Honcho's Long Road to Imola Type-S Zero

[Honcho]

Anti-Lock Brakes 4

SCS Check Terminal

As noted earlier, I wasn't loving how the Weatherpack connector was working in the front bay. After surveying the area, I decided to use a HW 090 sealed connector and a spare 090 bracket from the old ABS system to make a more factory-looking access point for the SCS check. There was a post (used for the now-deleted cruise control) that was a perfect spot. Just need to gather and tidy the wires with a zip tie, but really pleased with the outcome.

The loop connector and blanking plug.

 

[Honcho]

Re-Assembly 46

Blower unit

Not many pics, but got the blower re-assembled and re-foamed. Now happily installed on the car. I had to shim the air handler fan with two additional washers to keep it properly away from the motor housing.

A funny story on this: I took this apart almost 2 years ago. It was a bit of a struggle putting it back together since none of the disassembly pics really helped. But, the best part is that I used the wrong screws on the interior joint- as in scrap Honda screws from my parts bin instead of the correct screws that are SITTING IN A LABELED BAG RIGHT UNDER THE BLOWER that you can see in the second pic. The screws that are in there (visible in the third pic) felt loose, so instead of using the correct screws that were right in front of my face, I put some blue locktite on these ones. At least I know they won't back out. Good times.

 

[Honcho]

Re-Assembly 47

Blower Unit, Heather hoses, Wire harness, Charger

Blower unit is installed and all harnesses hooked up again.

All heater hoses complete. Just need to oil and connect the lower A/C line to the evap with a new O-ring. There really wasn't a good way to flush this line due to the orientation (all other lines were flushed), so I may just connect it, let the A/C shop draw a vacuum and hope that draws out any trash in the line. Based on the other lines I flushed, which were quite clean, there shouldn't be much at all.

Decided on my location for my battery trickle charger connection. This connects to the factory charger point on the under-dash fusebox.

 

[Honcho]

Transmission Refresh 21

Mainshaft thrust clearance part 2

Shims are here! Time to check my math and the mainshaft clearance to confirm spec.

This should have been a simple task, but it turned into about an hour of sheer terror. As I went to install the mainshaft into the transmission case before tipping the whole thing over into the clutch case, the steel balls fell out of the bearing race and the outer race became wedged into the trans case at an angle! I wasn't wiggling it that hard, but, well... As the cold sweat of terror began to creep into my mind (a new case is $1,000, even if I get the race out without damaging the case is the bearing ruined, how do I even put together a caged ball bearing, if I can't how am I getting the inner race off the mainshaft, do I have to take down the entire mainshaft...and so on) I stopped to take a breath to stop the cascade of fear. After about 15 minutes of trying different techniques, I was able to use my puller tool for the countershaft bearing (very awkwardly) to get the outer race out. No damage to the transmission case. Whew! Next, I tried about 7 different ways of getting the bearing back together, all of which involved steel balls rolling all over my garage lol. Here's what worked- place the cage and outer race on the inner race (hold the mainshaft vertical in a vise). Lift/tilt the outer race and feed one ball into the cage at a time in and then lower the race to hold it in. You'll probably get 5 or 6 balls in before you can't tilt the race enough anymore. For the last few, tilt the race so that the last balls go into the cage (realize you will have to lift the race partially off the rest of the balls to do this, so make sure they don't fall out!) Then, position the race to lock in about half the balls and tap the end with a hammer to "snap" it over the other ones. I compared the movement to my old bearing and it is identical. A crisis averted, but boy was it a butt clincher for about an hour. There are no pictures since I was gripped in terror and not thinking abut the camera.

Cases come apart.

There is the mainshaft- pre-crisis.

The new case with the old, original shims removed.

After the horror show, I selected Shim D plus my factory shim, which measured 0.80 mm (not 0.75 as previously reported), making it Shim G. I was hoping it wouldn't matter. It didn't.

Gauge zeroed out and set up.

Moment of truth...and 0.0396". That works out to a thrust clearance of 0.166 mm, or right in the middle of the range. Perfect!

That took longer than expected, but at least now I can focus on re-assembling the transmission.

 

[Honcho]

Transmission Refresh 22

Countershaft 5th, bearings, nut

Pressed on my new 5th gear. From the packaging, this appears to be new production.

Needle bearing pressed on.

And outer race installed (it just slips over).

Top bearing pressed and fitted.

Spring washer installed and nut (41 mm) torqued down. I'm not sure about the torque though. I'm a pretty strong guy and by my calibrated arm I was dang close to 112 lb/ft..it actually felt like over- I was starting to spin the vise. But, my wrench didn't click. Not wanting to screw up the nut, I'm going to borrow my neighbor's $1,000 Snap-On digital wrench just to make sure before drifting the notch.

 

[Big McLargeHuge]

Are you sure your torque wrench is made for measuring left-hand threaded nuts/CCW? I had to check my clicker wrench's manual but started with a beam wrench anyways.

Glad the shims worked out. When you get to sealing both cases together I'd recommend the method I used for seating the snap ring which is using a long flathead to lift the countershaft up by the snap groove and get the expanded ring to pop over it. No need to tip over the case and then you get to torque everything before the Hondabond dries.

 

[Honcho]

Are you sure your torque wrench is made for measuring left-hand threaded nuts/CCW? I had to check my clicker wrench's manual but started with a beam wrench anyways.

Glad the shims worked out. When you get to sealing both cases together I'd recommend the method I used for seating the snap ring which is using a long flathead to lift the countershaft up by the snap groove and get the expanded ring to pop over it. No need to tip over the case and then you get to torque everything before the Hondabond dries.

Never thought of that, but you-re right- my 1/2" clicker only does CW. Thankfully I have the HF digital torque adapter that does both CW and CCW, so I'll use a breaker bar and get this done!

Question for you and [MENTION=33247]MotorMouth93[/MENTION]: when you "practice" putting the case on, do you do it with the snap ring fitted in the trans case? In other words, can you seat the shift lever into the selector with the snap ring sitting on top of the countershaft? Or, do you have to expand the snap ring to get it the shift lever to seat? I'd rather expand the ring only once...

 

[Big McLargeHuge]

Cool, that would be a good opportunity to remove the nut and torque it back to 116 lb-ft since the FSM manual says to remove it after initial torque anyways. Maybe to get the gear stack fully seated and get the correct final torque.

Yes, I had the snap ring in the case when I fit the halves together dry. They will not mate fully, there will be a couple mils of gap from the ring being pressed against the countershaft bearing but you need to finagle the shift lever into the selector regardless. That part seemed easy once you get the hang of it, the harder part for me was getting all the gear stacks and shift rods to slot square into their machined holes. Wiggling the shift and select levers and rotating the mainshaft in neutral can help a bit with this.

If you do that then you should be able to test the gear selector, it might not feel perfect since the case gap would change the angle of the shift lever a bit. To me the most important piece is quadruple-checking the orientations of all the gears, synchros, hubs, and sleeves (lots of tiny diagrams in the FSM) and sliding all the sleeves into gear by hand to check for binding. I remember gold (RIP) had an issue with a synchro spring falling out of position and binding so you can check for that with the complete assembly inserted into the clutch case and testing all the sleeves again, and with the halves mated together dry to double-check.

 

[MotorMouth93]

IIRC you can align all the difficult bits without spreading the snap ring, it will just sit on top of the countershaft bearing rather than dropping the last 1/4" or so.

I don't pry the countershaft up by the groove, I just wait until the sealant has set for 24 hours then flip the transmission over. That kind of force on a small area of a bearing race seems sketchy to me since the steel that bearing races are made out of is extremely hard, brittle, and easy to crack. That's really splitting hairs though and I think either approach is just fine.

 

[Old Guy]

Just did my irregular catch-up on your thread.

I noticed you made a reference to using 3M Termiflex tape. I am not aware of a 3MTtermiflex product; but, I am aware of 3M Temflex which is their basic PVC electric tape. For future consideration you might want to consider 3M 33+ PVC tape for adhesive tape use in automotive applications. It has about 20% higher stick strength than the Temflex and a greater allowable operating temperature range than the Temflex. Used to be available from Home Depot (right next to the Temflex) for less than the incremental cost of a Starbucks Grande black coffee (compared to the Temflex). There are non adhesive self amalgamating tapes which are excellent; but, they are fussier to work with, not unwrappable if you goof and definitely more money.

Regarding your comment about using silicone to seal up that grommet opening, I suggest a better non permanent solution is the putty that OEMs use for this same function. That 3M black strip caulk that people use to attach their door liners is black butyl rubber putty and will do the job nicely - although it may take quite a few strips to make a blob large enough to fill the hole. Home Depot sells something called duct seal for the same purpose on electrical conduit; but, I find it quite stiff and it seems to harden with age.

Interesting that you found the Duplicolor Honda Graphite Grey to be the good match for your console. It must be one of Honda's go-to colors because that is what I use to touch up the housing on my Honda lawn mower after a season of bashing it into obstacles around the yard.

Interesting thread, as always!

 

[Honcho]

Transmission Refresh 23

Clutch case, seals, shift lever, oil pump, etc.

Moving really fast now. Thanks to Tyler's astute advice and my digital torque adapter, the countershaft nut is loosened, torqued and staked. Actually hit 156 Nm by accident, but I don't think 1 Nm will matter.

Moving to the clutch case, I installed the mainshaft seal, shift lever, shift lever seal, countershaft bearing and retainer. I used a new countershaft oil control plate because my old one was rather gouged.

Shift lever and new seal. This lever moves the gear selector between the R-5, 3-4 and 1-2 shift forks. It is what moves when you push the shifter knob left or right.

Countershaft bearing and retainer with new bolts staked into the position. Shiny new oil control plate.

New mainshaft seal.

Oil pump parts cleaned and installed with fresh fluid.

 

[Honcho]

Transmission Refresh 24

Differential, oil pump, transmission case, etc.

Installed the revised differential with NSX-R 4.23 ring gear and gave it a spin to check the race. Spun like a top. Installed the unobtanium NSX-R oil pump gear at the same time.

Moving to the new transmission case, I prepared it for installation. First is the breather vapor baffle. I just re-used the part from the old case.

Next, installed the selector lever, using a new spring washer. This is the lever that moves when you move the shift knob up and down. Basically it moves the shift forks up and down (or, err, side to side when the transmission is in its running layout)

New seal in place.

 

[Honcho]

Transmission Refresh 25

Gear Stack, Reverse, etc.

Gear stack installed via the zip tie method.

Selector assembly and 5th/Reverse

 

[Honcho]

Transmission Refresh 26

Transmission case, snap ring, gear test

Installed the new snap ring and test fit the case onto the gear stack. Unlike other members, I had no difficulty seating the case- it dropped right on. Also, getting the selector arm into place wasn't that bad.

Now for the gear test. You should be able to select all 6 gears and, while they might feel a bit rough (new metal and fighting gravity), there should be no major resistance. Here is the pattern:

In my case, 1-2-3-4 all worked great. 5-R did not budge. At all. My first thought is that there is a problem with the reverse synchro hub. I couldn't move it by hand before installing the reverse select arm. The synchro is finicky and, if dislodged during install (it's a bit of a struggle to get reverse into place), it can pop the synchro spring off of the blocking ring, which will bind the hub sleeve. This actually happened to Gold (RIP) during his transmission refresh.

I was aware of this and was careful to test the reverse hub sleeve for free movement prior to install. Still, with all the jostling required to get the reverse shaft into place, perhaps I dislodged it? Here is reverse as it sits today- looks completely normal (but we can't see where the synchro spring is).

But, that doesn't explain why the 5th-R shift fork won't engage 5th. In that case, the 5th fork/shaft simply has to move down. This shouldn't disturb the reverse select arm, since the reverse hub is already shifted up to the driven gear side. But the 5th/Reverse shaft won't move up or down. The 5th synchro sleeve moves just fine on the mainshaft, but perhaps the shift fork is out of alignment somehow? Or perhaps the pesky steel ball is jammed inside the 5th fork? All things to look at tonight. A good lesson why it is important to test the shift function before applying the Hondabond!

 

[Honcho]

Transmission Refresh 27

Gear selection, 5th/R Fork, synchro

Well, it was reverse. It turns out Thomas gave good advice- a good amount of jostling and wiggling is required to get reverse to slot into it's recess in the clutch case. You should lift reverse by the shaft, not the gear/hub to get it into place. In my case, I shifted the hub sleeve off of the hub entirely and when I slid it back on, it had rotated one tooth. The sleeve can only fit one way (with the 6 longer teeth in the proper grooves), so it got stuck. Then, all my banging on the shift fork trying to engage 5th only jammed it on further.

Thankfully, after removing reverse, I was able to separate the hub and sleeve without resorting to tools/press/heat. On re-assembling, I avoided the problem the second time around. Here is reverse sitting happy in its spot with a free-moving synchro:

Some pro tips, based on my experience:

• Lift reverse by the shaft, not the gear or synchro, when moving it.
• Try to get the reverse shaft bottom pin close to the correct orientation while it is still sitting outside the slot. This way, it will drop right into the recess without much need for wiggling/fiddling.
• I found that lifting the countershaft instead of the mainshaft made it easier to get reverse to drop in.

 

[Honcho]

Transmission Refresh 28

We have a fully rebuilt NSX-R transmission.

Stealing from Tyler I know, but boy does it feel like that.

Anyway, here's everything in place before the case dropped on.

About that case... I had a bad experience with the snap ring. I was able to expand the ring as the case dropped on, but the sharp edge of the new ring must have caught on the lip of the top bearing or something because it would not budge after I finished the torque sequence. The snap ring is supposed to "walk" down the side of the bearing until it is just above the groove. Mine didn't do that- it stayed partially jammed between the case and the bearing. After I got the final bolt done, I heard a horrifying, loud metallic "bang!" Thinking I had just cracked my brand new snap ring in half, I removed the case and, with the Hondabond still wet and drying by the minute, examined the ring. And wouldn't ya know, totally fine. The bang must have been when it finally "snapped" into place around the bearing. So, back on she went and torqued back down. This time no bang, but I noticed that one end of the ring was slightly bent. Still, I was able to pry the bearing up with a large flathead and was greeted with a satisfying "click" as the ring seated into the groove.

It looks a little wonky, but I confirmed the ring is fully seated and moves easily in the groove with no tension or resistance. I can expand it and pop the bearing back out too. What must have happened is the jamming bent the very end of the ring when it snapped around the bearing. It doesn't look pretty, but functions just fine. I'm going to run it- since this is a replacement case, the groove should be cut properly and therefore there should be no load on the snap ring. If it fails, at least I am now an expert at replacing the snap ring.

One postscript here- my old snap ring from the old case looked just like this new one- bent in the same place. It seems others have faced a similar issue when torqueing down the case. Having gone through it, I think it is a better idea to seat the countershaft into the snap ring before torqueing the case (as directed in the service manual). It was really easy to expand the ring and pry the top bearing up with a flathead to lift the countershaft into place. You only need to lift it a few mm and you avoid any chance of pinching the ring like I did.

 

[Honcho]

Transmission Refresh 29

Breather, seals, cover, switches, etc.

With the internals out of the way, it's time to dress the transmission. New seals. These will be taped over until the driveshafts are installed.

Plastic top cover installed.

Fill plug with new crush washer installed finger tight.

Drain Plug with new crush washer torqued to the spec.

A new breather. This transmission came with the breather bracket, but no hose. I bought a new hose and new clamp. According to a 1992 TSB, the hose should protrude 25mm from the bracket holder. Too long and it can suck up water back into the transmission as it cools down (if there is water on top of the trans from a car wash, rain, etc.)

 

[Honcho]

General

Another big push in the garage to clear the floor to prepare for the engine-transmission combination, front subframe and rear subframe. Most of these boxes are empty or have old parts in them at this point.

Meanwhile, got some misc. tasks done.

 

[MJK]

Nice work! You are going to love that flywheel (I have the same).

 

[Track Addict]

The more I see this build the more I freaking adore it. Amazing work bud


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Honcho]

Nice work! You are going to love that flywheel (I have the same).

I can't wait!

The more I see this build the more I freaking adore it. Amazing work bud

Thanks- it means a lot that long-time members like you care about the project!

 

[Honcho]

Alternator 1

Started work on the alternator. This OEM Denso unit has covered 137,000 miles over 30 years and was working fine, but given the time, mileage and access the project provides, I decided to rebuild it. The bearings are silent but I will replace them- again considering the mileage and age.

Rear cover removed.

Rear cover fasteners

Pulley and nut. Impact wrench necessary here.

The old rectifier.

Old voltage regulator and new one.

Rear case half separated. I found that whacking it with a hammer helped break the corrosion bonding the two halves together. I used a small gear puller to separate the halves.

Good news in that the slip rings are in great shape. Just some light arcing to be removed with very fine grit sandpaper. Bad news is you can see the rear bearing stayed on the rotor shaft when I pulled the case. Lots of rust/contamination on the outer race. None of my pullers had the clearance to get under the bearing so I had to order one from Amazon, putting the brakes on this project for now. That's ok- plenty else to do on this NSX.

Cleaned up the front of the rotor shaft with the wire wheel. It was quite rusty. I'll treat it with CorrosionX to prevent future rusting.

 

[docjohn]

I suspect that those of us with many track miles likely have premature heat related failure of the alternator...Mine started moaning after about 110 k total miles and was a 96...

 

[Honcho]

I suspect that those of us with many track miles likely have premature heat related failure of the alternator...Mine started moaning after about 110 k total miles and was a 96...

Makes sense. The heat generated by 8,000 rpm running is hard on the bearings. In the case of this NSX, it was 30 years of easy AT cruising. So, the bearings are still good, but who knows for how long? Especially considering this project's eventual use case...

 

[RYU]

Does Honda sell a replacement bearing for the alternator?