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My Half A Million Mile CRX

40K views 124 replies 39 participants last post by  shorty_boy 
#1 ·
Ive been promising a few on here that I would create a thread about my CRX....so here it is....
I need to give a big Thank you to Tain90crx for his help as well as all the DFW Crx guys and this forum, if it wasnt for them I do not think this car would still be on the road.
THANK YOU!

Here is my 1990 CRX HF
She has a SOHC ZC engine with the HF geared Tranny
The Engine has the PM8/HF Intake as well as Exhaust and the ECU also is a PM8
When I bought her she had 297k on her and the guy I bought it from was a fellow Honda guy and he also put about 100K on her before me. The SOHC ZC was in her when he bought her and we estimate that it was swapped out with the stock engine around 80-100k

While I am not the original owner I am the one who has put the most miles on her.
I currently drive anywhere from 5k-8k a month and currently I am getting 42-48mpgs (when I bought her I was getting 50-55mpg...I will talk more about why I think I have lost some of my MPGs)

Since hitting 500K Ive become quite serious about doing some repairs on her. Its really awesome how these cars can play hurt and even when something is "going out" you can most of the time keep driving on it till you can get around to repairing it. BTW the only time I have ever been stranded by this car was when I bought a bad dizzy, I now have a backup that I keep in my car at ALL times! Not to mention 2 spare main relays!

Things I need to do:
1. New Struts all around
2. New Upper control arms (had the front end rebuilt last year but because the shop that did it used cheapo parts I now need to replace them)
3. figure out what is causing the play on the passenger side of my Rack (its a "rebuilt" but It was done by the same shop)
4. Rebuild the rear end with Bushings and parts
5. New CV Axles
6. New rotors
7. New Exhaust
8. Clean the Intake (I have an EGR CEL coming on and Ive looked in the intake its nasty!)
9. New Rear Wheel bearing (I believe this is the last one on this car that is original)
10. New Carpet

Other than that she is in great shape and will easily get to 1 million!
Regarding the intake I read a while back while trying to find as much info about "million mile joe" I read somewhere that around 500k he tore the engine and tranny down and removed all the carbon build up. I can see why....Also it was a good excuse for doing a "soft build"
I have a spare engine and tranny from Snarflebits when he did a swap and while I have borrowed a few parts from it, for the most part its there if I need it.
I also started over the past year a nice little parts collection because I figure I need to.
Right now everything on her works except the EGR valve. I need to get to cleaning it and all the ports (Seafoam helped but did not fix it)

Here are a few pics of my CRX She is a little dirty but I took them when I was working in East Texas.





Need to get a new pin-stripe...

I took this pic because I was so proud to finally fix my back brakes to the point where I could e-brake on a steep incline and it would hold. It looks steeper than it really is I just angled the camera oddly. :)


She is really dirty under the hood but I PROMISE inside the engine she is clean!


Thanks to Tain90crx for the new seats They do not match my interior but I dont really care.... Was a very needed upgrade!
My Back thanks you Tain!


My Spare HF Engine and Tranny Thank you Snarflebits!


My Current Mileage Its not even been a month yet since I hit 500K and I already have 5K extra on the odometer


I am going to use this thread as a "Keep her on the road" Thread more than say a "Build thread"
 
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#11 ·
vanrij said:
Looks great for 500K! Keep it up. A little upkeep and preventative maintenance and I amm sure you'll make your goal. And how long is your commute!?
I do "Field Service" work and my coverage area is quite large so my commute varies from what I am expected to do, Yesterday was about 350mi today will probably be around 250mi. I fill up almost every day (sometimes 2)

Curious if anyone can tell me how to properly clean up everything under the hood without damaging stuff.
Its dirty because I sometimes have to travel down dirt/sand roads in rural areas of East Texas (Makes me feel like Im rally racing! :D )

I forgot to mention from 350K to about 470K other than regular maintenance stuff the only parts I had to repair was CV axles. These cars are remarkable for their reliability Im seeing it first hand!
 
#13 ·
this is awsome, cant wait to see it hit the million mile mark!!

Rex All Day said:
Put some fog lights on this beauty!
Also you can still get the rear mudflaps from honda! GET THEM WHILE THEY ARE STILL HERE
um, can u please show me where (no sarcasm, for real)
 
#14 ·
haitian-REX said:
this is awsome, cant wait to see it hit the million mile mark!!

Rex All Day said:
Put some fog lights on this beauty!
Also you can still get the rear mudflaps from honda! GET THEM WHILE THEY ARE STILL HERE
um, can u please show me where (no sarcasm, for real)
eBay; search for CRX rear mud flaps.
 
#15 ·
vanrij said:
haitian-REX said:
this is awsome, cant wait to see it hit the million mile mark!!

Rex All Day said:
Put some fog lights on this beauty!
Also you can still get the rear mudflaps from honda! GET THEM WHILE THEY ARE STILL HERE
um, can u please show me where (no sarcasm, for real)
eBay; search for CRX rear mud flaps.
ok... well ebay isnt quite the same as getting them "from honda" as u previously stated

... jus sayin
 
#19 ·
I already answered that look ^^^^^^

Got a story to share,

I just got done putting in new Struts, and Rotors and did a few other small things to her.
I was getting her ready for a long week (Prob a 1500-2000mi week)
Anyway I had about a 750mi day today and got about 550mi into it no problems then BAM! she just dies on me... I coast to an empty parking lot and start checking her over.
Come to find out I dont have any spark so I pull out my spare dizzy (That I ALWAYS carry with me) Swapped it out and in less than 5 mins I was back on the road.
Ive had Dizzys go out on me before but they always let you know someway, this time no warning. In Fact she was actually running better than before.
I always carry a spare dizzy, tools and a tire plug kit in my CRX at all times. They have all come in handy more than once.
I was about 200miles away from home and thankfully I didnt have to pay a tow bill to get her back home and then check her out.
Its good to be prepared!
I would highly suggest everyone have a spare dizzy with you at all times. These things are ticking time bombs :)
 
#22 ·
AlexCRX said:
the weak part in CRX dizzy's is the NEC igniter... put an Hitachi one from a civic 96-00 and it will be a lot more reliable!
I did not know this, good info. Jzak, your car is awesome, confirms my belief that they will just keep going. My coil left me stranded at a friend's but then it came back to life to get me home.
 
#23 ·
AlexCRX said:
the weak part in CRX dizzy's is the NEC igniter... put an Hitachi one from a civic 96-00 and it will be a lot more reliable!
Can anyone else confirm that this will work?
Honestly I think there is more than 1 weak link in the CRX dizzy When you have temps fluctuating quite rapidly anything electronic under the hood can go bad. Its just how it is.

I am curious about the Hitachi as opposed ti the NEC.
I do not have the original dizzy and both that I have are aftermarket. Would you think that they would do this simple fix if this was a well known fix?
 
#25 ·
I just started having a crazy issue with odd idle and low rpm acceleration that is driving me crazy!
My MPGs are also dropping.
Its more of a "Cutting out" issue than anything else. And it usually is around 1000-1200rpms
I have checked all ignition parts (dizzy, plugs, plug wires, cap rotor button, grounds)
I have a CEL (code 12 EGR) and I know these HF intakes get super dirty after a while. I have had this code for a while now and I think this is a problem that is working its way into something more drastic.
I have never pulled off the intake and cleaned it since I have had the car. I have cleaned the throttle body and seafoamed the intake through the brake boost line but that is all. The seafoam helped a little but I still have the issue. I think it just needs to be completely cleaned. Odd thing is when it is warm/hot outside she doesnt seem to cause me any problems its only at night or when its cooler out that I get this issue.

So Here is what I am thinking, There is a shop a few miles from me that has the ability to put my intake in an acid bath I am wondering if this will clean all the ports without me having to drill and cut on the intake. I also plan on putting in new/rebuilt injectors if I can find a decent priced set.
I think I am going to use my spare intake instead of the original put in new lines and rebuild it the best I can. According to the original owner of my spare engine there were no CEL issues. Hoping I do not have to spend $$ on a new EGR valve (120-180.00)
I have tried to diagnose this idle and acceleration issue but to be practical I need to address my CEL first then work my way from there.

I am opened to suggestions on this and any advise would be greatly appreciated. Im not a mechanic by any stretch but I am learning as I go with her and she has been very kind and forgiving of my mistakes :)
 
#26 ·
So After having some crazy idle issues and hesitation problems I discovered my timing was off a tooth. Apparently someone (me) forgot to tighten the timing belt down properly and it must have slipped a tooth, Either that or I just never set it properly ( I know I know, I never said I was a mechanic but Im learning)

Anyway I took the day off today and got her timed right and also bled the coolant line and feel confident that I got all the air out (it took a while) put in some new plugs. I also was getting a CEL code for my 02 sensor I tried to put in a new 02 sensor but I think Im going to have to soak her for a few days before I will try to break it lose.

I also got started today on Cleaning out my spare intake I plan on swapping it out to resolve my EGR issues.
I wanted to take it to a shop and have them do an acid bath treatment to it but Im concerned it might damage the intake.
I plan on soaking it over a period of a few weeks with cleaner and just letting it sit and just take my time.
Im open to suggestions...
This spare intake is not near as dirty as mine so its not going to be too difficult to clean. I think the tough part will be getting the intake back on the head in the car. I also noticed that intake I am running currently does not have the rear support bracket that holds it up from the block. While I am guessing this is there only for a precaution I do need to also swap it out, I feel much safer with it on my intake.
here are a few pics of the spare intake...
Since the EGR ports have already been cut and JB welded back I really do not want to cut on it again.

 
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