af_1132 : 1993 Accord LX

[CyborgGT]

I finally had time to watch the videos. One thing I'd recommend is to double-check the nuts holding the intake manifold to the head after a couple hundred miles, because the temp affects the thermal gasket's shape/thickness. I had some loosen and back out on my Bisimoto gasket.

I'm loving your excitement, too. I'm coming up on seven years since I last drove a CB, and am dying to get back into one. My RSX is huge fun, but I miss my old sedan.

[af_1132]

Dude your reactions are funny as hell. I was rolling when you were looking for your light. Looking forward to more videos. Also on a side note, on your videos I know I enjoy watching people work on their car in fast pace instead of just jumping from scene to scene. Not sure if you can do that or not. Would love to get more viewers on your channel. I know my GoPro4 has that option.

Haha, thanks man! That was a completely candid reaction! I can certainly do some more time-lapse style shots with the iPhone, like I did for the timing side teardown. Certain things are too hard to film, like greasing up the rack for the manual rack conversion due to how I would ruin the phone with grease and old PS fluid. I have to work also on posting more regularly. My most popular videos are the ones with either the catchy thumbnails showing major overhauls or the racing videos. You have to keep 'em coming back!

The plan is to weld it all up as much as possible, like you; slip joins will never provide a perfect seal to begin with.

If you click the link in my sig, that first post details what I've purchased for my exhaust system. It's a bit complicated, and very experimental: mufflers/resonators will easily be changed if I don't like the sound.

I am definitely getting those slip joints welded also. I know its all in storage, but do you remember how long the bottle resonator is compared to the UQ? Also, let me know how well that streetpower muffler muffles the sound. That's the series I have, just 2.5" inlet.

I finally had time to watch the videos. One thing I'd recommend is to double-check the nuts holding the intake manifold to the head after a couple hundred miles, because the temp affects the thermal gasket's shape/thickness. I had some loosen and back out on my Bisimoto gasket.

I'm loving your excitement, too. I'm coming up on seven years since I last drove a CB, and am dying to get back into one. My RSX is huge fun, but I miss my old sedan.

I will check those for sure. Luckily, the Golden Eagle variant is not quite as thick, so there is more meat for the nuts to grab onto. I think I had one or two loose ones when I last tore the F22 out. SEVEN YEARS! Dang, for some reason, I thought you were driving yours when I first joined in 2014.

[CyborgGT]

I have this photo from when I laid out my full exhaust. They look pretty much the same length. The bottle's widest section might be an inch or so longer:



I'm really trying to be driving this winter, and I'll be sure to get videos of how it sounds. Fingers crossed...

*ED. - Found a saved order receipt in my e-mail, which details the body of the bottle resonator to be 4" x 15.5", 18" long overall. That 15.5" has to include the space where the body width tapers off, though, and I doubt you're getting much sound absorption there. This compared to the UQ (same 2.5" in/out) that is a 6.5" x 4.75" oval, 9.75" long body, 13.75" long overall.

[af_1132]

Track video baby!



Word to the wise, if you go to the track with 5 year old performance tires, you will be disappointed in the car's handling! Also, make sure you figure out how to get an alignment done beforehand as well! The manual rack is definitely a different feel out there, so it is hard to tell exactly what makes it so much more difficult to handle. I will say this, however, that motor is a monster in the shadows. With just the basemap from John Vega, which needs a little adjusting (idle AFRs are 12.5 and WOT AFRs are around 14.0), the car is running three seconds faster than the old F22 setup even with all of the handling issues.

These will be addressed before I go back out:

1. Bridgestone Potenza RE-71s 205 50R 15
2. Proper alignment
3. John Vega remote tune!!!!!

[af_1132]

A scary thing happened on Wednesday, while I was halfway to a drag race. I smelled fuel pretty strongly while on the freeway and quickly exited, only to observe the car die when it tried to idle. I waited a few seconds, thinking the fuel filter might be clogged. The car would start, but I needed to keep my foot on the gas to keep it from dying. I drove to the nearest gas station and parked, only to find fuel EVERYWHERE, spewing from the engine bay. It was on the ground in a puddle, and it was running down the front bumper! After opening the hood, I soon found that one of the fuel rail stud nuts backed out, and the #1 injector top hat had separated from the injector enough to relive fuel pressure.

After walking to the nearest Autozone and coming back with the right sized nut, the stud snapped in half when I tried to tighten her down to ~10 ft-lbs. Of course, it snapped down in the threads in the runners.

It's my own dumb fault, but the F22 fuel rail studs are just not long enough when paired with an AEM fuel rail and JDM IM runners. The top of the studs stick out 2mm tops when you insert the injectors in their holes. Only a fool would run with the nuts only turning about 3x before reaching the torque spec, which would be me. JDM runners only use two studs, and they grind down the stud mounting positions on the runners to accommodate the extremely tall JDM rails and short injectors.

I'm serious, it is a miracle that the fuel did not drip on the headers and cause a fire that would have ended the car's life for good, possibly mine.

So, I need longer studs or I will have to dump this fuel rail. Does anyone know of a different set of runners that have longer than F22 fuel rail studs? Alternatively, does anyone know where you can source oversized rail studs?

[Jarrett]

Just use two nuts and pull the studs out of the old F22A runners.

[af_1132]

That's what I originally did, because the JDM studs are way too short. Sorry if I didn't make that clear in my last post. The F22 studs still only stick out enough for about three complete turns of the nuts with the JDM runners and AEM rail. I am wondering if there exist studs longer than those on an F22 runner. I guess I could also just source long bolts instead.

[af_1132]

So, I pulled out the remaining stud from the runners, and realized that if I put them in upside down, I would have more thread length. Or were they put in upside down to begin with? One side, the side with the tapered end of un-threaded section, has more threads to work with. I originally threaded that end into the runners. Now I'm beginning to think that end is supposed to face up!

[af_1132]

Welp, its definitely confirmed now that I originally put the studs in upside down. The tapered side goes up for all you intake manifold/engine builders out there! I did my best to extract the broken stud with the mani still on the motor in the engine bay, but I noticed that I began to drill crooked and potentially into the aluminum slightly. Now, the mani is at a machine shop so they can extract this properly and retap, or install a heilcoil. The car has been sitting since August 7th, and I so badly want to get on the road again! I'm in the last stage of the road tune with Jon Vega, and he probably wondered what happened to my 5th round of logs.

Also, the last oil change had shiny microscopic metal shards in it, mostly in the filter. I'm going to change it again soon and see if it comes out the same way again, fingers crossed!

[G. Wiffington]

John Vega is the man! I always go through him to get all my ECU parts & he
makes some really great basemaps. That's sweet you got to do some remote
tuning with him. Phearable is a great company.

Hope you get the mani all fixed up soon. That track video was awesome.

[af_1132]

John Vega is the man! I always go through him to get all my ECU parts & he
makes some really great basemaps. That's sweet you got to do some remote
tuning with him. Phearable is a great company.

Hope you get the mani all fixed up soon. That track video was awesome.

Rad man, thanks for stopping by! BTW, as of Saturday night, the fuel rail and studs made it to the LA distribution center, according to the tracking number.

[af_1132]

It started off as a sad Friday night when I got my mani back from the machine shop. Their fix was to drill out the broken stud and place an M6 insert in the hole. I put one stud in the passenger side thread to help them gauge the correct angle, but they did not get the angle correct. They drilled at an angle more horizontal, and I could tell something was wrong as soon as I had paid (of course). Sure enough, I take it home, put a stud in both holes, and the angles are different by about 8 or 9 deg. The rail would, of course, not go on both studs.

Here is my not so genius solution:
1. Take one stud, thread it into any of the three M6 bolt threads on the driver's side of the mani (used to fasten sections of the loom).
2. Take a rubber sledgehammer, and gently bat exposed section of the stud until it is bent about 8 or 9 deg right at its exposed base.
3. Check to make sure no separation or cracking has occured.
4. Thread bent stud into runner location, and tighten; if 8 or 9 degree bend is upward, presto! If not, unscrew and reinstall at a different rotation angle until 8 or 9 degree bend is upward when tightened.

I was extremely nervous that the insert would break free, but it held. Unforunately, it was not as long as the actual hole, only about 75%. At least they buried it to the bottom of the hole they drilled. I got the rail and injectors on with little effort, and used caution when tightening the nuts to 10-ft lbs this time. I even used thread locker on the nut that originally came loose.

When the car is put back together, the tune will have a minimum idle set at 900rpms. Without balance shafts rotating, the car shook too voilently below 850rpms, which caused this whole mess in the first place. As someone said earlier, my IM 12mm bots did back out to the point I could get some of them off with only my fingers. Lessons learned the hard way here, as always!

[af_1132]

Wohoo, the car is running and running strong once again, no fuel leaks or fuel smell detected! That was a long three months of CB-less torture.

I felt really bad for John Vega, who has been waiting for my 5th round of datalogs from the remote tune since August 7th, when the fuel stud originally snapped. I did the fifth round tonight and sent them to him with a long explanation and apology. I expect or deserve nothing from him at this point, but I am willing to send him more cash for his trouble. He's the man, as we have all noted .

[CyborgGT]

Very good, I've been missing your YouTube updates!

[af_1132]

Man, there is quite a backlog of raw footage I need to edit and post! I will be doing that over the Thanksgiving and Christmas break.