$2015 Challenge entry - 88 Accord LXi

Grounds have been checked.

The split boot worked very well so far.

I still had a small oil leak. I think the oil pump again, so I changed it entirely, rather than just the gasket as before.

here is the patient

Don't be shy, come on in.

BAM

For those following along at home, here are the steps to swapping the oil pump on an A20.

1. Securely jack up car
2. Remove accessory belts
3. Remove crank bolt and pulley
4. Try to remove lower timing belt cover
   4a. Remember that the water pump pulley has to go first
   4b. Remember that you locitited those bolts on because two fell out
   4c. Struggle with three bolts freewheeling for an hour
   4d. Reinstall crank pulley and bolt, drop car to the ground, reinstall water pump belt
   4e. Remove water pump pulley and belt
5. Securely jack up car
6. Remove lower timing cover
7. Loosen tensioner
8. Remove oil pump

Installation is the reverse of removal, except you'll have a hard time getting the power steering belt tight because it's a crappy belt and because Honda didn't make much room in there.

Now to see if I still have an oil leak.....

New budget:

$1235.84

New "real" (including tools and drinks and such) budget

$1536.69

tuna55 wrote: New budget: $1235.84 New "real" (including tools and drinks and such) budget $1536.69

Only $300.15 spent on drinking budget? Hmmmmmm....sounds like you're cheating on that part of the budget

Ovid_and_Flem wrote:

tuna55 wrote: New budget: $1235.84 New "real" (including tools and drinks and such) budget $1536.69

Only $300.15 spent on drinking budget? Hmmmmmm....sounds like you're cheating on that part of the budget

You know, I don't think there is a single dollar of adult beverage in there anywhere. I might have to change that someday.

It's mostly parts which were worn out, and for my purposes.

In reply to tuna55:

Thank God tool purchases do not hit the challenge budget....one builder is rumored to have purchased a $5,000 lathe and milling machine so he could fabricate a set of bushings for $10 in materials when he could have bought OEM bushings for $50...LOL

Ovid_and_Flem wrote: In reply to tuna55: Thank God tool purchases do not hit the challenge budget....one builder is rumored to have purchased a $5,000 lathe and milling machine so he could fabricate a set of bushings for $10 in materials when he could have bought OEM bushings for $50...LOL

Sounds like a good excuse to buy a lathe!

I only included special tools that I needed and didn't otherwise have. It's essentially a total of what it cost me to operate that car, as to compare with others.

FYI, the oil leak is not detected thus far. I cleaned (briefly) the underside while working on the van brakes tonight (if anyone in Greenville saw any weird driving from a silver Caravan... I was bedding in the new pads).

I'll park on some cardboard tomorrow. I'm that brave. If it still leaks, it all gets torn apart for a cam seal.

Budget talk has me wondering.

Could you "sell" your interior to get a bit more budget room, i.e. price out what they go for on ebay and list them as sold, do the mods to make your car more competitive, then reinstall said interior when you get home?

is that cheating? or racing?

In reply to Mad_Ratel:

I trust that was a rhetorical question.

If not, then Cheatin"...

Oh I dont even own a challenge car. I like to daydream, found a used mini cooper for 4k.. was wondering what it'd take to drop it into challenge pricing.

In reply to Mad_Ratel:

Well first problem is rules only allow max initial purchase price of $2017.

BUT... there are plenty fun sub $2,000 cars out there that would be fun challenge vehicles. In my first event last year I was amazed at the creativity and the fun cars people came up with to enter. Some as low as $250 initial purchase.

It was so much fun I recommend anyone remotely interested to just do it. I had always thought about it but until I stumbled across a crappy old car at a cheap price did I decide to try it. Although I was a back marker I had a ball and I'm doing it again this year.

Don't just a dream. Do it!

cam seal time...

volvoclearinghouse wrote:

True!

I am going to try doing it without pulling the timing belt off, though. By the time I am done, for the record, it will have a new crankshaft seal, camshaft seal, oil pump, and oil pan gasket. Of course I did all of those separately even though I repeated the same steps over and over and over and ov

I am getting good at this. One hour and fifteen minutes while chatting with the wife.

I cheated a bit because I zip tied the timing belt to the cam sprocket as to not have to re-time the engine.

I you choose this method, it is key to remove the zip tie before starting the engine.

tuna55 wrote: I am getting good at this. One hour and fifteen minutes while chatting with the wife. I cheated a bit because I zip tied the timing belt to the cam sprocket as to not have to re-time the engine. I you choose this method, it is key to remove the zip tie before starting the engine.

Dang, that's smart!

New budget:

$1235.84

New "real" (including tools and drinks and such) budget

$1546.69

And it still leaks oil.

In other news, I tried disconnecting the speedometer and indeed, that fixed the weirdo idle issue and subsequent CEL.

Unfortunately, the CEL still comes on now and then for the EGR valve, and now I have to replace the cluster.

And it still leaks. Of course.

I had an 88 accord lx-i sedan for 10 years and took her to over 350k miles. I absolutely loved that little car. Stick shift, power moonroof, unreal gas mileage. I didn't deal with oil leaks, but it did sit for several days not starting once before I replaced the rotor button. Hate that you're having an oil leak, plugged pcv valve?

There has to be a funny crankcase pressure issue to get all these leaks. Can you run a vacuum/boost gauge off something plumbed to the crankcase and watch it when you drive?

mazdeuce wrote: There has to be a funny crankcase pressure issue to get all these leaks. Can you run a vacuum/boost gauge off something plumbed to the crankcase and watch it when you drive?

I'll revisit my PCV system. I believe I may have found the genesis tonight, though, the valve cover bolt has stripped, so the side facing the timing cover was not tightened properly. I left the top cover off and will check as I drive around.

So, some things on tonight.

Here is a few nights worth of leak, just so you can see what it looks like:

You can't see it very well, but here is me screwing up. Remember how I complained about the tensioner not being easy to get on the little pin on the block? Turns out I screwed that up last time, so I fixed that.

I couldn't see any leaks for the few minutes I felt like watching the cam sprocket spin:

But there is an issue. I found a crack in the cam sprocket keyway. I thought, hey, it's OK. Then reassembled it all, started it, and heard "CLANK!" and then saw this:

Apparently a piece of the cam gear found a way out. It all runs, but probably not for long, so I will source another timing belt and cam gear.

I got a new toy today, my Jobi Gorillatorch finally came straight from Japan via Amazon. It was like $15, has magnetic repositionable feet, and is generally awesome. Here it is now!

In reply to mazdeuce:

Yeah... so thanks for the comment.

A LONG time ago, when the leak first started, I was playing with the PCV system, because I wasn't seeing a leak on the ground.

That leak turned out to be the oil pump, it had a torn gasket, and was dripping like mad once the engine was running. I was running out of oil weekly. That leak is fixed. HOWEVER, as part of that leak, I was convinced the PCV system was messed up, because of my experiences with Civics and the PCV system. Well, what I did is to install another valve between the intake upstream of the throttle blade and the valve cover. In OEM Honda land, this is a simple vent. I used a pcv elbow instead trying to diagnose oil loss.

That was idiotic. I essentially made it so air could get into the crankcase through either PCV valve, but not out. I figured that whistle under specific throttle positions and the EGR valve throwing a light under full throttle were separate issues.

Well then Mazdeuce and grover came along.

A few nights ago, I removed the PCV elbow and reinstalled the open elbow. All at once, the EGR doesn't throw a light, and the whistle is gone, and I feel stupid. I suspect the excess crankcase pressure blew out the RTV oil pan gasket (I have done the oil pan gasket three times including the original rebuild, the last time without a gasket). It may have also blew the valve cover gasket, because I can see seeping, but it appears intact when I pull the valve cover. At any rate, it certainly isn't leaking enough to make the mess I have been making.

Thanks guys!

The good news is that the oil pan is maybe an hour and about $10.

Just 500 guys looking over your shoulder to see if you missed anything. This is why I love the forum.

Pretty easy to forget something like that- hope the leak is gone.

grover wrote: Pretty easy to forget something like that- hope the leak is gone.

Still leaking, the oil pan gasket comes tonight.

Last night Tunawife and I bled the brakes on the van.

That is not a euphemism.

Hoping I get a cluster sent from Derick along with the cam gear soon so I can fix the other issues. The new timing belt should be here first.

tuna55 wrote: New budget: $1234.73 New "real" (including tools and drinks and such) budget $1546.69

tuna55 wrote: When I started the car to go home on Tuesday, it went "crank, grind, crank, grind, vroom" and I thought in my sleepiness that I had blipped the key on and off. I headed to O'reilly's and bought a new PCV valve ($2.11 added to the budget), went to the car to leave and "ziiiiiiiiiiing" went the starter. No amount of rocking or prodding could make it go. I gave it a push start and headed home.

I removed the PCV from the Challenge budget. Just in case I actually make it there someday.

It's easier to put the gasket on the block, and then get the pan up there.

That's done. About 1 1/2 hour.