[NoyBubble]

So this is going to be my on-going build thread for my newly acquired 1998 Civic Si. It's going to be a long term build more than likely but better than nothing I am still learning, so feel free to chime in if you have any suggestions.

"Uncle Si"
1998 Honda Civic Si (USDM)
369,000kms+ on Body
Unknown KMs on JDM D15B Swapped Engine

First thing I did was take the rear end apart and inspect it since it had been rear ended. Nothing structural looked damaged, just the bumper cover and the trunk lid was bent. I'll be replacing the trunk lid later on but the bumper cover was falling off and would get me unwanted attention so I found one local for $30.

Aside from that I have only fixed the windshield wiper motor and drivers window regulator. Nice and easy, which is a nice change compared to my old car

So here are some immediate plans:
Energy Suspension Shifter Bushings (Ordered)
Megan Short Throw Shifter (Ordered)
OE Headlight Sockets (It has HID's and I hate them in a non-projector headlight, so I am swapping back to factory)
Look into the fog lights (They're wired up as far as I know but not working)
Look into random stalling/idle issues (Possible Ignition issue or Main Relay)
New rubber
Oil Change

I will be looking at doing the timing belt, waterpump, etc. The previous owner has no idea and he had it almost a year so.. peace of mind but first thing is getting it certified and on the road.

I guess that is it for now, I'll post as things come in and I install them..
Thanks for looking.

 

[NoyBubble]

Update:

Parts:
- Megan Short Throw & Poly Shifter Bushings have arrived. Will be installing those tomorrow. Can't wait to kill the incredible amounts of slop.

- Picking up a set of 16" Drag DR20's from a friend. Pretty sure they are reps of the Work Equip wheel but I get what I can afford. It is what it is.

Other updates:
I will be taking out the main relay and checking the solder points on it, see if it's something I want to risk fixing or if I should just buy a new one. They aren't that expensive so I may just go that route.

Not much else is happening right now. Just poking around the car, learning and figuring things out.

 

[BeerDrinkin]

Did you figure out the electrical stuff going on with it?

 

[NoyBubble]

Did you figure out the electrical stuff going on with it?

Not yet. I just downloaded a diagram to test the main relay this afternoon, although I have a feeling it's not going to be that. I checked the solders on the circuit board and I can't see any cracking, it looks pretty good. I want to lean toward the ignition coil being bad but who knows at this point.

 

[NoyBubble]

Update:

Poly bushings have been installed but not the short throw, the "bitch pin" just wouldn't come out. I picked up a yonaka cat-back, so maybe when I do get around to putting that on, with the exhaust out of the way, perhaps I will try and install the short throw keeping the linkage on the car but I'll have more room to work.

I also picked up a different trunk from a friend since my old one was a little mangled.

Also acquired some 16x7 Drag DR20 wheels from a friend. The car is finally off stands and back on the ground

Next steps are the electrical portions. The car came with HID's but I wanted to remove them and put oem sockets back in, although now I am thinking of just doing a DIY Projector retro fit and buying new HID ballasts and bulbs.. I am undecided at this time.

Need to test the main relay still, and source out the intermittent dying while driving and it doesn't want to idle once it warms up.

Some pictures...

Bought a whale D.

Wheel fitment isn't too bad, that wheel gap will annoy me eventually.

I do have a question though..
The boot/bellow on the driver side power steering rack is split and leaking grease. I have no idea how long it has been open for. When i drove the car home, it didn't feel like their was an issue with the rack. What would my best option be? Replace just the bellow and hope nothing has been damaged OR replace the whole rack?

 

[slo_eg8]

the a/c compressor bolts are the perfect size for getting the bitch pin

 

[NoyBubble]

I could not get that pin out, no matter what. I tried using an AC compressor bolt, it wouldn't budge so I am assuming it's seized in there. I left it alone and I am just going to try again down the road to put the shifter in, maybe I can borrow a friends hoist at some point.

Fixed the intermittent stalling issues, it was the ignition switch. Once installed, it's been running perfectly fine. Happy it was a cheap and easy fix. I didn't feel like forking out $150+ on a dizzy.

The fuel gauge doesn't work - I downloaded the PDF Helms manual so I'll be doing the diagnostics on that soon.

Finally put new rotors and pads on the front, They were warped pretty bad. It's nice to be able to stop properly and not hear that.. shimming sound constantly.

I have developed a driver side lean, so I am assuming the shocks are done and it's just sag. Some people locally have told me to buy Raceland's but I can't accept they are quality for how cheap they are.

What brand of coilovers would you recommend that offer fairly stiff spring rates or at least have options?

 

[NoyBubble]

Recent Stuff for the Civic..

So I recently bought the 1320 UEL Header for the car, my friend looked it over to make sure the welds are good and cleaned up/touched up any spots that were questionable. Also purchased a high flow cat and a Yonaka cat back to go with it. 2.25" so hopefully that doesn't hurt the stock power, or lack of for that matter too much. Just need gaskets and o2 sensors and that'll be fun to install no doubt. I'll be attempting the bitch pin again when I do this since the exhaust will be out of the way and easier.

Aside from that the car is running pretty good. I have developed a slight misfire at idle, intermittent though, it's not that bad and doesn't effect actual driving performance so I am not that concerned about it, but I will be looking into it anyways at some point.. Been told it could be a dirty sensor or TB, but I have checked the TB when I put on the intake and it was very clean. No engine light.

Aside from that, no complaints. Car is a lot of fun to drive and so cheap on gas.

 

[Bign89]

i cant get my bitch pin out either had to drop engine and trans cause of other issues but set there for an hour trying different things to get it out nut budging so thinking of just drilling it out lol seems like build is going nicely! Ill start my build thread here soon. Have a ek hatch with engine issues atm. Will keep following this!!

 

[Sailor]

What brand of coilovers would you recommend that offer fairly stiff spring rates or at least have options?

I put BCs on the Integra and have been really pleased with them.
They've done 27,000 miles and still work well and adjust easily.

 

[drtalon123]

I happened to notice your sig at the bottom of your post, it says Amanda... Not sure if that is your name as this is a long shot but you didn't happen to grow up in the Emery area of North York GTA did you? If not, hello anyways haha!

As for the bitch pin, check this out:

Xenocron Tuningyno Designs Tyrannosaur Tightener (B&D-Series)

I bought one of these because I'm using two different engine/transmission combos in my EG, and I HATE that pin when laying on the ground... on a lift you can usually get enough hammer action on it to get it to move, but with this item you can literally unbolt it and pull out a pin and the linkage comes off the transmission. I still can't believe I spent 120 dollars on this because it is honestly so simple, probably cost $15 to make! But like the rest of the world, when there is a problem and only one place has the solution, milk the f*** out of it lol.

 

[EFB055]

I have developed a slight misfire at idle, intermittent though, it's not that bad and doesn't effect actual driving performance so I am not that concerned about it,

If you havent already it'd be worth cleaning the corrosion off the points in the dizzy. Doesnt cost anything and can cause the intermittent miss you're talking about.

 

[drtalon123]

Also about the rack and pinion boot, here is a part number you can use at NAPA or a PartsSource for them to cross reference with (part is built/distributed by MOOG chassis parts, but the part number is actually a NAPA internally used one for their product code NCP, Napa Chassis Parts. NAPA re-brands EVERYTHING if parts suppliers allow them to).

P/N given to a NAPA for lookup:

Left Side Boot: NCP 2691613
Right Side Boot: NCP 2691583


P/N given to a PartsSource for cross-reference:

Left Side Boot: 2691583
Right Side Boot: 2691613

 

[NoyBubble]

I happened to notice your sig at the bottom of your post, it says Amanda... Not sure if that is your name as this is a long shot but you didn't happen to grow up in the Emery area of North York GTA did you? If not, hello anyways haha!

I bought one of these because I'm using two different engine/transmission combos in my EG, and I HATE that pin when laying on the ground... on a lift you can usually get enough hammer action on it to get it to move, but with this item you can literally unbolt it and pull out a pin and the linkage comes off the transmission. I still can't believe I spent 120 dollars on this because it is honestly so simple, probably cost $15 to make! But like the rest of the world, when there is a problem and only one place has the solution, milk the f*** out of it lol.

Nope, different Amanda. I grew up in York Region but Hello!

I read the info on that link you sent and it's a pretty neat design. Had no idea anything like that existed but then again, I have been out of the Honda game for quite a while so I have no idea what is out there anymore. Definitely bookmarked and perhaps I'll go back to that in the near future

 

[NoyBubble]

Also about the rack and pinion boot, here is a part number you can use at NAPA or a PartsSource for them to cross reference with (part is built/distributed by MOOG chassis parts, but the part number is actually a NAPA internally used one for their product code NCP, Napa Chassis Parts. NAPA re-brands EVERYTHING if parts suppliers allow them to).

P/N given to a NAPA for lookup:

Left Side Boot: NCP 2691613
Right Side Boot: NCP 2691583


P/N given to a PartsSource for cross-reference:

Left Side Boot: 2691583
Right Side Boot: 2691613

Excellent. Thank you for this information!

 

[NoyBubble]

Ahh yess.. That is something I have not done and will look into. Thanks.

 

[Pacificjoseph]

Xenocron probably got rich off this lil beauty.price is def on the greedy side , that being said itl be on my next build .did a search and no one else has come up with anything else.after the swearing and irritation iv spent on that bitch pin im surprised there arent 5 different companies making a fix

 

[drtalon123]

You are right. I'm not exactly sure who/what company makes this (I've never heard of Dyno Designs before), but if it was Xenocron they would have their name all up on it if they did lol. When you get it in hand, you'll say exactly what I said "I paid $120 for this s***??!!" Sure the bushings are made from very high quality plastic (Delrin), but the piece of CNC'd aluminum is a very straight forward design and easily replicated. You could literally build one yourself with a block of aluminum billet, some drill bits and a chop saw. No, I will not give out the measurements/dimensions lol. I like supporting creative individuals that make random one-off solutions to things. They took it one step further though and either rock tumbled or media blasted the part to smooth/polish it up.

As you said I'm really surprised that someone hasn't knocked this off yet. Most cheap Chinese companies will duplicate anything this simple if they can make it out of aluminum and anodize it 999,999 different colors and have the ebay title say "race, jdm, turbo, bov, rb26, red, neo chrome" all in that order lol.

BUT, like you also found, this is the only thing I have found that is like this and it works really damn good. It won't be worth it to folks who don't remove their engines/transmissions frequently, but a track car requires more frequent maintenance and I wanted the flexibility to switch between engines/transmissions in my car and not have to absolutely HATE undoing one point of connection.

This guy did an install showing how well this part works, it really is no joke as to how well and simple this thing really is

 

[civicdxude]

wow ive never seen that Tyrannosaur Tightener before it looks awesome.

though i dont have to much trouble with the bitch pin that often. air hammer helps a lot.

https://www.harborfreight.com/medium-barrel-air-impact-hammer-61244.html

then get the flat hammer for it. actually they make attachments specific to drift pin would make it even easier.

 

[NoyBubble]

Not much to say on this update.. Been playing red dead redemption II as much as possible

Updates:
- Buying some TLC parts from Teknotik in the next week or two (Timing belt, etc.) since the previous owner has no idea when it was done, so I want to get on that asap. Especially since I have a new noise which sounds like a bearing is definitely on it's way out the door.

- When I got my winter tires put on/installed, The guys at the shop said my passenger front wheel bearing is absolutely clapped. So, I bought a bearing and will be having fun with that soon. I was told it's a royal pain in the ass, so I may just take it to a shop and get them to remove and press in the new bearing, the rest I can do myself.

- Last week I was getting ready to drive home from work and the transmission would not go in gear, so I checked my clutch fluid and it was completely empty but I haven't seen any puddles, no leaks around any hoses, slave or clutch master look perfectly fine, no sweating, nothing.. so I am going to keep my eye on it.

- Oxygen sensors are ordered, all I need is to get the flanges welded on the cat and I can install my header and cat back. Looking forward to that

Took some fall photos... nothing exciting.

That's it for now.