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By EconoBox
#6908665 Picked up a set of Integra rear disc brakes and front calipers. I was able to get one front knuckle and both calipers but the other one was destroyed in an accident that totaled his car. Don't worry I pulled the trailing arm bushing out its sitting in the box with the front calipers.

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I have another knuckle tracked down just have to go pick it up. Going to try to get these broken down and cleaned up so I can take care of installing new bushings and checking all the parts to see what needs replaced (ball joints, bearings, studs...).
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By EconoBox
#6908669 Well it's been slow at work today so I took a few minutes to work on my trailing arms. If you've done this before and have everything easily accessible this takes around 20-30 minutes total. If this is your first time I'd plan for a lot longer. I know the first time I did this years ago there wasn't a guide yet other than the terrible directions in the kit and this took hours to scrape out with a razor blade.

I plan to get PCI offset trailing arm bushings before I do any lowering of the car but I've been sitting on my polyurethane trailing arm bushings so it's time to install those, because the original bushings are so bad they just fell out. I didn't think I'd have time to install them at work so the bushing kit is at home. I just took care of the messy annoying part of the job at work. I have a press at home so popping the bushings in won't be an issue.

Here is an overly in depth explanation to removing the rubber bushing while leaving the collar intact. This only applies to Energy Suspension trailing arm bushings. Prothane and most other offerings come with a new collar and you use a press or specialty tool to remove and reinstall the bushings.

DISCLAIMER
I am not responsible for any damage resulting from you following my method. This has to be done in an open area with a respirator, goggles, water, and fire extinguisher nearby. It must be done on a surface that can handle sustained high temperatures. This also leaves a big mess of burnt rubber pieces that can be difficult to clean up completely so make sure the are can be dirty. This is the easiest way to do this job but it is also dangerous and possibly illegal to burn depending on where you live. This involves a torch, fire, and very hot parts be careful and do this at your own risk. I also suggest setting up a small fan nearby to keep the black smoke blowing away from you. It's nasty stuff.

Sorry there aren't more pictures. Hard to snap them while wearing gloves and playing with fire.

-First remove the center part of the bushing. If it's as rotted out as these were that just means lifting them straight out of the trailing arm bushing, if they are in better shape you need to use a razor blade or cutting tool of some kind to remove them.

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-Next you take a torch and slowly work around the bushing to heat the collar to the point the rubber can just be pushed off with a flat head screw driver. THE RUBBER WILL CATCH ON FIRE, IT WILL STINK (you should be wearing a respirator and goggles YOU DON'T WANT TO BREATH THIS IN), there will be lots of black smoke that you want to keep blowing away from you. The rubber will start to crackle and pop along the way, when you're about half way to the rubber releasing the little metal inserts in the rubber can be pushed out with a long flathead and about half the rubber should fall out along with it. Carefully pick that burning rubber up with long pliers and drop it into a bucket of water, it floats so you will have to push it down with the pliers to put the flames out.

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Cleaning out the already burned rubber will calm the flames down quite a bit. You want to get the torch back in there and continue heating the collar. More rubber will burn and keep crackling. At this point you are very close to the collar being hot enough for the rubber to detach easily. Just keep watching it and you will see some separation start to happen just from the air flow of the torch. When this happens work a flat head screw drive carefully around the rubber to see it all fall out of the arm. The rubber will still be on fire and everything is hot so be careful. Again submerge the rubber to put the fire out. Leave the arms to cool slowly while you move on to the mounting tabs.

Here is the collar after the rubber has been removed. Before greasing the collar and pressing the bushing in I will clean this more with a scotchbrite pad to leave a very clean surface.

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For the mounting portion of the bushing you want to set it on the ground and focus your torch on the portion of the mount where it goes from thin and flat to round ( right where it transitions from metal to rubber). This will heat the rubber and the thick part of the mount you are trying to separate the bushing from. Continue heating this until you see the rubber cracking from the inside out (the outside will already be cracking from being on fire). Once it's starting to separate from the inside I carefully pick it up with a pair of pliers and use a flat head to push the rubber sleeve off of the mount.

Here is what those look like done. Again I will scrub them clean with scothbrite pads before greasing them to install in the trailing arm.

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My local vendor through work finally got back to me and they didn't have my rear rotor kit in stock. Their shipping time and shipping cost sucked so I ended up spending a few dollars more and just ordering the PowerStop rear rotor kit on Amazon. That put a damper in my plan to install the brakes this weekend but hopefully by next weekend the rest of the parts will have arrived and I can get these installed. I will be cleaning these arms and calipers up before the install as well.

Hopefully I'll have more updates and pics tomorrow. I'm going to be focusing on finishing the engine bay. I have a lot more to get done.
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By EconoBox
#6908671 Today I decided to get the dash out so I can cleanly and easily work on the wiring, and pull the wiring out of the bay so I can paint. This will also let me clean out the evaporator, heater core, blower motor, and replace all the worn out foam seals on the AC ducts. I will also go ahead and pop in a new expansion valve while the system is open. I'm just going to flush the evaporator it doesn't seem clogged or to be leaking.

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This is the next thing to go.
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The blower motor is bad and making noise from the motor. This probably didn't help.
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All the foam seals are rotten and flaking everywhere. I will be replacing all of these while this is out. Gotta have AC in Tampa. Repairing these will keep chunks from flying out the vent and keep all the air blowing out the vents instead of leaking under the dash.
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Nasty evaporator core. Some BG evaporator core cleaner and a little elbow grease and I'll have ice cold fresh smelling AC.
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Better shot at how clogged up it is with 25 years of crap.
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And finally the heater core. I don't know if this is leaking but from the coloration inside the box I'm guessing it is since the previous owner had it bypassed on the SOHC. I'm going to test it and see. I'm hoping I don't need to track one down.
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This is where I'm stopped so far for the day. The weather didn't hold out any longer and I had to take a break. Decided to sit in the AC and post this little update.
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By EconoBox
#6908672 Got a little break in the rain and did some more work.

The first issue I addressed after the rain is water leaking into the passenger side floor. The car has done this sine I've had it and I always assumed the windshield seal was leaking.
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The easiest way to check for a leak is to use a garden hose to spray water on the areas you think are leaking and see where water actually comes into the cabin.
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I found my cowl and AC box are the culprit. The drain line must be clogged so water coming in from the cowl is leaking into the cabin. For now some duct tape will fix the issue until I reinstall the AC components.

Next up was pulling the passenger side engine room harness into the car to clean things up. Some of the wires won't be needed again so I'm removing them to reduce clutter under the dash.

Not needed.
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Loom removed
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This isn't the permanent solution but I used some zip ties to tidy things up as I work. Once I add the new engine harness and conversion harness I will be moving things around. I also cut the wires I removed from the ECU and still need to depin those to clean this install up. Will also probably open up the dash harness and remove everything else not needed.
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And my final stopping point for today. Will deal with the drivers side this week and continue prepping the bay for paint.
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By EconoBox
#6908679 Started on the auto to manual conversion.
Didn't want to leave a giant hole in the floor so I left auto shifter until I'm ready to install the Hybrid Racing one. Also have to run the wiring to add in the clutch switches. Really should remove and clean the carpet while I've got the dash out.
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Goodbye automatic pedal assembly.
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Goodbye tiny LX brake booster. Have a brand new OEM JDM ITR brake master on the way along with a 4040 prop valve I found on eBay. Still haven't figured out the brake booster but I believe the 98-01 CR-V is suppose to be the same as the ITR so I will probably grab one from the junkyard. Should have pretty good brakes when this is all said and done.
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Heater core is out. Just a couple things left to do and I'll be able to finish prepping the bay for paint and cleaning up all the wiring under the dash. Also think I'm going to remove the dash insulator mat. It's ripped up and nasty from getting wet. Will probably use some Stinger mat to reduce heat coming from the engine bay.
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And some more stuff to add to the growing parts pile...

92-95 Civic Sedan e-brake cables to make these Integra rear disc work properly.
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And some Russell stainless brake lines to replace the 25 year old rubber hoses.
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By teal_dx
#6908686 When I converted my civics from auto to manual, I just cut out a piece of steel, painted it, and put down a nice bead of silicone and stuck it to the floor. Easier than welding and don't have to worry about rust down the road. :thumb:
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By EconoBox
#6908692 Thanks teal_dx. Luckily I don't have to deal with any of that. The Hybrid-Racing shifter will seal that opening from the bottom and it has a rubber seal so there should be no issues.

Yesterday I continued my work on wiring and cleaning everything out of the engine bay for paint.

This gray connector and everything attached to it is no longer needed. The easiest way to remove this in my opinion is to remove the tape and de-pin one side and pull the unnecessary wires out. Then I'll seal it all back up once the K swap harness is installed.
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de-pinned
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Brake reservoir wire connected. This will be attached to the K swap harness. I also have to run the water temp sensor through this harness and out to the engine. I am not going to run the fan switch wiring. I will manually activate the fans with Kpro.
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A lot less of a mess to work with now. Just have to find my rolls of electrical tape to finish this up.
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Everything is finally out of the bay and all the firewall holes are taped and ready for body work and paint.
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Got too hot to work on the engine bay so I decided to de-pin the wiring for the auto to manual conversion. Not sure on the K series reverse lights and how it's wired in so I left these just in case I need them. I also haven't decided if I just want to loop the two big wires together or if I want to install a relay and wire it to the clutch switch so it works like factory.
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Took a break for a few hours and then a storm started moving in so I took advantage of the cloud cover and got a little bit more work done before it started pouring.
Soldered in the passenger side of the K swap harness.
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And running the K swap harness along the firewall harness. I did decide to remove the factory insulator. I will be replacing it with Stinger mat.
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And that was it for this weekend. Will be working on sanding the firewall and cleaning the bay this evening. Hoping to have the bay in primer/sealer by the end of the week. Engine mounts tracking says Tuesday which will let me mark and drill the holes in the frame rail. I like to have everything drilled before painting so it all stays sealed up.
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By EconoBox
#6908693 No photo updates this evening. I've been sanding and cleaning for the last few hours and I'm covered in red dust from this crappy, thin, 25 year old paint.

Hopefully my mounts show up correct tomorrow so that I can drill the frame rail tomorrow and continue sanding.

Weather permitting the plan is to paint this weekend. Just need to settle on a color.

I HATE Milano Red on the sedan. While I've seen it done well it's just not my cup of tea.

Choosing between a couple colors.

Probably going to be some shade of purple/black cherry.
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By EconoBox
#6908694 The last piece I had to have before being able to paint finally arrived!

My Hybrid-Racing swap mounts.

Now I can finally drill the holes in the frame rail and finish the prep work. I do my best to do any drilling or modifications prior to paint so everything gets sealed up nice to prevent rust.

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By EconoBox
#6908695 And now the fun part.

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That's it for the mount install for today. I can't find my 1/2 drill bit anywhere so I'm going to have to go pick one up after work to drill later today. I also have to drill the holes for the lower radiator mounts and then I can finish etch priming the bare sheet metal.


My battery tray needs some serious attention so it doesn't rot away. Don't want to deal with a relocation so I've got to get all the rust worked off this thing and then I'll coat it with some POR-15 before painting it.

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By EconoBox
#6908696 Got busy installing the rear trailing arms yesterday.

A nice flare wrench is your best friend for brake lines.
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There are a million write ups on the disc brake conversion and it was miserably hot outside so I just worked as fast as I could. Didn't take pictures of every step. Good bye drums. Good bye broken trailing arm bushings.
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Been holding on to these bushings waiting to install the rear disc trailing arms. I bought these back when I first got the car and did all the other ones, even though they are only $25 I didn't want to waste them on the drum trailing arms.
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Last thing to do before pressing in the new bushings is making sure there is no old rubber left and that the surface is nice and clean.
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There are specialty tools to press these in, homemade tools to install them on the car, and then there is a Harbor Freight press with a 2x4. Having used every method to install these in the past I find this to be the quickest way. There is no special technique here. Just set the bushing on the outside of the trailing arm and center the press over it. Make sure to use quite a bit of the included Energy Suspension lube. The excess will squirt out and you can use that to grease the inside.
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I cleaned these rods before squeezing them in by hand. I only spent time making sure the parts that will touch were clean and free of rubber. The rubber left on won't hurt anything so I didn't waste time cleaning it all off, its just a small ring outside of the polyurethane. Again the most important thing with polyurethane bushings is grease. You don't want to have any squeaking or binding.
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After I got the bushings all done I installed the trailing arms. I didn't take any pictures of them on yet. I still have to paint and install the calipers, new e-brake cables, and new brake lines. Hopefully tonight I can get the calipers painted and sometime this week get everything else installed.
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By EconoBox
#6908697 Now, one question I get locally is why I chose the black polyurethane instead of the "pretty" red ones.

The purpose of choosing the black bushing color instead of red is simple. Energy Suspension adds graphite to the black color bushings making them self lubricating. They can't add it to the red because it will discolor them. When installed properly with the supplied grease they suffer less of the potential draw backs of polyurethane such as squeaking.

Also I won't get into all the technical rubber vs polyurethane vs spherical bushing debate. Plain and simple I chose polyurethane for it's cost, these were $25 on Amazon. For a street application I won't be pushing these to the point of having and issues with the trailing arm bushings binding. If I ever decide to push this car a little harder I will change these out to the PCI offset spherical option.
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By EconoBox
#6908698 I finally got a transmission I can use!

Picked up a 2006 Civic Si K20Z3 transmission from a customer at work. I'm giving him back the LSD and final drive set, he wants them for another car of his, and I already have the 4.76 final drive and LSD from the K24Z7 transmission I have.

Picked this transmission assembly up for $150. Now it's not perfect by any means but the repairs are significantly cheaper than buying a healthy 6 speed transmission.

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And here is the main issue with this transmission. Completely destroyed 4th gear. You can also see the synchro for 5th gear starting to round. This is the same part number as the K24Z7 syncho so to save money I will be cannibalizing the K24Z7 for spare parts.
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And how I'm going to make sure not to mix up the K20Z3 and the K24Z7 transmission parts.
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Stripped down and a quick spray down with some brake cleaner. Will spend way more time cleaning the case inside and out before rebuilding it.
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And I didn't take a good picture of it but you can kind of see that the built in synchro teeth on 2nd gear are starting to wear so 2nd gear should be replaced as well.
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Now this isn't the true cost of a full rebuild because I am cannibalizing my low mileage K24Z7 transmission for a lot of spare parts that would normally be replaced.

2nd gear from Synchrotech set me back $193 after shipping costs.
I work at a Honda dealership so my prices are discounted but shopping around online can get you similar pricing.
Honda OEM 4th on the mainshaft $73.87
Honda OEM 4th on the countershaft $64.21
All of the seals, washers, mainshaft bearing $80.37

With the transmission cost and all the parts I'll be right around $570 once I include a tube of Hondabond and some Honda MTF. Much better than the $1100-1300 I've been seeing a healthy 6 speed LSD transmission sell for.
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By EconoBox
#6908704 Today I finally have all the parts for my transmission rebuild and while I'm at work decided I'd use the fancy electronic press to quickly disassemble and reassemble the countershaft.

Here is 2nd gears steel synchro teeth.
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How 2nd gear is suppose to look. Forgot to take a good picture of the teeth before installing it.
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Here is the damaged countershaft portion of 4th gear.
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And here is the countershaft.
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After a few minutes on the press. Now I also changed out 6th gear from the K20Z3 0.659 gear ratio to the K24Z7 0.647 gear ration. It won't make a big difference but just slightly better fuel economy and a slightly lower 6th gear cruising RPM.
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I'll update later as I reassemble the mainshaft and case.