bonnet, other 2 from underneath. One is close to the stud for the cat, the other can be accessed inbetween the actuator rod and bracket)

    use a deep socket and extension bar on the end of the ratchet handle for more leverage

    The turbo should now be free to move, its easier to drop it down from the bottom

    - Undo 7x 14mm nuts 2x 17mm nuts on the manifold. **Be wary of spanner/socket slipping**
    - Manifold will come out from the top

    At this point I had 4 manifold nuts get stuck but luckily the stud started to unwind



    As expected, the manifold was cracked



    I taped over the ports/holes on the hard lines and turbo and gave them a quick clean with a wire brush and some brake cleaner





    I ordered replacement gaskets from my local Honda dealer. All were in stock in the UK except one which took a couple of extra days



    Starting from the top:

    Oil Feed/Return on the turbo
    Oil Return on the sump
    Oil Banjo copper washers
    Turbo to Exhaust Elbow
    Turbo to Manifold
    Coolant Feed/Return on the turbo
    Coolant Banjo sealing washers
    Exhaust Elbow to Cat

    These came to just over £94 (I received a 5% discount for working in the trade)

    This is the new single cast manifold I got from eBay. I was lucky to get it on a discount weekend for about £75, I believe normal price is £90 (still not bad)



    The supplied manifold nuts ended up being WRONG. Finding M10x1.25 nuts on a Saturday lunch time was very difficult. Luckily a friend had some nylocks I could grab. The only issue was the socket would no longer fit, so I was limited to a 1/4 turn flipping the spanner around each time (you may know my pain with this one)

    The new manifold was supplied with new studs, manifold to block gasket, manifold to turbo gasket and new bolts for the heat shield.

    The new manifold now fitted



    Turbo refitted



    Reassembling was straight forward until I got to the oil hard line. This eBay manifold had changed the position of the turbo ever so slightly which made lining up the oil feed flange on the turbo diffucult.

    The oil drain is ribbed and does have movement. I spent 2.5-3 hours bending > fitting > removing > bending > fitting > removing etc etc it just wouldn't line up.

    The next sentance I'm ashamed of admitting but I got desperate and impatient I got within 1/4 hole away and it just wouldn't move any further. Thats when I drilled the mounting holes on the flange bigger so I could get them lined up.

    I got it back together, started the car and checked up the top for any blowing or leaks at the banjos. I laid down to check underneath and I was greeted with a pool of oil approx 6 inches wide....shit!

    I ordered some more gaskets from Honda, missing the time cut off it extended the wait by another 2 days. Those finally arrived and I removed the cat and exhaust again.

    I managed to prise the feed/return gasket away from the Turbo and instantly saw the issue.



    Having fitting and removing it so many times, the gasket did drop onto the floor. I couldnt see where it went so I carried on, not realising I had leant on it causing it to distort. Why I thought the flange clamped down tight on the turbo would flatten it enough to not worry about was the right thing to do, I have no idea!

    With the extra movement from the mounting holes drilled bigger it had positioned the flange slightly off, which contributed to the oil leak.

    With the new gasket fitted and the oil line flange lined up it was time to tighten the bolts and start the car to check for leaks. This time it was a success and was bone dry, at long last!

    I'd rather do 1000 fuel filters and bottom ball joints than do that job ever again!

    https://youtu.be/_Aish9L-wIc

  20. The Following User Says Thank You to hoodedreeper For This Useful Post:

    HarryB (07-27-2023)

  21. #13
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power hoodedreeper's Avatar
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    '92 Purple Supercharged
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    Chrome on cars seems to be a love or hate thing. Some cars (typically older ones) suit the chrome where as more modern machines dont. Ironically I don't mind the chrome on the Accord, but you know I can't leave things alone.

    So I decided to dechrome the exterior

    Knowing how curvy the door handles were and how my experience with vinyl wrapping is zero, it made sense to paint them instead.

    Once they were removed (I cover this in a Youtube video) they were prepped using a grey scotch pad and a tag cloth. Followed by 2 coats of etch primer and 3 or 4 coats of Simoniz Tough Satin Black





    For the window trims I used some gloss black wrapping vinyl from eBay. The first roll was 100mm wide by 5m, if I hadn't needed to re-do 2 pieces I would have had enough. But alas I needed some more and this time I ordered a 10m roll (will get round to wrapping the trims on the Mazda 6 at some point)



    Not the greatest of photo but it doesn't look too bad



    I still have the driver side front handle to do, but I put that on hold while I tackled this next job

  22. #14
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    '04 Strato Blue NB2
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    I really admire your dedication and patience with all of your vehicles. And that manifold was an excellent score for the price.

  23. #15
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power hoodedreeper's Avatar
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    '92 Purple Supercharged
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    United Kingdom
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    Thanks Harry, I wouldnt have had this much hassle if I kept the NC1 lol

  24. The Following User Says Thank You to hoodedreeper For This Useful Post:

    MaRcOp01o (07-28-2023)

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