Right. So what do I mean by that since I've been driving my CRX back and forth to work for a couple of weeks now? I simply mean that I'm not afraid of the handling. It's not doing unexpected things. It's not bonking and bashing itself to death. It responds well to input from the steering. Am I done with the front suspension? Not at all, but it is finally close to being completed. I'm thankful for that.
And that's it for now. I had a whole bunch of pics get erased when I reset my phone, so I won't really bother with multiple catch up posts. I'll just assault you with a wall of text abs you can use your imagination for a change. Heh
Without actually feeling like it was going to essplode into a trillion pieces of magical unicorn dander.
I have more to say, but I'm so busy I have no clue when I'll be able to put up a normal post about it, but, hey, it's good to have stuff to do and the ability to do it.
One last thing: Given the power, I would totally moidahlate EVERY MOSQUITO IN EXISTENCE. I really, really hate biting insects, and mosquitos are the most annoying on top of everything.
Yesterday after work my new new bearing came, so I set about getting the spindles together and I actually accomplished that!
First things first: Since I boogered up the last bearing, I decided to make a nice supporting plate for the bearing to prevent that from happening again. I took the eBay spring collar to work, traced out a circle of the right size and cut out a disc "generously" but not tooooo sloppily:
Not terrible, but it definitely needed some trimming to fit in the recess and support the backside ofthe bearing.
After a while carefully grinding with my favorite 4.5" grinder:
That's much better! It just barely fits through the recess for the bearing!
Here it is in place on top of the sleeve:
Pressing complete:
BAM!
One spindle down, one to go!
Now on to less pleasant things . . . The spindle with the boogered bearing and cocked hub. I was at a loss for a while trying to figure out how to get the hub out, at least without scratching the nicely powedercoated surfaces. Yeah, pretty parts can be a real pain at times. I am not used to handling pretty parts, so this took a while. After ruling out beating the hub out with a hammer like I did the first time I took the hubs out, I figured out I could stand my arbor plates on end thusly:
Honda was so smart:
That flat boss is in the same plane as the brake caliper mounting tabs! That creates a stable mounting plane, which I used to press out the hub! AWESOME!
That left me with this:
The real pain in the but came in taking off the inner race stuck to the hub. This was cocked pretty hardcore to the side. I couldn't fit the plates I had under the race and keep it safely set up on the press, so I went back to my pulley puller setup.
This took a long time. I cranked on the drive pin, then took a smaller hammer and tapped the race. Note I did not say I bashed it like a caveman. I tapped it. Tapping it causes a slight amount of plastic deformation, which, after a long time of applying pressure and tapping all the way around the circumference brought the race back to straight and then it pulled off pretty easily.
I think I cranked on the thing pretty hard:
That took way too long, but, it worked without damaging anything. It was later, so I didn't want to be using my grinder with a cutoff wheel. That would have been the quickest way, I know, but, I do try to be courteous to our decent neighbors. (That's a concept lost by all the )(*#$(*#$ that have moved onto the block in the past 5-10 years.)
I got the snapring out and proceeded to press out the old bearing:
Once I got it to the point you see above (the bearing was basically even with the opposite side of the spindle), I used a socket and hammer to pop it out.
Then I pressed in the new bearing and hub!
DONE! Finally. Now on to putting all this stuff into my CRX. Finally.
First, some non-whiny work was done. Then some whinyness will ensue. Be prepared.
Since I don't know when I will be able to utilize my friend's lathe again and being enthralled with the "rigid collar" idea and having been directed by an knowledgeable person as to a possible workable compromise, I ordered a small set of step drills from Amazon. I may review the set at a later date.
Here we go!
I used this to open of the holes in the subrame to a consistent diameter:
Why? So I can just make use of one type of simple flanged sleeve bearing (part number 6338K466 from McMaster-Carr) after some drilling and possibly reaming of the hole hole. Is it ideal? No, but I'm OK with that for now.
Next I got the "new" EX spindles out and took off the dust shields by grinding the head of the screws off since I have no idea where my impact driver has gotten to.
Then I dropped one into my blasting cabinet:
And promptly found that I couldn't see jack. I usually lift whatever I am working on close to the window in order to see, but the spindle was very, very awkward to do that with. I located my small shop vac and got that hooked up to the vent:
And that helped a LOT until the prefilter:
and filter clogged the heck up and I was running out of light so I just said screw it and packed everything up:
As you can see, I didn't get too far:
All the bits and pieces are now at a shop a friend recommended for powder coating. They will finish blasting and coat everything by Saturday. It's not cheap, but, this is the best darn way to take care of the whole thing at one time pretty much permanently.
I can now concentrate on cleaning up the steering rack and organizing the parts to get ready to slap everything back together, maybe as soon as this weekend. Exciting times, eh?
The bronze flange bushings aren't exactly what I am looking for, but they are cheap enough and readily available enough to try, so I will. If they don't work, it isn't the end of the world, but I figure I can try them and see what happens. It's not like they will cause anything to fall off (that wasn't ready to fall off in the first place). I am also curious as to weather or not I'd be able to tell a differences between the flanged bushings and the aluminum pieces I will eventually make. If I can, you will certainly hear about it. If I can't, then everyone has a cheap mod!
This is mostly just some observations and plans that I'm putting down here to help clarify the steps I need to take to get my CRX back on the road.
I was measuring a bunch of stuff on the subframe. The holes for the bolts that hold the subframe to the frame are really wonky, with no real exact sizing for the bolt holes. The reason why I am interested in this is since it is taking a while to get a new subframe, I have contemplated making a set of "rigid collars."
Basically, watch this video if you want to see what I'm talking about:
Spoon, the company marketing and selling these things, doesn't make a specific set for the CRX. A knock off company might, but I refuse to use anything from that company since they are just a real scuzzy company to start with. So, the options are to make them myself (or coerce my friend into making a set for me) or do without. I don't mind just normally reinstalling the subframe, but, if you know me, you know I like to improve things when I can.
I'll also be taking the liberty of stitch welding the subframe as my friend Steve suggested. It wold take too long to fully weld it, and honestly, for a street driven car, I would not recommend doing that. If you make the subframe too stiff, if something like hitting a curb happens again, the frame of the car will get bent, not just the subframe as has happened in my case. Stitch welding it will make it a bit stiffer and stronger while not going completely overboard with the time that would take.
Thinking along the lines of stiffening things up without getting silly, I bought these:
Prothane's steering rack bushings for the CRX. These will likely be the only red bushings you will (n)ever see on my car. The red ones were Prime eligible, the black ones were not, much to my annoyance. They are under the car. I'm not that annoyed. For $12.50 after taxes shipped, I won't complain, either.
I AM annoyed that the kit doesn't include new metal inserts. I hate putting old inserts into things. Again, I remind myself that it isn't a big deal since no one can see it and it doesn't matter if they are mucky because that doesn't effect the functionality one single bit.
I'm also looking at possibly having my suspension pieces powder coated if I can find a place that will do it in a timely fashion for not too much money. The weather this week and weekend is NOT conducive to getting a good paint coating on anything. Powder coating is a heck of a lot more durable than just about any spray can paint you can get. This is only a remote possibility, though. I'm not stressing about this too much, as, honestly, any paint on the stuff will do nicely compared to the bare metal that the suspension normally has.
Another issue I am fixing is my shift linkage. Holy crap is it beat the heck up. The joint is so sloppy, I am surprised it shifted as well as it did. This is also a bit more complex than most jobs, too, since this is something I've deemed necessary and the priority for any fabrication getting done. (This is much more important than the rigid collars, which are only something I'd like.) I've measured up all the hard parts on the shift linkage in order to design a set of bushings to replace the plastic bits that inevitably are worn well past any serviceability. These bushings are to be made from bearing bronze. I chose ASTM B505 (also known as 954) bronze, which has very good properties that make it nearly perfect for this application, especially considering the price and availability.
Here's a crappy Google Sketchup view of the bushing set:
The two taller bushings are for the yoke at the transmission end of the shift linkage. This will be pressed in place of the plastic stuff. The shorter bushing set is for the end of the shift lever itself. The flat washer is to be pressed into the side of the yoke to reduce the one larger hole down to the 8mm that the rest of the holes are. I will bolt everything together and use nylock nuts to prevent the bolts from backing out. I might, in the future, get a little fancier with retaining tabs or safety wire, but, KISS rules this operation.
That being said, I'll also finish my shift knob and be able to finally install my custom ginormomungous (That's a Beaver Patented Word, right there!) shift lever, which I am really, really dying to try.
I've got a new rear engine mount bracket coming soon, too, for the price of shipping. That's pretty darn awesome!
Other issues and things to take care of:
1. Install my MTX-L wideband and hardwire it to the stock O2 sensor input with a switch to switch between simulated narrowband and the full wideband signal. (Very useful, honestly. I like having the ECU checking AFR when cruising, quite frankly, and you can trick the ECU into leaning the engine out for better fuel economy if you reprogram the inflection point of the narrowband output!)
2. Fix the main ground wire that got knocked loose from the connector.
3. Possibly make a battery tray for the cute battery I am using, as I really don't like the ghetto way I have it strapped onto the stock battery tray for the moment.
4. Install the ES shifter bushings.
5. Finally get my new IAT sensor installed so I can finish
6. If I can get the rigid collars made, prep the chassis and new subframe for installation of the rigid collars. (More on that if it happens, but I do have a plane to make things a lot easier on myself.)
Okay, I think I'm done rambling for the night. I'm beat. I didn't feel so well today and work today was a mess of "stop that, do this NOW" and I will finish my chamomile tea and go to sleep.
I did some more sandblasting after work today. YAY! I finished the second FUCA (Front Upper Control Arm), then decided to see how well this thing handled crustier stuff. Enter my Hf manifold I've never cared a lick about aside from how it bolts in between the head and the turbo and usually directs exhaust gases into the turbo.
This is how we started out:
Typical trusty, crusty cast iron.
After a couple of minutes playing around:
I then realized I was burning daylight and had better things to do with my time, related to my front suspension. Enter one of the hubs, clean for your consideration:
The front side is clean, at least. I have to finish the backside.
Notice the tape around the hub stub:
I don't want to blast the precision machined surface that fits into the bearing. It is already very clean and doesn't need the tolerances changed a bit.
I've been tweaking the setup of the cabinet as I've gone along. Having eliminated all the leaks I can without getting really retarded (and I do need a new hose as the hose is leaking, too, darnit), the only problem I have with blasting continuously is keeping the end of the media feed tube buried.
To that end, and since I nearly always am holding the piece I am blasting closer to the cloudy, sand/dust covered plastic "viewing" shield, I took out the grate:
This let me use my hands in the gloves to scoop the media over the end of the media feed tube much more easily, and this made blasting a heck of a lot faster.
I am wondering if grounding the cover would help at all. I am pretty sure that most of the issue is static cling.
Finally, this is a for reference shot of the other hub which is about as crusty as the other hub started out:
