Maintenance 101

Hey there again readers,

Back again, this time with a write up on the maintenance and servicing that I've done for the R.

After 2 years of owndership, these are some of the things I've had done so far:

- Honda MTF (changed every 10k kms, which I've changed twice so far)
- NGK spark plugs (set of 4 changed every 20k kms)                            
- Front and rear brake pads replaced                                                        
- Disc machined
- Cambelt and tensioner replaced
- Balancer belt replaced
- Cam seals replaced
- Water pump replaced
- Drive belt replaced
- Valve clearance done
- Crank seal replaced
- Coolant topped up
- Clutch slave cylinder replaced
- General engine oil and filter service (4x)

Geez, that was quite a fair bit of work!  Thankfully I put in the extra hours at work when I was free lol. But good part is the car is running even smoother and in the long run, the car will be much more reliable so I'm happy.

Now that I've done some soul searching and finally took the jump to study automotive and live my dream, I've decided to slowly start doing most of the servicing and maintenance on my own.  I shall start updating this post, writing up how to perform servicing, installing parts, cleaning tips, etc. for those curious souls and hope that it may help some people out there.

Cleaning the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) System:
The EGR system is a common component employed in vehicles to reduce gas emissions.  This component achieves this by rerouting nitrogen-oxide gas (byproduct of internal combustion engines that is normally emitted through the exhaust) to the cylinder chamber.  This gas will then displace the combustion matter in the cylinder, slowing combustion.  The obvious benefit to this is that exhaust emissions are reduced but overly slowing combustion can lead problems such as hesitation and misfiring (as engines need adequate combustion to function optimally).  Therefore it is important to keep the circulation route clean and functioning properly.

A common problem of the CL1 (pre-2002) is hesitation and misfiring.  Though there are a multitude of possibilities as to the cause of this problem but a common and easy fix that may help alleviate the symptoms  is to clean the EGR valve and port plates.  Here is a diagram of the valve and it's location in an H22A7 engine when it is in bits:

EGR System Diagram for H22A7 Engines

As seen in the diagram above, what we are concerned with here are three parts, the EGR Port Plate, it's corresponding gasket, and the EGR Valve.  In an H series engine these will be located behind the engine block just sitting on top of the intake manifold.

Next we will need some tools for the job:

Tools Needed

For removing the bolts we will need:
- 1x pliers
- Size 10 and 12 sockets
- Ratchet and extenstions

Lastly for the cleaning bit, for the port plate and gasket ONLY we will need:
- 1x can of degreaser
- 1x brush

Cleaning the Port Plates:
Now first we must remove the strut brace so that we can have better access to the port plate.

Strut brace removal    

Click on the picture for a better look, first, detach the throttle cable from the mounting points along the rocker cover (red circles).  Then, I've used yellow circles to denote the bolts (8 in total) that you need to take off with a size 12 socket.

After removing the strut brace, we will need to remove any plug, hoses and bolts to be able to get to the EGR port plate.

EGR Port Plate up close

First with the blue circles, there are two nuts to be removed (with size 10 socket).  Then disconnect the hoses, mounts and plugs (circled in red).  After this, there should be clear access to remove the 7 bolts, also with size 10 sockets.  After the plate and gasket removal, this is what you might encounter:

Before

Using the degreaser or carb cleaner, spray and hose off.  For the tougher to clear gunk, use the brush along with a little of the spray.    After some cleaning you should end up with this:

All clean!

After the clean, it is pretty much putting everything back together.  Remember to plug all hoses, mounts and plugs back!!!

Cleaning the EGR Valve:
The EGR Valve is pretty straight forward.  Just disconnect the plug on top of the valve and then remove the two nuts (other one is directly opposite of the nut in front) with a size 10 socket that hold it in place:

EGR Valve in the middle

Once removed it will look like the picture below.  Remember to give it a wipe and take off excess carbon deposits.

EGR Valve Port

Now for the cleaning of the actual valve, just use a flat head screw driver to gently scrap off the carbon deposits and it should be clean in no time:

Before

After

After this, just put everything back together and you are done!   Hope this writeup helps some of you out there and catch you guys again soon!

Changing suspension:


Alrighty, it's suspension time!  Now this isn't a hard job, just needs some elbow grease and a whole lot of common sense.

These are the things you need:

Things needed:
- Set of jack stands
- Trolley jack
- Car jack (not really needed if your trolley jack is small enough and if you're not lowering the car.)
- Set of spanners
- Set of sockets
- Ratchet
- Suspension to change!

First loosen the wheel nuts on all four wheels (Don't take nuts off, just loosen only).  Then put the car up on the jack stands using the trolley jack.  Remember don't just jack up anywhere! Only at the sub-frame for the trolley jack and the jack points for the jack stands.

Loosen the nuts

Raise the trolley jack then put jack stands

Up!

After putting the car up on stands, remove the wheels. Choose which part you want to do first, either the front or rear.  On the part you pick, loosen the nuts holding the suspension.  Fronts are mostly found on the engine bay while rears are normally behind the back seat. Cars will vary but with mine, I also had to remove my strut brace (PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT REMOVE THE NUT ON TOP OF THE SUSPENSION STRUT).

5 Nuts in total on each side for the front struts, but don't remove the middle nut!!!

Another thing to note, accessing the nuts holding the rear suspension in place may require removal of seats or rear parcel tray as seen below:

This case only 2 nuts needing to be removed

After removing the nuts, head down to the suspension of the part you chose (Front or rear).  Front and rear, there will be a big bolt holding the suspension in place.

Front suspension bolt

Rear bolt

As you work towards removing the suspension, you should be looking like this:

Should look like this

The process of installing the new suspension is just the reverse of what we've covered so far.  After fitting the new suspension on, remember don't put the bolt back on if you only put on side's suspension on.  Make sure both suspension are on before you put the bolts back.  After a while, it should look like this:

Fronts in!

Rears all installed

All that's needed after installing the new suspension is to put wheels back, remove the jack stands, and put car down!  As I was lowering the car down, I found my trolley jack won't clear once the car is on the ground.  On this case, I used the car jack (normally found in car emergency kits).  Raised the car to remove the jack stands, then lowered the car on the car jack.  Afterwards I removed the trolley jack then slowly lowered the car from the car jack.

There you have it, suspension sorted!  Hope this gives you a little idea on how to install it yourself :) Here are some pictures before and after (Note: the after photo is not the finished product.  I have since replaced the rear springs back to the original Tein springs so it's slightly higher and a whole lot more functional now :-D):

Before

After