Teksid 2V Tech Article (Must Read)

[Kmax]

I hope you're recovering well! We have COVID everywhere too, being very careful, fortunate so far. There are some tragic stories out there.
I'm still waiting for the final pieces: dipstick+tube, water pump pulley and coils. I've started clearing up the cabling and hoses attached to the engine, and i did some creative "dimpling" on the driver side header. It's been so cold here that i haven't spent much time in the shop in the past month.
Hope all is well, here's what it looks like today. ...regards, kevin

 

[massacre]

Engine looks great

 

[Kmax]

It's been a long time coming, but the project is getting close. The build phase is done, and now good friend (licensed mechanic who hates doing aftermarket projects) is helping with the swap. The original engine, which has 266,000km and when last dyno'd put out 250hp and 300lb/ft is now out of the car. I did some research and managed to persuade myself that it had to come out the bottom because of header clearance issues. We took out the k-member and tried to drop the engine, but the headers were in the way. To be honest, out the bottom was my idea, but my mechanic said he'd rather take it out the top. Turns out he had the better idea.
I've moved the power steering and air conditioning pumps, engine mounts, brackets for p/s reservoir and alternator, headers and idler pulleys to the new engine. Tomorrow we'll put the new block in the car and connect all the hoses and cables, and mount the new flywheel, clutch, release bearing, and line up and install the transmission (T-56).
I took your advice, Bill, and installed a remote oil cooler and filter. I might have to add a fan to move air through the radiator, we'll see what the temps look like.
Here are some photos from the past couple days, more to follow, along with some results. ...regards, kevin

 

[Kmax]

Snail-like progress today, but progress (i hope). When you tear stuff apart, sometimes you find interesting things, like the obvious header exhaust leaks. Since i put headers on (7/8 years ago?) i've had P0133 and P0153 codes fairly regularly. I did some research (on the always-accurate internet), and found that some people think that moving the downstream O2 sensors causes just enough delay to set codes. This may still be true, but i'm sure that exhaust leaks cause problems too...
When i first put the pressure plate on the flywheel (both are McLeod parts), i was concerned about the 1/4" gap between them. But as i gradually tightened the bolts, the gap disappeared, and this is apparently normal. It's been a while since i put in a clutch, so memory... Nothing to do with age, no sir... And you know those bellhousing bolts that are such a pain when the transmission is in the car? Easy.
Maybe tomorrow i'll fill that empty engine bay. ...regards, kevin

 

[Bill]

It is always interesting to see what you find when you pull one out. I always seem to break something I wanted to use, or find it broken already. I think you'll like the oil cooler. I used a Taurus two-speed electric fan and a Steeda Ultracool radiator on my last one. I adapted a large thin power steering cooler off of an F-550 Ford Truck as an oil cooler.

 

[Kmax]

Agreed, the original engine is an interesting archeological study. Now i remember that coolant leak a few years ago, and the areas i couldn't clean up after an oil leak, and the bolt i dropped under the intake manifold and and and...

It's alive, and in the car! I have a few wrinkles to iron out, and i'm being meticulously careful about the break-in, but i have a car again. My first impression: it sounds different. A bit more mechanical noise, not in a bad way, just more complex. Might be because i'm listening so carefully
I'm exquisitely aware of chains and gears and bearings... The exhaust has a different note too, a hint of cam lope (barely, but still) and a bit more aggressive, like hitting the same drum just a bit harder. I also get the impression that the steering is a bit more responsive. It wasn't sluggish before, but it "seems" to turn quicker. It definitely follows the grooves in the highway, stay awake! I might be able to dial that back a bit with toe settings.
For now, load on/load off, vary the RPM, stay under 4000. It doesn't want to idle at 750rpm. I've loaded an 87 octane tune for my peace of mind, and it's going to take a little while to establish short and long-term fuel mapping. Maybe that will help the idle? I wasn't able to install the 24lb injectors because they're EV6 connectors and the wiring harness is EV1. The BBK fuel rails do not fit because of interference with the fuel feed line, and the coils on cylinders 1,4,5,8 hit the rail mounting brackets. I called BBK and a very honest chap told me they know about it and will refund the purchase. I'm going to try to get some adapters made, the BBK fellow said he will be happy with my R&D input... I'll install the 24lb injectors in a couple days, now that i have some EV1-EV6 adapters.
Something interesting, the oil pressure gauge shows no pressure. I checked with a handheld tester and i do have pressure. I replaced the switch/sensor, no change. It could be the MMR remote oil filter/cooler adapter that the sensor plugs into isn't giving a good ground from the block to the base of the sensor. I'll patch directly from the sensor base to ground to check that out.
Fingers crossed. ...regards, kevin

 

[Bill]

I'm loving the engineering time you are putting in on this. So many of the details you have covered in the build were things I had a specialist or vendor do for me. I was not aware of the issue with BBK fuel rails. They are popular, so nice to know and follow up on. I had a similar problem with an oil pressure sending unit and determined that it was because I had used a sealant on the threads and weakened the ground to almost nothing. That took some tinkering to figure out, as I had to clean the threads on both sides.

 

[Kmax]

I appreciate your kind words, Bill , but honestly, if i had half the knowledge of a real mechanic or engineer, this project would have been complete ages ago!
I put another careful 50km on the engine today, and verified my initial impressions. This engine makes more mechanical sounds than the original. It's like comparing an amplifier with Bass and Treble to an amp with Bass, Midrange and Treble. When i let off the throttle to shift, i can hear the timing chains slowing down. The exhaust definitely has a slightly harder edge, maybe because of the higher compression or maybe from the cams? It's subtle, but it's there. I think there might be a bit more induction sound from the porting as well, but i'm going to put a couple more hours on this thing before i wind it up to check that. Again, the changes are subtle, but there.
I'm pleased to note that the bucksheet ground strap on the oil pressure switch works. I used 3 layers of teflon tape on the base of the switch when i installed it, and that was enough resistance to make it fail. Here's my temporary fix. ...regards, kevin

 

[Kmax]

I had my favourite machine shop fabricate some adapters for the BBK fuel rails. They sit on top of the injectors, and add 3/8" to allow clearance between the rail mounting brackets and the coils on plugs. The extra clearance also makes more room for the fuel line inlet connection. I made up some rail mounting brackets from 1/8" aluminum plate and tightened everything down (note the carved coil where i tried to make the new rails fit). Here's what it looks like today...
On a related note, i datalogged a drive today, and my long-term fuel trims are way out of whack, especially bank 2/driver's side. I'm using a Diablosport tuner. The engine ran "rough" in any gear when coasting at 1400rpm with the original (21lb) injectors, and is slightly better with the new injectors, but not smooth. The driver's side long-term fuel trim is consistently 7-8% more negative than the other bank, indicating that the ecu is compensating for a rich condition. It makes sense that long-term fuel trim would compensate for the bigger injectors (24lb now, compared to 21lb factory originals), but i need to figure out why the difference between banks 1 and 2. No obvious black tailpipe. Tomorrow i'll pull the plugs on bank 2 to see if one cylinder is fouled. Any of you chaps have experience with datalogging and fuel trim issues? On a positive note, the idle has stabilized at 750rpm.
I now have about 600km on the new engine, i'll change the oil at 1000km and start to push the rpm a bit after that, but first, that fuel thing...
...regards, kevin

 

[Bill]

That is an awesome solution. I love the adapters.

 

[Kmax]

Thanks, Bill. The adapters weren't cheap, but i figured there's no point in trying to hide now
I'm really struggling with the fuel trim issue. The PCM is really pouring fuel into bank 2. I've replaced the upstream O2 sensor, but all that did was make the datalog show the problem more clearly. Here's a screenshot of a typical 30 second span in closed loop at a constant highway RPM. Light blue is short term fuel trim on bank 2, dark blue is bank 2 long term fuel trim. Light green is STFT on bank 1, dark green is LTFT bank 1. The light green is what i would expect to see, constantly cycling from rich to lean and accurately controlled by the upstream O2 sensor on bank 1. I've removed the power/control plug from all injectors (5/6/7/8) on bank 2 at idle, the RPM drops appropriately, and i get flashes with a test lamp on the control leads of all injectors. I'll check control leads on the COP wiring next. The engine runs "rough" at steady-state RPM in any gear on the highway, but no DTC set.
I'm also going to check the O2 sensor leads for continuity to the PCM. I'm sure there are lots of Honda Civics running perfectly out there...
Another thing i've learned: Use a dab of RTV on the joins between the rear cover/block to the pan gasket. I might need to pull the transmission when i do the 1000km oil change...
...regards, kevin

 

[Bill]

Is your system able to log and compare pulse duration on the injectors? Could it be that Bank 1 and Bank 2 have different duration values assigned?

 

[Kmax]

Unfortunately, the Diablosport tuner can't do that. I've just ordered an OBD2 cable to use with FORScan, so i'm hoping i can use the Mode 6 function to look at individual components (injectors, coils, misfire events...). Do you use FORScan or something similar? ...regards, kevin

 

[Bill]

I don't do any tuning at the moment, but when we were in the business, we used SCT products, mostly because that was the preference of our tuner guru. Data logging has progressed a long ways since I did that kind of work. I will take a look at FORScan and see if I have anything useful to add.

 

[Kmax]

Problem solved. I pulled out the O2 sensor cabling, removed the sheathing/loom and verified each individual wire had continuity from the sensors to the PCM and 12v/ground connectors. Then i followed the colour code of each wire... insert bad language here... and discovered that i had reversed the upstream O2 sensor cables Looking at it now, it's obvious. The upstream connectors are green, downstream are blue. The cable for O2 sensor 2-1 (driver side upstream) is about 4 inches longer than 1-1. It's well concealed by the bellhousing, and that's my pathetic excuse. I drove about 50km and ran another datalog which shows my fuel trims coming down to expected levels. No more random misfires, the engine runs smoothly at all RPMs, at all throttle positions. I feel dumb and pleased at the same time...
Next week i'll do the post break-in oil change, fix that #$%&@ oil leak, and make a dyno/tune appointment. On a positive note, my O2 sensor cabling is now beautiful. I soldered in extensions to make the sensor pigtails the exact right length, more or less.
...regards, kevin

 

[Bill]

It does look nice now. I'm a big proponent of cleaning and rewrapping wire looms. I have found several issues in advance that way (and missed/caused a couple as well).

 

[Kmax]

Agreed, i've been cleaning and rerouting cables (and hoses) whenever the opportunity presents itself. The engine now has about 1100km, and it's running nice. I did the first oil change yesterday, and i filtered the old oil to see what was in it. A few tiny bits of metal, more like slivers, but no jagged
pieces. On the advice of my engine builder and the tuner, i've decided to go another 4000km on regular oil before changing to synthetic, just to let the rings seat fully. I still have to pull the transmission, clutch and flywheel to see where the oil's leaking at the rear of the engine and RTV seal it. I have an appointment with a dyno shop to do a couple pulls and check/change fuel delivery. It's running rich, black soot at the tailpipes. I still have the 87 octane tune in the pcm, might be time to go to a 91 tune.d
Tomorrow i'm going to weigh the front and rear axles to see what the weight change amounts to. The front end "feels" more responsive with the lighter engine, it'll be interesting to see how much the Teksid block took off the front springs.
Here's a photo of the engine bay today:
...regards, kevin

 

[Kmax]

Another 60km drive today, load on/load off, varied RPM, a couple pulls to 4000RPM in 1st, 2nd, 3rd. Ok, maybe 3 pulls. The engine sounds good, a bit of induction rasp/snarl above 3000, sounds nice at 4000. The exhaust has a subtle cam lope at idle when at operating temperature, and a mellow but throaty note starting at 2000rpm. Really nice at 4000rpm. I've built "quarter-wave pipes" to cancel out the dreaded "drone" resonant frequency, and they work well with the new engine. I'm still being conservative, so no pulls past 4000rpm, but it feels like it has at least the torque of the old engine (which dyo'd at 250hp/300tq) last fall. Tuesday i'll take it to the dyno/tuner to check the AFR and make the first adjustments... likely to cut back on fuel delivery. Here's a datalog from today, it looks much better with the O2 sensors straightened out!
...regards, kevin

 

[massacre]

Any details on the 1/4 wave pipes? Sounds interesting!

 

[Kmax]

Oboy, lots of details! When i put together the new exhaust system, i had the worst "drone" between 1600-2100rpm. I recorded it on my phone, checked it with a frequency measurement app and found it to be about 131hz. Long story short, that frequency has a wavelength of about 124 inches (going from memory here... that could be a bit off). According to the research i did, what you need to do is build a resonance chamber that has 1/4 of the wavelength of that resonant frequency and weld it in at 90 degrees to the exhaust. I started with a section of pipe (2-1/2", same as the exhaust) about 36" long, and gradually cut off pieces until i got to about 29-1/2" and voila! No more "drone"! That drone was always present, just really loud at a specific RPM range, so when i got rid of it the exhaust note was quieter at all RPMs. Much more pleasant to listen to!
Here are a couple photos of the pipes, i used clamps while getting the length sorted out but will weld them up later. Don't look at my welding
I weighed the car today, and it looks like the Teksid block took a bit over 70lbs off the front end. With the battery in the trunk, and me in the driver's seat, the weights are:

Front 870kg (1914lbs)
Rear 780kg (1716lbs)
Total 1650kg (3650lbs)
If i subtract about 190lbs for me, the car weighs 3460 and the weight distribution is about 52.7% front/47.3% rear.

...regards, kevin