The v6 6 speed sedan Traccord

Today I managed to combine some work errands with a trip to the junkyard to go axle hunting.  I only needed the driver side axle, and those are the same between all automatic and manual 6 speed Accord's and Acura TL's so I had plenty of cars to pick from.  I've heard that the Acura axles are slightly beefier so I went looking for TL's with the axles in decent shape.  

After taking the suspension apart from the first car i found, I discovered that the axle was seized inside the hub.  I had a 3lb mallet with me, but that stupid axle was so stuck that it took around 20 massive swings with both hands (after probably 100 weaker swings with a bolt at the tip of the axle) to break the axle free.  No surprise that when it finally broke free the end of the axle was mushroomed up past where the threads for the axle nut began.  I picked up my tools in disgust and started looking around for another car.  

the 2nd TL I found was much easier, and nothing was seized until I went to pull the axle from the transmission.  It wouldn't budge. After about 10 minutes of pissed off prying and banging,  in a shower of automatic tranny fluid that of course spewed directly onto my chest, the axle broke free.  

I made my way back to work with the prize and installed the axle.  I buttoned everything up, double checked bolts and connections to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything for the maiden voyage, and I finally fired the car up and engaged 1st gear.  The car moved!

Anyway, long story short, the car runs and drives GREAT.  I drove it the 45 miles home from work and it's in my driveway now.   Can't believe I actually pulled this off and everything I bought for the swap actually works.  The clutch is ok but will need to be changed at some point; the pressure plate has definitely seen better days.  And the engine could use a valve adjustment.  Aside from that there are zero issues.  The transmission shifts flawlessly, and that was my biggest concern. 

Driving impressions:  

Holy snap is this thing fast!  My poor tires. High power in a front wheel drive is always a recipe for wheel spin but woah.  I can spin completely through first and second gear from a roll.  Definitely couldn't do that before.  

Then I mashed the gas out of a tight corner.  And the car went where I pointed!  It ripped itself right through the corner actually.  This differential is amazing.  I didn't expect it to make this much of a difference... but it 100% does.  If this car ever sees an autox course I will be thanking my lucky stars for this diff, I know that much.  
 

Anyway, so far this is a huge success, and now I can start selling off all the leftovers to recoupe my money.  I can't wait to keep modding, but my wife's first question when I pulled up was "are your old parts for sale yet??"  Ok honey, I know I promised you I'd break even on this project, but maybe just give me a little minute to enjoy it?

Going to my buddy's for a cigar and a whiskey tonight at any rate.  

Well done. I'm super impressed that no weird problems popped up. 

And LSD's in FWD cars are amazing, as you now know. 

The clutch is ok but will need to be changed at some point; the pressure plate has definitely seen better days.

I once converted a Dodge Dynasty to a 5spd manual and installed this pressure plate exactly as you see here. That's right, EXACTLY. I did not even brush off surface rust. It was an experiment, and it mostly worked. I never had a problem on the street. It wasn't until i was launching it off the rev limiter (5800 rpm in that car, lol) on slicks that I discovered i was clutch-limited to a 2.0 second 60' time. So, a 14.9 car ran 15.2 instead. It was a useful learning experience.  Unless your throwout bearing has worn halfway through the fingers of the pressure plate, it is more than likely completely fine. 

Congrats on the swap!

Super impressed wiht your skills, and that all worked out ok. Bravo. Would ask for a test passenger seat drive, if you were closer!

Today I put the strut tower brace back on, swapped in the junkyard power steering pump, and figured out a gorilla tape fix for the hose that goes from the valve cover to the intake.  I also put the plastic covers back in the wheel well and under the car.  Aside from the lines of JB weld on my intake manifold and the pipe that replaces the intake flex pipe, no one would be able to tell that my car is anything but stock.  Which is, of course, the goal.  
 

I forgot what a difference the strut tower brace makes.  It really buttons down the front of the car.  The junkyard power steering pump works like new, so that's pretty awesome. 
 

Old power steering pumpnew power steering pumpintake hose I think my ECU has had some time to learn the changes to the car because it feels quite noticeably more responsive than it did when I first drove it yesterday.   

I got around to measuring the intake flex pipe that goes from the airbox to the throttle body.  I replaced it when I saw how narrow it is from the inside (also it was torn) but I didn't measure it.  
 

I got in a dumb argument a while back with some guy on an Accord forum who "refused to believe that anything downstream from the throttle body affects power."  So I present proof that this thesis is false.  Does it make a great deal of difference?  Probably not but here's my stock flex pipe.  

Flex pipe has a 3" interior diameter where it bolts to the throttle body.  But look inside, without the big measuring tape in the way:

Look at how narrow it gets in there!  2 7/16", to be precise, although I couldn't measure and take a pic at the same time.  

Here's my knife-edged throttle body:

So with the stock flex pipe, intake air hits a wall within the pipe and must then expand when it hits the throttle body. Along with the flex pipe contributing to a ton of intake turbulence it does not appear to be the most efficient design.  

Just put all the leftovers up for sale on the for sale page.  
 

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/parts-sale/everything-you-need-to-swap-from-an-automatic-to-a-manual-7th-gen-honda-accord-3rd-gen-acura-tl/161290/page1/

I recently got the truck scales at work calibrated, and it turns out that they are accurate to +/- 10lbs.  I pulled a couple random things from the car, including the hood insulation (1 lb) and the driver and passenger side grab hooks (0.5 lbs combined).  Then I weighed the car.  With 1/3 tank of gas it weighs in at 3,240 lbs.  Not bad since the car weighs 3371 lbs stock and I haven't done anything crazy yet.  
 

Still a ways to go; the next weight loss projects are the front and rear crash beams and the battery.  I'm trying to decide if I want to relocate the battery or just buy something cheap and lightweight.  I read a thread recently on Acurazine recently where somebody claimed that front/rear weight bias doesn't really affect handling on front wheel drive cars.  Not sure what to make of this theory.  

If you use a lithium battery the battery itself will weigh less than the cables required to move it. Weight bias is important, but less important than overall weight. 

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

I sort of thought the same thing.  The cables for a battery relocation are pretty darn heavy. I probably won't go lithium, too expensive, but something like you're running should work. 

Mine is lithium, just cheap and packaged to look/fit like a normal battery. If you took the case apart I'm 99% sure it would be Chinese 123 cells. 

I am traveling for work this week, and there's a pretty stocked LQK junkyard with free entry right down the road from my hotel.  I perused their selection for about an hr today.  And, I discovered a few things.  
 

I went looking at suspension setups, out of curiosity to see what vehicles might run something other than macpherson struts. My conclusion:  not much!  Infinity g35's look like they have double A's up front, and that's about all that I found other than various Honda's.  
 

Then I checked out some crash beams.  8th gen Honda civics have aluminum front crash beams that look like they'll fit nicely on my Accord.  Not sure if I'd have to drill mounting holes but it shouldn't be any issue if I need to.  
 

I then stumbled across 2 Miatas with missing bumpers.  And I discovered something rather mindblowing.  Mazda, in their never ending quest to save weight on the Miata, actually outfitted the car with plastic front crash beams.  Yep, just a really thick bar of plastic.  Anyway, I measured, and I'll definitely need to drill some mounting holes and probably use some metal plates to get the beams to mount solidly to my Accord, but I think it's possible.  Going back tomorrow with tools to grab the crash beam.  
 

Looks like I'll be driving the first Accord in existence (in all likelihood anyway) to run a Mazda Miata crash beam.
 

Also, you may ask:  "why would you replace your crash beam with one made out of plastic?? Or, why replace it at all?"   A fair question.  My thought is that this car is always one problem with my truck or one issue with my job away from being a daily driver again.  I'd hate to start running this thing on a daily basis, or even be pleasure cruising, and take a 5mph bump and bend the frame because I deleted the front crash beam.  The Mazda plastic beam should protect the car in the event of a low-speed collision.  Higher speeds and I figure I'll have bigger things to worry about.  

In an effort to keep balance on a Mustang the later fox chassis cars had a plastic front bumper and a really heavy steel rear.  With four absorbers at 10-15 lbs each.

I just went by the junkyard and grabbed the Miata front crash beam.  I'm curious to see what it weighs.  
 

Also, while I was perusing the lot yesterday I found a 2005 Acura RL with the engine intact.  That year RL came with the j35a8, same engine as the 07-08 Acura TL-s, but with even more aggressive camshafts.  It's actually got the most aggressive oem cams of any J series. And, they are a direct drop-in for my j32a3.  However, they can't be found online for less than $200 for the pair, even used.  
 

in a what-the-hell moment, I asked how much the RL camshafts would run me.  The lady replied, "$26."  I was like um excuse me?  Are we talking about the same part?  "Yes sir, just the camshafts." 
 

I'm not going to mess with pulling the cams today since I don't have an impact gun with me and I don't feel like removing the 1000 bolts to get to the cams with just a ratchet.  But if the engine is still intact in 2 weeks when I come back, I'm going to score some badass cams for practically nothing.  I Love junkyards.  

In reply to Number1Gaza :

That makes me wonder how a stock ecu'd RL would run with j32a3 cams in it.

Today I installed the Miata front crash beam.  It took a bit of modifying with a sawzall as it is wider than the stock one.  
 

Old crash beam was 14 lbs.  New one is 5.5  lbs after modification.

Old:

New, after sawzall/circular saw hack job:

installed:

Haven't had a chance to drive it yet, but 8.5 lbs saved off the very front of the car isn't bad.  

I ended up back in North Carolina for work today, a week earlier than I thought, staying at my usual spot next to the pick n pull with the '05 Acura RL.  I came prepared with an impact this time, so I went by after a meeting to snag the cams. 

I had a fun time pulling them.  The impact battery died after removing the intake manifold, and I didn't have a replacement.  Then I had a hell of a time getting the cam sprocket bolts off.  Anyone have tips for this?  What I ended up doing works on a pick n pull throwaway engine but not on an engine that you'd intend to run again.  Here was my solution: 

Yes, that's a ball joint puller, clamping the sprocket tight enough so it wouldn't spin. 
 

Anyway, took a couple hrs total for me to pull the cams, a lot longer than I thought it would, but I finally snagged them!  $53 total.  Not bad. 

What part of north Carolina are you in?

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

I actually live in Columbia SC but I stay in Greenville NC usually a couple nights a week for work.  

In reply to Number1Gaza :

I feel your pain.  Nice job sticking it out, and getting the cams... and that they were still there when you went back!

In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :

Yeah junkyard pulls 4 hrs away from my full shop with tools are always an adventure. Once I got into it I got stubborn lol.  One other fun moment was that I somehow didn't have a short 12mm socket or a 12mm box end wrench with me, only a long 12mm socket.  No cutting tools either.  The EGR unit needs to be removed to take the front cam out, and a long 12mm hits the side of the EGR and goes over the nut at an angle.  So of course, one of the nuts stripped beyond recognition. Oh and I didn't have a mallet with me.  I ended up using a part of a wheel hub i found on the ground and smashing the EGR unit sideways so a socket could go on straight, and then using that same part of the wheel hub to awkwardly hammer an 11mm socket on the 12mm nut.  Of course hammering my finger in the process, so for the rest of the job everything I touched was blood smeared since I had no bandaids with me either.  LOL.  

No build progress lately.  Work has been too busy to do anything.  I have put several hundred more miles on the car though.  

it really needs a clutch.  I'm pumping the clutch pedal constantly because it stiffens up and won't engage until the very top of pedal travel anytime I drive remotely aggressively.  When doing the clutch on this car, the flywheel should also be changed.  

it also badly needs: 

a passenger side axle and half shaft (vibration when accelerating)

compliance bushings (wandering front end at speed)

Rear sway bar end links (they are shot; I can move the sway bar back and forth with my hand, and there's way more understeer than when I first installed the 19mm rear bar)

stiffer, lower springs.  This will add negative camber which it badly needs as well.  

Brake fluid flush and better pads all around.  The Wagner thermoquiets on the car fade like crazy.  could use some ducting too to cool the front rotors.  

New rear rotors

Stiffer transmission mounts.  I'm going to fill the top mount with poly and I'm not sure what I'll do for the lower mounts. I have a few ideas.  Need to fix them though because there's a bunch of wheel hop.

I gotta figure out cheap solutions for all this.  I can't track the car until basically this whole list is done. 

I have been thinking about what I need to prioritize with the car over the last few days.  It led me to decide that a passenger side axle and half shaft, and a clutch/flywheel are the biggest needs.  I need to pull the engine again to do the clutch.  Joy.  Oh well, I knew this was a strong possibility when I dropped in the motor and trans without changing the clutch.  
 

to that end, I sold the Acura RL cams.  I got $150 for them so that's not bad seeing as I only paid $50.  I'll grab another junkyard set at some point.  What id really like to do is, if I'm pulling the motor again, throw on some j35a8 heads.  They have stiffer valve springs which helps prevent valve float if I miss-shift.  Also they flow better than j32a3 heads.

Work has been unrelentingly nuts, so no build progress.  On the bright side, the engineering project I've been working on for the last 5 months got official approval and is going live first week of February.   I designed a water treatment system for a massive (largest in the world) phosphate mine/chemical plant in North Carolina.  Also in charge of staffing it, quoting, buying and installing all the equipment, and writing all the SOPs from scratch as the whole thing is being built at an MSHA facility.  And I'm not an engineer lol.  So that has been pretty cool and challenging and way beyond anything I've ever done before.  Hobbies have taken a back seat though.  I haven't even driven the car in around a month.  Once the project goes live work should slow down a bit.

I have made some  progress getting all my old parts sold, which is the other hang up for making any progress on this car.  I really need to get back to break-even on the engine swap before I can justify additional expenditures to Mrs Gaza.  A clutch and flywheel will be around $450, and then add another 100 for fluids and engine hoist rental.  Planned for sometime this spring.  

Enjoyed reading through this thread. I Bought an '03 6-6 coupe last spring knowing it needed work. Ended up needing an engine and I did the same swap you did to a J32 from an '04 TL. Car runs great, but I'm dealing with lean codes for both banks. Smoke tested for vacuum leaks, none found. Did replace both upstream air-fuel sensors, but still lean. I'll get it eventually.