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Concerto: Conclusion?


Ghosty

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It's all back together now, new seals in the rocker cover:

20200216-110326.jpg

 

 

Close... not firing though. It started before I took it apart, but now it doesn't. I suspect the cam sensor as the wiring is falling apart on it. Cranking with the sensor removed didn't make a difference. 

 

Of course, there's a chance it could be that the pesky TADTS, the fuel relay has shat itself iinexplicably while the car was apart... 
Can't check anything for now though as cranking has flattened the battery. 

Charge time: 

 

20200216-165857.jpg

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Pressed is best. Old plates were scratched to buggery and on their way to delaminating, held in with mild steel screws with disintegrating heads.
I don't see why more people don't buy pressed plates for the price difference, it's only about £5 more if you shop around. 3dda0aee09e6ee70dae14779b406a219.jpg5a0acf913cf0795a4928a69a1c9a35f2.jpg

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

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No photos really to speak of at the moment, as a lot of today was spent making sure things weren't leaking etc, as we were already at the test firing stage. 

The lack of startage last night was because the dizzy was so far out of line there was no spark, I'd lined it up with what I thought was a timing mark, but it wasn't. Moved it forward and it started first try. 
 

 

 

 

Fucking winner. The yellow light is EML, the 'cylinder sensor' (cam sensor?) is duff. The wiring on it is well fucked, dry and crumbly. 

The PAS belt is wrong (the one on ECP isn't right for these iirc) so not currently doing anything.
I noticed the driver's door speaker wasn't working, as the grate was glued into the door card by a previous monkey I decided to check that before putting the door card back on (tomorrow). Turns out one of the spade connectors was jammed between the speaker housing and the inner skin of the door, as if someone was trying to ground the speaker through it? strange. anyway that's sorted now. 

The rear suspension is some Bilstein yellow adjustable dampers. I know from experience they're rock hard, and also set way too low. Camber needs looking at too. Some idiot's been playing around in there. 

 

However the car is back in one piece and there's really not that much left to do to get it MOT worthy. The end is in sight... there's about 2 weeks left before my job interview and I'd like to have it done by then. I'm sure it will be anyway. 

20200217-145240.jpg
 

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Well done, I didn’t realise you could get the dizzy ‘out’ on these.... as in out of position as opposed to off

I remember my first engine change as a 17 year old lad.  February it was and f***** freezing.  Mates all came round and stood warming their hands on cups of hot coffee made by my mum as I froze my fingers trying to get it finished before dark.  It wouldn’t start, so I put the bat on charge, closed the bonnet and dived into a hot shower.

next day, it turned out I had put the points connection on the wrong side of the insulator.   “What are points” I hear today’s youth ask...... they make starting prizes.  

Slight error corrected, one charge battery and vroom vroom.   It is easily done.

i don’t like pressed plates though, not really sure why, I like the smoothness of acrylic.  My lad has just ordered some 4D raised letter monstrosities.....sort of reminds me of the old raised digit plates that looked shite after a couple of years, maybe that is why I no like pressed.

But a new set of plates always tidied things up a bit. 

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Slow day today, rigged up some transmission cooler pipes out of various lengths of hose, ran out of jubilee clips so deferred that. 
ECP list 950mm V-belts for the power steering, these are wrong (too long) but a lot of plonkers fit them anyway and leave them slack. Elsewhere states 888mm is right, but it turns out that it's too short. Will source a 920mm belt.

Vacuumed the thing out while there was a break in the rain. It's actually pretty clean inside now, I'm pleased with it. Found £3.50 under the rear seat base. First time a car's given me CA$HBACK. 

EML is on as the 'cylinder sensor' (cam position sensor in normalspeak, this car also refers to its ABS as 'ALB') is knacked. A new one is on order from Rimmers.  Thankfully this isn't an MOT fail due to age. I've also theorised how I could mimic the output anyway to put the EML off if I so wish. (One of the reasons I like 90s fuel injected Hondas is they have really simple ECUs).

 

There are a lot of strange Concerto/R8 discrepancies I've noted. All weirdly pointless things:

  • even top spec Hondas don't get passenger lumbar support or height adjustable driver's seats
  • instrument cluster - 140mph speedo on Hondas, 150 on Rovers, and the inclements are different. Honda is 0-20-40 etc, Rover is 10-30-50... also the EMLs are different. 
  • Concertos use a different clock to R8s, and therefore the wood on the dash is also specific
  • wingmirrors are Rover/Honda specific, and the Honda ones have the heating on a dedicated switch next to the mirror switch (I think Rover heated mirrors work on the rear window heater)
  • Concertos have right hand indicator stalks,  Rovers have left hand
  • horn is different

 

There's probably more I've not clocked yet. 

Also, it seems I have a slow puncture and I'm on Chinese death rings, so some new tyres are needed at some point.

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PAS belt still on the way, crank sensor thingy in the post from Rimmers, and not a lot else to do. So I refitted the door card. It wasn't easy though as  the top of the inner door skin has stress fractured from repeated use of the door handle! Still, it's mostly clipped on and not going to come off in a hurry, so I'm calling that done. 

 

The front suspension is either standard parts or it's off an MG ZS (I have no idea). ZS parts fit as they're just HHR 400s, which are in turn MB chassis Civics. The MB Civic is in effect a mk2 Concerto, as evidenced by the fact the Concerto is the MA chassis, and I think the front suspension carried over. 
On the rear, it's slammed yo. However, someone did it properly...  

 

20200219-105434.jpg

Bilstein adjustable coilovers!  Nice surprise. They're rather firm though so I might flog them off yet, who knows. Some mong has wound the adjustment right down on them though, so I reinstated some ride height: 

20200219-111706.jpg

Yes, I did the lockring up.

No pic as there's no space to take one in the garage (it was raining), but it's looking a lot more sensible now. 

 

 

 

 

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On 2/17/2020 at 4:25 PM, Ghosty said:

No photos really to speak of at the moment, as a lot of today was spent making sure things weren't leaking etc, as we were already at the test firing stage. 

The lack of startage last night was because the dizzy was so far out of line there was no spark, I'd lined it up with what I thought was a timing mark, but it wasn't. Moved it forward and it started first try. 
 

 

 

 

Fucking winner. The yellow light is EML, the 'cylinder sensor' (cam sensor?) is duff. The wiring on it is well fucked, dry and crumbly. 

The PAS belt is wrong (the one on ECP isn't right for these iirc) so not currently doing anything.
I noticed the driver's door speaker wasn't working, as the grate was glued into the door card by a previous monkey I decided to check that before putting the door card back on (tomorrow). Turns out one of the spade connectors was jammed between the speaker housing and the inner skin of the door, as if someone was trying to ground the speaker through it? strange. anyway that's sorted now. 

The rear suspension is some Bilstein yellow adjustable dampers. I know from experience they're rock hard, and also set way too low. Camber needs looking at too. Some idiot's been playing around in there. 

 

However the car is back in one piece and there's really not that much left to do to get it MOT worthy. The end is in sight... there's about 2 weeks left before my job interview and I'd like to have it done by then. I'm sure it will be anyway. 

20200217-145240.jpg
 

Some job you've done on this already, it's looking great 

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Well, transmission cooler is now plumbed in, and the PAS belt is on, but the pump pulley is still flying around like it's bent, and something is squealing to fuck, it sounds like the alternator belt as I don't get how the PAS pulley would be doing it. I'm praying I don't need a new PAS pump, I have a spare pulley but it's a bit mullered and might not fit either as I needed to bastardise two pumps to make the PAS work on my old Civic - so I think the pulley is one from a '98 Aerodeck, it won't be right. 

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1 hour ago, Ghosty said:

YES HELLO MISTER GAS MAN

 

With it pissing down, and a man in the garage installing meters, I don't see anything happening today unless I get a delivery from Rimmer's.

 

 

Mr Who?

GASMAN! GASMAN! GASMAN!

How do you keep it so warm in here?

We....make love!

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Not a lot to report. 
State of play:

EML on, reading code 9 'cylinder sensor' .

Sensor replaced due to poor condition wiring, no effect. 

Car starts and will idle in N/P, idles at 1500rpm, settling to 950rpm.
Timing is correct.
Put it in gear and it stalls. 

 

Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this? Current suspicion is wiring to ECU. 

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No idea. 

It won't idle well at all. EML is still on and the only thing left that it could be is either pulling the wiring loom or ECU out. 

Coolant system is pressurising. 

Oil cap keeps getting mayo on it. 

The heater runs cold on full blast, and the engine fan comes on too soon. 

Driver's window regulator seems to have died. It's stuck open.

Still needs welding.
Needs at least 2 tyres. 
Needs MOT. 

I'm out of time and running out of money.

I'm afraid I'm defeated. 

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