In reply to John Welsh :
Thanks! Message received.
Funny story about the local Parts Authority. They just bought that store about a year ago. Before that it was Auto Value, and before that it was Parts Plus. I started there as a driver in 08 and only left for Toyota in 2016. They don't have nearly the same inventory as the local Napa, but their prices are usually better. The pile of parts in my trunk is from PA. I get commercial discounts at both and all the other parts stores in this little town. I was unaware of the RA tie-in though. They've always treated me fairly and I don't like being the guy to always price match everything, but the manager was the last guy there I used to work with and he just retired today so maybe I go a little harder next time I visit.
Edit because new page needs pics.
ready for new shoes:
I detailed my experience with RA/PA prices for brakes on this page of The Gov't Mule thread
"I'm the one who said just grab em in the biscuits"
-Humpty
In reply to John Welsh :
Glad to see you're taking part in the giggles! I was starting to get worried this thread would turn all sensible.
I mean, at the end of the day, we all like what we like and drive what makes us happy. And there's nothing wrong cruising around with a silver biscuit.
In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :
How crappy did you go on new tires? Will you be staying with the steel wheels and caps? Are there any cheap factory alloys in your local JYs?
I'd avoid the sticker bomb fender. The stickers won't weather well and you'll quickly be left with a mess. But,if you can't resist, there is sticker bomb vinyl wrap out there which if nothing else will wear better. But, the leading edge dent might make it hard for the wrap to get a good forward seal.
In reply to John Welsh :
Tires are new Ironman units in 195/65r15. Local yards had nothing for this wheel pattern (4x114.3) I gave it a week hoping something would come in, but no dice. I'll keep an eye out for 15" alloys, but it's not a high priority. I'm betting that if a local yard gets any, attached will be a fender I could replace mine with. We'll see. I hear you on the stickers. The sun is brutal.
Starting to think this sunroof is aftermarket. Maybe that makes it easier to cobble into functionality? Homework!
barefootcyborg5000 said:
Starting to think this sunroof is aftermarket. Maybe that makes it easier to cobble into functionality? Homework!
nothing wrong with airing out the biscuit.
And I suspect a large portion of my brake noise is a stuck left caliper. When removing the wheels yesterday, my guy noted the lug nuts were "hot as a pistol". Being of the mind that brakes should be done properly, I ordered both calipers and flex hoses for tomorrow. If I get adventurous I may grab the front struts too... but it's so hot outside.
In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :
Can't bake a biscuit on a cold plate.
New front brakes. Calipers, discs, and pads. The flex hoses looked really good and the flare fittings on the hard lines looked like they'd fight so I didn't put the new ones on. And one of the reman calipers came with a pre-stripped mounting hole, so I reused the old bracket. It's less pretty, but also it isn't broken. Finished just in time, since the shade is gone and the heat is setting in. Off to turn in my cores and grab lunch.
The first tank returned 23.7 mpg of town driving with a lot of idling. That's nearly a 50% increase over the mercury with the air on. I'll take it.
Also, I can report that the CD player magically fixed itself. Good biscuit.
Wife just drove it for the first time. We have spousal approval.
We've now had our annual rainstorm, and I can confirm that when you have a hole in the roof, it's gonna leak.
Can't have a leaky roof. Now to determine if I fix it by fixing it or if I fix it by silicone sealant
So I call my buddies over at the Honda place and ask for prices on a switch, motor, cable/regulator assembly. It doesn't have one. Aftermarket roof. Installed at some point in the last 23 years by somebody using some parts. I'm not confident in my ability to find parts for such an animal. I don't want to take it out and patch the hole or try to patch the headliner, though I do have ideas about a custom headliner...
So it looks like I fix it. Now to decide if I just glue is shut, remove it and replace it with a piece of polycarbonate and build a headliner... though it seems like too much work just to shave 25 lbs.
Sweet rig, perfect DD/commuters.
Post a bunch of pics of the sunroof and switches etc.
Does this have the trapped front rotors or did they stop by 99?
Good thoughts. If anyone can identify this, it's the hive.
And kitty's first ride in biscuit:
She survived. I suppose we can say it's a decent dog biscuit.
That is a Webasto and they are (were?) the most common of aftermarket sunroofs.
In reply to TurnerX19 :
Yep. Webasto also makes OE sunroofs (rooves?), so I'm betting you can get replacement parts for it.
Awesome. Thanks! I'll see if I can pull covers and get any model or part numbers and do some digging/diag. Maybe it just needs a switch or fuse... I've been lucky before.
I haven't looked into the sunroof yet. There is a red wire with a spade terminal hanging down by the fuse block, so maybe that has something to do with it?
The AC control sometimes doesn't want to play ball. When the buttons are illuminated, everything works perfectly, but sometimes the lights go out and the compressor stops leading me to think the unit is losing power somehow. The fan keeps blowing though so that's odd. Then a minute or so later it all comes back on like there's no problem. I'll have to dig into that.
The clunk in the front end seems to be getting worse. I have not put it in the air yet to determine exactly why. I *think* it's the RH strut mount, but I have a worry that maybe it's the ball joint. Note to self- don't go out of town until that's fixed.
And lastly, the DMV initially told me 6-8 weeks for my plates to arrive and gave me a two month temp tag. That expired on Friday. A phone call got me an extension, as apparently the new tooling took longer to arrive than expected and my plates are still being made. They're currently saying 12-16 weeks for new orders. So there's that.
Still loving the car. It's just so unassumingly good. And I quite like the stock exhaust note when the throttle is loaded. It's quietly throaty, and actually moves around pretty well for a stock 90s 4-pot.
There are two timing belts, one for the cam and one for the balance shaft. There is a seal for the front balance shaft, replace it yesterday. Get the seal that comes with the retainer bracket.
If it is this old it may have been done already. F engines in this era had a near 100% chance of blowing the seal out, which allowed engine oil to pump out very rapidly under pressure.
It has been a long time since I have seen one, I think the ones that did not die of rust died of losing four quarts of oil in two minutes.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Timing job is on the docket, all seals included. It's all been sitting in the trunk for some time now, just trying to align my schedule with one of my mechanics at this point.
In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :
I ain't kidding about the seal retainer bracket. They blow out and kill the engine.
It would suck if this happened to you, and you found yourself with an awesome car that needed an engine. Because GRM, it would be a tossup between a rare DOHC F engine, or an H engine from a Prelude, or a K24 swap, and it would sit under a tarp for seven years, all because of a $10 seal retainer. 
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
$10?? Outrageous.
I get employee pricing.
