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104,253
Oil and filter change, 5qts of Penzoil 10W30.
mine! all mine!
Kelly no longer belongs to the Winchester Savings Bank on paper - she's aaaaalll mine. Woohoo!
102,570
Cleaned and re-oiled the K&N air filter.
101,622
Replaced exhaust manifold (DC Sports).
101,456
Replaced all four tires with Michelins, P205/50R16 Pilot Exalto All-Season. Also replaced left upper control arm - all at Hogan Tire, Woburn, MA.
100,342
Replaced the EGR valve. Also changed the oil - 5qts of Penzoil 5W30.
98,583
OK, so the nut-over-the-hole solution for the O2 sensor worked, but not in the long term. The cold weld stuff just doesn't stay on the exhaust. Ended up replacing the lower half of the exhaust header with a new part from DC Sports.
98,277
Replaced the passenger side sway bar link.
97,581
Installed new lug nuts all around.
97,565
Removed the EGR valve and cleaned the air intake passages with carb cleaner to clear code PO401.
oxygen sensor
There are three ways of doing something: the wrong way, the right way, and the Stan way.
My car's oxygen sensor started malfunctioning, so I faced a dilemma: take the car to the dealership and pay a $100+ markup on the price of parts plus $100+ for labor, or try to do replace it myself. Actually, it wasn't really a dilemma - of course I was gonna try to do the work myself.
After a few tries at unscrewing the old sensor and in the process completely screwing it up, we were back in the dilemma. The sensor was rusted on solid and would not budge. Does Stan accept defeat and take the car to the dealership now?
Heck no. A Stan way had to be found, and it was. First, we drill a hole in the exhaust pipe:
Then, we cold-weld a nut of the appropriate size over the hole, and screw the oxygen sensor in. Done*.
* Of course, I'm skipping past a few hours of excruciating pain in freezing temperatures, but hey, nobody said that the Stan way is the easy way.
97,475
Oil and filter change: STP filter, 5.5qts of Castrol GTX 5W30.
97,472
Replaced the power steering belt and the spark plugs (NGK V-Power Copper Core).
97,385
Installed a Denso primary oxygen sensor.
94,114
Oil change: 5qts of Castrol GTX 5W30.
92.958
Replaced the starter brush assembly.
saga (almost) over
Almost six months after I ventured off on this journey of mechanical self-discovery, my car is back in operating condition. I still have to finish a few things - get rid of the SRS light, adjust the clutch pedal, get the car inspected - but things are looking up.
Oh, as a bonus, while the car was sitting in the garage, some smelly mold started growing on the inside. Ah yes. Icing on the cake.
battery
Relocated the battery to the trunk, ran Summit 2ga cables through the car and into the sealed battery box.
Now playing a waiting game with the Honda dealership, as I really need the suspension bolt that they keep on perpetual backorder.
slave clutch cylinder
Replaced the slave clutch cylinder, along with the clutch fluid hard line.
progress
It's been a long three months, but things are looking up. Transmission is back on the engine, the ATTS unit is hooked up, and the last thing I need to do before putting the engine back is to run the wires to the trunk for the battery.
flywheel, clutch
Installed a 11.5lbs F1 Racing flywheel, Exedy OE clutch.
front engine mount
Replaced the front engine mount.
timing belt
Replaced the timing belt, complete with the manual tensioner conversion.
water pump
Replaced the water pump today. Very happy to start putting things back together.
fuel filter
Replaced the fuel filter... not the easiest job, even with the engine out of the car.
still going...
Can't believe I've been at it since March, but finally there's progress. The engine is completely outside the car, supported by an engine lift. I've disconnected the ATTS unit yesterday, and am ready to drop the transmission. Sweetness.
battery
The car is still in pieces, but I got a new battery - EverStart MAXX-35N, 640CCA.
91,233
Drained engine oil (pulling the engine, after all) and replaced the oil filter with a K&N one.
let the games begin
Finally started working on my car. The plan of attack is to take the engine out completely, and replace the clutch, flywheel, timing belt, and belt tensioner. I've got my work cut out for me.
89,151
Replaced wiper blades with Rain-X Latitude, 21" left, 19" right. Also Rain-X'd the windshield on both the Prelude and the Accord, leaving many streaks - should've gone with the wipes instead of the applicator.
89,147
Oil and filter change: FRAM filter, 5.5qts of Quaker State 5W30.
85,343
Oil change: 5qts of Penzoil 5W30.
82,349
Oil and filter change: STP S2808, 5qts of Coastal 5W30.
81,838
Polished some surface scratches out, and waxed my baby with Turtle Wax.
80,867
I'm done with those SilverStars. Trying the Raybrig H1's. If that doesn't work, I'm gonna drive by candlelight.
79,354
Oil change, 5qts of 5W30.
shuttle
FYMe: Herb Chambers shuttle runs at 7:15, 8:15, and 9:15AM.
78,456
Installed another SilverStar lightbulb in the right headlight. At $20 a pop, this is becoming an expensive proposition.
76,185
Oil and filter change and brake fluid replacement (done at Herb Chambers Honda, Burlington).
75,936
Put in Sylvania SilverStar H1 headlight bulbs. So far, so good: much brighter, and the light is clean n' white.
hot spot, eh?
I cannot wait for this: a
mobile 3G-to-Wifi router... Googling at 85mph... that's pretty much my dream, right there ;)
75,476
Installed an inline Scosche noise suppressor, to get rid of the alternator whine with the AUX-in. Seems to work.
While installing it, found all kinds of shorts among the wires... uh oh. My belief in the all-powerful nature of electrical tape has been shaken.
74,975
Replaced driver's side windshield wiper with a 21" Anco AeroVantage blade. Let's hope this one will be better than the 20 that preceded it.
wish list 2
For the carputer, need the IBM ThinkPad Media Bay 8x DVD Burner, part # 92P6014.
some people just don't understand
The guard at Susan's work pulled me aside for the second time to ask again why I took the seat out.
Some people just don't get the big picture...
72,236
Oil change. 5qts of Castrol GTX 5W30.
72,154
Two mighty important things were accomplished today: I reset the SRS light, and upgraded the RAM in my on-board laptop.
Upgrading the memory was easy; it's the SRS light that took me a while. I had to find the resistor with the right rating to make Kelly's brains think like the airbag was still attached:
Then, I did the MES dance. It's a bizarre sequence of actions that you have to take to reset the memory and make the SRS light go away, involving crawling under the steering wheel and then turning the ignition on and off as you fumble with paper clips. Believe it or not, it worked!
Why take out your airbag, you may ask? Why do you need it, if you have no passenger seat, I might answer.
0-60 in 3.9sec with a H22?
Some dude mounted the engine from my car, an H22, inside a shell from a Mini, and says that he hit 60mph in 3.9 seconds. That is sweet.
raze the roof!
So here's the stock Prelude sunroof... 56lbs of dead weight: booo!
A little magic, and it's outta there...
Bloody thumbs up!
These brackets took HOURS to put in. Yes, several very PAINFUL hours.
All bolted up, and slathered with about a gallon of silicone. Again, HOURS of work...
Would I recommend doing this? Sure*!
* To an enemy. This may have been the hardest car project I've tackled so far, and it will definitely remove any possibility of me selling my car ever.
But, for my liking, a carbon fiber roof is oooooosome!
buh bye
So I'm standing at a red light on Washington St. in Woburn, when the guy on my right starts inching towards the line, trying to get a jump on me. Well, as you may know, Stan don't do dat. When the light turned green, I floored it - and the impatient dude floored it too.
It was beautiful - I bounced off the rev limiter just right to make the tires squeak as I shifted into second. Niiice.
The other car was a late model Nissan or Infiniti of some kind... can't tell you the model - it was hard to see in the rear-view mirror ;P
71,223
Took out the passenger's side airbag. Now, I just need to get rid of the SRS light...
I see the light!
Finally, after months of work, my efforts came to fruition: I've got the pop-up monitor in!! Now, we have a touchscreen connected to a computer (with GPS, wireless, and a card reader), and a PlayStation that doubles as a DVD player.
The amount of wiring involved was nothing short of ridiculous. RCA from PS2 to the touchscreen, power to the screen, the PS2, and the computer, VGA and USB cables, plus all the grounding. Crazy. But, we now have a moving cinema ;)
carbon fibah
After months of waiting, I finally received my carbon fiber roof plug. Bye bye sunroof, hello weight savings! Installing it is gonna be a bitch and a half - there's some welding involved.
69,156
Oil & filter change. 5qts of Castrol GTX 5W30, FRAM PH3593A filter.
wish list
Could use the following OEM parts:
- special-key lug nuts x4
- trunk trim button
- trunk back trim plate
- interior driver's side handle trim
- stereo trim
plans v3
Computer-
obtain laptop ThinkPad A21E, 600Mhz, 20G hard drive-
install OS Windows XP-
add a wireless antenna-
add a USB hubPower-
find a power converter 350W when hooked up to battery-
mount the power converter in the trunk-
run the wires through the firewall-
install an extension stripA/V-
find a DVD player PlayStation 2- install a motorized VGA touchscreen
-
figure out how to hook up to the stock speakers installed an aux-in that hooks up to the CD changer port of the stock radio GPS-
find a place to mount the GPS mouse upper right corner of the windshield
- install GPS software (iGuidance v3), remove the p.o.s. DeLorme Street Atlas
Other- find a inconspicuous place to mount all the hardware
- run all the power, RCA, and USB cables
plug it in right here
Today, I proudly announced to my dad, "Not too many cars have one of these:"
He responded, "Maybe there's a good reason for that?"
All criticism aside, I have a functioning 120V outlet in the back of my center console. Getting to that point wasn't easy, and required lots of wire-pulling, cutting, applying miles of electrical tape, and pain. Let me attempt to explain how the electrons travel to get to the socket:
- At the engine fuse box mounted on the firewall, a wire is soldered (quite poorly) to the positive lead
- The wire runs through the firewall, along the bottom of the passenger's door opening, into the side panel and out into the trunk
- The wire then connects to the 350W voltage converter mounted inside the trunk lining; it's the blue one:
- From there, we need to take a little detour: I'm not going to crawl into the trunk to turn the voltage converter every time! So, I rerouted the switch on the converter, substituting two long wires instead. These wires run back into the passenger compartment, under the carpet, and connect to a push-button switch mounted under the radio console
- OK, back to the converter. It is grounded into the body of the car (+1 more wire), and then we have a normal extension cord running back to the dash. This will come in handy once the dash actually has things that need powerin'
- The extension connects to another extension, this one going under the center console. In the back, there's the outlet. Done.
dust covers?
Don't know whether I will keep them, but I'm giving the so-called brake dust covers a try:
On one hand, it's better than looking at the rust on the rotors, but on the other, it's not exactly the sports car thing. Well, here's the "before" picture:
67,471
Took a while, but got the left axle seal replaced at Herb Chambers Honda.
plans v2
Computer-
obtain laptop ThinkPad A21E, 600Mhz, 20G hard drive-
install OS Windows XP-
install GPS software- upgrade BIOS: this computer is giving me so much trouble!!
-
add a wireless antennaPower-
find a power converter 350W when hooked up to battery- mount the power converter in the trunk
- run the wires through the firewall
- install an extension strip
A/V-
find a DVD player PlayStation 2- install a motorized VGA touchscreen
-
figure out how to hook up to the stock speakers installed an aux -in that hooks up to the CD changer port of the stock radio GPS- find a place to mount the GPS mouse
Other- find a inconspicuous place to mount all the hardware
- run all the power, RCA, and USB cables
67,264
Got inspection done (finally!) and lubricated the clutch pedal at Herb Chambers Honda in Burlington.
eureka!
I've been searching through my car for a place to mount the voltage converter, and finally it looks like I got something! In the trunk, the lining hides the jack compartment on the left. So, using my amazing powers of deduction, I ventured a guess that there would be space on the right as well. Aha! I pried open the lining, and voila: a perfect compartment for the converter.
Now all I have to do is run a wire from the battery to the voltage converter, and from the converter to an extension strip somewhere inside the dash. Oh yeah, I also need to relocate a switch to turn on the converter, and provide some ventilation for it. Piece of cake. I think.
plans
With the header installed, now it's time to focus on the other task at hand: the carputer! OK, this is what needs to be done:
Computer-
obtain laptop ThinkPad A21E, 600Mhz, 20G hard drive-
install OS Windows XP-
install GPS software- upgrade BIOS
- add a wireless antenna
Power-
find a power converter 350W when hooked up to battery, 150W through the cigarette lighter- mount the power converter in the engine bay
- run the wires through the firewall
- install an extension strip
A/V-
find a DVD player PlayStation 2- install a motorized VGA touchscreen
- figure out how to hook up to the stock speakers
GPS- find a place to mount the GPS mouse
Other- find a inconspicuous place to mount all the hardware
- run all the power, RCA, and USB cables
66,133
Oil change: 5qts of Quaker State 5W30.
65,936
Success! Yes, I did have to take my car to a shop in the middle of the ghetto, and pay money for something I possibly could have done myself, but the end result is stunning:
header
I am proud to have spent most of the day trying to install an exhaust header on my car. I am not proud that at the end of the day, the old header is still occupying the engine bay. Rust 1, Stan 0.
To start at the beginning: I got a good deal on DC Sports Ceramic 4-2-1 header, so I thought that installing it would be "somewhat" easy. Anything, I thought, would be better than the stock one, pictured here with the heat shield removed:
So, after taking forever to jack up the car, I got underneath and stared into the face of the enemy:
These bolts are s-t-u-c-k. I was able to unplug the oxygen sensor and remove two support bolts (snapping one), but then things got interesting. I was trying to remove the bolts that hold the two pieces of the stock manifold together, which required a whole series of extensions on my wrench, with a metal pipe and my dad providing the necessary torque. Well, to make a long story short, we snapped a forged metal extension...
... twice. My dad, in his 50+ years on this planet, has never seen anything like that. I, in my 20+, haven't either. Around this time I decided that sometimes it takes a real man to accept defeat, and turn this over to a professional. We'll see what they can do after I get back from Montreal.
In the meantime, we can all admire the new header outside of the car:
64,xxx
For almost a year now, I've been meaning to do some cleaning under the hood. Well, today, after an hour of scrubbing and gallons of CLR, we're looking a bit better.
Funny story: my mom came out to the driveway as I was scrubbing away. She was, quite naturally, very sceptical of the benefits of keeping the engine bay clean. She claimed that there would be little difference as compared to her car, and went to open the hood (she literally didn't know what her engine looked like). Once she got the hood open, she gasped. It looked like a cow pooped all over the valve cover, and then a tornado came through and threw some more dirt in.
My Kelly is definitely gonna stay a clean girl.
64,362
Replaced air filter with K&N 33-2090. Removed roof liner.
63,309
Replaced tire valve caps.
63,068
Oil & filter change with Castrol 5w30 (remember to replace the bolt gasket next time).
61,xxx
Got a transmission fluid change at Herb Chambers, Burlington.
60,314
Installed new front tires, all-weather P205/50R16 Bridgestone Potenza G009.
59,470
Oil change with Castrol 5w30.
59,425
Installed new RainX wiper blades.
57,047
Swapped spark plugs for NGK Iridiums IX (ZFRGFIX-11).
56,768
Installed ProStop rear ceramic brake pads. Oil & filter change: 5.5 qts of Penzoil 10w30. Filter: K&N HP-1004.
54,855
New cross-drilled brake rotors, front and rear, by SR Performance.
54,855
New driver's side interior door handle.
54,604
New battery tie-down.
53,492
New front carpets from Mechanicsville Honda.
53,253
Oil & filter change. 5 qts of Quaker State full synthetic. 17 mm wrench on drain bolt.
52,201
Bought at Kelly Infiniti, Rt. 114, Danvers, MA.
