Spool Valve Gasket walk through (pics)
- Thread starter R13
- Start date
i remember doing them with out removing anything or disconnecting any lines.
just creative extension work.
great write up.
quickest way to be confusion free with the vacuum hose is to use white out. Put 1 dot on both the port and hose you disconnect. second hose, 2 dots, 3rd 3 dots...etc.
just creative extension work.
great write up.
quickest way to be confusion free with the vacuum hose is to use white out. Put 1 dot on both the port and hose you disconnect. second hose, 2 dots, 3rd 3 dots...etc.
There is no need to remove the vacuum hoses, just remove the two small bolts, and three wiring connectors, and flip the control box up onto the intake and out of the way
.HTH,
LarryB
In typical nsx fashion, these babies like it dry correct? Or should I lube r up with a little motor oil prior to gasket install?
Seems like everything is anti-hondabond lol.
Seems like everything is anti-hondabond lol.
Dry.....
QUICK! What are the torque specs on the 6 bolts holding the spool valve together and to the head?
I don't have the PDF file on this computer!
I don't have the PDF file on this computer!
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Anyhow, I snugged it down nice and tight. I also changed out out both tank hoses while I was there. Worked out good. Time to degrease the engine and see if I still need an oil pan gasket. 
Hopefully not. If I do, I might as well replace the NA2 headers with some aftermarkets lol.
Hopefully not. If I do, I might as well replace the NA2 headers with some aftermarkets lol.
Anyhow, I snugged it down nice and tight. I also changed out out both tank hoses while I was there. Worked out good. Time to degrease the engine and see if I still need an oil pan gasket.
Having also done the oil-pan gasket on my car, I can report that with some help from a friend, and more significatly a lift (or some other way of getting the car far enough off the ground for two people to get under it) it is possible to replace the oil-pan gasket without completely removing the exhaust.
That said, is is a really good excuse (if you need one) to change headers :wink:.
Yeah but I already got rid of those oem boat anchor NA1 manifolds and had it replaced with oem headers from a 2000 NA2. Really don't want to spend money on things that won't give me a reasonable gain in handling or hp. I think I am reasonably done. Everything left now is cosmetic, maintenance or REAL HP gainers like nitrous or FI.
Thanks for the walk through. You REALLY helped out alot. I followed your guide almost precisely. I almost thought the tank wouldn't flop on top but it did lol. The order of removing the bolts is a life saver though. To loosen the bolts holding the spool together before removing it off the head.
Oh and that BIG lump of wires in the loom held to brackets with the little blue straps/mounts. Well every time I even put force on the blue straps, the whole thing would just break! The plastic is brittle in our cars there lol.
I would say the front spool valve gasket job is a 1 hour job tops. 11 bolts total. 4 on the tank, 7 on the spool.
The hoses are ALOT easier with the tank already moved but hoses are always a bitch because they get stuck on the hard metal pipe, that took me another hour maybe.
Since this was maintenance I did on my own schedule and wishes, it was FUN! lol
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Given enough time, pretty much nothing on a car scares me off except maybe wiring. That involves some sort of voodoo, and I honestly can't afford to sacrafice that many chickens right now. Really, I need to work on my multi-meter usage and diagram reading skillz before i go trying to mess with much of that. Anything else is just following directions and/or knowing "the trick" and occasionally buying a special tool.
Once I have everything sorted out with the car, I will look to some light mods, but nothing over the top unless I turn it into a race car sometime in the distant future.
Just wanted to say THANK YOU to R13 for posting this. It made my spool valve job this weekend very easy. 
Front spool took 20 min, and that's with removing the intake and relocating the coolant tank. Rear spool took about 45 minutes due to the access issue, but LarryB's tip about moving the control box out of the way helped immensely. I found the most difficult part to be un-plugging the electric connectors, which had not been moved in 20 years. I found using a flat blade screwdriver to wiggle them apart did the trick.
A word of caution though- be careful torqing the top bolts holding the solenoid to the valve. On the rear spool, I was going around one last time to double-check the torque was correct, pushed on my wrench expecting to hit the click stop and bam it broke off the bolt.
Now I have to take the rear spool back out and extract the broken bolt from the valve housing. 
I am thanking the NSX gods that it wasn't broken in the head. But still, watch it with these little M6 bolts. The manual calls for 9 lb/ft and my wrench was set at 10lb/ft. It seems even slightly more than spec will cause problems. Or, I had a weak 20 year-old bolt. Looks like the NSX will sit idle one more weekend until I get it sorted.
Front spool took 20 min, and that's with removing the intake and relocating the coolant tank. Rear spool took about 45 minutes due to the access issue, but LarryB's tip about moving the control box out of the way helped immensely. I found the most difficult part to be un-plugging the electric connectors, which had not been moved in 20 years. I found using a flat blade screwdriver to wiggle them apart did the trick.A word of caution though- be careful torqing the top bolts holding the solenoid to the valve. On the rear spool, I was going around one last time to double-check the torque was correct, pushed on my wrench expecting to hit the click stop and bam it broke off the bolt.
Now I have to take the rear spool back out and extract the broken bolt from the valve housing. I am thanking the NSX gods that it wasn't broken in the head. But still, watch it with these little M6 bolts. The manual calls for 9 lb/ft and my wrench was set at 10lb/ft. It seems even slightly more than spec will cause problems. Or, I had a weak 20 year-old bolt. Looks like the NSX will sit idle one more weekend until I get it sorted.
Just wanted to say THANK YOU to R13 for posting this. It made my spool valve job this weekend very easy.
A word of caution though- be careful torqing the top bolts holding the solenoid to the valve. On the rear spool, I was going around one last time to double-check the torque was correct, pushed on my wrench expecting to hit the click stop and bam it broke off the bolt.
You're very welcome. It's a small contribution in light of the hours of speculation/needless fiddling this forum has saved me.
After I popped the heads off of 2/3 of the M6 bolts holding the washer fluid tank to the front bumper, I just went out and bought some M6/whatever-pitch 10mm head bolts in bulk. Fortunately, the bolts and connectors in the engine compartment "benefitted" from an oil leak and so were not that difficult or corroded. +1 for sure though on paying close attention to torque specs.
Well, if they are torqued to spec now, and held except for the one, no reason to take it back apart. If it's still apart though, for the cost, I probably would replace all three just to save a potential headache if I ever had to take it apart again.
Wow. That one in the middle was almost gone. Any more torque on that one and it would've been hosed. I'm glad you managed to extract the broken one without having to drill (from the looks of it).
The broken piece turned right out with only finger grip- there was barely any torque on it at all. It was a pleasant surprise, as I came prepared for a multi-hour battle and it only took 5 minutes. :smile:
I just ordered the spool valve gaskets. Until I saw this thread I never knew this was a source of oil leaks. I just assumed incorrectly that my valve cover gasket weeped. Once I powerwashed the underside of the car and got under there with a flash light and new where to look, it was obvious where the seepage was coming from.
I ordered these parts and a brake master from Acura of Reno. Thanks Clint!
I ordered these parts and a brake master from Acura of Reno. Thanks Clint!
I have had a leak on the drivers side rear corner and oil leaks onto what looks like the top of my exhaust/cat converter. Some times after i drive it it stinks a ton. There is oil grime ontop of what looks to be a metal plate/shield. My motor is super clean and this bugs the hell out of me. Is this the source?
Take a picture of it under good light before you clean it up.
Most likely it is, the cam plugs are LOW pressure oil and yes, while its true they may leak, they'll more likely weep, but the spool valves are under higher pressure and probably the culprit.
Most likely it is, the cam plugs are LOW pressure oil and yes, while its true they may leak, they'll more likely weep, but the spool valves are under higher pressure and probably the culprit.
Well I finally got to my spool valve oring replacement this morn. It was easier than expected. Huge thanks goes out to R13/Ryuji/and guru LarryB for all the pics and very useable info.:smile: My .02 to the guys questioning the top oring replacemnt, even if it's not leaking, replace them. An additional 5 minutes is all you need.
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I did my spool valve gaskets this weekend and have a question. After taking it off the engine and removing the solenoid I changed the smaller gasket. Before putting the two back together I noticed the pin (at least what I would call it) in the spool valve rotated. Is this something I should worry about? Will it set back to where it should be automatically?
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