Looking at purchasing JH4NA1153NT000002

[silverbullitt850]

Hi all, a car that has sold on here in the past has come up for sale locally. Here is the original ad from a few years ago. Little, if anything, has been done on the car since this time.

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...jH4NA1153NT000002?highlight=JH4NA1153NT000002

I have copies of all the work that has been done on the car, but I had a few questions after driving it as it is the first one I've been able to drive in my hunt.

1) The clutch is pretty light, but the engagement is long. There is a record of a new clutch install and new master cylinder from its days in Maryland. Is this clutch behavior typical?

2) Throttle throw is long and firm. Again, is this normal, bad, or a function of the aftermarket TB?

3) The shifter had nearly no slop, but the action was a bit notchy. The throws were very light but entering gears had a slight catch in all 5. Is this normal shift behavior? The light effort for shifting was very incongruous with the high effort for braking, steering, and accelerating.

4) The original ad I linked to said that the trans didn't have snap ring issues. The serial on it starts with a 3... does that mean it has been replaced at some point?

5) The windshield VIN tag has the first 5 characters in a different finish than the rest, is this typical? I couldn't find good pictures of other NSX VIN tags. This number matches the rest of the tags on the car.

6) The car has test pipes but no CEL... is this due to it being pre OBD-II?

7) AC system inoperative- everything functions (heat, blower, recirc, compressor idle adjust) but it doesn't get cold. Dealer suggested it needed a recharge. Is this a bit of a challenge due to the R12 system?

8) Stereo still doesn't work, and the glove compartment has a 90's era equalizer installed. The head appears to be OEM, but won't power on. My instincts tell me this is going to be a giant pain in the dick to diagnose.

9) There's a rattling from the front right corner over rough surfaces. Current owner suggested it was the large center caps for the Racing Hart wheels since one is loose. Are there other known suspension watch-outs on these?

10) This one is a stretch, so no worries if you don't feel like answering! The modification list from the previous, previous owner (that held it for a long time) seems to be pretty comprehensive for an N/A build. What kind of power should I expect out of that assuming leakdown test numbers shown back in 2016 are still valid (0-1%) and car is at sea level?

 

[SWFL_NSX]

I was in the same boat-not able to drive another NSX. Try to get the shop that does the PPI to take it for a drive to get their input.

4) The original ad I linked to said that the trans didn't have snap ring issues. The serial on it starts with a 3... does that mean it has been replaced at some point?

Not sure that you have the right number, can you post a pic or the complete serial? See here for snap ring range- https://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Troubleshooting/transmission.htm

5) The windshield VIN tag has the first 5 characters in a different finish than the rest, is this typical? I couldn't find good pictures of other NSX VIN tags. This number matches the rest of the tags on the car.

Normal-or at least same as mine.

6) The car has test pipes but no CEL... is this due to it being pre OBD-II?

Not sure what you mean by "test pipes," but if it doesn't have 02 sensors then it should be throwing a code. If the test pipes just eliminate the cats, then I don't think a code will be thrown b/c the cats are downstream from the 02 sensors on obd1.

7) AC system inoperative- everything functions (heat, blower, recirc, compressor idle adjust) but it doesn't get cold. Dealer suggested it needed a recharge. Is this a bit of a challenge due to the R12 system?

"Just needs a recharge" is the oldest lie in the book. You can still get R12, but will need to find a mechanic (indy) in your area that has the machine to evacuate what is left. Cars only need recharged if there is a leak, and unfortunately on the NSX that leak is often times in the evaporator in the dash. Replacement means dash removal, and at that point it makes sense to replace the compressor as well. Somebody asked about prices for this on FB and 3-4k seemed to be the correct range. There is a small chance that the heater cable just needs to be adjusted, but Ben would have caught that in 2016.

8) Stereo still doesn't work, and the glove compartment has a 90's era equalizer installed. The head appears to be OEM, but won't power on. My instincts tell me this is going to be a giant pain in the dick to diagnose.

Kind of. The problem (if you want to keep the radio) is that nobody has the schematics for it, so repairing one means opening it up, looking for blown components (mostly leaky caps) and then replacing them and the damage they cause. Somebody on Prime (CMC140 I think? is having his radio guy do them for about $350 and the results seem to be good.

10) This one is a stretch, so no worries if you don't feel like answering! The modification list from the previous, previous owner (that held it for a long time) seems to be pretty comprehensive for an N/A build. What kind of power should I expect out of that assuming leakdown test numbers shown back in 2016 are still valid (0-1%) and car is at sea level?

Not sure what I'm missing here-vehicle has some good maintenance history, but not what I'd call a comprehensive engine modification list or "build" of any kind. But keep in mind that by 2019 standards these are not quick. They are fascinating, historical, rewarding, and fast, but not really quick. Good luck!

 

[docjohn]

I would PM or call Ben on 410-292-9259...he likely remembers the car after you jog his memory....he can answer all your ?'s

 

[Honcho]

Adding to the excellent advice from [MENTION=33404]SWFL_NSX[/MENTION]

Hi all, a car that has sold on here in the past has come up for sale locally. Here is the original ad from a few years ago. Little, if anything, has been done on the car since this time.

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...jH4NA1153NT000002?highlight=JH4NA1153NT000002

I have copies of all the work that has been done on the car, but I had a few questions after driving it as it is the first one I've been able to drive in my hunt.

1) The clutch is pretty light, but the engagement is long. There is a record of a new clutch install and new master cylinder from its days in Maryland. Is this clutch behavior typical?
If you mean by "long" engagement that you have to push the pedal almost all the way down to disengage the clutch, then this is typical. The NSX clutch pedal grabs "low."

2) Throttle throw is long and firm. Again, is this normal, bad, or a function of the aftermarket TB?
OEM throttle should be smooth and feel like a regular car. Stiffness is likely due to the aftermarket TB using a stiffer return spring than the OEM one.

3) The shifter had nearly no slop, but the action was a bit notchy. The throws were very light but entering gears had a slight catch in all 5. Is this normal shift behavior? The light effort for shifting was very incongruous with the high effort for braking, steering, and accelerating.
When the trans oil is cold, the shifts can be a bit notchy. Once it warms up, you should feel no resistance going into any gear.

4) The original ad I linked to said that the trans didn't have snap ring issues. The serial on it starts with a 3... does that mean it has been replaced at some point?

For the snap ring repair, typically only the trans case is replaced, not the entire transmission. Original 5-speeds had a "J4A4" prefix on the trans case. Honda never gave us a definitive guide, but I have seen snap ring replacement cases with the "SR8M" prefix. If you see "J4A4" the trans is probably original and you should check the snap ring wiki page to see if the serial number falls into the affected range. Honestly, even if it is in the range, after this many years and miles, if it hasn't failed, you're likely out of the woods- not every trans case was out of spec due to the nature of the tooling defect.


5) The windshield VIN tag has the first 5 characters in a different finish than the rest, is this typical? I couldn't find good pictures of other NSX VIN tags. This number matches the rest of the tags on the car.
This is normal.

6) The car has test pipes but no CEL... is this due to it being pre OBD-II?
Correct. On OBD-I NSXs, the O2 sensors are in the exhaust manifolds, not the cats.

7) AC system inoperative- everything functions (heat, blower, recirc, compressor idle adjust) but it doesn't get cold. Dealer suggested it needed a recharge. Is this a bit of a challenge due to the R12 system?
Get your wallet ready. You've got a leak in the system or multiple leaks. Unfortunately, the evap is a typical leak site, which means the dash has to come out to fix it. At that point, you're in a "while I'm in there" zone and you should refresh the entire HVAC unit. Joe Guttieri has a great service where he does all of that for you. It's also time for a new receiver, expansion valve and likely your compressor.
If you change to R134, to do it right you would also have to replace all of the O-rings in the system with ones designed for the R134 refrigerant.
Otherwise, you'll be chasing leaks for years as your old, original O-rings shrink and crack. $3k-$4k is a reasonable estimate here.

8) Stereo still doesn't work, and the glove compartment has a 90's era equalizer installed. The head appears to be OEM, but won't power on. My instincts tell me this is going to be a giant pain in the dick to diagnose.
Fairly typical for the OEM head units to fail. There are several vendors who can refurb the unit (and the Bose speakers) back to spec. My advice is rip out all of that aftermarket stuff and see if you can recover/repair the original wire harnesses. There are some neat things out there that will let you keep the OG look of the radio but with modern bluetooth/USB type of playback.

9) There's a rattling from the front right corner over rough surfaces. Current owner suggested it was the large center caps for the Racing Hart wheels since one is loose. Are there other known suspension watch-outs on these?
If you have an aftermarket suspension, it could be coil slap on the damper. More likely explanation is the steering rack is rattling due to a worn bushing. NSX Rack Repair can sort that issue for you. Google them- they're awesome.

10) This one is a stretch, so no worries if you don't feel like answering! The modification list from the previous, previous owner (that held it for a long time) seems to be pretty comprehensive for an N/A build. What kind of power should I expect out of that assuming leakdown test numbers shown back in 2016 are still valid (0-1%) and car is at sea level?
A bone stock NSX with the C30A puts down around 235 to the wheels. A solid N/A build with I/H/E and a strong engine usually puts down about 270 to the wheels on the stock ECU tune. Obviously there are dyno differences, environment, etc, but these are fairly typical numbers. YMMV

 

[silverbullitt850]

Hey everyone, thank you SO MUCH for the help!

I ended up passing on the car. Wanted to love it but the longer I went after the test drive the more I realized it wasn't the one for me. Search goes on...