Wing Commander Spry

So who or what the fuck is Wing Commander Spry? Spry was a character from a magazine called Air Clues, a publication written and issued by the RAF's Directorate of Flight Safety, as the saying goes, back in the day. I'm fairly sure that it doesn't exist any longer but essentially it was one of the many vehicles for promoting flight safety in the RAF. Back when I was a mere boy I used to particularly like the 'I Learned About Flying From That' articles. Pilots stepping forward to admit their mistakes for the benefit of others. This was later expanded to include lessons about engineering too and was devoured by many a liney and techie as they sat in trap one (always the most popular) and wiled away a 12 hour shift or took a well-earned 'rest' between AF (After Flight) and BF (work it out) checks.

Classic RAF wing commander look!

Amongst the reasons for writing this blog, one was to expand upon some of the thinking behind the decisions regarding what I planned to do; the philosophy behind the decisions. Another was to point out some of the pitfalls in doing certain jobs on the CTR, things that persons more conversant in this type of work don't always experience. Okay, or put another way, those less inept. So where does Spry come into all this? More later.

I had a window of opportunity on Tuesday 23rd December and it opened at about 1pm and would close around sunset, so around 3 hours later depending upon cloud cover (this bit is just like Air Clues - explain how the weather began to close in and build the tension). Just time I figured to swap out the ageing OEM rear anti-roll bar for the shiny new JDM version from Tegiwa and replace the drop links with non-standard Hardrace ones from Area Motorsport.

Much less fiddly than their OEM counterparts thanks to the
14mm lock nut as opposed to the 5mm fuck around allen head.

I call it a window of opportunity because I never feel that I have enough time to do anything these days. Most of that time pressure is self-induced but like the hapless pilots who regularly featured in Air Clues, time pressure was an occupational hazard and is the first lesson - don't be tempted to rush any job let alone one which has safety related aspects. Proof...

Okay, so it's hardly losing both engines on approach but the point remains...

Anyway, this was going to be the perfect practice run for when I did the more difficult work on the front end which would involve not only the roll bar and drop link change but also tie-rod ends, ball joints and front lower arm bushes.

Gratuitous Civic on axle stands shot. It's not actually resting on the wheels but
I put them under the car as a secondary support figuring that when people
say it is quite a light car they don't mean when it's lying on top of you. 

So car up on axle stands, I started with the 4 bolts that hold the roll bar to the rear of the car. I sprayed them in PlusGas first which really wasn't necessary as they are very accessible and come off a piece of piss.

One 12mm socket and these 4 babies come right out. Important to
note the orientation of the bar at this point. Very effing important.

So the easy bit done I moved onto the drop links (also known as stabilizer links). The drop links attach to the roll bar via one of the ball joint threaded ends and the other ball joint threaded end fits to the rear lower or trailing arm (which is at this point attached to the car and will remain that way). They are right and left specific so are not interchangeable. You have to get the right one on the right side...and the left one on the left side. I meant the correct one on the correct side. Simple thing to do obviously is to match the new roll bar to the old one once it is off and then fit the drop links to the new one to match. Simple thing Pete. Simple thing. The main point I want to make though is that as it makes sense to change the drop links you only need to detach the threaded portion where it attaches to the rear lower arm as the rest will come away from the car with the old roll bar. Obvious but worth pointing out as it can be a bastard to remove the nut.

See. 

So why is the nut sometimes a tad difficult to remove? Well on the OEM drop link the threaded portion has an allen head insert and it is this which you use to prevent the ball joint from rotating when you are trying to remove the nut with a spanner (14mm in this case). Thus...

It's not stupidly cramped underneath the arches but it is a little awkward
and the nuts on both sides of the car, having started to turn, albeit with
some pressure, then went very tight causing fatal damage to my
cheap Chinese allen key. So out came the hacksaw.

Problem is, after years of abuse from road grime, the nut can get very tight and even though I used PlusGas I didn't give it very long to do its magic. And whilst tight nuts (fnar, fnar) can be overcome (yurkk, yurkk) with leverage, it needs a 14mm spanner and unfortunately mine is quite a short one (kyuk, kyuk). It was also extremely hard (hooo, hooo) to get a lever under the arch and around the lower arm. Also, I wager that even the best quality allen key would struggle given how tight I found both the drop link nuts on my car to be. The allen key I used initially was clearly crap though because it twisted under the strain and consequently rounded out the head after which the nut was never coming off without resorting to violence. So even though I should know better by now, get the best fitting allen key you can find and the longest 14mm spanner too (within reason clearly) to give you the best possible chance of removing the nut using engineers tools rather than builders ones.

...like these ffs...

So anyway I resorted to Hannibal Lecter's toolbox and hacksawed one off and drilled the other one out. Why? Because the nearside one I managed to unscrew quite a way so had exposed enough thread to get a hacksaw on it, albeit one that fits the end of a Stanley knife-like handle rather than one on a frame because there isn't enough room for a full size one - you can though get a junior in there. On the offside the bolt barely released at all so as there was little of the ball joint shank exposed I decided to drill through the centre. This didn't take too long as access was pretty good and I had some fairly sharp bits. I went slightly narrower than the diameter of the threaded portion and drilled beyond the nut. Once there it was just a matter of tapping the nut and it sheared off quite easily.

Proof if proof were needed of the quite easily sheared off threaded bit...

Yet more proof.

Bored yet?

So you can see from the photos that light had yet to stop play but Jack our dog was feeling a little poorly and so a 5pm trip to the Vet beckoned. I can do this I thought. I can complete this job and then test the improved and enhanced handling properties of my Civic Type R. And I did. I completed it around 7pm under the glow of our outside light and a head torch. Well done me. Proof.

Wait a goddam, cotton-picking minute. That doesn't look like the
one in the 5th photo of this blog. It's fucking upside down...

And it was. Rushing to get finished for a trip to the Vet I placed the two ARBs side-by-side and was sure they matched...look.

...but they don't. If I had taken more time to flip the new one around
180 degrees from left to right (or right to left) I would have seen a
far better match and fitted it correctly first time. 

So my wife indulged me sufficiently after our trip to the Vet to go back out in the dark and take the whole lot apart. That included removing the wheels and jacking the car up again although not in that order. And it was a much quicker job of course and completed in less than an hour. 64 million dollar question though. Did I test drive it with the ARB the wrong way up?

Yes I did and this is what my head looked like when I got home...

So, embarrassed and ashamed I figured I would just keep schtum about the whole incident but then I thought of Spry and one of my reasons for writing. It was a silly mistake but time pressure, inexperience and too many distractions including stopping every five minutes to take photos and run VT were not helpful (although the photo of the bar on the right way up clearly could have been). And maybe, just maybe I could prevent not only somebody else from making the same mistake, but also, and more importantly, prevent them from a future life lived as a Sontaran.

POSTSCRIPT: I took the car for a spin early on Christmas Eve and the upgrade was fucking magic. Worth every penny. Much more positive turn in and what feels like a marginal improvement in acceleration as the car seems to squat less at the rear. Certainly less body scuttle at the rear too although much of that might have been down to replacing some very worn out drop links. And what did I learn about Civic Type R restoration from that? Fuck all. Because I never learn. Oh and Jack is fine.

Happy Christmas Jack and Tarn.

And the video can be found here - http://youtu.be/o6qLGOPpHow

Enjoy :)

An Idiot at Home

I shouldn't mock myself really or my crap motor skills. I occasionally watch 'how to' videos on YouTube, an absolutely brilliant way of helping you do stuff that you've never done before. For example, this is my VFR800 last year after I had watched a clip about stripping and rebuilding suspension forks...

...less than 3 months later I was testing my new Maxton linear fork springs and this bad boy...

...at 140-150mph on the autobahn. Kind of proof because this is my nephew Matt using his GoPro. I think his RSV is reading 151mph and I was genuinely just behind on my often mocked but rarely left behind, 16 year old Honda. Gotta love everything Honda.

So my point is, 'how to' videos are really useful. Or can be. There are some poor ones around admittedly and I am proud to say that I have recently joined that pantheon of shit how to Directors. It is actually harder than it looks. Like calling the boot the bonnet, a ruler a screwdriver (poor continuity), confusing thinner with narrower and wearing wellies like Jimmy Cricket. Or dropping stuff like a retard and trying to con your audience that the badge is actually stuck on when you took it off a week ago. Or worrying that you sound tight saying it was very expensive at £20 or profligate for paying so much for a badge in the first place. Or referring to the sticking on of a badge and number plate as "a good day's work" like some ME sufferer. The hardest part though was that feeling of self-consciousness as you stand next to your car with a camera on your head talking to yourself.

Cpt. Blackadder: Let's see, what have we here? A small painted wooden duck. Baldrick: Yeah, I thought if you get caught near water, you can balance it on the top of your head as a brilliant disguise. Cpt. Blackadder: Ah, now that's something, let's see.....a Robin Hood costume. Baldrick: I put in a French peasant's outfit first, but then I thought 'What if you arrive in a French peasant's village and they're in the middle of a fancy dress party?' Cpt. Blackadder: And what if I arrive in a French peasant village, dressed in a Robin Hood costume and there isn't a fancy dress party? Baldrick: Well, to be quite frank sir, I didn't consider that eventuality, because if you did, you'd stick out like a.... Cpt. Blackadder: [interrupting] Like a man standing in a lake with a small painted wooden duck on his head? Baldrick: Exactly!

So because I really wanted to make a useful how to for this blog, particularly because one or two of the jobs I intend to do don't seem to have many Brit videos covering them, I thought I might test my skills by making a short and simple one to start. This would be a test of my virgin iVideo editing skills (so-so), my GoPro set-up (camera angle fail - pretty much filming passing aircraft) and what resolution to use etc so as to make it small enough memory wise to be uploadable to this blog. That said, despite it being merely 8mins and 53 seconds long, and only filmed in 720P, it is taking over 2 hours to finalise in iMovie ffs...

Okay so it's drained 50% of the battery on my Mac already but iMovie is on the vinegar strokes as I write this...the Beckhams aren't here admittedly, nor Lewis and Nicole, but I'm anxious nonetheless for my GoPro Premiere. It's just as well I have steady employment.

Well after all that blogger had a limit of 100MB for video uploads. So here it is on YouTube juxtaposed like a dog turd next to the Crown Jewels. Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/Mt72xEwQG4k

96M/100K Home Service at 88,994 miles - Part 2

Now where was I? having changed the pollen filters I moved on to the last part of this particular service, the transmission fluid.

At the 3 o' clock position is the hex filler bolt (17mm) whilst at the 6 o' clock position is the square 3/8" drive drain bolt.

The 2 transmission bolts, drain and filler, sit behind here, the passenger side hub and strut.

I used my 1/2" drive ratchet with extension bar and loosened with a little help from my biggest hammer. Thanks biggest hammer...

I was a bit disappointed when the transmission oil ran out looking so fresh. Still, I wasn't to know that although it was only done in Apr 12 at 65,325 miles (this was the 72M/75K service and it was due then). It was also due this time at 96M/100K so c'est la vie... 

This shot clearly shows the 2 holes, drain and filler. Let as much of the old oil drain out as possible.  

Re-fit the drain plug and then lash up a piece of plastic piping to a funnel and...

Run it down to the filler plug from the engine compartment...

Here it is going in to the filler. Then start to fill the funnel from above. Two problems I encountered here: first, the pipe had a very narrow bore and as the weather was coldish it took ages to flow 1.7 litres of transmission oil into the gearbox. Second, I had to hold the pipe to stop it coming out and lubricating the drive so my wife was on the other end filling the funnel which took about 20 minutes due to the slow flow of the oil. Not happy. Bigger pipe next time but this was all I had from our Karting days and it saved a trip out.

For completeness and to reiterate, the capacity of the EP3 Type R gearbox is 1.7 litres of this stuff - not engine oil.

And here it is all done.

Now, I wonder if I can sell any of this shit on eBay...

As a kind of postscript then, the car was due the 96 month or 100,000 mile service, around Oct 14. This car was a slow starter doing only 1500 miles in its first 18 months which is why it is a little behind schedule. I also spent a year overseas during which time it was virtually never used. The only thing that I haven't done that was due, at least according to the Honda service book, is inspect the valve clearances which I shall do when the rocker cover comes off and goes away for painting. Other than that it is now good to go.

96M/100K Home Service at 88,994 miles - Part 1

We got a dry day today for the first time in a while so I got all excited about doing some actual work on the car. I have seen an number of threads about whether to dealer service or not dealer service and I understand the conflict this can cause. Service it yourself and you lose the all important fHsh that goes with taking it to the local Honda dealer and of course that vital stamp in the service book. Take it to the dealer though and you are relieved of multiple hundreds of pounds depending upon which service interval it is, and the removal of that money is so that someone can do for you something which is actually quite simple providing you have the tools, the time and a little bit of car mechanic knowledge and confidence. In my case this is the first time that I have not taken it to the dealer, but then one of the principles I wanted to adhere to when retaining the CTR as our 3rd car was one of 'reasonable cost of ownership'. Added to that the fact that £400 for the next service is now a much bigger proportion of the value of the car than it was a few years back, and the relatively high mileage of the car, the economics were overwhelming - do it myself. There are some really good servicing threads on the type-r-owners.co.uk forum; this one is particularly good but I don't know how to set it as a hyperlink in blogger so you can cut and paste into the URL bar (is that even the right name for it)?

http://type-r-owners.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?63728-Just-done-service-my-quick-How-To

That said, I wanted to do my own so here goes. In mine you get the pollen filter change and a bit more detail on the air filter change. I know it's a piece of piss but the thread above was a bit light on photos. I don't do spark plugs in mine though because they aren't due yet and I ran out of time for valve clearances but will attempt that another time with the Go Pro on. 

This is the classic wheelie bin shot. Me and my brother love it when you see this on eBay.
The item for sale sat atop a wheelie bin, as if the owner was just about to throw it out and
suddenly thought, "hang on, somebody might buy this shit". 

Look at it sat there all patient waiting for lovely fresh oil and filters. Good boy...

Front wheels off to make access easier to the engine oil sump plug on the driver's side and the gearbox oil sump plug on the passenger side. I also took the opportunity to re-fit the anti-squeal shims which for some half-arsed reason I left out when I overhauled the front brakes which subsequently squeaked like fuck. I worry about me sometimes...it's like I do it on purpose.

Make sure the oil is warm by either running the engine for a while or going to M&S to get your wife a Snowman advent calendar. Once you're back you should take the oil filler cap off and then get under the car and remove the sump plug which is offset to the driver's side. I used a 17mm socket on a 1/2 drive and it came off fairly easily. Have the drip tray ready and remember it won't drain directly down initially, rather it will come out like taking a piss in a long, fairly powerful curve. It's so easy to miss the drip tray completely. Not with your piss.

Let the oil run out as long as possible to get the majority out. I used to flush the engine year's ago with flushing oil but I'm not sure how necessary that is these days. Thankfully the oil filter isn't hard to get to!! Stick your boney arm in and try and release the filter. It should be hand tight but my experience is that they are always very reluctant to budge having been hot, cold, hot, cold for the last umpteen thousand miles. My filter strap tool thing (it's actually a chain) wouldn't touch it so I used the tip in the thread above and tapped the filter anti-clockwise by striking the base of it on the thin metal lip with a long, thin Philips screwdriver and a hammer. Only enough to break the seal (not actually break it) and then you can do the rest by hand. 

While the oil was draining I changed the air filter. The filter box is held on by 5 screws which have a Philips head but also 8mm flats. Mine were a little corroded so I used the 8mm option with a long-reach bar. They are captive too (mine were) so if you are still turning after 2 minutes you might want to stop as they aren't coming out but they will be released from what they were screwed in to. 

Th clamp on the front has Philips and a flat option too, this time 10mm. Just loosen a few turns.

Use pliers to pinch the little clamp together and move it along the rubber tube to the left (I'm sure there are more technical terms for these parts other than 'little clamp' and 'rubber tube'). Gently prise the rubber tube off using the long  straight metally thing...

There's the filter nestling in it's little hidey hole...

Look at the shit in there! I cleaned out some twigs from the filter box too.

Fresh new K&N going in.

Sleep tight precious.

Tightening the last bolt.

The new filter ready to begin it's new life underneath my car. Not a Honda original but a Denso which sounds sufficiently Japanese to reassure me. Put some of the new oil on the rubber seal, lie down on the floor again (not randomly but near enough to the car to reach the filter housing), make sure the mating surface is not damaged in any way and screw on the new oil filter - hand tight. 

And there it is. At least the next time I remove it the twat that I'm cursing will be me.

This is Toyota oil but I don't think it's like Papworth where there's a risk that it might be rejected. It doesn't look very clean in the big 2 litre jug but it is brand spankers and this is a really good way of ensuring exactly 4.7 litres goes in, other than using the side of the container of course. I went 5W 30 in the end and I think 5W 40 makes little difference for how I'll be using the car. This oil is fully synthetic too so it's basically the shit and nothing more than this car deserves...

Is this too many photos now? Man pouring oil. Just to reiterate, the capacity of the
EP3 Type R with filter change is 4.7 litres (4.5 litres without a filter change).

Now it might just be me but from experience, whenever you give the Honda service desk the whiff of an idea that you are considering doing the service yourself, they quote the old pollen filter line: "well don't forget Sir that with the full service you'll get the pollen filters too". Like they're made of fucking platinum and the fitting of them is equivalent to splitting the atom. Or they're so vital than anyone traveling in the car with even the slightest allergy will swell up like a balloon with anaphylactic shock if the filters aren't changed yearly. The reality is they are cheap as chips and easier to fit...than chips. Two pollen filters from eBay were less than a tenner for both including postage - thank you autoperformanceonline with your 636,598 feedback. Oh and they're just paper filters too so it's not like they're protection against ebola.

Open the glove box (I'm embarrassed by how dirty it is). Basically you just squeeze the 2 sides inwards (which is not difficult because they are basically made of old milk cartons painted grey) and then rotate the glove box down to the footwell. 

This is what you will see. Just above the big '3' you can see a little black door.

Close up of it and that little clip at the bottom just pushes up...

I'm definitely being over helpful here...

You can see 2 vertical tabs to the let and these are located on the filter boxes. First pull the tab on the right straight towards you to remove the filter in its box.

Here it comes.

With the first box out, pull the other tab to the right until the whole of the second box is exposed. Then pull it straight towards you like the first to remove it from its home.

Come on little fella...I'm not going to hurt you.

Remove the old filters from the boxes and make sure you orientate the new ones correctly as the air flows through them in a certain direction.

Done. Now just give the glove box a little squeeze and rotate it upwards into position. Voila.