Project Sissy - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Mölyapina · #31 09-18-2013, 02:18 PM

...so how much weight in the T4 at this point? How does it do with heavy loads?

SirNik84 · #32 09-18-2013, 02:27 PM

she drove great with the engine in it last weekend. This trip with the transmission and all the parts/fluids/ect for the Honda will be a slow drive, but I think she'll do just fine. I put air shocks in the back so I pumped those up. It was actually really easy to load the car. I let the air out of the shocks and the engine (with a tire under the oil pan) just cleared the cargo area with my friend and I kneeling on the bumper. then we let up on the bumper and the engine was in the car. then aired up the shocks and slid the engine stand off the engine. Once at my friends house the engine will be going on another engine stand (another Harbor Freight stand) so I left the bracket bolted to the back of the engine.

Mölyapina · #33 09-18-2013, 02:34 PM

I really should get one of those... just can't justify it right now

. I might justify it as a winter vehicle, but I'm worried about getting hit by the maniacs racing along in the snow with 4WD/AWD trucks. Around here, when there is a snowstorm, the question is never whether there are spinouts, but where... they occur at up to the rate of 1/two hours on the interstates alone.

SirNik84 · #34 09-24-2013, 12:33 AM

Act 2:

Did the engine transplant in the Civic this weekend.

Parts bought, its time to begin.

We started by getting the car off the trailer. had to get my buddy to go crawl in the trunk. This lead to us finding a half empty bottle of DexCool in the trunk. This will play into the story here in a bit

Some back story:
When my step sister had me work on her car last year she told me that if the car was broken that was ok because then she could get a new car from her mom.
I told her there was nothing wrong with the car and she was kind of disappointed. I never understood that logic. I've never really wanted to see a car dead.

Back story to the back story:
The first time her car overheated she bought some DexCool and my dad took the bottle from her and gave her some universal coolant. My dads friend had to replace his radiator after mixing DexCool with green coolant because it formed solids and clogged his radiator. So my dad told her never to put it in the car because it will form solids.

Back to the story at hand.

We get the car in the garage. We get the hood popped and opened all the way. Unlike the MB the Honda needed a little help from a ratchet strap.

Then we started taking the car apart.

We get the car the radiator out and this is what we find.

DexCool mixed with green coolant. All the radiator hoses and other cooling system parts we took off and wanted to reuse had to be washed because there was "cholesterol" in them. I didn't get to wash the heater core, so that needs to me flushed out. anyway, back to the mechanicing.

After we got it all loose we tried to lift it out, buy realized it was much easier to get it out the bottom. with the large truck jack stands we were using, the car was just high enough to pass the engine out from under the car.

Here are my compadres

We got the new engine bolted into the transmission

My friend Nick turning the engine over for me to put in the torque converter to flex plate bolts.

The new engine and transmission went into the car with surprising ease. The only difficulties I had was the Knock Sensor. those things are fragile! I broke both of them, of both engines. I had to buy another one.

Oh well, You live you learn. NEVER TRY AND UNPLUG THE KNOCK SENSOR. If i had to do it again, I would have cut and soldered the wire.

After that hiccup. we got the engine ready to run.... except for, seems the after-market ebay header wasn't exactly perfect. the bung for the O2 sensor placed it so the wires would hit one of the drive axles, right on the axle boot. But lucky for me my friend works at the welding supply store, so even though it was Sunday we went to the store and welded in a new bung at a 45 degree angle so the there is plenty of clearance for the axle. Anyway, here she is! Engine Installed!

And proof that it moves.

Final Act:

That brings us around to the the Drama

We took the car for a test drive over to my dads house. My dad was pleased to see that the car was running well. And informed me my step sister must have knew I was coming cause she had just hurried out of the house and drove away. I then handed him the DexCool. And he says “so she killed it” Then my step mom comes out. She sees the coolant and my dad starts going off about how he told her to get rid of that coolant. She swears up and down that she did get rid of it, and that my step sister was only putting the normal coolant in the car. Then my dad asks “then where did that bottle come from?”

My step mom them gives some spheel about how my step sister is a girl and thus cant be expected to know about coolants and car stuff.

Then lays the blame for the cars demise at the foot my dad, myself and even my friend Nick, for not taking better care of the civic for her.

(Nick lives near my dad so helps him and my family from time to time.) Then my step mom gets upset and walks off. My dad and Nick and I talk over the car for about 30 min about all the family drama. I told him “as much as I like my step mom, she got played.”

Moral of this story. When you know how to fix cars, you get ragged on for only paying 500 for a dead Civic, but if you don't know how to fix cars, you get an Acura. I'm so happy I can fix cars, Mercedes are so much better then Acuras

Grand total, I'm in to this Civic for about $2400. My dad values the car at about 2000, but I think I can get more for it in the city. If nothing else I have a commuter car now.

EDIT:
I don't think I said this earier, but my step sister is 26, and has never left home.

JB3 · #35 09-24-2013, 07:02 AM

Nice job, how's the performace and note with the header?

I love the white valve cover.

So are you thinking she intentionally put the wrong coolant in to try and kill the car so she could have the acura?

I'm always of the opinion that there are people who are mechanically inclined, and those that aren't, and its tough to get our heads around their thought processes.
People who dump coolant into the oil, or oil into the radiator, ect. Do you think it could have been an honest mistake? Like she tuned out or immediately forgot what your dad ad you had said about the coolant mix issue?

My sister has been known to do this. Otherwise very capable, but a car is a mystical machine, and she has admitted to my brother in law and I that she cannot really tell the difference between a corvette stingray and a corolla other than one is old. Or color difference.
She once destroyed the engine in a geo she owned after a minor fender bender by continuing to drive it to work with a punctured radiator after I expressely told her to call a tow truck. She did not understand what the importance of coolant was, and would glaze over when I would drone on about fluids and such, and why they should be in there. My guess is she thought coolant or oil are like gasoline. The engine will stop if you run out, and all you have to do is add more and it will run again with minor inconvenience. That was 5 years ago, and I swear she still doesn't understand why it was ruined

SirNik84 · #36 09-24-2013, 11:32 AM

My dad said it pretty well, "Shes ether an idiot, or manipulative, ether one is not very good"

Maybe she is that clueless. My real mom and sister (not the step family) are both in engineering jobs, my mom is a civil engineer, and my sister works for a construction management company. So in my family there is no excuse for a girl. None of this "because shes a girl she can't understand"

I think this is one of the hardest things for my dad. Hes normally surrounded by smart, technical people. but at home hes got my step sister. My dad volunteer coached basket ball teams for the middle school, hes been an assistant scoutmaster for the local scout troop. Hes a pretty good teacher, for never having any training in teaching. Hes tried so hard to just get my sister to listen to him, and yeah, her eyes glass over and then she runs off. Idk, maybe it is a chemical in her brain that makes her not understand cars. but what scares me a little. My step sister has her CNA and is an assistant in the local ER... how can you deal with medicine that have the potential to kill humans, but can't handle the proper coolant.

JB3 · #37 09-24-2013, 11:57 AM

it might be a matter of what you care about.

My sister is a public defender, dealing with complex criminal court cases, listening to people and sorting through lies or language barriers, trying to defend people properly and dealing with complex bureaucracy of the state systems.
I do not understand half of the stuff she deals with, and do not pick up on all the subtle nuances of legal documents and such that mean jail or freedom (or less jail) for her clients that she has to pick up.

Basically, if she cared about car stuff, she could remember what to do, but she doesnt care, its an appliance to get around, and as soon as its slightly difficult to use, shes not happy about it. The process of how something works mechanically is totally uninteresting to her, up to and including how to maintain the mechanism.

Chances are your step sister probably doesn't care in the least about car stuff. She probably hates the honda because it had needs that required tending, and she was probably proud of herself that she even knew it had a temp gauge and knew to buy coolant. Shes probably thinking how unfair it is that "you are all getting on my case and I bought coolant like you said! but it was somehow wrong! Why are there different coolants? the guy at the parts store/walmart/big lots said it would be fine!"

My experience has been that its never what the family members have given as excellent advice, its always what some random employee said at the actual time of purchase of the coolant.

-"I have a honda, is this ok?" (holds up random coolant jug)
-"yup, itl be fine" (did not look, does not care)
-"ok!" (happy because she got the right thing)

Zulfiqar · #38 09-24-2013, 12:06 PM

you dont need to ratchet strap the hood - Honda provides the service position.

The little hole besides the hood hinge takes the stick to keep it in service position (fully upright)

btw - nice car - its really easy to work on too.

SirNik84 · #39 09-24-2013, 12:17 PM

JB3, Your right. I never thought her an idiot, which is why I kind of jumped to the "manipulative" option, but maybe its simple lack or care and laziness. Ether way, I don't think giving her a nicer car was the correct action. I told my step mom and my dad to take my step sister to the Kia dealer and walk her through buying a new car. If shes not going to be a "car person" (read that as someone who can check fluids and read labels) then she needs to know how to buy a new car and do that every 5 years or when the warranty runs out. That way she can use the warranty to keep the car maintained.
But nope, they gave her a very nice used car. which will rapidly become as "unreliable" (read that as needing fluids) as the Honda under her care.
I guess we'll see what happens when she kills the Acura in a few years.

SirNik84 · #40 09-24-2013, 12:25 PM

Zulfiqar, I'll check out the hood tonight, thanks for the tip

I'm a noob to the ins and outs of the Honda, but the more I work on this thing the more respect I have for Honda. I've always liked Honda, my pressure washer starts every time, lol, but never really been all that familiar with their cars.

JB3 · #41 09-24-2013, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirNik84

JB3, Your right. I never thought her an idiot, which is why I kind of jumped to the "manipulative" option, but maybe its simple lack or care and laziness. Ether way, I don't think giving her a nicer car was the correct action. I told my step mom and my dad to take my step sister to the Kia dealer and walk her through buying a new car. If shes not going to be a "car person" (read that as someone who can check fluids and read labels) then she needs to know how to buy a new car and do that every 5 years or when the warranty runs out. That way she can use the warranty to keep the car maintained.
But nope, they gave her a very nice used car. which will rapidly become as "unreliable" (read that as needing fluids) as the Honda under her care.
I guess we'll see what happens when she kills the Acura in a few years.

This puts you in a nice position. You get to observe, document whats broken, and collect the bits and pieces profitably later.

Who knows, in a few years you might be able to offer her a nice white Honda civic in exchange for an acura with a blown transmission or something and a wad of cash. This could go on forever

I did this for years with an old volvo. I owned it, fixed it up, drove it around, sold it to a friend, he broke everything, sold it to me for cheap, I fixed everything, sold it back for a profit, he broke everything, sold it to me for cheap, and so on for 5 or 6 years. I think there were at least 7 transactions between us on that one car. It got comical in the end. Things fell apart when he moved out of state

iwrock · #42 09-24-2013, 12:43 PM

You driving it today?

iwrock · #43 09-24-2013, 12:44 PM

I want to see if we can fit the Honda into the back of my truck.

SirNik84 · #44 09-24-2013, 01:00 PM

Problem with your truck is you can't put anything in the back of it without a fork lift. I don't think you can lift the Honda the required 6 feet to get into the bed of the Bro-Dozer.

As for me driving it today, yes.

Zulfiqar · #45 09-24-2013, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirNik84

Zulfiqar, I'll check out the hood tonight, thanks for the tip

I'm a noob to the ins and outs of the Honda, but the more I work on this thing the more respect I have for Honda. I've always liked Honda, my pressure washer starts every time, lol, but never really been all that familiar with their cars.

Honda made very good machines, look at the front suspension in this civic, it was designed in 1984 and first used in the Accord, before them Mercedes benz used it in the W123 and it requires no explanation here.

The new Hondas are more like Kias now, borrowed cheap designs that are useless, At one time Honda were even focusing on how the engine sounded (the old Honda B18C engine sounds like a cross between a Ford BDA and a Fiat Twin cam - a very throaty induction roar that is nice to hear. The new ones are literally wheezy.