bogle's 1991 mild build thread

[bogle]

Since we were talking about the NSX-R sway bars, here's the most illustrative picture of the difference between the 2002 NSX-R front sway and the stock 91 sway.

I overlaid the R bar on the stock at the bushing mounting location, you can see the R sway is much shorter than the stock 91:

My stock 91 front sway was laying on the chassis brace:

But the NSX-R sway clears the chassis brace with plenty of room:

Front Brace

Some notes on the front NSX-R brace for anyone who hasn't done it yet.

I used the radiator duct method from this thread.

I really really didn't want to pull the bumper as I am doing this on my own. I had trouble re-installing the rear bumper by myself on the exhaust install. I also remember endless fiddling with bumper alignment on my EFs and DA. The bumper was nicely aligned here, so wanted to avoid all that if possible.

Upon first inspection, it looks impossible to pull the radiator duct out. It wraps around a whole bunch of junk and generally looks pretty wedged in there. But it is very pliable and seemed basically unbreakable. After fighting with the cable clips on top of the duct, I just bent the duct flat and pulled it out. Maybe it helped that it was a 100deg day...

Here it is out and not yet cleaned. I cleaned it, but spaced on the picture.

Once that thing is out, there is toooons of room:

The thread has a whole discussion about keeping or omitting one of the tie down hooks. My upper bar from SoS had slotted holes on one side. It fit with both toe hooks or one (I tried both!). Not sure if SoS did that or it’s a thing from Honda these days. I ended up omitting one hook because racecar, and arbitrarily chose the drivers side. It seems the tie down hooks were only used for initial transport?

Another thing to note. I (unintentionally!) broke nearly all of the plastic clips holding on the radiator duct. They are Auveco 16782 clips. They are the same as fender liner clips and probably other stuff on the car. Places on eBay have them for $20ish for 25. Search for Auveco 16782.

 

[bogle]

Wellll I got the car back from hilltop today. I was super excited, but noticed a few things that I now need to diagnose .

The AC

The AC still doesn't work. He told me on the phone after I brought it in and he did an inspection: "It works, it has freon". He asked me if I wanted to still do the conversion to 134a, I said yes, he did the conversion. He had it on when I got there, but the car had just been started and the air was kinda warm; I figured it'd take time to cool down.

It never cooled down over about 2 hours of driving and my fiddling with it the whole time. Every couple of minutes, I'm like: is it user error? Mode -> ac on, temp 60 deg, blower all the way up. Hot air.

All the functions on the CCU seem to work fine, just no cold air. There is a noticeable change in idle when the AC button is on. But I haven't diagnosed. Just got home and a little frustrated cause he said it worked.

I talked to the old owner and he mentioned he replaced the CCU in 2012 cause it went out, so maybe not that? The first step in the diagnostics flow chart is to pull the CCU out and do some checking, so that is the next step...

It is possible it never worked, like maybe the AC wire that was run by the OG ECU isn't grounded and also not being run by the AEM ECU? I suppose I should look into the tune...

SC whine

Now, oddly there is no more supercharger whine at all. The car also doesn't feel quite as fast. It still gets into boost, the boost gauge does still read up to 8 or 9 lbs, AFRs are still in the 11s in boost.

The lack of speed could very well be in my head. Maybe I am used to the power now? Most of the power pulls were up hills getting on the freeway. It was also a really hot day.

Previously, the whine was very prevalent in the cabin, but now, nothing at all. It sounds NA. Even at WOT, there is really no whine.

Is this cause for concern? What might cause this? Would there be something one would take off during a TB/WP install that might cause a boost/vacuum leak? Maybe the old belt was too tight? Maybe this one is too loose?

* He did change the SC belt
* He did not change the SC oil or the air filter (I read some things saying thicker oil or a stock air filter will quiet the whine)

Sort of unsettling cause it did whine and now it doesn't. I drove it a few blocks when I got there, brought it back and asked about the lack of SC whine. He didn't seem concerned and was like "I don't know, the pulley didn't change."

I'll call him on Tuesday and ask a bunch of questions. Unfortunately by the time I was able to talk, they were closed.

If anyone has any insight, that would be super helpful!

 

[socalx]

To check whether the lack of sc whine is a concern or not I would have your nsx dynoed. The three things you can see to make you feel better are the boost (which I believe you indicate has not changed per your gage), the air fuel ratio and rear wheel horsepower.

A lot of times when a comptech nsx is dynoed you find the the sc belt is slipping. So to put your mind at ease as to whether all is still okay with the lack of sc whine get it dynoed. Note my 3.2liter nsx with similar comptech sc always had a nice little whine heard inside the car and the first time I dynoed it we found the belt slipping at high rpm. With a little tightening of the belt I got a free 20 rear wheel hp.

 

[bogle]

Yeah you’re right, a dyno visit would definitely the best thing to know for sure. Maybe the visit to driving ambition should be sooner rather than later...

Noted on the belt slippage. I’ll read up on how to properly get it to tension and maybe tighten it up. I vaguely also remember reading about people using a specific belt to keep it from slipping.

I spent some of the day troubleshooting the A/C system. I have a much better understanding of the parts that may be causing an issue. So far all signs point to fine: fuses ok, relay ok, no wiring issues between the ccu and ecu, and the ecu is setup for the proper A/C input and output. I’ll do some more tests tomorrow to make sure the ecu is actually getting the on signal plus a few other sensor checks.

 

[bogle]

I spent the morning testing things for the A/C issue. I found at least one thing that is not working.

Here's a simplified version of how I think the CCU A/C signal is supposed to get to the compressor. My goal was to work out what wasn't working in this circuit.

* Human turns the A/C on via the A/C button on the CCU
* CCU sends signal to the Climate Fan Control Unit (FCU; next to the main relay behind the center console)
* The FCU checks some sensors (pressure switch, coolant temp), then ultimately grounds the A/C request pin on the ECU (pin C3)
* The ECU makes sure the engine is running and not WOT, then grounds the A/C compressor pin (A15)
* ECU pin A15 makes its way to the A/C compressor relay (back, 2nd position from left)
* Relay clicks on, sends power to compressor clutch
* Clutch turns on
*

I hooked the laptop to the ECU with all the inputs/output parameters showing in the AEM software, started it, turned on the A/C and ..... no change. Pin C3 (switch 6 on the AEM ECU) was not being grounded. The logger showed the switch at 12v, A/C off.

I went through the troubleshooting flow charts and the ooonly thing that worked was jumping the pressure switch's BRN/BLK -> BLK wires.

I jumped the connector, started the car, turned on the A/C, the ECU saw the C3 grounded, grounded A15 (output LS6 on the AEM ECU), the relay tripped, and it sounds like the compressor clicks on.

Even with the jumper'd connector, though, the A/C still wasn't cold. I let it idle for 5 - 10 minutes, engine warmed up with the A/C on. Ambient temp air only.

Should it be cold in this situation? AC on, AC clutch engaged, pressure sensor jumper'd. Obviously provided there is actually pressure and freon.

Is there a case where the compressor can be on, but still no cold air? Like some other sensor being bad or reading incorrectly? The pressure sensor has 4 wires, not sure exactly what the other two affect.

I don't have an AC pressure gauge right now, so I cant check pressure. But it was allegedly successfully recharged last week and there was already pressurized freon in the system pre-recharge. I'll order a gauge (any recommendations?) and test it this week, though.

A couple other things were checked

* Evap temp sensor is plugged in
* Both condenser fans turn on when key in on position + A/C on, also when car is running
* Rad fan works fine when up to temp
* Top pins on the relay socket both read 12v
* Bottom pin on switch side of relay goes to ground (~130 ohms) when AC switched on
* Relay 100% works

 

[bogle]

My big effort / annoyance this weekend was working out why the A/C isn't cold, and I think I found the issue.

I talked to Don @ Hilltop on Wednesday, he said the A/C was cold after he recharged it, so he thought there must be a leak. He said it's common on a '91 for the evaporator under the dash to be leaky. I was a little disheartened after that conversation: wouldn't you do a pressure test before filling it? I mean, it sat for maybe 1-3 days in his shop between recharging it and me picking it up. So if there is a leak, it must be massive to go from cold to nothing over the course of a day or three. If it were me, I'd pressure test before, check for leaks after. If anything is weird, call me, amirite? Maybe my expectations are too high....

Well, I got an A/C gauge set and he added dye to the system, so I figured I'd make sure there was pressure, then look for leaks on my own with my sweet UV flashlight and fashionable yellow safety glasses.

I got the gauges all setup and went hunting for the fittings. I pulled the cap off the high pressure fitting above the driver wheel well, cool.

Then I found the low pressure one near the frunk firewall on the drivers side. Oh, the pipe around the fitting is really really wet. Oh, it's all green too. Ohkay. Maybe it spilled out a little when he was filling it.

I go to unscrew the cap on the low pressure fitting (with my fingers, to be clear), and the whole fitting spins. lolololololololol. No wooshing, no pressure. The new R134a low pressure fitting was looooooooooooose. FML.

I hooked up the gauges for theater, sure enough 0 static pressure. :fuuuuuu: #facepalm

I mean, there still could be leaks elsewhere, but this is definitely where the fire is.

So I guess I am taking it back in to him this week. He does have a 12k / 1 year warranty on work. Hopefully he can fix it same day and for free. Taking the car to SF and then dealing with 2 cars to leave it over night is a total pain. If he cant fix it same day, I may try to find an A/C-specific shop somewhere in Sonoma county and eat the cost of pressure test + refill + pro leak detection. If you have recommendations, let me know! Or I suppose I could tighten it up and go to some auto parts store and find some R134a cans.....

FWIW, the evaporator could still be an issue. I had mentally prepared for pulling the dash. Definitely not looking forward to it, but thought there are a lot of other things I would do at the same time: wiring & gauge related things, update the entire A/C system to R134a parts, etc.

I suppose next weekend I'll have more info on the A/C setup. For now, and much to the chagrin of my gf, I diiiid get a bunch of other things done on the car this weekend. I took pics too! I will post about that stuff this week.

 

[Big McLargeHuge]

On the plus side, it's nice finding an obvious issue rather than searching endlessly for a mystery one. RIP ozone layer though, lol. Even if they didn't offer a warranty on their work, I would expect them to make it right if they were the ones to leave the fitting loose, that's just dumb on their part. Or whoever did the conversion. Your CCU should be good for plenty more years considering it was replaced this decade.

The manifold gauges were a good idea. I tried filling my other car with one of those refrigerant-in-a-can things and it's very hard not to over/undercharge the system. Unless you start with full vacuum/zero refrigerant and measure out the grams/oz you're putting in it will be hard to get the right range to not trip the pressure switch, plus there's the whole mess with the specific amount of refrigerant oil supposed to be in the system. Not something I'd want to do without the full gauge set and vacuum pump at least.

Here are some pages I saved over a while for when my A/C inevitably goes bad in case you want some reading material. Most has to do with R12 to R134 conversions but some other useful info too.
http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/202120-AC-Overhaul-advice-needed!
http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...ith-a-94-or-newer/page2?p=1996629#post1996629
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/entry.php?1318-Koyo-Rad-Cooling-Sys-Washer-motor-04&goto=next

 

[bogle]

On the plus side, it's nice finding an obvious issue rather than searching endlessly for a mystery one. RIP ozone layer though, lol. Even if they didn't offer a warranty on their work, I would expect them to make it right if they were the ones to leave the fitting loose, that's just dumb on their part. Or whoever did the conversion. Your CCU should be good for plenty more years considering it was replaced this decade.

Yeah, it's true. It's good it's something simple. Aaand I understand a whole bunch more about the A/C system. Man, I hope he'll just take care of it. Seems like such a dumb, obvious mistake.

Definitely punting on the CCU for now for a couple years...

The manifold gauges were a good idea. I tried filling my other car with one of those refrigerant-in-a-can things and it's very hard not to over/undercharge the system. Unless you start with full vacuum/zero refrigerant and measure out the grams/oz you're putting in it will be hard to get the right range to not trip the pressure switch, plus there's the whole mess with the specific amount of refrigerant oil supposed to be in the system. Not something I'd want to do without the full gauge set and vacuum pump at least.

This is exactly why I want a pro to do it. I would inevitably have too much oil or too much pressure or something. Happy to check pressures though when it isnt so cold anymore.

Here are some pages I saved over a while for when my A/C inevitably goes bad in case you want some reading material. Most has to do with R12 to R134 conversions but some other useful info too.
http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/202120-AC-Overhaul-advice-needed!
http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...ith-a-94-or-newer/page2?p=1996629#post1996629
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/entry.php?1318-Koyo-Rad-Cooling-Sys-Washer-motor-04&goto=next

Thanks for these, I haven't seen them yet. This is another one I kept bumping into when searching for possible failures: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/160297-Some-help-needed-with-my-AC-DIY-repair There's a lot of stuff in there I wouldn't have known about the evaporator, o rings, etc.

 

[bogle]

Once I realized there was no pressure in the A/C system, there was nothing more A/C related for me to do. The biggest < 1 day project I had parts for was the fuel lines, so I got them all buttoned up on Sunday.

Here's the new lines and a spankin' new fuel filter. From top to bottom: rail to rail, filter to rail, FPR -> return, rail -> FPR.

After the post about fuel lines in this thread by [MENTION=9515]socalx[/MENTION], I emailed Shad at Driving Ambition about the fuel lines. He said he could make new ones, and had me take a bunch of pics of the current setup. Then about a week or two later I had a box of lines with fittings. Imma be honest, I don't know anything about them. He is the expert and he didn't give me any options. I literally wrote, "I was told I need the newer black ones," and looks like that's what I got. They say Eaton and 400psi.

While taking pics of the old lines, something that sketched me out was the bend radius from the filter to the rail. I'm 100% sure it was over spec.

I pointed it out, and he solved it with an elbow on that line. Cool.

Some notes on the filter. I used part number 16010-SL0-000, it seems like the new version of 16010-SL0-932. Searching for it on parts websites was <a href="https://www.acurapartshq.com/oem-parts/acura-set-fuel-strn-com-16010sl0000?c=cT0xNjAxMC1TTDAtOTMy">pretty confusing</a>, though. The pictures look like melted blob of butter:

and they position it as the little mesh filter that hangs off the fuel pump

Not confidence inspiring. The title "Set, Fuel Strn Com" was not helping either. But, it's the right part! It has crush washers! Cool, now I know.

The removal and install went smoothly which is honestly not something I can say for many other things I've done on this car. Everything fit, which is impressive considering Shad hand only pictures to work off, and I didn't have to fight with any bolts or fittings. I have memories of struggling with fuel filter banjo bolts on other cars, but these ones were easy. I had them busted loose with hand tools in a couple minutes. AN fittings don't need to be very tight, so there was no struggle breaking them loose. It was just a matter of going slow and being careful not to spill any fuel.

The new filter ready to go in:

Shad gave me 2 new 45 deg fittings for the rail-to-rail line. The biggest risk for leaks seemed like these fittings. It's a tough balance when tightening them up: you get them in the right position but they feel a tiiiiiny bit too loose. Are they too loose to leak? Should you go whole 'nother turn? A couple stressful calculations there, but everything worked out.

That particular rail-to-rail line also was tough to get located without touching anything. The front is very very close to the throttle cable bracket, and the rear is almost touching the SC housing. The rails and SC move in tandem, though, so not super worried about rubbing.

Ok, all done! But does it blend?

Turned the key on and let the fuel pump run. No leaks! Started it up and let it run for a minute, no leaks. I left it the garage for a couple hours, checked for leaks, let it warm up, checked for leaks, took it to the grocery store and back, checked for leaks. Opened the garage this evening, checked for leaks. Yay, no damn leaks.

The car runs the same or better. It seems to have a better time catching the idle when coming up to a stop. Sometimes pushing in the clutch from 3k+, it will drop to 500rpm feel like it's going to die then pop up to a steady 850-900rpm. Well, there wasn't any more of that. It might have been the weather, which has been cooler than when I usually drive it. But the idle catch is something I've been meaning to fix in the ECU. There is a 'high idle condition' feature in the ECU for this purpose that is not setup.

One of my favorite things about this is: no more smell. When would I open the garage before, with the old lines, there was a faint "car smell". It was probably fuel. If you got up close to the old lines, they would have a slight fuel smell. They weren't leaking, but also maybe on their way out.

The old lines. If someone has a use for the fittings, let me know! I'm sure they're fine paired with a new set of lines.

 

[bogle]

On the last episode of my A/C diagnosis, I found that the low pressure R134a conversion fitting was barely hand tight, and there was a whole bunch of oil and green goo around it. My UV flashlight came sometime last week so I went out and did a little checking.

I took the car to Hilltop yesterday to make sure the fittings were tight and get it refilled again, provided all was good. I asked him if there was a way to pressure test it before refilling it, he said that wasn't a thing. He said the best way to find leaks was to fill it, run it then look around with the UV flashlight.

So he tightened the low pressure fitting and refilled it.

Well, no more leak out of the low pressure fitting. But turns out it is leaking from somewhere on or around the compressor. All the other fittings look good, though I still don't know about the evaporator cause it's under the dash.

The downside is I probably could have caught this and saved myself the trip if I had put the car in the air last week. Even with the leak up front, the compressor probably would have been bright green. But I didn't check. Oh well, now I know.

Looks like it is leaking from the top of the compressor. Not sure if a fitting or the compressor itself. But it seems the easiest thing is just to replace the compressor and the o-rings on all the related fittings. While I'm in there I'll replace the drier (4 seasons 33412 drier is the one @Kaz-kzukNA1 used), and the tensioner pulley.

Big McLargeHuge, those threads are going to come in handy now.

The decision is which compressor should I get. On a pre 97, it's not so straightforward. @Kaz-kzukNA1 has posted all the relevant options and their drawbacks a few times on prime. e.g. One of Big McLargeHuge's links: this post is crazy informative.

I'm debating between the Denso 471-1424 and Denso 471-1193. Both of them have the larger pulley (140mm) and the right electrical connector, but each has their own drawbacks.

If I go for the 471-1424, it's for R12. The actual compressor is the same as the others, but it comes loaded with R12 oil and R12 seals. I'll need to get someone local who knows what they are doing to replace the R12-specific oil with R134a oil, then get some OEM o-rings. Even then I may not be out of the woods.

It looks like (according entirely to this picture) the 471-1424 compressor has some threaded bosses on the back plate that maaaay interfere with the Comptech front header.

In this video, they put a Denso compressor on a 91 that has Comptech headers and the boss interferes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1OWhnl76gU

They end up shaving it down in the next video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWLI1tDa1gc

Member @bonhamsurf went the 471-1424 route, but probably has a different header position as he is turbo.

In 1997, the compressor bracket changed, according to a couple posts, to add some clearance between the compressor new stock tubular headers. The clutch changed as well to accommodate. 471-1193 compressor is the 97+ replacement and requires the 97+ bracket.
@Kaz-kzukNA1 has a great breakdown here.

The problem with using the 97+ bracket is that it may require removing or at least moving the front header to install. @Kaz-kzukNA1 says this:

471-1193:
...
If using aftermarket header, you may need removing the front header first before removing the bracket.

Not sure if it's totally impossible or just awkward to replace the bracket tho. To recap

Denso 471-1424

* Replace oil
* Get some R134a seals (seems optional?)
* Maybe shave down one of the bosses on the back plate of the compressor

Denso 471-1193

* Get 97+ compressor bracket
* Maybe remove the header to install the bracket

I am leaning toward 471-1193. If anyone has experience replacing the bracket with the header installed, that would be amazing!

 

[socalx]

I’d go with the 47-1193 and it’s associated changes. Note I’m running the stock 97 headers on my 1993 with the stock 1993 bracket. You got me thinking that I should order the 1997 bracket. Please post up the part number and cost. Thanks

 

[bogle]

Yeah going with the newer spec seems like the cleanest solution.

The bracket is part 38930-PR7-A01 and it’s around $150. Often amayama has parts for 1/2 price, but this is still $150 from them...

 

[Honcho]

FWIW I bit the bullet and got the 97+ bracket and the 1193 compressor. It is easier for me to install though, as the engine is out of the car. I can see why you would want to try the other route if everything is still in the car.

 

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

I don't know the spec of your leaky compressor but if the existing CL/Pulley/Field coil assy is in good condition (no severe wear on the CL material and no rattling at the pulley bearing)
with correct diameter, then another option would be to re-use it with 471-1193.

You'll need to adjust the CL clearance and replace the snap ring but then you don't need replacing the mounting bracket at this stage.

Keep the new 97+ offset CL/Pulley/coil that came with the -1193 for the later date.
When the time is right, replace the mounting bracket and swap the CL/Pulley/coil assy.

The field coil could be the same geometry that you could leave the field coil that came on the -1193 and just swap in the CL and Pulley only.
Just make sure the field coil body doesn't touch the pulley internal wall.

For my A/C Refresh, I had to re-use my old 91-96 CL/Pulley/Field coil assy on my new OEM P9K compressor.
Even well over 100K miles, still had enough CL friction material.
As a piece of mind, I placed heatshield tape over the back plate of the compressor body where it gets close to the aftermarket header.

I'll be replacing the bracket and install new OEM 97+ spec CL/Pulley when I take out the Eng/Gbox assy at the time of next Eng Refresh on my NSX.
R134a spec OEM field coil is the same regardless of the year models so just going to re-use it again.

Kaz

 

[bogle]

FWIW I bit the bullet and got the 97+ bracket and the 1193 compressor. It is easier for me to install though, as the engine is out of the car. I can see why you would want to try the other route if everything is still in the car.

Yeah, I would definitely use the 97+ setup in that situation.

I don't know the spec of your leaky compressor but if the existing CL/Pulley/Field coil assy is in good condition (no severe wear on the CL material and no rattling at the pulley bearing)
with correct diameter, then another option would be to re-use it with 471-1193.

Thanks for the response Kaz! I was really trying to avoid having to both reuse the old clutch and buy a puller I will likely use only once. I'm not sure when I'll be into the motor with the bracket accessible, probably (hopefully) years from now. But this is a good data point and I'll factor it in!

The heat shield tape is a great idea. I will definitely do that.

I did some calling around to see if there was a local place that could potentially change the oil in the compressor. And I have been doing a little research into the oil.

I am now pretty strongly leaning toward the 471-1424.

For some reason I thought changing the oil required some special tools. Like they vacuumed it out or flushed the compressor with something before changing the oil. But it actually seems really easy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TANldmkL0sg

The second reason is the oil itself. Here is a good breakdown of the different oils. The basics

* Mineral oil: In R12 systems
* PAG oil: in factory R134a systems
* Ester oil: Used to retrofit from R12 to R134a

So mineral oil and PAG oil are not compatible. Apparently PAG and mineral oil are so incompatible they could maybe lead to Black Death. No bueno, eh? Ester oil is compatible with both.

The replacement compressors oil breakdown:

* 471-1424 comes with mineral oil: (Denso ND-OIL 6 or 7)
* 471-1193 comes with PAG oil: (Denso ND-OIL 8 or 9)
* source: http://www.revbase.com/tt/sl.ashx?z=78fb9fde&dataid=1169438&ft=1

My system was mineral oil and has been converted to Ester oil. Likely, there is still a little mineral oil in there.

Right now, I'd be super nervous to put PAG oil in the system. Even if I replaced the oil in 471-1193, i'd have a little mineral, a little PAG, and mostly Ester. I don't need black death!

It seems like continuing with the pattern of mineral oil -> Ester makes the most sense. Plus coupled with not having to deal with the bracket, that seems like a win to me.

On the boss interference issue, I think I'll try to find someone local with a mill so I can remove the boss(es) cleanly before I even start the job. I don't want to be in the garage with the dremel and do a poor job...

 

[Big McLargeHuge]

I just found this video in my travels that would be a good watch for DIY A/C compressor replacement once the leftover refrigerant has been evacuated. It inevitably requires removal of the front beam w/front engine mount which is not fun to take off or put back in but is a doable DIY.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=967Q30N-Q-s

 

[bogle]

Thanks, I’ll definitely give it a watch!

 

[bogle]

Small update, I bit the bullet and went with 471-1424. After my last post I did more thinking and research and it seemed to make the most sense for me

Un petit compresseur:

It’s got the ND-OIL-6 which is a mineral oil and I will replace with ester. It’s funny, the instructions say to dump the oil of both old and new compressors to measure, then refill the new one with the same amount. So even if I didn’t replace the oil, I’d be dumping and refilling.

It does have the bosses on the back plate. They are about 1/4 high and 5/8 in dia. What are they for? Why doesn’t the 1193 have them? No idea.

Based on that first video I posted of the install, 1 or 2 of them will probably interfere with the front header. I have some end mills coming and my neighbor has a drill press, so should be a reasonable deal....

I got the 4 seasons drier ($16!) and have a huge amayama order coming with the idler, oem o-rings, and a bunch of other random things.

 

[Big McLargeHuge]

Hon hon hon, a French compresseur? Comes with free wine voucher?

I have another sizeable Amayama order coming too. I have to think that somehow all these orders of OEM parts gets back to the Honda bean counters and keeps them pumping out new ones for longer. I hate having to order from Acura US.

You could press/hammer out the old idler bearing and replace it for cheap BTW, the NTN part # is 6203LLU. Seems like a common problem to have.

 

[bogle]

Ouais Ouais. Not sure why it's prominently French, but from now on it's Monsieur Compresseur.

I have another sizeable Amayama order coming too. I have to think that somehow all these orders of OEM parts gets back to the Honda bean counters and keeps them pumping out new ones for longer. I hate having to order from Acura US.

Wholeheartedly agree. I love amayama except for the min $100 shipping. It just makes me buy more to make it worthwhile, though. This is my second big amayama shipment, the other one I still need to post about... There are a number of dumb details I learned by overbuying, e.g. why is this bolt the same size and shape as this other one but a different part number? Buy both and see!

You could press/hammer out the old idler bearing and replace it for cheap BTW, the NTN part # is 6203LLU. Seems like a common problem to have.

Yeah that's true, maybe next time since the idler is on its way. Thanks for the part number. Feeling confident I'll get the right part with I order something has not been much of a thing with this car. e.g., trying to buy an actual gatorback / conti elite 5 rib belt from ebay was effectively parts yahtzee, had to roll a couple times. So having definitive part numbers is great. The idler was $46, which is not soo cheap, but it's fine and saves me an hour messing (ahem, fighting) with it.

 

[MotorMouth93]

Amayama shipping is just bad right now due to Covid. Under normal circumstances it's about 1/4 as much and orders show up in 3-4 days once they actually ship.

 

[Honcho]

I love that all of us have big orders coming from there right now lol. The one on the way for me was $170 shipping via Fedex, but it still saves me much more over what Acura US charges. John is right though- normal EMS shipping is cheap and fast. Hopefully we will get back to that soon.

 

[bogle]

Yeah the part prices are usually 50% the cost from Acura US, it’s amazing. Good to know the shipping is usually cheaper, this order was $150 in shipping :/

 

[RYU]

I really enjoy this thread! It's like the old prime threads I miss so much. FB groups just aren't the same.

I really appreciate your attention to detail and I can relate to your AC issues. I was chasing a leak recently and ended up stock piling a bunch of AC parts like an evap, dryer, etc. The issue you have with the shrader valve is a surprisingly common problem. A friend of mine had his shrader valve itself leak on the OE line, but it was an easy fix thank goodness. I'm not looking to swapping the evaporator some day. You've reminded me.. I need to stockpile a new compressor.

In regards to your CTSC being down on power.... ok... so let's think about this a bit. I've struggled with that system for years so I know it inside and out.

* So you're still seeing full boost - this suggests it's not a belt slip issue. Though it could still be if you're not seeing full boost right away. Say at 2k RPM, when you mash on the throttle (IIRC) you're boost curve will be around 80-90% until it peaks around VTEC with it tapering off about 1psi after 7k rpm. If you're not seeing full boost until much later or seeing it drop off sooner you likely have a slipping belt even though you still see a peak at your normal boost level. Also, that blower peaks at 6 psi. If you're at 8-9psi then that suggest you're on the "high boost" setup which brings me to my 2nd point...

* I'll bet when you were down on power, it was a fairly warm day and you were working that engine harder than usual and heatsoaking the engine. What ECU are you running? Stock ECU? The stock ECU is NOTORIOUS for pulling a shit ton of timing when the intake air temps get hot. It will feel like a NA engine despite seeing full boost. You're headers will be glowing hot from running so much retard and rich (watch out for your new cats). Those new cats are beautiful btw... Good SOS on those. I'm sure they were a pretty penny! I like the HJC cats myself but i'll have to look into those.

 

[bogle]

Thanks RYU! Glad you are enjoying it. I am getting a lot of value out of people chiming in with knowledge in this thread.

Noted on the schrader valve. Definitely an easy fix. Hopefully that + the compressor are the only leaks. Really crossing my fingers it's not the evap!

What do you mean the blower peaks at 6psi? Like it peaks in efficiency at 6psi?

I really need to do some proper datalogging to make sure things are ok or diagnose if they are not. The day I picked up the car from the TB/WP job it was literally over 100deg F out. It's very possible a combination of the heat + the SC whine being gone makes me feel like it's slower. The car is still fast and I've definitely done some pulls since then where I feel like it's fine.

I'm on an AEM series 1 ECU, it might also be pulling timing based on AIT. I'm sure there is an AIT -> timing table in there. I should check...

The ECU is pretty handy cause of the logging junk built in. It's totally yesterday's tech, but it logs and is configurable. After reading your thread, adding an AIT sensor was on my list of things todo. But it turns out the stock one is installed post blower, so I can just log with that one. Not sure if the stock AIT sensor is super inaccurate or something, but it reads up to 250deg so it can give me an idea. I have a gaugeart gauge coming where I can display params from the ECU as well.

The missing piece for legit logging is that the wideband is not being run into the ECU. AEM gauges also act as a controller and have an output for the ECU, but it's not connected up. The medium term goal is to have 2 new LSU 4.9 wideband controllers, then remove the AEM gauge and replace it with the gaugeart gauge to display both widebands. I have one of the new controllers, so the next step is to install that one, run it in to the ECU, then do some proper logging. Once I get to that point, i'll post some graphs with map, afr, temp, knock, etc....