EG6 VTEC SOLENOID

The VTEC Solenoid on my engine was leaking engine oil thru the wire (a very uncommon problem), so I have gotten a used one from the used car importers.

After some time with 500 grit sandpaper, managed to get a little 'blink' back.

To disassemble the solenoid, just remove the three bolts on top.

The replacement seal on the engine side.
Part no. 15825-P08-005
Part name: FILTER ASSY., SPOOL VALVE

 The replacement seal in the solenoid.
Part no. 36172-P08-005
Part name: PACKING, SOLENOID BASE

The one on left is the old seal and the one on the right is the new seal.  Notice that the new comes with strainer.

 However, the new seal with strainer does not seat properly in the groove as the strainer is in the way for my solenoid which came from a EK9.

All I did was to remove the strainer.  No cutting is required, as it comes off quite easily.

Re-assembled with new M6 bolts and washer.

New parts - Fuel, Brakes and Clutch: hose and fittings!

New stuff that just arrive in the mail :)

Engine Harness repair

My water temperature gauge reading suddenly drops to zero during my drive today.

The cause was that the wire to the water temperature gauge was broken.  FYI, the sensor in the foreground (black) is the water temp sensor to the ecu.

Given that the harness is almost 20 years old, the wires are bound to harden and breaks off after sometime.

 It is quite simple to open up the plug and solder the wire onto it.

Just slide off the cover

And remove the pin

To make more room for the soldering of the wires and do some checks on the rest of the harness. I remove the factory conduits and black tape.

The fan switch wires were going to break, so I cut them off in order to re-solder them.. (Top)

Water Temperature Gauge Sensor plug re-soldered.

Fan switch plug re-soldered and heat-shrinked.

Part of the harness re-taped and tidied up a bit.

More black tape and conduit

Warning: Be prepare for a backache after bending over the engine bay for hours.

Crush washer and o rings

I am running dual bosch 044 fuel pump setup to increase my fuel pressure and intend to change the fittings and hose to braided line and AN fittings (items in the post ;p).  

Therefore, I had to remove some parts for measurements and test fit.  When I installed everything back, the fuel was spraying all over! Not leaking but spraying.

Lesson learned: Always use new crush washers and o-rings when installing high pressure fittings.

Petrol resistant 12mm Teflon Crush Washer and 60mm O rings

Instead of using the common copper crush washer, I went for the Teflon Crush Washer instead.  As I find copper crush washer tends to 'cut'/'scar' into the aluminum fittings quite a bit, whereas the Teflon is softer and does not leave any cuts on the aluminum fittings.

Copper and Teflon washer on the fuel pump check valve

Deformed crush washer
 

  This happens when u over tighten :p

Deformed Teflon Crush washer and Used Copper Crush Washer. As shown in the picture, you have to be a bit more careful with the Teflon crush washer when tightening.










Reason for new O ring: The old one was flattened and loose.

The Teflon Crush washer is working very well now.  The advantage is that it is less abrasive to the aluminum fittings and it is relatively easier to install, just be careful when tightening.

"Caps"

Lost the pin under the previous reservoir tank cap

Jerking at low rpm.

Today my car started jerking at low rpm, about 5% throttle.

While I depress the acceleration pedal up to 5%, the engine will rev, but once I go beyond 5% throttle, the car will suddenly surge forward. (Reading from my VAFC).

And when I try to hold the rpm at about 2500rpm when car is stationary, the rpm will rev up and down.

This symptom maybe due to:

Faulty Throttle position sensor (TPS)

Bad connectivity at the sensor (oxidized sensor plug)

TPS not calibrated

Or poor tuning.

(In my case, I had my TPS changed, plug cleaned, TPS calibrated and tuning was untouched.)

Since the VAFC was reflecting that the throttle sensor was working fine (I can see the % change gradually as depress the pedal), I suspected the signal into the ECU or the ECU or setting might be faulty.

After simple trail and error, I found out my ECU plugs was not seated properly (The catch on the plugs was worn off).

Long term fix will be to change the plugs from my spare harness.
My short term fix now is using cable tie (Very long ones) to hold the plug in place.

EG6 Fender Brace

I decided to get the fender brace to reduce the flex between struts and the A-pillar area.  By comparing the few generations of the CIVIC, you can see that the A-Pillar moves closer to over the wheels over the years.  I have drawn a straight line down the A-pillar to illustrate the difference.  So guess which civic has the least flex.

Picture edited from SuperStreetonline.com

Picture edited from SuperStreetonline.com

 

Just got this set of fender brace from Ultra Racing (best bang for buck and easily available locally) to re-enforce the area between the struts and the A-pillar.  The installation should relatively straight forward but tedious.

I have ordered new door hinges, so that I can get everything done in one shot.  Since the hinges is likely to giving way soon.

I will update again with the installations and measurements after my hinges arrives.

Rough pedal / throttle feel

My throttle / acceleration pedal was feeling kind of rough since a month ago and just recently the throttle was not able to close fully if I let go the pedal smoothly;  I had to give it a quick tap before it will close.  The solution is usually to replace the throttle cable (SGD$35).

In my case, I suspected that it is mainly due to the lack of lubricant on the cable.  The area I choose to lubricate is the part where it is exposed the most.

 Remove the rubber boot.

 Using lithium grease

 Apply generously to the cable around the area covered by the rubber boot and exit.

Fit back the rubber boot














In my case, this simple lubricating process resolved my rough throttle issues and saved me some cash and time.  So do try this before deciding to get new throttle cable as replacement.

Beware: Fake Skunk2 Pro Series Throttle Body

I recently came across a fake Skunk2 Pro Series Throttle body and I couldn't find any information on this.  Therefore, this post is meant for your awareness.

The pic above taken from SKUNK2 website is the REAL Skunk2 Pro Series Throttle body (Comes in black or hard anodized).  The thing I noticed about the fake, was that the minor details like the machine chamfers round the edge was missing, it was just a straight edge unlike the original as point out by the red arrows above.

I was lucky that I have been staring at the TB for months (couldn't afford one ;p), therefore I was able to notice the difference.

So take note, before parting out your hard earn cash for fakes.  

Note: This is not a post to promote SKUNK2 products, but as a means to keep everyone aware that there are fake SK2 TB in the market.

New Front Lip New Look

Then

Now