[CL9]2004 Accord Euro Lux 120,000km - recent acquisition - some issues

[Fredoops]

just saw that cabin filter and it reminded me that mine is overdue.

anyone heard of these folks?

http://cabinairfilters.com.au/

No but on the surface of it, 3 layer carbon filter, sounds pretty good.

[aaronng]

just saw that cabin filter and it reminded me that mine is overdue.

anyone heard of these folks?

http://cabinairfilters.com.au/

They all work the same, since the Euro's A/C system is not rated to run high efficiency filters such as HEPA.

The ones in the link will filter out your usual dust, pollen, bees etc, and the activated carbon will adsorb some odours as well. The filtration part will last the 2 year changeout life, but the activated carbon will probably be saturated well before then. Give it a go.

[beeza]

Instead of subaru upper engine cleaner - WATER, works really really well.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KFtp_jmLF3k

I use a big syringe/marinade injector,just like a turkey baster.$2 from the reject shop.

[brad1.8tsi]

Instead of subaru upper engine cleaner - WATER, works really really well.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KFtp_jmLF3k

I use a big syringe/marinade injector,just like a turkey baster.$2 from the reject shop.

Yes, I've been doing inlet cleaning with water for years. If you own VW group cars with direct injection it's an essential bit of maintenance.

I use a mix of 2 parts water, 1 part degreaser and 1 part mineral turps and make up about 2 litres of cleaner. I inject it using a garden sprayer so that it is pre-atomised.

In the 80s i used to run Injectronic water injection on my Falcon & Capri

[beeza]

Yes, I've been doing inlet cleaning with water for years. If you own VW group cars with direct injection it's an essential bit of maintenance.

I use a mix of 2 parts water, 1 part degreaser and 1 part mineral turps and make up about 2 litres of cleaner. I inject it using a garden sprayer so that it is pre-atomised.

In the 80s i used to run Injectronic water injection on my Falcon & Capri

Ah sweet,interesting.

Sounds like you have been playing with cars for a while . What was the water injection like? just water yeah?

[brad1.8tsi]

Ah sweet,interesting.

Sounds like you have been playing with cars for a while . What was the water injection like? just water yeah?

Did a mechanics apprenticeship in the early '80s. Stayed with it for a while and then realised it was killing my love of cars so I went and did something else. It took about 10 years before I became "enthused" again.

Water injection was mainly water but I'd pour some metho in every now & then. It was fantastic on a manual 3.6L XT Falcon I had. You could run triple the timing and fuel economy was amazing an 10L/100km (it had a multi-spark ignition, 350 Holley & extractors as well).

Stupidly sold it and bought a 1600 Capri. Water injection did almost nothing (nor did extractors or anything else).

[beeza]

Hmm,I see.All makes sense to me. Water/meth injection I also thought wouldn't do much on my honda,more a big hp mod.

[Fredoops]

Hmm,I see.All makes sense to me. Water/meth injection I also thought wouldn't do much on my honda,more a big hp mod.

Not much on a stock motor.

But. There's a supercharged euro in Darwin that uses method injection.

Also controled water injection is a very good cylinder cleaner.

[brad1.8tsi]

Hmm,I see.All makes sense to me. Water/meth injection I also thought wouldn't do much on my honda,more a big hp mod.

Good for turbo / supercharged engines as it reduces intake temps. I'd love it on my Octavia.

It would work on the Honda provided you could access timing and fuel maps.

The Falcon ran quite lean due to the extractors and the way I had it jetted. I also had the spark plugs gapped to 1.5mm which was unheard of back then (MSD6a ignition helped a lot).

[beeza]

I had the msd system on the honda for a few years,I semi miss that...and had the spark plug gaps at 1.5mm too . Obviously meant for bigger set ups but I loved the smoothness it would give you.

[brad1.8tsi]

Finally got some time to do some work on the Euro.

Fuel filter replaced. It's a 50 minute job but not overly technical. Bought a cheap pattern fuel filter and the manufacturing tolerances weren't as good as the could have been. There were at least 3 problems that I noticed but it worked in the end.
The Honda fuel filter is quite interesting. It's a full flow filter as it doesn't appear to have a bipass. The element is basically a toilet roll with no centre and the fuel travels longitudinally past the paper rather than through the paper.
My filter was black and squeezing the paper made a stream of blackened fuel come out.
The fuel pump itself must be under a lot of stress as the filter blocks.

Air filter replaced. Different vendor but I had to slightly file the location tabs to make it fit. I've never had these problems with pattern parts in the past.

Throttle body cleaned. It wasn't too bad. I have no idea why the link above uses isopropyl alcohol. It's part of the fuel system - carby cleaner works perfectly.

EGR plate thingy cleaned. As above. Carb cleaner works fine.

Earth point for battery where it attaches to body removed, cleaned & replaced.

Coolant dumped and refilled with tap water (I'm in Sydney, it's quite soft water) to flush it through. I'll put coolant in next week. That stuff was black.

Power Steering fluid replaced. Old fluid was black and full of contaminant. Also quite viscous compared to the new fluid.
For those interested in DIY, I looked at a few "tutorials" from "experts" on YouTube and I was appalled at their lack of mechanical ability. The biggest issue was they ran the pump dry and it started squealing. Not one tutorial showed the vehicle running afterwards. By my calcs, the pump moves about 2-3L/minute. How these idiots think they could pour 2L of PS fluid into a reservoir while holding a camera & trying to look cool is beyond me.

I syringed out the old fluid from the reservoir, removed the inlet & outlet pipes and removed the reservoir to clean it (used methylated spirits).
I refitted the reservoir and the line to the pump.
I blocked off the inlet spigot with a piece of old fuel line with a bolt in it. No clamps required.
I extended the return line using a 1/4" drive socket as a joiner and another 600mm length of hose I had on the "useful things" shelf. I routed this hose into a 1L honey bucket sitting in the engine bay behind the fans.
I then topped up the reservoir with about 300ml of Penrite HPSO.
This method is all an amalgam of the good parts of the YouTube experts.
At this point I did it my way. Instead of running the engine until the reservoir ran dry and spinning the steering wheel from lock-to-lock (this empties the steering rack), I started the engine and turned it off almost immediately (should have pulled a fuse to stop it starting but hindsight is wonderful). This would result in about 200ml of fluid coming out. I would then top up the reservoir and repeat. I did this about 3-4 times and as I was contemplating opening the 2nd 1L bottle of HPSO the fluid started running clear (ish). Given the amount of contaminant that appeared to be in the system I think it better to run the PS for a while and do another change further down the track (6-12 months).

Had a quick drive. Lots of initial smoke from all the carb cleaner. PS feels better than before but need to experience a few sweepers to be sure.

[Dxs]

Find yourself a workshop manual from honda online. That may help with methodology.

The honda way is to let the steering pump, pump out all of the fluid with a hose off.

The general knowledge is honda coolant should be used as it does not have silicone additives. Also power steering fluid should be honda as well.

There are online parts places like OEM Acura Parts which has part diagrams and posts to Australia. Generally it is better to spend a bit more on genuine parts.


I would also check the engine mounts. Might explain a few things.

edit: In terms of isop alcohol, it is a single substances that evaporates, leaving nothing behind. Stuff like cleaners and greasers often have detergents etc which will leave traces of stuff.