Is getting a used one out of the question? Or, how about a new one from Amazon - about $75. A local mechanic could replace it.

 

It's an integral piece that mates with the front cover. It's a lot of work. May have to remove the engine or separate the transmission. You have to get the honda bond beads just right to seal the front cover and the pan...

 

What a ridiculous design.

 

2 options...
Park in reverse
Sit up straight and align the lowe part of the drivers side door mirrors to the top of the parking space next to you..... if you do this it won't happen again

 

Ah OK, I'll try that. Thanks.

 

So the mechanic told me they had to remove the AC compressor to get to it (I think it was the compressor) but I'm pretty sure they didn't take out the transmission or the entire engine. Of course he didnt say anything about how hard it is to get the seal right.

 

Definitely in the way. I would have moved to the side and kept connected. Hopefully they didn't charge you an ac refill etc. I guess it could be done without taking off the front cover but it didn't look like it to me. All three surfaces, the block, the pan, and the front cover are flat faces and met together under the crank and are held together with Honda Bond and bolts, but no "gasket." The bottom of the bell housing also bolts to the oil pan but no bond there... good luck, I would check for leaks daily for like a month .

 

He may have just not mentioned the front cover specifically. I don't have the invoice with me but I know it didn't list an AC recharge. Its possible I could have sourced the pan cheaper, but for now I went with my dad's recommendation and let the mechanic do his thing as the price didn't seem too crazy (I think). OK I'll remember to check for leaks.

 

It sounds like you're all sorted! Best of luck, these are fantastic cars!

 

I'm glad that was in print. Otherwise, it could have been mis-heard as, "You're all sordid." 😂

 

All going in the Fit!! Like in the engine compartment, not to haul too another build...

 

I envy you! : ) That will be a fun project. Take your time. Take pictures.

 

Sweet! Not sure what most of it is but looks like fun.

 

just got a new set of wheels the other day :-)
GD fit HFP wheels. 4x100 6.5 +55. previous owner had them on an integra. they were powdercoated a dark bronze.

also threw in jdm hazard switch after seeing skylineftw97 do it and getting motivated to finally do it. thx for the inspo <3
polished the plastic around the headunit today too.

 

It was definitely a nice touch.

And speaking of my little yellow barnstormer, she's closing in on 100k miles. Decided to do an oil change now since I'm closeish to my usual ~3k mile interval.




Finally got that RS badge on. Needs a wash which I'll get to eventually (I'm a mechanic, not a detailer). Decided to show off a bit of my typical oil change routine. Of course I took a bit more time since this is my personal car, but not that much more. I'm a bit compulsive with my work and I Can't help but get everything perfect.
​​​​​​
Also a quick look at my toolbox. I was gonna buy a larger one from Harbor Freight, but they upped the prices on the next size up to almost $800, and that's just unacceptable to me. So I'm gonna buy a couple used boxes to augment my little cart here.



Oil still has a nice amber hue, just the way I like to see it. Of course as a Honda tech, I use OEM Honda filters. Even from the stealership, they're not that expensive. Actually cheaper than the aftermarket ones at any big box auto parts store. For a regular consumer, a single one is ~$10.

I also like to prefill my filters whenever possible. The L15B1 filter base is at an angle, so I filled it ~30%, enough to more quickly prime the oil system but not enough to make a mess.



The tires were all at 36.8 PSI initially. I set them to 35.5 PSI as a baseline. I make at least 2 passes to each wheel since it always drops or increases depending on the initial pressure after the first fill. You get much more consistent readings this way. Mine are always within .1 PSI of each other. I do this on every car I work on.



The next safeguard to prevent becoming a luber goober. I torque every single drain bolt to spec. On basically all Hondas and Acuras, that spec is 36 ft/lbs. You don't have to break the bank and finance one off the tool truck. This is a Tekton 3/8" torque wrench I got off Amazon. I rarely buy off the trucks, and I pretty much only do so on stuff that I use a lot. I also refuse to do payments.


Still has the undertray. A bit annoying at times, but since I like to cruise at 80+ MPH, I figure the reduction in drag is worth keeping it around.



Always good practice to check the level at least twice, then start the car and let it run for a few seconds to circulate the oil (and check for leaks). I also like to lube the o rings on the dipstick tube. Those get stuck on the neglected ones, and this is a cheap insurance policy to keep that from happening.


Probably overkill for the less than 2 PSI my tires were off from my baseline, but on models with indirect TPMS, I like to do a hard TPMS reset. All that takes is hitting the TPMS button or selecting recalibrate in your menu 3x at least 3 seconds apart. The light should hold steady for a few seconds and turn off after recalibration #3 if done successfully.


I use trip B to log distance between oil changes. The average MPG is a bit low, but DC traffic (and lots of spirited driving) does that. I do find that the trip meter underestimates my mileage by 1-2 MPG and I usually get between 33 and 34. Could be better, but I'm not complaining.

Also I rarely even make it to 3k between changes. Usually I get antsy and do it before, but even by my own admission, this is overkill. I get my oil for free and the filter costs me $7, so it's not breaking the bank for me to do it early and often.

So why the long writeup over a basic oil change service? I felt like it. Maybe someone who isn't too experienced can learn something from it, and hopefully I've shown that not all of us dealer techs are bad people. Some of us do want to have your car leave in better shape than we founded it in.

 

Absolutely love that color.

 

Mystic Yellow Pearl has since become my favorite GK5 factory color. I wasn't originally looking for it when I got mine. I just knew I didn't want it to be white, gray, silver, or black. I hate boring colors. I'd rather have a loud and ugly color than a boring one (my old 1994 Civic was purple, my Jeep is green, and my old Subaru Outback was a green/beige 2 tone).

But when I saw this one, not only did it have the yellow, which I liked, but it already had the Sparco Terras on it and it cost about the same as other manual GK5s. It was too good to pass up, even if I had to drive 2 hours out of my way to get it.

 

installed jdm sized ebay side mirror. super easy took all of 20 minutes
it seems to be good quality, i cant really tell any major differences between this and oem. it still has power adjustment which is good !
i didnt want to order both in case there was any problems with fitment
going to order the right passenger side one and then get the spoon wide angle mirrors to finish it off.
the mirror from inside:

outside:



oem usdm passenger side mirror is still on for now. for comparison:

 

Very nice. It looks like my son's Fit.

 

JDM is less wide (squarer)?