97 GS-R Rebuild

[steveo135]

So I bought my 97 GS-R about 6 months ago and realize my car needs some fixing. It Blows smoke during cold starts and also when when i get on it over 4k rpms.. It goes through about a qt. of oil every 2 weeks.. my guess is some combination of bad valve seals and bad piston rings.. I believe the car was beaten on by previous owners because now at 107k miles the engine mounts are pretty beat (shifter moves and engine seems to slam if i dont shift perfectly) and the clutch seems to grab all at once pretty high up on the clutch pedal.. It has also gotten pretty valvey so i want to do an adjustment.. My idea is to take about 2 weeks off from work once I'm done this semister in college and pull the engine.. I want to replace.. Piston Rings Valve Seals Timing Belt (spring and tensioner) Water Pump Main and Rod Bearings Engine Mounts Clutch Fluids Brakes Head Gasket Valve Adjustment Cam Seals I've never pulled an engine myself and cracked it open but I do have experience with cars, the Helms manual and am getting some necessary tools together.. I want some opinions.. anything else i should replace to ensure a reliable DD for years to come.. Should 2 weeks be enough for a novice? and am I getting myself in over my head? or should i just bring it to a shop to rape me in labor for the rings and seals? If and when i do decide to do the work I'll keep you updated in this thread.. Now the Car.. And the chunck of metal to be worked on.. Thanks in advance for any tips Steve, Modified by steveo135 at 9:12 PM 5/8/2008

This ad is not displayed to registered or logged-in members. Register your free account today and become a member on Honda-Tech!

[blkb18]

Dont forget these: oil control orface and oring (sits in block where the head meets).
Also there are three other oil control orings in the head, two are under the end cam cap and one is under the center cam cap.
A good website to view parts diagrams is AcuraOEMparts.com. Their prices are pretty good too if you are going to go with factory stuff. Good luck.

[steveo135]

OEM

thanks for the site, will look into it.. I was looking through sonsacuraparts.com to get an idea of prices

Everything besides Engine Mounts and clutch are going to be oem...

Will also look into those orings and oil control orface

[HmgLauj69]

2 weeks, you better pr-order everything before hand. might as well change the main and rod bearing while your at it


few tips

-stick with OEM Honda
-put nuts and bolts in bags and label everything
-read and re-read the helms step before attempting
-never impact any internal nut or bolts on/off, e.g main/rod bolts
-a crank pulley holder will save a lot of headaches when torquing flywheel and crank pulley, it's not a good idea to impact the crank pulley bolt in; one of reason they get stuck
-torque everything twice

Modified by HmgLauj69 at 2:40 PM 3/18/2008


Modified by HmgLauj69 at 2:41 PM 3/18/2008

[all-mtr-teg]

Originally Posted by HmgLauj69

2 weeks, you better pr-order everything before hand. might as well change the main and rod bearing while your at it


few tips

stick with OEM Honda
put nuts and bolts in bags and label everything
read and re-read the helms step before attempting
never impact anything on/off
a crank pulley holder will save a lot of headaches
torque everything twice

I beg to differ, an impact gun works great for removing the crank pulley bolt, spindle nuts, engine mount bolts, and a impact wrench works great for all the accesory pumps and other bolts.

[HmgLauj69]

i was referring to internals, i should probably make it clearer

[all-mtr-teg]

I still use my impact wrench at lowest setting to remove cam cap bolts, just make sure its done in correct sequence.

[steveo135]

Originally Posted by HmgLauj69

2 weeks, you better pr-order everything before hand. might as well change the main and rod bearing while your at it


few tips

-stick with OEM Honda
-put nuts and bolts in bags and label everything
-read and re-read the helms step before attempting
-never impact any internal nut or bolts on/off, e.g main/rod bolts
-a crank pulley holder will save a lot of headaches when torquing flywheel and crank pulley, it's not a good idea to impact the crank pulley bolt in; one of reason they get stuck
-torque everything twice

Modified by HmgLauj69 at 2:40 PM 3/18/2008


Modified by HmgLauj69 at 2:41 PM 3/18/2008

Thanks
Was thinking of doing bearings but wasnt sure... Will do now

and I am going to start ordering parts soon so i have everything in hand when the time comes..

About the torque and re-torque everything.. what is the best way to do this?
I understand I must lubricate bolts for them to be torqued properly but to re-torque them should I back them off a small amount and torque them again or just go over everything again and make sure its torqued right without backing it off a small amount?

[HmgLauj69]

Originally Posted by all-mtr-teg

I still use my impact wrench at lowest setting to remove cam cap bolts, just make sure its done in correct sequence.

i've seen strip tread doing it that way


steveo
it's basically to double check if everything is torqued

[steveo135]

So I've been researching main and rod bearings and I hit a problem... what should I do about sizes? to get the code for me to buy the sizes i have, i have to get the code off the block and crankshaft... but half the code is on each half..

So what I'm asking is.. Is there any way for me to order bearings ahead of time?
-or-
Do i just have to check the clearances and order accordingly?

thanks

[adam081904]

I took pics of EVERYTHING when i did my motor. So when i put it back in, i just looked at the pics. Like the other person said tag and bag everything. I lost alot of small stuff that crap adds up FAST. And the only place to buy all the hoes is from a dealer. If u are going to replace all of them like i did. I called sonsacura. But alot of people had alot of luck with those ebay rebuild kits. I took mine to a machine shop it cost about 2g for everything. From top to bottom. Just to give u an idea. Last thing from me is, If you do rebuild it youself. Have a machine shop rehone your block. Might as well let them clean it to. Good luck

[steveo135]

THanks

any ideas on bearings?

[jomama]

^ what's your question on bearings? i think 2 weeks doing it yourself is do-able. the thing to keep in mind is that whether or not you have all the tools. i just did a rebuild on my c1 and i had an experienced friend help me and he whipped out all these tools i've never even used. it was good to have someone guide me through the process. PM me if you have any questions.

... oh, definitely label everything you can, take pictures of the engine before... once you're under the car and time has passed by, you'll for sure forget where things go where... especially when you have to hook the engine back up... boy that was a bi*ch for me.

[steveo135]

Well its been a while since I posted in this thread but I've finally got an update..

I got some parts in today...



Oil pickup gasket
Oil pan gasket
Crush washers for Oil drain plug

This is all so I can drop the oil pan and check the codes to figure out which bearings I have/need.. and then i can order all the parts I need

When I drop the pan I'll update you guys with some more pictures

[meng22]

only way to learn is to do it yourself

[jdmland]

Originally Posted by meng22

only way to learn is to do it yourself

X2

[nicokpe]

yes i agree, do itselft so we will have more experience

[jomama]

Originally Posted by steveo135

Oil pickup gasket
Oil pan gasket
Crush washers for Oil drain plug

This is all so I can drop the oil pan and check the codes to figure out which bearings I have/need.. and then i can order all the parts I need

When I drop the pan I'll update you guys with some more pictures

glad to see your slowly progressing. you plan on doing a lot of oil changes, huh? as for the oil pan gasket, don't worry about using a new one if you're just checking for the codes on the crank and rods. just use your old one. if you use your new one, that's fine and all, but when you torque down the oil pan nuts and bolts, it'll "squish" the new oil pan gasket... and then you'll have use another new one when you do the rebuild.

[steveo135]

Originally Posted by jomama

glad to see your slowly progressing. you plan on doing a lot of oil changes, huh? as for the oil pan gasket, don't worry about using a new one if you're just checking for the codes on the crank and rods. just use your old one. if you use your new one, that's fine and all, but when you torque down the oil pan nuts and bolts, it'll "squish" the new oil pan gasket... and then you'll have use another new one when you do the rebuild.

thanks for the advice.. sounds like a good idea to use the old one untill i do the whole rebuild.. it'll be fine too since its only going to be a week or two from the time i drop the pan to to doing the rebuild...

I'm actually leaving right now to go to acura to pick up honda bond (liquid gasket) since i tried ordering it and got and e-mail saying this...

Originally Posted by San Leandro Honda

Just wanted to let you know that your order has been cancelled due to the fact that we do not ship this product because it is a hazardous material. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

[jomama]

hmmm... that's interesting as i got honda bond from user "len" from sons acura in GA... if you're ordering a whole bunch of parts, i'd recommend them as they price match just about anything and already give a HT discount

[steveo135]

really? that is strange... well i just got back from honda and i got this I'm a little confused because the part number in the service manual is 08718-0001 and the part I got is 08718-0004...



Is this the right stuff? crap cost $21.20

[jomama]

yeah that's the right stuff. yeah, it costs a grip.

[all-mtr-teg]

Just get permetex grey from autozone or kragen, same stuff for 1/3 the price.

[steveo135]

Well had some fun, got a little dirty, and got all my codes together for my bearings... Cars all put back together and running good until the next time i take it apart to rebuild which will be in a few weeks..

only minor porblems which im not too worried about because its all getting rebuilt in a few weeks is that when the cars running it smells a little like burning rubber.. dont know what thats from and there was a nut and bolt missing on the oil pan.. surprised i wasnt leaking oil.. i'll just pick them up when i order all my stuff

but heres a look at the fun I had today...

the dropped pan and my dented a$$ headers







and the missing bolt and nut...

[jomama]

looks good. it's not uncommon that people have missing nuts and bolts. i had a few missing on my R don't worry. PM if you've got other questions and issues. GL... run through all the steps before you do anything, continue taking pictures before you take things apart so you've got reference pictures, and make sure you've got all your parts before you start really tearing it up.... ie: polyurethan bushing inserts for the motor mounts!