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Vitka's left hand drive NHB EP3

I helped a mate this week by taking him to get the servo line welded on his Accord. As we hit the road, he immediately heard the chirping from near the exhaust manifold and asked me if the gasket had a leak, because it sounded exactly like that. I was happy he noticed, I've been struggeling with this since I bought the car. I ordered a gasket, and took the risk of putting it in before the track day. It wasn't the hardest of jobs, although the exhaust manifold is in a horrible position to work on. I put it togeather, cranked it, went for a test drive, was hyped for finally fixing the issue... and nothing changed. ](*,)

Still chirping. Since every inch and gasket of the exhaust has been checked and fixed, I probably have a crack on the manifold somewhere. Either that, or I have a K20A2 birds' edition.







 
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I treated the sealing surfaces with some sandpaper and fitted it dry. The old one was fitted dry as well and I saw no signs of leakage on it.
 
Hmmm. Odd one then. Are you sure it isn't a pulley or something else entirely that's chirping away then?

Is it the same under load or worse? Does the noise have any relation to anything you do? Accelerate, over-run, brake, altenator load (turning, lights, rear heat, air con etc).
 
It's coming from somewhere around the exhaust manifold. It always feels like the source of the noise is not far from my feet, somewhere in the back of the engine bay. It's throttle poisiton dependant, and I can only hear it at lower revs, up to about 3k rpm (it probably is present at higher revs as well, I just can't hear it over other things getting louder). Low revs and generous throttle brings it out, for example just as I leave work, I have to drive up a small bridge, which I do in 4th gear low revs, due to the engine being cold. There is a metal barrier on the side of the road, which the sound rebounds from and this brings it out a lot. I'll probalby make a video, but until then I will try and describe it: a rattler powered by compressed air in a broken metal pot. Tz-tz-tz-tz-tz-tz-tz-tz-tz-tz-tz really fast, frequency follows revs, and throttle makes it louder.
 
And it's the same when fully warmed up? If you can feel it there's something moving that shouldn't be.

Sounds to me like potentially a basic vibrational fretting. The usual suspects are heat shields but aftermarket parts can often be a cause when the clearances aren't ideal. Things like the strut brace you've got, that'll be might close to your fluid reservoirs. Induction kit, I'm guessing you're on an injen or AEM CAI? They run a pretty right course through the bay past several components. Often the support bracket cracks too.

I'd have a good wiggle around of everything in the bay for movement and potential fowling of adjacent components/structure.
 
When fully warmed up it's a bit quieter, but still firmly audible. This is why I think it's a leak, because of how the metal expands and closes the gap a bit. The clearances have been done a few weeks ago, and I've checked all you wrote, but it was neither. The chirping was present way before I put on any aftermarket parts. It's linked with trottle position and revs, and sounds like it's an exhaust/air/pressure leak, so I will have to keep looking. Of course any idea and suggestion is welcome and appreciated.
 
I did my first track day ever last weekend on 4 wheels. I was so happy to have finished everything I wanted to do on the car. Everything went well, of course my driving skills still need much honing, although I was glad, that I could transfer some of my track experience from 2 wheels. Best day with the car so far, it was a blast. The place is called Kakucsring, and it's a 1km gokart/rallycross track, so maybe not the best suited for an EP3. After all the work done on the suspension and brakes, she behaved very well, but of course I instantly felt the need for firmer suspension and an LSD. Her being my daily, I doubt I will ever get to the level I would feel necessary for a trackday car, but I am very happy with the state she is in now. Well, apart from a few bruises on the bodywork, and the worn engine. I did 83 laps in total, so 83 race kilometers, plus the freeway there and back, result: 2,5 liters of oil burned. Next stop: piston rings and valve stem seals. :freak:

I will put some videos up later, but I only have pictures now





 
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She's been sitting for almost the entirety of the winter, we just started seeing some nice weather, so I thought I'd take her for a small trip home to may parents. Then this happened.



My jaw dropped, when I saw it. I shut the engine off immediately, and stopped, but she already blew the hose out of the catch can, steam and coolant were coming out hard. I've never seen one Honda, that left someone at the side of the road, so I guess this is a huge exeption. I thought the cooler got hit by a rock again, and leaked, so, since I was near a petron station, I waited for a good amount of time for the engine to cool, started her up, gathered some speed, then shut her off and rolled. The gauge started going up fast every time. I tried to fill her with distilled water I bought, yet, hardly any coolant was missing. WTF? I had to drive home like this, only starting her for a few seconds every time, and then rolling, I was very-very careful not to overheat the engine, and blow the head gasket, or worse, crack the cylinder head/block. A mechanic friend took a look, as I got home, it is most likely the thermostat.

I ordered a new thermostat and gasket for it, but I really am curious, or rather shocked about how this could've happened. She was fine on the way home, which is about 150 km. She was fine on the way back for about 30 minutes, and then without any sign, the thermostat shuts? Just like that? I've never heard of anything like this. Yes, there are thermostats, that get stuck open, but this? I cleaned the cooling system, when I bought her last year.
 
Strange sh1t sometimes just happens. Thermostat went on my 18 year old Audi a3 last year. Wasn’t stuck open or closed but was bent and stuck half way. Try and work that one out!
 
"It's only 3 bolts, honey"



I wonder what the problem could be :smt102



Flushed the engine, and this came out.



It still overheats ](*,):smt013:smt067:smt097 I need Jesus at this point.
 
Air lock now I bet? When I changed my radiator it took about 5 hours for me to get the air lock out, even though I was carful and filled the system as per Honda guidelines? Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Following the symptoms, it's probably not an airlock. Considering the amount of brownish muck I found in the system previously, covering the cap, the thermostat, and the heater core, because I've had no heating since I bought the car, it's most probably clogged. There is some bad weather coming up, so I will let it rest for a few days, but I will wash/flush the system as well as I can, and maybe even put in a new heater core, so the muck stuck in there will not get back into the system.
 
My last few days in pictures.















I've spent way too much time doing this. It began as an overheating problem, but since I have the time nowadays, due to not having a job, I decided to put in a new heater core. It was a hell of a job, the disassembly itself almost took 12 hours. I wanted to flush the whole cooling system, so I stuck the garden hose into every top hole, and what came out is simply staggering. After 2 hours of non-stop flushing, the water still looked like that. It's probably some sort of anti-leak. The big moment came today, when I could start her up again, with a huge smile on my face, but she still overheats. The top radiator hose was hot, but the bottom of the radiator was still cold, then following some friendly advice, I boiled the new thermostat. It did not open, so I have to get a new one, it should solve the issue.
 
My overheating problem is finally fixed! Have you ever seen anything like this?



My theory is, that one of the previous owners put coolant sealer in the car. It's like a brownish powder, when it dries. It could be rust, but since the engine, and the radiator are both aluminium, it is unlikely. This powder acted like a burnishing agent (I hope that's the correct expression), and as companies put quartz sand in waterjet-cutting machines, the powder-liquid mix chiselled the teeth of the waterpump down to zero. No wonder I had no circulation... Finally the nightmare is over.

Or, it would be, if this wouldn't have happened on the way home.



According to the garage I took it to, they haven't touched the left side. Then why were 2 plastic rivets missing from the feckin wheel arch?! I have to buy a new one... :mad: And of course, they haven't taken off the crank pulley, as I said, they instead disassambled the top right section of the whole engine bay, lowered the engine, and got the water pump out that way. This is quite pleasing, because instead of the 30 minutes it would take a skilled mechanic to put in a new water pump, it took 3,5 hours, which I had to pay of course. :smt076 6 times the price. This is why my reluctance is growing to take my car to a garage.
 
I started getting the water pump out, and for this I needed to get the crank pulley off. A normal braker bar didn't work. A 6 foot cheater bar didn't work. An electric impact wrench didn't work. A heavy-duty pneumatic gun didn't work. Next stop is something bigger.

Perhaps they couldn't get the crank pulley off either :getcoat:
 
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