91 RT outta the northwest!
geezfools
Wagonist
Alright, so I picked up this adventuremobile today. And it just so happened to be from a member form the forums, turbo_teg. 1991 RT with 244K on the odometer. Not a perfect car by any means, but I've looked at MUCH worse in the past few weeks and this will work just fine. Not going to be lowering it or making it go fast. My passion is the open road and getting out there to see it all, mainly here in the northwest. This car has a few issues that I'll be sorting out quick enough. I don't make a shit ton of money, so it's gonna be a slow process, but realistically, I'm just looking for a road trip worthy vehicle that ends up looking decent as well. This does have me thinking about trying to track down a one owner 2WD model to have some real fun with 
So here are the pictures I grabbed with the iPhone after driving it the 90 miles home. Like I said, needs some work, but I have two parts wagons to pick from and no kids to sidetrack me :P
So here are the pictures I grabbed with the iPhone after driving it the 90 miles home. Like I said, needs some work, but I have two parts wagons to pick from and no kids to sidetrack me :P
Comments
Second, getting all the fluids checked, changed and/or topped off. I'll most likely do everything, just so I know I'm at square one and get it on a schedule. Also needs a thermostat.
After that, not really sure. I just want to make sure I can get from here to wherever without any issue and then worry about aesthetics. I would like to get the wheels nice and white, do an LED mod to the cluster, put some LED's elsewhere in the vehicle since I find myself sleeping in the back on road trips, some small LED's along the roof line somehow would be sick or under the dash at the feet.
Needs some body work, but I have a donor fender that should work good after some paint. Doors should be fixable, though I have doors I can swap out as well if I really wanted to. I think down the road I'll get a new paint job since this seems to be number two paint job. I've got a friend that sprays for a living, so I should be able to get a nice job on the cheap.
I did a compression test before I bought the car as well. turbo_teg said he's sold a ton of cars and never had anyone test compression, but being I've bought and sold more than a few jetski's, just something I'm used to doing. Looked good across all four cylinders.
If anyone has the cap in the back area in grey, would be stoked to pick one of those up since one is missing. Stoked on the speaker pods though!
I actually begged Matt to trade me my 2wd for this... no luck lol
Look forward to seeing progress!
Probably not until after Christmas. But ya, pm me if you decide to part with them, and we'll see where I'm at...
Anyways, went and picked up the duralast thermostat from autozone, as well as a new gasket. Was a bitch getting it out and back in and with my neighbor coming over to ask why I have a second wagon in my driveway, took me a couple of hours.
After all was said and done, I started 'er up, idle and added coolant back in as it needed it. I had the heat blowing on high as well. I was worried since the car wasn't getting up to temp. So I killed the heat and within a minute, it went up to what I think is normal and it stayed there. I don't have tabs yet, so no idea how it'll treat me on the roads, but I have no reason to think I should have anymore issues.
Also, I drove my FWD 5spd for a couple of years and this RT shifts so much different and the noise the shifter makes is new. Is this normal? I shot a video of me going through the gears.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4YsoKN0Qio
The temp.gauge reading you show is dead-on normal.
and the new one installed
You read it right and the more I looked into the RT's and looked at other builds, I realized they did come stock with it, lol. I'm doing emissions today, always nervous about that when it's a new car, but we'll see what happens...
I did a quick search for it and came up with #9 on this: http://www.hondapartswholesaledirect.com/oem-part/honda/civic-parts/1989/5dr-4wd-1600/ka5mt/chassis/shift-lever-2-4wd/bush-change-lever-pivot/54113-sf1-013
or part# 54113-sf1-013
Looks like it's long gone, so I'll dig into this sometime this week and see what's going on and then maybe look into that mazda 3 part.
thanks!
So with the 45 minutes of day light that I had after work and dodging kids looking for candy (halloween), I swapped out the taillight and one of the front corners and fixed the burned out front signal bulb. I had about two inches of water in the back, driver side little holder and I was told that would be from the cracked taillight. I swapped in a new assembly, sponged out as much of the water as possible and now I wait to see if that fixes it. The original gasket was pretty thin and worn out and the one on my spare taillight wasn't the best either, but I think it should get me by until I know that it's keeping the water out. Any other things to keep an eye on back there, as far as possible leaks? Really would like to get rid of the condensation since I have a bit of freeway driving in the mornings. I heard putting some BBQ briquettes in the back will absorb any leftover moisture.
Next up is getting that other corner fixed and changing the oil, then getting some tunes in this bad boy. I think next weekend a buddy of mine will help me dig a little deeper into the engine and possibly do a timing belt and water pump, just to be safe. Also looking to get a hitch on this beast as soon as possible so I can get the jetski to the lake, as well as a roof rack. Done rambling for now...
Now I need to figure out how to remove the gutter strip and either replace it, delete it or put it back. While it's out, remove the paint, seal it temporarily until I strip the entire car for paint (down the road a year or two).
Random shot via the iPhone on the way home today.
I was referring to the part where the cable slips onto the shifter, (where you used electrical tape). Sorry for any misunderstanding.
Hmm seems weird part #9 is no longer available, I purchased 2x of them from Honda Australia. They were not in stock so they were remade for me by Honda Japan. I was able to buy all the shifter bushes brand new except for part #10.
I might still have the invoices with part numbers if you need them.
Let me pull it apart sometime in the next week to see how everything looks, unless you have the invoice somewhat handy. Don't wanna waste a bunch of your time, especially when I need to get the leaking fixed and a couple of other minor issues. But it would be nice to clean up some of the slop...
Part number for item #9: 54113SF1013
Part number for item #17: 54210SD9013
All of these parts were re-made by Honda Japan after I put in requests. They didn't remake part #10 though.
They all show up as available here http://www.lingshondaparts.com/honda_car_parts_selection.php?block_01=18SH501&block_02=B__3501&block_03=9327
The o-ring on the dizzy isn't doing it's job, so a little oil is getting by, nothing crazy, but I'll be doing that and if anything, will probably just pull the dizzy off the parts car and throwing it in.
Still have some water leaking going on in the back. I threw a little sealant on it and it seems a little better, but I'll get the water out and a couple days later it's full again (if it's raining). So I'm gonna take the rear hatch off, take a wire brush to it and get all the flaky paint off and really get it clean and then seal the fuck out of it and make sure that if that's where the water is coming from, it's stops. Foggy windows are annoying.
I mean, overall. This car is gonna stay mostly stock to maintain MPG and reliability. Which is why I want to come pick up that motor from you (turbo_teg). Figure I'll grab that, clean it up and more or less get it ready to drop into this wagon once warmer weather shows up. Then I might get a little crazy on the current motor and try to get a little more pulling power for the little trailer I want to eventually pull behind this car.
I have taken a few longer drives and seems to do well. It's a little rough on the edges, but I'm happy with it and will keep putting some work into it and making it a reliable driver to get me out and about.
This week I'm hoping to dig into the IACV since I have to give it a little gas while cranking to get it to start and stay started. After about 15 seconds I can let go of the pedal and it idles perfectly.
Gonna pull the headliner at some point and start work on the hatch/leak issue and see what's going on. Hoping I don't have to replace the hinges, but will probably pull them, seal the fuck out of where it connects to the car and lube them up. If anyone has any suggestions on what else could be leaking, let me know.
Sounds like I'm gonna go grab a ZC from turbo_teg this upcoming weekend as well. Will be cleaning it up (sounds like that should be easy, lol) and will be getting it ready to throw into this wagon next spring. Super stoked to do that since I'm jealous of everyone and their super clean engine bays and pretty engines, heh.
Remove those rubber strips in your rain gutters. Clean out the exposed gutters. You'll notice cracks - the source of your leak. Pump a shitload of caulk down in there. With the caulk still wet/gooey, re-install the rubber strips. Also add caulk wherever you see cracks around the rear hatch hinges. The body sealer has expanded/contracted over time and developed cracks. This is a very common problem on all EF's.
Those gutter strips have metal inside them and if you're not careful, you'll bend them in the removal process... so take care. Start at the rear and go slow. Use a screwdriver to pry them up. I practiced on an EF sedan at the junk yard before removing mine. If you do happen to bend them, you can re-shape them before re-installing. You'll probably have to do that anyway to get them to match the curve of the roof.
Also check your rear hatch hinge plate areas (where they form into the body), lots of cracks show up there as well.