My CD5 VTI

Dad was working on the car when I got home this afternoon, we pulled the front out again, started it up and it's running fine. Have the replacement radiator ready to go, air condenser and bonnet still coming, and other odds and ends. Not looking too bad after all.

how much does the touch up ppl cost mate??

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Originally Posted by Troy

Okay this thread is kind of like a list of things to do to my car to keep me motivated and have a single point of reference as I'm going. I've meant to start it for a while but haven't got around to it. I'll also upload pics of what I need to change/fix and edit them in when I get to it. If you have any helpful comments about something then feel free to quote it and let me know, I appreciate it. :)

Things that need fixing:

• Drivers inside door handle comes out sometimes, need to hold in place to open door.
• Front passenger door does not activate internal lights when open.
• Also the front passenger door does not close properly, like it needs to "close" another 2mm or so, I'm hoping this is an easy fix of adjusting the hinge bolts or something.
• Boot gas struts feel like dead weights, I think they can be re-gassed?
• Drivers chair right-side support needs to be re-padded, someone must have sat on it a lot or taken a lot of hard left corners, or likely just worn from hopping in and out all the time.
• Right rear passenger seat has single small hole, must be from cigarette burn. Can something like this easily be patched up?
• Scratch marks on front windscreen following wipers line, not sure if repairable or needs replacing but it does annoy me.
• Needs a better steering wheel, the current one has scratches all around it and doesn't feel strong at all. Not sure if there's a better one out there that also can take the airbag, or possibly get the whole thing stitched in leather?

Mechanical:

• Calibrate TPS voltage. (need to convince Beeza to do it for me???)
• Research into performance air filters and also mild sports exhaust, was quoted $250 for mild sports exhaust from cat back from a custom exhaust shop down the road from where I work, what do you think guys?

Aesthetics:

• Car needs lowering, was looking up K-MAC lowered springs the other day. Strangely, I really like the standard rims and will be keeping them. Okay I'm really starting to think about saving up for coilovers and just slamming it on the standard mags...
• Plenty of small carpark dings down both sides.
• Windows need tinting.
• Boot spoiler, I actually think it would look better without it, either remove and fill up/smooth/paint or find another white boot and swap?
• Small ding in silver window surround on rear passenger window.
• Black rubber surrounding window frame is coming out and pokes out, always attacks my foam sponge and chamois every time I wash the car (I'm learning to go around it).
• Internal instruments cluster (right-half of tacho) and both air con dials, lights don't come on when parkers or headlights are on so can't see at night properly.
• Also the handbrake release button has some silver chrome-looking stuff over it, most has come off and looks pretty average, would like to have it re-done if possible.
• Want some decent floor mats, in fact if I could swap the whole interior over from my EXi cause it's in much better condition overall. How easy would that be? Carpets and all, but I would want to keep the VTI chair frame because it has up and down electric function.
• Fully clean up engine bay, it's a bit dirty and needs a detail.

Things I have done so far:

• New radiator from Red Devil Radiators Oxenford (always support these guys, they look after me well).
• Have installed Sony Xplod CD player.
• Always filled up with BP Ultimate.
• Tyres rotate, balance, alignment, and filled with nitrogen.
• Plenty of sudsy washes and chamois, including rims and blacken tyres.
• Installed Winnie The Pooh chair into backseat so my 2yr old son can come with me sometimes (best mod EVER).
• Full Stop Brakes @ Burleigh, full brake service. 4 new Bendix pads, all 4 disc rotors machined, new brake fluid. After bedding them in, this thing stops pretty damn hard! :thumbsup:
• Inspected condition of timing belt, looks fine, will look at replacing it at 250,000 kays.
• Serviced yesterday 21/02/2010, replaced engine oil and filter, also gearbox oil - engages gears so nice and easy now, next to no resistance at all!
• Pulled windscreen wipers off, quick sand and paint in black. I'm not too good at this stuff so it's not a great job, but it still looks a lot better - just don't look at it too close! I'll have to re-do it sometime once I get some more paint practice in.
• I don't know what it was, but there was black stuff like bits of tar all over the bonnet and front windscreen. I noticed it after work and it definitely wasn't there when I went out at about lunch time, I may have picked it up on the road or something happened when it was parked. Either way I gave it a quick wash after work and all the black stuff was thoroughly stained into the paint! It was really bad, I was so frustrated! :thumbdwn: So I called up the Touch Up Guys, he came out and had a look, didn't have any clue what it was but he was working pretty hard for a few hours to get it all out. He also touched up all the nicks and scratches around the car, there's a couple that are still pretty bad but it's a lot better than what it was. I sure don't want to go the whole respray route. He also buffed it up so it looks quite nice now. :thumbsup:

Cheers, any tips or comments are welcome but not expecting this thread to go overboard. Also if anyone has info about engines or where I can look, I have a 2.2L VTEC and I found online it puts out 107kW, apparently a H22A puts out 149kW and is a drop in swap? Anyone know about this cause it sounds interesting and I have done some research but obviously not enough yet.

Troy

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He charged me $200 which I thought was reasonable considering how long he spent on the car. That included getting the black stains out of the bonnet (still no idea what they were) and touching up the nicks and scratches around the whole car which some douche had put whiteout on them before I bought it.

A real PITA though because I've got the new bonnet coming thanks to the crash. :( Otherwise he probably would have charged $100 for all the nicks and scratches and a polish.

New bonnet is on, looks a lot nicer already! Got quite a bit to do yet though. Probably early tomorrow morning I'll pull all the old rubbers and windscreen washers off the old bonnet so I can swap them across. Also need a new Honda badge, only got two little holes on the new one and the old one is damaged.

Car is now up and running, still looks a bit off but at least it's all good and legal once again. The bumper needs to be adjusted about half an inch higher, other than that she's running great. New bonnet, new grille, new radiator, new air-con condenser (just needs regassing), new headlight setup.

Need a H bonnet emblem, and need to cut/polish and get rid of the green on the bumper.

By the way, so nice to have VTEC again yo!

Driving the Camry is such a difference, it's so much lighter/responsive. The clutch/brakes/accelerator/steering/gears are all very light in feel, the Honda is just like so much heavier overall. The clutch and steering are the biggest differences. It's really interesting getting used to the Camry, it's actually got some pretty good low end torque, you can just bludge it in gear at low RPM no worries, she pulls fine, but the Honda just feels like it's dying under 2000. Then in the upper RPM range the Camry wheezes worse than something that wheezes really bad, whereas the Honda is kicking in stronger and stronger. Can hit 6000 in both cars but not worth going over 3800/4000 in the Camry.

Both pretty good cars overall though, Camry being the wagon, it's a great car for the family, chuck the kiddies in, chuck the pram in, and hit the highway - much better mileage than the Honda. (I still prefer the Honda though)

Okay guys, put your technical hats on for me. What is making the strange whining noise? I had a leaking water pump, my dad has replaced it and we did the timing belt while he was in there. Also new oil and oil filter.

I took it for a test run, car runs fine, feels nice and smooth, just the shocking whine! I have a bit of hearing loss, and the test drive without my aids in, it bothered me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q40qkFE9iWM

Doing some research on the whine, seems like others have had this issue when the timing belt is too tight. Going to try and get it re-tensioned. What do you guys think?

http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?p=37681056

Yep I had a whine after I had my timing belt redone. It was only audible at idle, but really reduced the quality of the car.
When I complained, the junior Honda mechanic told me "don't worry, it'll go quiet after a few thousand kay's."
I wasn't convinced, but didn't want to ruin my relationship with the Honda dealer/service centre, so i believed them and waited.

6 months later, I had enough. Took it back to Honda and said fix it. They booked it in, tightened (or loosened) the timing belt, and the whine went away.

It sounded beautiful again - i.e. the car is inaudible inside, at idle.:thumbsup:
(...'xcept when the aircon fans kick in...)

Yep, called dad this morning and asked him about re-tensioning the belt. He said that's probably it and we'll do it soon. Cheers for the comments.

Blasted air-con, need it in the summer but man it drains the power!

Ok so here's the deal. My dad had a quick check and decided that it is safe to drive. But even after a slight retension it is still making the whine noise.

Anyone recommend a good mechanic familiar with Honda on the gold coast?

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Originally Posted by Troy

Anyone recommend a good mechanic familiar with Honda on the gold coast?

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How bout a Honda dealer/service centre? You know there is a chance they might actually tighten it to factory spec.