Right first off I've got an apology to make, this next blog was actually all done before the one I last posted... I forgot to post them in order.... woops :D
Anyway its full of pictures and descriptions of what I've been up to, so hopefully that will make up for it being out of sync :)
I've taken a whole bunch of pictures during the fitting of parts, so hopefully they'll either be of interest or help to someone.
So first off I'll start with the H brace fitting.
ok so once under the car, first things first, remove the two bolts at the back, the ones that will eventually hold the back of the h brace to the car.
Its a pretty long bolt, but came out nice and easily.
Then you move to the front lower arms, to get out the bolt which will eventually hold up the front of the H brace to the car.
These are a bit more tricky, due to the fact that if the arm is unsupported during removal of the bolt, it will fall out of place, and require some moving about to get in line again so the bolt can go back in.
I used a jack to support the front lower arm during this process, and to therefore keep it where it needed to be.
Pretty long bolt in this one too.
Ok now its time to put the bolts back in place through the H brace mounting holes, and to secure it all back together nice and tightly.
Results:
Well a pretty easy job to do. I have found since fitting it that the turn in has become sharper, however steering appears to have become slightly heavier as a result? Not sure if this is just me though, may be a placebo.
However ground clearance has suffered from the fitting of this, and I've already scraped it on speed bumps.
And the car creaks a bit more now.
But all that being said, I believe it was worth fitting as the positives outweigh the negatives in my mind.
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Without trying to push my luck, I thought I'd have a go at fitting my Tegiwa rear lower bar.
However I quickly had a problem with this, the ABS brackets need to be removed in order to fit a lower bar, and the ABS lines cable tied to a new location, all in all a pretty simple task, however due to the ABS bracket bolts being completely rusted this was nowhere near as easy a job as I wanted it to be.
I was also quickly running out of patience to deal with this properly... so I will get it done shortly.
Pictures for reference though:
This job was completed in the previous blog post :)
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Well its spring... time for new front wipers!
I got hold of some of those Aero ones from Opies Oils, I realise there is mixed reviews on these, but I had them on my old Mr2 Turbo, and they did the job nicely.
out with the old
on with the new
Result:
So far so good, at all legal speeds.
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Earth wire strap.
I have been meaning to change the tacky looking earth wire that goes from the Cam cover to the front panel for a while, so I got some old amp earth wiring and swapped it over.
old wire
on with the new
Result:
Nice and easy job, and finishes off the engine bay freshening up.
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Unfinished job... Oil catch can.
New to figure out where to put my oil catch can...
Nothing special, just an ebay jobby, but it will do what it needs to do.
however the engine bay is starting to look a little bit packed... open to suggestions on this one?
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Unfinished job... fitting of gauges.
I have had an oil pressure, and oil temp gauge sat in my garage for a while.
My plan has been to put them in through a sandwhich plate at the next oil change (roughly around may).
But it was so nice that I thought I would at least wire them electronically, to make sure they work and so on.
So after searching on the forum I was happy to hear that behind the clock is a plug that can allow you to get gauges all wired up with very little hassle.
Use a flat head screw driver on the passenger side and the clock will pop out nicely.
then unplug the clock and you'll be left with this plug:
So I set about having a go at the wiring...
Be careful not to wire up the gauges wrong at first though, as I managed to blow the clock/audio fuse (back up fuse in the front fuse box 7.5amp), and I managed to blow the dials light fuse (another 7.5amp fuse but this time in the drivers side kick panel.)
I then thought about my mistake and used a multi meter to find which wire corresponds to which (silly to have thought I could do it without one...), anyway here is the correct info.
Permanent live = white with blue stripe
Acc Live (ignition) = yellow with blue stripe
Negative (earth) = black
Illumination = red with black stripe
Those wire colours are applicable to my UKDM, hopefully they will be the same for JDM people too.
Once they were all wired up to the plug, and worked, I then went about wiring the sensor wires through the firewall into the engine bay.
I used this grommet down to the left of the battery as you lack at the engine from the front.
and a closer shot
this comes out in the passenger side footwell, and is therefore very easy to get the wires up to the clock position for the gauges.
then using a clock blocker plate bought from Tegiwa, I was able to get as neat as I wanted it to be...
Obviously in those pics the gauges are not secured down, or in their final angle or position.
Now that I know they work, I have unplugged them until the day that I change the oil and fit the sensors into the sandwhich plate. I will then fit them how I want them to the dash.
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Then I got sticker happy...
Not everyones cup of tea, but I've always liked representing certain clubs/forums on my car.
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Now for the recaro clean/refurb and drivers side bolster change.
Heres two pics previously put up in this thread, just to remind you of what they looked like before I had a go at cleaning them.
Ok so first of all, the seats had to come out of the car so the work could start.
Out and in my lounge ready for the bolster change/cleaning
So on with the bolster change...
Bolster was bought from capital seating, as a direct replacement for the worn drivers side bolster.
Ok first of all, get the seat on its side, and the rail must come off.
Revealing this
You then have to undo the side panel at the rear of the seat, therefore freeing the back from the bottom.
like so
ok then you have to unclip the fabric at the bottom of the seat, its done by pushing the wire that holds it in place out from under the clips, sorry I don't have pics of this, but its obvious when you have the seat out in front of you.
So you then have to unclip the center section of the seat that clips over the front and back. And tear some of the material to allow you to freely pull the side fabric up over the old bolster.
front
rear
Then you'll be able to pull out the old bolster, mine literally fell apart in my hand as I grabbed, was in a pretty bad shape.
So then its just a case of putting the new one in, and stretching the fabric back over it till it fits just right, and hopefully parallel with the other side bolster.
Heres mine back in place
Right so that out of the way, on with the cleaning
Having been recommended 1001 by a couple of friends, I thought I'd give it a go.
Literally just covered the area with the 1001, left if for a while, then using the microfibre cloth and some warm water I massaged the cleaner into the seats, then using another dry microfibre cloth I wiped the area afterwards.
Incredible how much dirt I ended up with in the bowl of water.
finished results:
and here are some close ups of each bolster...
So pretty happy with the result, I put them back in the car!
Huge improvement as far as I'm concerned, definitely worth doing!
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Harness bolt fitting.
I've been wanting harnesses for my Integra for a while now, I did a lot of research into the whole subject, and found that yes my car will not be as safe with them as it could be with a cage as well, but it will be ok for every now and then use.
So I went about on ebay trying to find a bargain, maybe some harnesses that had lost their FIA approval, good reason to sell for someone competing, and a great reason for someone like me to buy them who only does a few track days a year!
and I found these 4 point harnesses...
I wanted to be able to fit them so that I could take them out when not needed, and still have all my oem seat belts + the rear seats.
I did some research on the forum, and found a great thread about the size eye bolts to use! So I sourced the various eye bolts via driftworks and ebay.
On with the fitting...
First of all the lap belt bolts needed doing, as per the recommendation on the other thread, I used the lower front seat belt mount for one of the eye bolts (the really long one)
and then I used the recaro rail on the seat to locate the other eye bolt, this required a bit more work.
This shows the bolt I'd be using, the left one.
Once I had removed the rail it revealed that a nut on the other side would need removing before the eye bolt could be put in place.
I tapped away at the 3 tack welds to begin with, so as to weaken them.
Then using a torque wrench and the appropriate sized socket I broke off the nut.
And then replaced the rail fully and fitted the eye bolt and a nylock nut to secure it in place.
Ok then I moved on to the mounting of the rear eye bolts, as recommended I used the rear seat belt mount bolts.
and the lower rear seat belt mounts, which are slightly hidden by the side panel plastic.
So all done, I put it back together and refitted the seats.
This therefore gives me a setup that can be fitted at will, and has allowed me to keep all the oem belts, the rear seats, and full movement of the front two seats!
I am afraid I don't have any pictures of the harnesses on the seats, but I will do soon!
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Next jobs to do:
MOT booked for the 4th of May.
New brake pads and discs all round: OEM blank style discs front and back, with Hawk HP+ pads front, and Hawk HPS pads rear.
Braided lines and Motul RBF 600 brake fluid.
New tyres: going for Yokohama prada spec 2 all round
Possible new clutch and flywheel and transmission fluid change... just to be safe.
And I've been turning my attention to the rear arches. I was lucky enough to buy a car where one arch had been completely rebuilt by TGM, however the drivers side one is suffering a little bit.
I think I will need to tackle it soon, and most likely underseal the car myself at some point also.
As always, I'll do a write up about what I end up doing!
Thank you for looking and I hope it was interesting!
