$2015 Challenge entry - 88 Accord LXi

Not ordering stuff just yet anyway. I am about to enter the two-week-long project blackout period, where a combination of house guests and travel arrangements conspire to keep me out of the garage.

The good news is that I have a solid understanding on what to do next, and without a water pump to buy, the cost is a bit lower yet. I've dropped about $10 off of that based on different rod bearings, too. This leaves more room in the Challenge budget for suspension and more room in the real budget for freshening brakes and wheels/tires.

Even betterer news. two weeks gets us through hopefully the worst part of this pollen bs. Worst year I can remember...

Enjoy your hiatus sir.

If you want to use my hone, I'll drop my good ring compressor in the box so you don't waste 17 bucks on that piece.

The wrinkle-band piston ring compressors are really nice.

Unfortunately, my students can completely destroy them within one year of use. But they are students, not you. You will be fine.

Sweet, thanks! Which one do you have?

As far as the hiatus, I am not looking forward to it at all! I want to slam this piece of garbage back together so I can get back to work carefully restoring my other piece of garbage.

In reply to tuna55:

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/sme-90a3900

Honestly I should've bought one years ago. All you have to do is adjust the size to slightly smaller than the bore then push the piston in.

I like restoring garbage. I hate working on my daily driven garbage.

tuna55 wrote: Not ordering stuff just yet anyway. I am about to enter the two-week-long project blackout period, where a combination of house guests and travel arrangements conspire to keep me out of the garage. The good news is that I have a solid understanding on what to do next, and without a water pump to buy, the cost is a bit lower yet. I've dropped about $10 off of that based on different rod bearings, too. This leaves more room in the Challenge budget for suspension and more room in the real budget for freshening brakes and wheels/tires.

Did I say two weeks?

Yeah, I am on budgetary blackout now until the first week of May. Even for the $150 in parts I need to get this heap out of the garage.

Uncle sent a hone (240 grit) (and paid for shipping), Derick is sending (soon?) pistons and rings he has left over. I need to figure out a press for the wristpins still, but otherwise I am just ordering parts.

So thee couple go out to a swanky dinner joint (mostly because they do gluten free which is important for TunaSIL #2) and yours truly covertly has the waiter hand the bill over and pays for it before anyone notices it happened when all the three girls were busy figuring out the hypothetical split check. Oops, the bill was $350. Add to that a complete revamp of our groceries for the gluten thing along with countless other kid things put us in the hole $1000 for the week.

Also Tunakid #4 has not slept a full night in about three weeks, so I am starving for sleep and coughing and getting nose clogged. She literally wakes up and screams at me because she doesn't want to be asleep.

I promise, this thread will deliver. You guys deserve it majorly. It's just not happening yet.

tuna55 wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Not ordering stuff just yet anyway. I am about to enter the two-week-long project blackout period, where a combination of house guests and travel arrangements conspire to keep me out of the garage. The good news is that I have a solid understanding on what to do next, and without a water pump to buy, the cost is a bit lower yet. I've dropped about $10 off of that based on different rod bearings, too. This leaves more room in the Challenge budget for suspension and more room in the real budget for freshening brakes and wheels/tires.

Did I say two weeks? Yeah, I am on budgetary blackout now until the first week of May. Even for the $150 in parts I need to get this heap out of the garage. Uncle sent a hone (240 grit) (and paid for shipping), Derick is sending (soon?) pistons and rings he has left over. I need to figure out a press for the wristpins still, but otherwise I am just ordering parts. So thee couple go out to a swanky dinner joint (mostly because they do gluten free which is important for TunaSIL #2) and yours truly covertly has the waiter hand the bill over and pays for it before anyone notices it happened when all the three girls were busy figuring out the hypothetical split check. Oops, the bill was $350. Add to that a complete revamp of our groceries for the gluten thing along with countless other kid things put us in the hole $1000 for the week. Also Tunakid #4 has not slept a full night in about three weeks, so I am starving for sleep and coughing and getting nose clogged. She literally wakes up and screams at me because she doesn't want to be asleep. I promise, this thread will deliver. You guys deserve it majorly. It's just not happening yet.

careful that could either end you up with a Tunakid #5. Or it could end you up with a divorce... lol.

charlie would wake up once a night for 4 months straight, as in wake up and want to play. We played tough love. first night: 45 minutes of crying/screaming second night: 30 min of crying/screaming third night: I lay awake at his wake up time for an hour listening for a wake up... fourth: repeat above.

it actually worked but I felt like the most horrible person in the world ignoring him.

Mrs. VCH is very anti- the tough-love route. Our kid's only 10 month old, though. I keep telling her, at some point the kid is going to have to learn to fall/ stay asleep by herself. For now, though, when the baby screams, one of us soothes her. I'm not sure when the transition period comes. But I think she is starting to scream less and self-entertain more.

There were apparently many studies done showing that not responding to a baby's screams/ cries can result in them not trusting their parents and generally developing psychological issues. But of course, this is rarely a black and white thing. All babies are going to cry; you're never going to be able to be there 100%. It's really freaking hard. I can't even imagine dealing with more than one of them right now.

10 mo is a bit young.

at 15 months the time had come. esp b/c he'd just climb into your arms and fall asleep. meaning he needed to learn to deal with it.

SWMBO's mother was a stay at home and her dad worked. So her mother would always get the kids so they did not wake daddy. Every one of them has issues falling asleep at night b/c they never learnt to deal with it young. three kids. she did not sleep through the night for 3 or so years from first to last kid... ugh.

Charlie now self entertains and only cries when he needs something.

Tuna...when it comes to kids, they are no different than the lumpy species that most of us marry. You just have to make it up as you go along and hope for the best. Kinda like your truck.

And much the same as the wife units, we strive to be the controlling life-form in the relationship, but do be aware that we are often outmatched, regardless of age.

Ordered parts!

Worked on the car!

Did the honing, pulled the crank pulley, reassembled the main bearing caps, scraped the gasket surface, and generally had a good night getting things done. Hopefully my parts dome soon. Derick, where are those pistons??

Michael, how about that spring compressor?

By the bye, not working on junk stinks. I feel 100x better after having gotten something done.

I've had budgetary restraint weekends before. my wife usually kicks me out of the house by noon on saturday. "GO weed or do something!, I'm not having you mope around anymore!"...

Glad to hear you are back at it sir. I'm out of town this weekend. Hopefully you arent completely done by next weekend. Else I wont have helped yet again.

Hmmm...

If I'm not on call this weekend, I may bring you a pile of crap Saturday after the morning kids soccer game.

Ain't gonna happen sunday. Mothers day.

ok.

It was awfully sludgy in there.

I have no idea why that picture is upside down.

I really think at this point you need to find the nicest junkyard motor that you can and put it in. Maybe an easier job labor wise after all you've done, and probably less frustrating. That sludge just added insult to injury, on top of the other issues. Just my 2¢. Carry on.

Dusterbd13 wrote: Hmmm... If I'm not on call this weekend, I may bring you a pile of crap Saturday after the morning kids soccer game. Ain't gonna happen sunday. Mothers day.

Crap, I'm gone all weekend.

sethmeister4 wrote: I really think at this point you need to find the nicest junkyard motor that you can and put it in. Maybe an easier job labor wise after all you've done, and probably less frustrating. That sludge just added insult to injury, on top of the other issues. Just my 2¢. Carry on.

Appreciate the thought, but the sludginess is not that bad, it wiped off mostly. Also I already bought the parts.

I'd say sludginess is due to E36 M3ty oil driven for too long owing to bad pistons you found.

Mad_Ratel wrote: I'd say sludginess is due to E36 M3ty oil driven for too long owing to bad pistons you found.

I don't think so. The sludge is in the timing cover. There really shouldn't be much oil there. I think it's just 300K and 27 years worth of grime.

Plus, I have every oil change writted down from 80K on until now and they were very nearly every 3K miles.

Have everything but still waiting on pistons from Derick.

It's a race....who can get their crappy challenge hatch-back running first.