I wasn't happy with the brakes.
You'll recall that I had taken the original front rotors...
...and had them turned for $15 each.
The guy at the shop said that they had been really warped and, since they weren't all that thick to begin with, he was afraid to take much off. Needless to say, they didn't feel all that great when I reinstalled them.
Surprisingly, I found new Bendix rotors on clearance for $7.50 each! Too bad I didn't find them before I tried to save the old ones at twice the price.
The exact reason why i stopped having rotors turned. You can often find a new rotor for less than the cost of having the old ones turned. I know they are often the cheap knock-offs that arent the quality of the factory rotors, but for a DD, it's often a better value proposition going with new than resurfacing the old.
One item that has really been bothering me is the broken heater control. If I do end up ice racing this car, the heat and defrost are going to have to work properly.
I don't have any photos of the process, but it was immediately obvious that this was a part that did not wish to be removed.
I'm not exactly sure how it was broken, but I have a few theories. It may have been damaged during the installation of the aftermarket stereo, but there is a more likely scenario. I suspect that one of the heater control doors may have gotten stuck or jammed and the control was broken in an attempt to force the flap into position. Either way, it's a pretty flimsy piece of plastic. It shouldn't be subject to much force, but it needs to be solid to work properly.
I tried Loctite Super Glue, which would have been nice as it sets up so quickly, but it is also quick to let you know when you're dealing with a type of plastic that it won't adhere to. Unfortunately, that was the case this time.
Instead, I mixed up a little two part epoxy. It didn't flow very well and it looks a little sloppy, but it should be strong. I'm letting it cure overnight and then I'll attempt to get it back in place without breaking it again. I don't expect it to be easy.
06HHR wrote: The exact reason why i stopped having rotors turned. You can often find a new rotor for less than the cost of having the old ones turned. I know they are often the cheap knock-offs that arent the quality of the factory rotors, but for a DD, it's often a better value proposition going with new than resurfacing the old.
I can get mine turned for $9 per .... hard to find new for less
Woody wrote: One item that has really been bothering me is the broken heater control. If I do end up ice racing this car, the heat and defrost are going to have to work properly.
I don't have any photos of the process, but it was immediately obvious that this was a part that did not wish to be removed.
I'm not exactly sure how it was broken, but I have a few theories. It may have been damaged during the installation of the aftermarket stereo, but there is a more likely scenario. I suspect that one of the heater control doors may have gotten stuck or jammed and the control was broken in an attempt to force the flap into position. Either way, it's a pretty flimsy piece of plastic. It shouldn't be subject to much force, but it needs to be solid to work properly. I tried Loctite Super Glue, which would have been nice as it sets up so quickly, but it is also quick to let you know when you're dealing with a type of plastic that it won't adhere to. Unfortunately, that was the case this time. Instead, I mixed up a little two part epoxy. It didn't flow very well and it looks a little sloppy, but it should be strong. I'm letting it cure overnight and then I'll attempt to get it back in place without breaking it again. I don't expect it to be easy.
those are a known weak spot on CRX .. and what you did is pretty standard ( some use JP Weld) ... typically replacement would fall under the category of unoptainium/unicorn
I only saw one on eBay and the guy wanted $300 for it. No thanks.
even then you can't be sure it's the correct one ... the guy at the shop that was helping me swap mine out explained that the "new" one was a "digital" vs the "analog" that came out of my car ... not sure exactly what he meant but I ended up with a nice clean look .. but we had to hook up/wire up the new one so it only worked in re-circulation and combo heat/defrost mode and only gave me ~ 2/3 of the originally available heat ... so be careful
So this heater control thing is the only part of this project that has really sucked.
Once the epoxy had cured and everything appeared to be nice and strong, I got out the soldering iron to reattach a light bulb wire that had broken off during the fight to remove the broken assembly. Reattachment was simple and uneventful.
All that remained was to reinstall the assembly into this miserable hole.
It's worth noting that there is very little extra space in here to work and that every inch of metal that you see was apparently honed to razor sharpness at some point in time. The heater controls go into the top part of the opening, above the immovable horizontal bar. The three electrical connections need to be plugged into the back, a small Z-shaped bracket needs to be screwed into the bottom and hung from a hole in the rear of the frame and two Phillips screws need to be fastened from behind to hold the rheostat control to the rest of the assembly. Did I mention the sharp metal?
Maybe it's because I'm impatient or lack tiny Japanese hands, but 90% of the way there, my repaired plastic let out a small snap.
Damn.
I decided to take a breather, wash my hands and rinse the blood out of my torn gloves.
After a bit of reflection, I decided that there was no way that I would be removing this thing again. I loosely fastened all of the screws to hold it into place. I forced the cracked plastic open with a couple of toothpicks, mixed up another batch of epoxy, worked some into the gap, removed the toothpicks and tightened the mounting screws. It was much sloppier than most of my worked, but it seemed like the only viable option.
It's back in the car, epoxy holding strong, and I've replaced all of the trim. I somehow neglected to take a photo of the finished product, but I'll add one tomorrow.
May you never be cursed with the task of removing and replacing one of these evil assemblies.
been there, done that, have some scarring.
they sell a overlay/repair/reinforcement plate on eby for like 6 bicks. yours is intact enough to be saved. all mine have crumbled to somewhhere near the mlecular level. i used an accord swap, that also sucked and failed.
michael
Good to know. I'll look into that. Thanks.
In reply to Woody:
I had that sucky task on my 88 too. There is really no room to work in there and the metal is razor sharp. Worst part of a CRX.
I love your car BTW. I will always have a soft spot for second gen CRX Si's.
The odd thing is, I removed the assembly in my '89 Civic Si once and it wasn't so bad. That one was all levers and cables though.
I used to fix those regularly and resell them on Ebay. I finally stopped when the majority of the cores sent back to me became unusable. What worked best for me was simple plumbing glue used on plastic pipes. I also fabricated braces that reinforced the face and eliminated stress on the repaired area.
BTW, list price for a new one was $396 but they've been discontinued for a while.
I have apparently hit a crack in the ice...
This morning, I was as close as ever to committing the car to a season of ice racing. I ordered a set of GRM number panels, planned to mount the fire extinguisher bracket this afternoon and was moments away from ordering a set of Blizzaks.
Then I discovered that every AMEC race on this year's schedule conflicts with every indoor soccer game on my daughter's Winter schedule. I didn't think that I would ever get to this point, but I'm choosing kids over cars. I am old.
I suspect that Bravenrace will be pleased with the news...
BTW when you encounter a type of plastic that super glue won't adhere to, cut it with some baking soda and it will stick like magic!
The HVAC panel on my '88 was in pretty bad shape. When I took it out to try a repair the thing crumbled into a million pieces. Went looking for a replacement and found out there aren't any, and I figured even if I found one, it would probably disintegrate while trying to reinstall. Here's my inelegant solution:
I told the wife "pull the wires out for heat, push them in for no heat". She rolled her eyes and lives with it. The directional buttons all still work, which is fortunate. I'd be looking for a more permanent solution if the rest of the car was pristine, but since ours is a 230K+ mile rebuilt-title beater, this will probably be as good as it's going to get.
Woody wrote: I have apparently hit a crack in the ice... This morning, I was as close as ever to committing the car to a season of ice racing. I ordered a set of GRM number panels, planned to mount the fire extinguisher bracket this afternoon and was moments away from ordering a set of Blizzaks. Then I discovered that *every* AMEC race on this year's schedule conflicts with *every* indoor soccer game on my daughter's Winter schedule. I didn't think that I would ever get to this point, but I'm choosing kids over cars. I am old. I suspect that Bravenrace will be pleased with the news...
maybe im old as well, but i NEVER regret choosing my kids over the cars. NEVER.
we didnt get married and have kids to ignore our families.
I never implied that I regret having to choose.
Since I will not be racing it, and because it is presently the fourth car (carefully) parked in a three car garage, it will have to move on. Sadly, I have no place to keep the little gem for the long term.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1988-Honda-Civic-CRX-Si-Very-good-condition-No-Modifications-/281048042536?_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&forcev4exp=true
Rotors aren't worth turning on these cars. Once you take the metal away, they warp even faster the next time, and like was said, the new ones are cheap. Check out this product for the trick to fixing the climate control cracks:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/130488947267?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Woody wrote: I suspect that Bravenrace will be pleased with the news...
You make it sound like I am unreasonable!
But yes, I am pleased.
Woody wrote: Since I will not be racing it, and because it is presently the fourth car (carefully) parked in a three car garage, it will have to move on. Sadly, I have no place to keep the little gem for the long term. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1988-Honda-Civic-CRX-Si-Very-good-condition-No-Modifications-/281048042536?_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&forcev4exp=true
Sure you don't want to sell the 911 instead? I mean, it IS a CRX, you know?
bravenrace wrote:Woody wrote: Since I will not be racing it, and because it is presently the fourth car (carefully) parked in a three car garage, it will have to move on. Sadly, I have no place to keep the little gem for the long term. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1988-Honda-Civic-CRX-Si-Very-good-condition-No-Modifications-/281048042536?_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&forcev4exp=trueSure you don't want to sell the 911 instead? I mean, it IS the cleanest CRX most people under the age of 25 have ever seen, you know?
FTFY
Sorry to hear shes gotta go Woody. I am conflicted...both sad and happy that it is for sale so far away from me.
I've shipped cars a lot father than Ohio to happy new owners...
Twelve hours into the auction and the car has already blown right past the reserve.
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