Things seldom go as planned. Even the most well prepared folks run into snags. Such was the case yesterday down in Chandler. My friend Mike bought Galant VR4 3/1000 last year and has been trying to iron out all the wrinkles since. Yesterday, I drove down to help him put a new transmission in the car, since the transmission that came with the car had stipped this, chipped that, and a junk Quaiffe LSD.
I helped Mike pull the old transmission out a while back, so we were planning on my being there to put it back in once the guys at Shep Trans got things fixed, replaced, and shipped back to him. So yesterday was our day to get the gears in gear, if you will.
We ran into a snag, however, when we realized that we didn’t have a new throwout bearing for the clutch. The parts counters were all closed yesterday, so we decided not to press Mike’s luck, re-using the old TOB. Rather than have my drive across the valley have been for nothing, Mike suggested we see what we could do about the obviously leaking fuel cell in the back.
Initially, Mike and I were concerned about the fuel residue running between these two “boxes” under the car. Between them run serious wiring to power the massive fuel pump as well as his battery connections. The fuel can’t be good for the insulation on those wires and this is probably the worst place to have catch fire on you. We decided to drop the fuel cell and check it out.
We started by pulling the trim in the trunk to get access to the floor panel, but that ended up being completely unnecessary. Two 12-AN fittings on the rear of the cell (supply and drain), a pair of 6-AN fittings on the passenger side (return and vent), and four nuts were all that needed undone before the whole shebang lowered right down and out. It was a piece of cake and we were impressed with the forethought that went into its design.
The leak turned out to be a simple fix too! The previous owner made smart use of the OEM GVR4 fuel sending unit. He simply removed the factory fuel pump bits from the assembly and installed things as usual in the corner of the cell. Unfortunately, he didn’t – for whatever reason – fully tighten all six nuts holding it to the cell, and it was barely installed, resulting in fuel splashing out and then dribbling down the side. We cleaned the area, reinstalled the sending unit, and made sure the nuts were tightened securely, noting that the studs they went on weren’t all the same length. All’s well that ends well, though, so Mike decided to clean up the fuel cell prior to reinstallation.
It was 111 degrees yesterday while Mike and I were working on 3/1000 and there was a serious risk that I might sweat all over his stunningly clean fuel cell, but when he ran into the house for something, I had to get a picture of my reflection in that gas tank. I mean, how often does one get to see his face reflected in something installed under the car?
Once the fuel cell was back in place, we turned our attention to the janky, leaking in almost as many places as the old transmission Moroso oil pan. Mike got his new oil pan (same model) back from the welder, where a proper, -AN fitting had been installed for the turbo drain. I was impressed at how the previous owner ditched those damn oil pan bolts for studs, although I soon became frustrated with the seal of the old pan to the block. We took a lunch break.
After lunch, we made a run out to get a thin putty knife to slip between the pan and the block so we could get that damn oil pan off and I came across this, the latest issue of HondaTuning magazine. Mike and I laughed. They must have some skilled photogs at that magazine to get such a sharp exposure out of a rear view mirror like that. Snarky comments followed along the lines of “IN YOUR FACE… but getting smaller and smaller each time you look at it.” Or, “IN YOUR FACE… about five seconds after you’ve made your point.” Yeah, most cover cars are shown from the front, but you can’t escape the fact that, no matter how fast this Honda was going, something was going faster. Guess you had to be there.
In the end, we managed to get the old pan off, but the heat was finally taking its toll on me and I had to hit the road. Our dog was due to be picked up at the vet sometime after 4 and here it was 4:15. I had to bounce. Let me tell you, that 40 minute drive back across the valley in 464/1000 without AC was brutal. I went through two bottles of Gatorade and a bottle of Aquafina in that time. This heat is really getting old.
Next Sunday, I’ll be going back over to Mikes. He’s got that throwout bearing now, so we’re going to get the new transmission installed and hopefully move 3/1000 under it’s own power. Of course, that just depends on how hot it is. Maybe we just bolt it in place and concentrate on installing beers by the pool.
