Advanced course in the 1st Gen CR-V

Quick Update!

1. So sorry for those following, I took a impromptu trip to Hawaii and blew the remains of my budget. No regrets. Work has progressed before and since the trip, with minimal documentation. I will followup with a those is a subsequent post. But snow again monday (really.) hastens the build once again, as all the other cars have donned their summer shoes for the season. Whee Colorado!! Lol wtf. 

2. I ended up wasting some money buying (even more!) bushings I will likely not use. Namely, all 4 upper control arms, which came with new thick rubber bushings pre-installed I can't bring myself/be arsed to press out. See if this attitude changes tomorrow when I purchase a long-overdue hydraulic press from the list of Craig. Buying a press or budget taking it to a shop for similar cost, is advised. 

3. I seem to be wrong about a few previous assumptions on some styles of urethane bushing. I painted them with an overly broad brush previously. There are clear differences in brands. I still maintain that they are still akin to fiberglass body panels, where most only fit in the theoretical sense before being modified somewhat. Note to the uninitiated/bushing mfgs/curios bystanders; the urethane should never be wider than the sleeve it rides on. Nobody seems to get this basic thing correct reliably. I also have realized adding zerks is mostly useless (unless you modify the bushing) as only the inner sleeve should be rotating, and zerks almost always feed the outside surface only. Adding passages is possible for some bushings, but not others. I will be sticking to the supplied Prothane silicone grease, and SuperLube Silicone/Ptfe lube for all bushings. Also none of my bushings seem to fit the front swaybar. 

Cool project. I've got one of these (4wd 5spd 1g) sitting in my yard after customer timing belt broke. He wants me a put a motor in it and I'm sort of glad because it's easier to take his money than give in to my temptation to try to buy it off him. I drove it before it broke and for all the E36 M3 talking people do on the honda dual pump system, it definitely works on the street for 5spd AWD 'launching'. 

It has been a while without updates, and in the meantime I bought a second AWD 5-speed crv, for parts, but again, it's too nice to part and I am fixing it too.

Things done/learned:

1. Clutch hose failed, Russell (aka edelbrock) makes a braided steel one for the Integra that fits for $35.

2. They also make brake lines, but I have not checked which kit will fit the crv as they do not list that application. The drums in the back may complicate things.

3. There is now a mod to put a Prelude? rear disk and caliper on the RD1, I am still getting the details, but it seems to only require a custom bracket and oem hardware. I will post more as I learn more.

4. MANY awd/4wd upgrades are now popular thanks to the import drag racers using honda awd systems now. Most 'pin' or bypass the dual pump system and use a viscous coupler from the earlier rt4wd wagovan, or now that they are rare, land rover ones. You can get upgraded gearsets, billet cases, billet transfer stubs, etc. now.

5. I need to do a detailed recap of bushings but I have forgotten half as much as I learned.

6. CRV oil pans are not internally baffled like the other b-series engines. Apparently the integra pan is a bolt-on upgrade, but I will confirm in a couple weeks when I replace mine. In theory all non-girdle oil pans are the same, but in practice they have variations. I might go ahead and even do an upgraded weld-in baffle while i am at it.

7. I am burning a bit of oil on decel, likely the valve guides and seals. Debating doing seals now as a stopgap, or just waiting until I do the vtec head swap and press in new supertech valve guides I have layin around.

8. I bought a super-nice 1320 header, hi-flo cat, and full 2.5" catback. Will be waiting until I solve my oil burning issue then install. Worried I'll foul the new cat.

9. New dash and floor mats. Dash mat is decent but will have to come off in winter as it obstructs the defroster a bit. Floor mats for this car are not common, and most are cut for the automatic that does not have the center console for the shifter. Bought 2 sets and had to trim one so much I wish I had just started with a sheet of rubber bedliner. The other was a fabric set that fit perfect, but is NLA. Good luck for those looking. Gonna start grabbing nicer 5-speed ones at parts yards when I see em.

10. Suspension all got installed. I did leave the rubber bushings un the upper arms, and trailing arm is rubber, but rest are poly.

11. Cheapo "megan" EG subframe brace did not fit, but I feel it may be a crappy angle the mounting tabs are welded at. Will try fitting it up again when I have more patience.

12. Replaced rear cv axles, keeping old ones to make 'stubs' for 2wd use during summer. You remove the axle, and leave the spindle, use it to keep the wheel on when disconnecting the rear diff. Prevents dual-pump wear you get from just taking out the driveshaft/propshaft.

13. 5 New 15" snow steelies, painted black and mounted some nice new winter tires. Shined up some base model crv chrome H center caps for extra bling and protection for axle nuts. Fifth one is the externally mounted spare.

14. Installed a 3" shifter extension so I can shift with the armrest down. Feels a bit too long now, and any slop becomes very noticable. There is a kit with new detent balls and springs I plan to order soon to help this, and I also need to research shifter bushings, as nobody seems to make any specific to the application, however I suspect the cable k-shifter ones may fit. (the CRV is the ONLY honda b-series trans with cable shift, the rest have a mechanical linkage to the transmission.)

15. Wired up a nice older head unit, eclipse amps, new door speakers and a small subwoofer for nice cruisin tunes. Nothing crazy, but gets kinda loud without instantly distorting.

16. Dashcam installed, wired to lighter for now. Plans to add an auto-dimming compass mirror, will figure out a power source then, maybe tie into dome light?

17. Complaints of body roll from even the non-spirited drivers in the household. Bilstiens and bigger sway bars are on the longer-term list.

18. Oh yeah, I have a 2nd CRV now, it needs everything too, but is firmly in beater status. Should run fine once I have time to bleed the clutch, but issues abound from the sketchy driver door wiring, ny rust, and general neglect. It supposedly has a newer JDM engine, but it looks like a domestic block to me.

Forgetting a bunch, but wanted to debrief while I remembered to write this stuff down.