NSX Health Check Service

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

Addition to my NSX Climate Control Unit (CCU) service, I have been offering the NSX Health Check Service for some of the members here.
As I received similar questions on this, I would like to share some of the information of the service and the maintenance works carried out based on the result of this.

[Edit: It will take minimum of 4Hrs plus another 1Hr for the report.
Due to the time required and to be fair with the owners who are taking the further service based on the health check report, the new price is GBP250 as of May/2012 and it includes GBP100 deposit towards the future major services.
The depoist is valid for a limited time decided by myself and as it is recommended to take Health Check service once a year, the time limit will be much shorter than that.
The criteria of 'major service' to be decided by myself.
The depoist of GBP100 won't be refunded to the owner if one couldn't take the major service within the time limit unless separate agreement has been made with me.]

As I can only carry out this during my spare time at this stage, it will be private/friend basis.

I will inspect your NSX for about 150 check points from top to bottom and front to rear. During the health check, I’ll ask several questions such as when the last time this part was serviced so it would be nice if you can bring your service record or study them prior to the health check.

After this, I’ll summarise the recommended future service works with three different priorities so that you can discuss with your mechanic or myself to schedule the service timing and also spread the cost. It is recommended to carry out this kind of Health check every 6 months regardless of the mileage since the last health check.

As a personal opinion, anyone with NSX workshop manual can carry out the service work. Also, anyone with the parts list can place the order for you.

However, the service result would be different depending on the knowledge, skill, experience and so on. On top of these, there are several things that can only be detected by the sense/feeling which is not on the workshop manual.

You could be ordering a part without knowing the fact that it could be repaired rather than replacing or it could be upgraded with small extra cost.

Addition to these, knowing the car from the development stage, understanding the specific design reason of each parts and experience in the motor racing will make different level of service.

Some of the members decided to go ahead with the Health check service and even went further to leave the car at my place or placed orders for the parts.

Followings are some of the works that I carried out recently.

New Front Brake Disks and Refurbished Front Brake Calliper with new pistons
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ABS service including flushing the four solenoids
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[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Vacuum test and fill of coolant with new header tank, thermostat and cap
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The coolant hose will be forced to collapse during vacuum test
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Oil filter filled with Oil
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[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Air mix motor repair and Door linkage repair
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Door panel internal weather sheet repair
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Antenna mast service
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[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Nice new weatherstrip and Washed the car and dressed the tyre
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Hope you enjoyed.

Regards,
Kaz

[AR]

Kaz can you carry out services such as the harmonic balancer swap and a clutch change?

Cheers,

Ary

[Minch]

Kaz,

Where are you based in Bucks? I'm also in Bucks.

There is quite a lot of work to be carried out on my car including air con, new front knuckles (worn ball joints!), replacement ABS modulator etc . . . not to mention window fix kit and other smaller items.

I had been planning for most of this work to be carried out at a local garage . . . well at least the larger work. However things like the Antennae still do not work properly so I would be very interested in your "check up".

Please PM me.

Regards
Nathan

[amo]

also id luv to pop in and have a chat with you
pm me ur address im in chalfont next week wed and thur

thx amo

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Kaz can you carry out services such as the harmonic balancer swap and a clutch change?

Cheers,

Ary
Hi, Ary.
Yes, I can carry out these works and if your clutch is not slipping yet, it would be best if you can first carry out the health check and then discuss the future service work with me or with your mechanic. Quite often, it is best to replace several parts around shift folk area when you are replacing the clutch but not many people are doing this.

At the moment, I'm preparing to drop the engine and gbox from my car (5MT) and from another car (AT) in order to take lots of photos. Then, I would like to setup and offer several packaged maintenance menu. The aim is to be able to offer the refresh maintenance service for our NSX.
I just need more time and space in order to carry out these services. Hope to post something on here in the near future.

Hi, Nathan and amo.
I'll send PM to you after this.

Regards,
Kaz

[Auto Spirit]

Hi Kaz,

I'd love to sign up for your service.

I had already had the air con / CCU and Bose speakers on my list of repairs needed and was going to approach you about that work, so if you're able to fit me in for that, I'd be happy to add the service check too.

Let me know the kind of timescales you're thinking of.

I'm based in Windsor - where in Bucks are you?

PM me if you have a sec.

Cheers.
Parvin

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi Kaz,

I'd love to sign up for your service.......
..................
PM me if you have a sec.

Cheers.
Parvin
Hi, Parvin. Thank you for showing interest to my service. I'll send PM after this.

Regards,
Kaz

[Auto Spirit]

Hi, Parvin. Thank you for showing interest to my service. I'll send PM after this.

Regards,
Kaz

Hi Kaz,

Thanks for getting back to me - I've emailed you some more details so look forward to chatting through with you in more detail.

Cheers

[NSXGB]

Big thumbs up for Kaz's Health Check service. Well worth every penny.
I now have an honestly compiled and detailed schedule to work to for service and repairs.
A thoroughly nice chap too.

Cheers Kaz.

[markc]

Big thumbs up for Kaz's Health Check service. Well worth every penny.
I now have an honestly compiled and detailed schedule to work to for service and repairs.
A thoroughly nice chap too.

Cheers Kaz.

In the nicest possible way, and no offense meant or implied to Kaz, is this different to what you'd get from an HUK service/checkup? Is it better, cheaper or both?

Are we admitting that our cars are better "serviced" outside of the official Honda UK dealer network or just looking for better value?

In the longer term NSX owners will need specialists to service our steeds as the official HUK dealers lose both the capability (skill) interest (will) to look after them.

Cheers

Mark

[NSXGB]

In the nicest possible way, and no offense meant or implied to Kaz, is this different to what you'd get from an HUK service/checkup? Is it better, cheaper or both?

I would have to say yes. Kaz is more than qualified to work on NSX's, has more knowledge than your average NSX technician, I would trust him more for an unbiased report as he is not necessarily doing the checkup to get work for himself but pointing out what is required for you to do yourself if you are able and prioritise your service schedule. He also supplies photographs to back up any diagnosis where possible. He also enjoys it.



Are we admitting that our cars are better "serviced" outside of the official Honda UK dealer network or just looking for better value?
In the longer term NSX owners will need specialists to service our steeds as the official HUK dealers lose both the capability (skill) interest (will) to look after them.


Down to personal choice maybe? NSX service centres don't officially exist anymore AFAIK, so who will be actually servicing your car when you hand over the keys? I know some still have NSX Techs working there but they are a dying breed as you point out.
I have 16 years worth of Honda stamps in my service book and would probably take it to them for the odd stamp but I personally have no qualms with someone like Kaz or another specialised garage to do the job as there is no dedicated NSX centres left.

[Silver Surfer]

In the nicest possible way, and no offense meant or implied to Kaz, is this different to what you'd get from an HUK service/checkup? Is it better, cheaper or both?

Mark

I'll say 'yes and Yes' for both.

SS

[Auto Spirit]

I dropped my car off at Kaz's place yesterday for a CCU service and health check and three things struck me immediately:

1. His wealth of knowledge about the NSX
2. His attention to detail
3. His genuine enthusiasm in what he does

In short, I consider myself lucky to be able to call upon his services and feel reassured that my NSX is in very safe hands (I don't get that feeling when I visit Chiswick Honda).

[mutley]

I concur with comments above, Kaz's knowledge about the NSX is second to none, and once you get him started on a job, it takes a herd of wild elephants to drag him off it. I'm popping round again this weekend as he has a few ideas about my headlight electrical problem.

I would use Kaz before any HUK tech, NSX trained or not.

Jim

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.
Thank you for the nice and kind comment about my service.

As I'm doing this during my spare time and being just alone, I can only do limited things but I hope I can share and provide as much knowledge and experience to UK NSX community. Eventually, you'll need NSX specialist as Honda no longer build this precious car and thus, Honda/Acura mechanics need to learn the procedure and work on the latest cars rather than NSX.

Hi, Jim. Thank you for visiting my place yesterday and I'm glad that we managed to fix your retractable headlight. I'll leave the detail to you but surprised to see the state of the wiring damage and the poor work carried out in the past as per attached photo. As I used one of the best parts to repair the cable, you can now claim that you have F1 spec materials on your car.

Regards,
Kaz
5415

[Auto Spirit]

Hi All,

I picked up my nsx from Kaz's place today and just wanted to give a big thumbs up to the level of service I received :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Thanks to Kaz I now have fully functioning climate control and the bose speakers are enjoying a new lease of life.

I also thoroughly recommend the health check - I felt this was especially important for me to get done as I bought my car moreorless 'blind' from the Japanese auction house.

The comprehensive report has now given me a clear understanding of key priorities that I can now tackle in a structured manner - this knowledge is well worth the money.

Thanks Kaz - I look forward to the next phase! :beer:

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

It was so good to see some of you at *** Fest recently. Big thank you to Jim (aka mutley) for organising us for this event. Although I have been to more than 400 race and test events, it was the first time in my life to attend this kind of event in UK.

I really enjoyed it :).

I tried to speak with as many members as possible but ran out of time as I also wanted to visit my friend with latest GT-R and looking at amo’s NSX that were parked at different area.

As I received similar questions regarding my NSX Health Check service and also the owner who recently used this service was kind enough to allow me to post some of the photos, followings are some of the areas that I am checking and adjusting during/after the service.

Based on the report supplied after the health check, the owner decided to carry out some of the extra services at my place and thus, included in these photos.


The famous Crank Pulley. Brake Master Cyl. Steering column sideway movement
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Checking for the movement of crank pulley including the inspection from behind.

Brake is so important and lots of discussion about the pads, disks, calliper, etc but not much on the master cylinder. There are lots of production cars including NSX with leaking master cyl causing rust on the booster cover. You won't get 100% performance out of your super brake system if your master cyl is leaking.

If you grab your steering wheel at 9:15 position and feel any sideway movement when you applied left/right force, you have a damaged crushable structure at the steering column. If it is at the early stage, it can be fixed. Honda won't sell this part as a single one and you need to replace the entire column. It is really expensive but I can understand Honda's point of view because it is a safety issue if the crushable structure was damamged. Thus, Honda will ask you to replace entire column.


Climate Control Room temperature sensor/aspirator fan
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This sensor is located below the ashtray in front of the hand brake.
Eventually, it will start making some noise due to the dust in the air and also the gap between the fan and the housing. Unfortunately, our NSX doesn’t have the cabin air filter like other new cars so all sorts of things can get inside the cabin. You’ll be surprised how dirty it can get…
I'll clean it and adjust the screw at the centre of the housing.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Checking the Drive shaft movement and the state of the boots. State of the sway-bar/stabiliser link
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Sooner or later, your driveshaft needs attention. If you start noticing any clicking noise when moving the car back and forth, you better check your drive shaft. Especially among the owners with aftermarket header/exhaust system, the right side drive shaft boot tends to split/leak at very early stage. If you ignore the early sign, in the worst case scenario, you’ll need to replace the entire shaft which will be very-very expensive even getting the parts from US or Japan. HUK will charge you about GBP650 to 750 + VAT PER SIDE depending on the AT/MT type.
I’ll be re-furbishing these drive shaft very soon for the owner.

Stabi link was also very tired and most of the grease were gone…. The suspension setup on this particular car was too aggressive and ended up in this state… Will be modifying the setup and replacing other parts very soon.


Bose Speaker Amp
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As same as the Climate Control Unit (CCU), the Bose speaker amplifier will die due to the leakage from capacitors.
On this car, one of the FET was burnt and at the same time, it damaged the Bose specific IC as well. Also, I had to replace some of the surface mount parts.
Managed to service all 3 Amps on the car and now we have deep Bass from the footwell speaker and left/right door with centre speakers are now working fine.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

CCU test mode. Repairing the plastic screw tab.
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The CCU has built-in test mode to enable us checking its functionalities. This photo shows that it’s in test mode #3. I’ll check the CCU step by step to confirm the air temperature, fan speed, air flow mode, Air Con on/off and so on.

Quite often, I noticed that lots of plastic parts were damaged by the people who worked on the owner’s NSX previously. This NSX was the same and had lots of plastic screw tab being cracked. I can repair them using special plastic material to form the exact shape.


A/C gas leak check. Oil leak inspection.
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If your Air Con gas was filled with special green colour dye, we can detect the leakage by applying the UV ray light. There are several common leakage points on our NSX. Better to sort it out now before the hot summer arrives...

Speaking of leakage… Unfortunately, our engine tends to leak the engine oil from several places.
Spool valve, oil pan, cam seals, head cover, etc…
It is important to know the state of the leakage and it would be best to deal with these common leakage points at the time of timing belt change or major service. Then, you can relax for many years.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Door striker adjust. Boot lid striker adjust. Window screen upper seal.
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All of our NSX were specially assembled by the special Honda craftsmen. Therefore, I can’t stand watching the un-even gap on the bonnet, door, retractable headlight cover, fuel filler door, boot lid, etc… Adjusted the door and boot lid on this NSX.
Also, I will check the feeling of the door handle/opening lever as lots of NSX requires greasing on the internal linkage.

The upper seal… Another common failure on our NSX especially if you park the car under the strong direct sun light for many days.
Although the parts are quite cheap, it takes ages to clean up the debris after removing the seals. I will be working on this NSX very soon….


Boot dampness check. Eng/AT/MT mount check.
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Over the years, your boot weatherstrip will get tired allowing moisture to get inside. Also, if you place any wet items inside the boot, it will also cause lots of humidity inside the boot. As a side effect, it may cause moisture inside the tail light unit depending on the state of your light housing and the seals. Best to remove the carpet, dry it under the sun and clean the boot.

Most of the rubber parts will be damaged due to the ageing. Because of the engine/trans layout, the mount at the Front and Rear will get the most of the rotational force. The ones on the side will also go through all sorts of force/frequency. You will find lots of hairline crack on these mounts and sometimes, the rubber part can split. Please don’t confuse yourself with the big gap and the rubber split. In order to tune the hardness and the frequency of the mount, there is a big gap on the mount from the beginning.



There are more than 150 points to check during my Health Check service so I can’t cover all of them here but I hope my service will help you in keeping your NSX in top condition.

In the future, I’ll be taking out my engine again to take lots of photos to introduce my new 'Refresh menu' for the engine :).

Regards,
Kaz

[Lankstarr]

Kaz,

It really is a pleasure to read about your passion and commitment to the NSX.

I'll be in touch to arrange a health check asap.

When you take the engine out to service it would there be any scope for enhancement or increased displacement? I know SOS in America offer this service but I've got no idea what's involved. If you were able to offer some sort of service like this then I would be more than interested and happy to be a gunnea pig! I'm due a cambelt service next year... maybe this would be a good time to perform the engine check and also any performance enhancements?

If this is viable then maybe a new thread is in order...

Many thanks,

Luke

[bobbyswanbourne]

I guess £150 is fair. Please suggest a couple of date and times. Looking forward to it.

Robert G 07764 365661

[Dave J]

I'd say that's an absolute bargain! From what i've read about Kaz he could charge double that per hour not just per inspection and it'd still be a reasonable price for his expert knowledege!
Dave.

[Senninha]

Please suggest a couple of date and times. Looking forward to it.

Robert G 07764 365661

Hello Robert,

Welcome to NSXCB and NSX ownership. Your time with Kaz will be time well spent and give you a better understanding of your car than any garage inspection/service.

I look forward to catching up at a meet one day soon

rergards, Paul

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Robert and all.

Thank you for showing your interest to my service and especially for the warm message.

I would like to forward you several information such as maps, photos and my background information, so I'll appreciate if you can contact me through email.

Welcome to the club and I replied back to you by PM (no email option), Robert, so I hope you can have a look at it when you have a chance.

Now back to work and need to sort out all of these parts just arrived from Japan...

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

Based on the result of Health check, this time, I was asked to look after the driveshaft, rideheight, sideway movement of steering column, cruise control and windscreen upper seal.

The detail of the driveshaft service can be found in the other post as follows;

http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/testvb/showthread.php?t=6504

In order to service the driveshaft, obviously, you need to remove them first, re-furbish and then re-install them. Please follow the procedure described in the service manual and NEVER apply the huge torque on the 36mm spindle nut with the tyres in the air. Although the specified torque is 330Nm, most of the time, you will need significantly higher torque to loosen this nut if it was never removed or seized. You could damage the aluminium suspension parts.

One time, my friend used 1,000Nm impact wrench and still the nut didn’t move at all. At the end, he had to use the special impact wrench with supplement air tank attached to it. The spec of this tool was well over 2,500Nm.

Same for the re-installation. You will need the big torque wrench to handle the 330Nm specified torque. I use the 1”Sq one like this.
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You’ll also need to drain the transmission oil if you are removing the left side driveshaft. This NSX was AT so required larger washer at the drain bolt. Some metal debris was noticed on the magnetic drain bolt which is quite normal if you drove it for many miles after the last ATF replacement.
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[Kaz-kzukNA1]

This NSX was heavily modified and one thing I didn’t like was the rideheight and the wheel spacers used. The rideheight was too low and restricting the suspension movement. Also some of the bushes were deformed. The wheel spacers were applying too much offset and forcing stress to other areas. Also, it was not the centering spacer type so there was no gurantee that the wheels were aligned to the centre of the hub. After some calculation and safety reasons, I decided to remove the spacers completely.

As the coilover kit was so old and couldn’t get the spec of the spring from the manufacture, I decided to keep the pre-load and just change the rideheight. The damper requires regular overhaul but not going to carry it out this time. It will go through the alignment work at one of the race team. In the near future, I’ll be building the Bilstein kit so hope to put it on here very soon.
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All of the modern production cars will have some sort of driver protection against sudden impact to the steering wheel under certain condition such as accident. On our NSX, there is a crushable structure holding the steering column. Because of the material used on this structure, quite lots of NSX will suffer from sideway movement on the steering column.

If you grab your steering wheel, you should not feel any rattle/movement on horizontal direction.

From time to time, I notice that the driver tends grab on the steering wheel on getting out of the seat especially if there was not enough room to open the door fully.
This will be one of the most common cause of sideway movement at the steering column.

If you experienced this issue, you need to get under the steering column and spend long hours to adjust the crushable mechanism to eliminate the small gap which will result in sideway movement. You will loose your body balance for a short period after this work as you will be spending long hours with your head lower than your body and putting yourself into the tiny space under the steering column.
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[Kaz-kzukNA1]

From time to time when I work on NSX, I noticed that some of the original parts were modified without great care. On this one, the owner mentioned that the cruise control didn’t work from the beginning. Removed the steering wheel and found that the cable reel was damaged and also the connector was modified with some sort of cables. Put them back to the original spec and now the cruise control system works fine.
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Addition to the mechanical service works, I love carrying out the work requiring delicate touch/sense that is not even on the workshop manual.

For example, replacing the windscreen upper seal.

The workshop manual just tells you the general procedures but there are lots of ‘knowhow’ that makes the big difference for the result.

On majority of NSX, the upper seal will look like grey or white after long years and also due to the residue of wax/sealant. Also, on the earlier models, you can see a big gap at the end of each edge due to the shrinkage. Technical Bulletin was released on this from Honda.
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When it is new, you should see about 1mm width of matt black and about 8mm of shiny black between the roof and the windscreen.
Replacing this will make such a big difference on the appearance of your NSX. Black is so important for any presentation. It’s a time consuming work as you’ll need to remove the weatherstrip and the outer trim but on top of these, the cleaning process will take long time.
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After a few hours, the result will be like this. Love this beautiful black.
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Regards,
Kaz

[Hagasan]

Nice work Kaz.

That car is an unusual colour interior/exterior combination for the UK? Unless it's just the picture....Is it Long Beach Blue? If not is it a JDM car?

Gary

[NSXGB]

Nice work Kaz.

That car is an unusual colour interior/exterior combination for the UK? Unless it's just the picture....Is it Long Beach Blue? If not is it a JDM car?

Gary

I think that is Auto Spirit's car Gary.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

To complete the service on this nice blue car, just finished the alignment work using my setup. The alignment rig has been just re-calibrated so good time to carry out the work.
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Happy with the result and ready for the delivery.
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Next week, I'll be looking after my friend's left hand drive NSX and will be installing Bilstein dampers. Another long hours under the alignment rig...

I need more space now...


Regards,
Kaz

[Auto Spirit]

I think that is Auto Spirit's car Gary.

Indeed, it is my car and I must say, that I am so in awe of the work that Kaz has put into my car.

I am picking my NSX up on Thursday and I have to admit I have not felt this excited in a long time - just can't wait to get back in it after Kaz has applied his magic touch - there's still a lot of work to do on it but in my opinion its worth investing every penny in this beautiful creation - I bought this car on impulse - because it struck me as the car I always dreamed about when I was a ten year old boy. Thanks to Kaz, its performance will eventually become as its good as it looks.... :)

Thank you Kaz.

Regards
Parvin

[Silver Surfer]

golly!!!! Kaz, your garage has grown in size since my last visit! :eek::laugh:
Do you own a TARDIS ?

SS

[Senninha]

golly!!!! Kaz, your garage has grown in size since my last visit! :eek::laugh:
Do you own a TARDIS ?

SS

Maybe one day if we all keep him busy ....

Kaz, you have email

regards, Paul

[markc]

On this one, the owner mentioned that the cruise control didn’t work from the beginning. Removed the steering wheel and found that the cable reel was damaged and also the connector was modified with some sort of cables. Put them back to the original spec and now the cruise control system works fine.

Being a JDM car can I ask if the cruise works beyond 112kph (71mph). Mine didn't and was therefore pretty useless.

I've "solved" the issue by replacing the airbag wheel with a lovely Momo Tuner but am interested if JDM cars can in fact cruise at more than 112kph.

Cheers

Mark

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Mark.

On JDM NSX with non-DBW system, the cruise computer will limit the set speed at about 71mph.
In Japan, even on the A-road, the speed limit is 31 or 37mph, on the Motorway, it's about 62mph and in the residential area, you just have to drive dead slow to avoid any accidents. Therefore, the IC inside the cruise computer is programmed with speed limit of 71mph.

You can keep accelerating over 71mph by pressing and holding the 'RESUME' switch but once you have released it, it will eventually drop down to 71mph.

There is no screw on the case of cruise computer so you'll need to carefully twist the metal frame to open the case and replace the IC with reprogrammed one if you want to overcome the speed limit. Or, you may try to divide the speed signal ONLY for the cruise computer or just simply replace it with non-JDM one but I haven't tried these two latter methods by myself.

On the DBW model, the cruise control is carried out within the ECU so it is not that simple to overcome this speed limit on JDM.


Regards,
Kaz

[AR]

How about with a signal splitter like for the speedos, or is it like with a new chip?

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

The nice blue car has been collected by the owner now.

About 150 photos were taken to support all the services carried out and they were copied on to the CD and handed to the owner.
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Another happy NSX and owner :).


Kaz

[markc]

On the DBW model, the cruise control is carried out within the ECU so it is not that simple to overcome this speed limit on JDM.

Regards,
Kaz

Thanks Kaz,

That confirms what I thought and mine behaved in the same way i.e. would accelerate beyond 71mph but return to it as soon as you let off the button. Mine is a DBW car so would be tricky to fix. I guess an entire UK/Euro ECU might do it but there'd probably be other little issues arising from the swap.

To be honest I never use cruise in the UK (my Merc and Audi have it) as our roads are just too crowded. It would come in useful for the odd Euro jaunt though.

Cheers

Mark

[max_g]

Greetings all,

Great day out today for Supercar Sunday at Gaydon, llovely to see so many of these beatiful cars.

Noticed a number of JDM models and wanted to answer the questions within this thread regarding the Cruise Control on JDM cars.

If you have a JDM car you probably have an electronic Speed Devider installed which reprofiles the pulse stream from the wheel sensor in order to adjust the KPH signal generated by the car into MPH for the Dash, speedo etc,

As the cruise ECU utilises the same pulse strem to determine its "set" speed all you have to do is patch this into the output of the speeddivider that goes onto the dash. This way when the car is doing 70,80 or whatever cruising speed you want the cruise thinks its doing 50,60 etc which is under the JDM 71 Mph limit and allows the cruise to operate perfectly.

Kaz mentione dthis briefly and I am just posting this to validate his preposal as like most of his suggestions ( from reading here ) this works perfectly after I modified my Car in just this way many years ago.

Best Regards

//Max

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

Based on the result of my Health check service, this time, I was asked to work on the suspension area, ABS, A/C cleaning and so on.

1. Bonnet release
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Well, I started to work on this NSX but every time when I tried to open the bonnet, it was stuck in the original position and I couldn’t open it. I had to hold the opener upwards and pull the bonnet to open it. As I didn’t like to return the car in this status, I decided to remove the entire lock mechanism, soaked it in the cleaner and re-greased it. Now, it opens freely.


2. Bilstein damper with OEM early Coupe Spring
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We spent long hours discussing about the chassis setup and for the damper/spring, we decided to go for the Bilstein damper with OEM spring.
For this combination, I always use new bushes and mounting rubber so placed the order to Japan. 5772
I only drove the car to/from the alignment place but I already found it was a good combination to meet his demand and budget.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

3. Stabi link, stabi bush, tierod/rack end
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While replacing the damper/spring kit, we also replaced the old and tired stabi links and stabi bushes. Removing the locking nut on the stabi link is always the challenge as quite often, the hex hole is rusted and too weak to hold the big torque on loosening the self locking nut. In fact, for one of the link, I had to cut the shaft to release it from the stabilizer.

Quite often, I found small movement on the passenger side tierod/rack end but on this NSX, both sides were rattling. So, new parts were installed before going to the alignment place.


4. Alignment
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Back to my favourite 2Hr alignment session. From time to time, I found seized alignment bolt even on NSX but this one was really tough. After fighting against some of the nuts and bolts, the final alignment result came out beautifully. Although it is a very old frame, no severe damage to the chassis and thus, perfect alignment to my own setup.


5. ABS
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ABS has been neglected for a long time so when I used my SST to drain the old fluid, some of the debris from the ABS were trapped inside the one way valve of the SST and when I lifted it, almost all of the ABS fluid was released on the floor… After flushing the system several times, I managed to push the debris out of the one way valve so my SST function was recovered.
Unfortunately, I found that one of the four solenoid was already dead no matter how we flush/activate it. I could disassemble the unit and try to refurbish it but instead, it would be best to convert it to the latest ABS system so that will be on the future menu.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

6. A/C Evaporator cleaning
Unfortunately, when NSX was designed, there was no plan to fit cabin air filter like the modern production cars. Because of this, you’ll be surprise to see or may be, I should say, you don’t want to know how dirty the air could be inside the cabin. This is one of the reasons why the fan on the cabin air temperature sensor starts to make some noise after several years.
You may find lots of dirt around the air inlet of the blower motor unit. Once you have managed to remove it, you can see the evaporator.
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This one looks very dirty but in fact, not too bad. In Japan, the summer is very hot and humid so the A/C is continuously being used and thus, lots of moisture is always at the evaporator resulting in black dirt or even sometimes some mould on the surface of evaporator.
First, blow out as much dirt as possible. Then, wash it with water followed by the cleaner. Wait for a while and then rinse it with plenty of water.
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Don’t be tempted to clean the surface fin of the evaporator as they are so fragile that you will do more damage than cleaning it. Just use reasonably high pressure to apply the cleaner and rinsing water. Once you are done, spray some medical alchohol or similar product to disinfect any germ.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

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As I don’t like dirt to get inside again, I normally make simple cabin air filter attached to the intake. This is good enough until I make something out of FRP and commercially available cabin air filter.


7. Cabin air temperature sensor
5783 5786 5787
The cabin air quality was so bad that I found so many dust and debris on the temperature sensor. It was also making quite annoying noise so although it was not requested from the owner, I decided to clean it. This is what I found and I’m glad I cleaned it….

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

8. Door lock switch
5788 5789 5790
Quite often, I was asked to investigate the electrical issues on NSX and one of the common failures is related to the non-waterproof connector being used inside the door. On this NSX, the driver side door lock sw was not working at all.
After long years, the moisture corroded the GND pin on the non-waterproof connector and lost part of the contact point. In order to prevent this from happening again, decided to use gold plated terminal with grease inside the connector. Now, it is fine…

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

9. Painting wiper arm
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Black is very important for the presentation of your NSX. For example, it will make great appearance if you have nice black colour at the front lower spoiler, the upper seal of front windscreen, the tyre, the pillar and so on. Unfortunately, our wiper arm is very old design and sticks out behind the bonnet resulting in chip by the stone, etc. Also, if you wash the car regularly and if you are not careful, you can gradually scrape off the paint from the wiper arm.
So, it would be nice to spend some time painting them. Strip the old paint off and apply several coats of primer first. Then, wet/dry sand it down a little to get smooth surface and wash and dry it. De-grease it and then apply several coats of nice mat finish black paint. Now it looks much better.


10. A/C gas leakage
5794
There are several common places to check for the A/C gas leakage on our NSX. The worst part to find the leakage is at the evaporator. While I was cleaning the evaporator, unfortunately, I found the leakage there. This is a big job to repair as we need to first remove the entire interior panel (yes, the whole one in front of the driver and passenger seat…), take out the evaporator and heater core as a package and then replace/repair the evaporator. As this NSX is using the old R12 system and although alternative R12 gas in available, we’ll be replacing the compressor, pressure valve, O-rings and so on to convert it into R134a system in the future.

The next stage is the complete Brake service, Driveshaft refurbishment and so on.
Just waiting for the parts to arrive…


Regards,
Kaz

[slieve_croob]

I have a 92 nsx 39K genuine miles in vgc.

Mechanically, just has had full 60k mileage service, belts by main dealer in Belfast.
mechanically perfect.

Would like someone /you to review all ancillary items /your overview checklist?

Bose radio crackling. Air con weak (Mechanically OK) Most likely electrics

Would you be interested /timefames/ logistics etc.

Seamus

Regards

[AR]

Kaz,

I gave my wiper arms to a mate that was getting some bits powder coated and they came up like new.

Cheers,

AR

[gumball]

Hi Kaz, very nice to meet you at Silverstone yesterday and very interesting to see you "at work" it's very clear to see how well you know and how much you love these NSX's. I'll pm you about possibly checking my bambino for me, it's in pretty good order generally but some of the history is a bit hazy and some the wiring is pretty shabby and I'm not entirelly sure what they have added(although there is a charging dock in my front air intake) plus the usual Bose problem.

Thank you,

Stephen(orange shorts ;))

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

I have a 92 nsx 39K genuine miles in vgc.

Mechanically, just has had full 60k mileage service, belts by main dealer in Belfast.
mechanically perfect.

Would like someone /you to review all ancillary items /your overview checklist?

Bose radio crackling. Air con weak (Mechanically OK) Most likely electrics

Would you be interested /timefames/ logistics etc.

Seamus

Regards
Hi, Seamus.

Thank you for showing your interest to my service.
Considering your location, I would recommend contacting another member ‘Sudesh’ here on NSXCB. He carried out many interesting services/modifications and we keep good communications each other.

For your NSX Health Check, Air con or Climate Control Unit and Bose Speaker Amplifier service, please send me an email by clicking on my alias name ‘kzukNA1’ and selecting the appropriate option. I’ll send you the PM with my email address as a backup later.

You have nice collection of cars especially the Honda Beat. I looked after my friend’s Beat for over 2 months and I really enjoyed driving it.

Looking forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Regards, Kaz



Hi Kaz, very nice to meet you at Silverstone yesterday and very interesting to see you "at work" it's very clear to see how well you know and how much you love these NSX's. I'll pm you about possibly checking my bambino for me, it's in pretty good order generally but some of the history is a bit hazy and some the wiring is pretty shabby and I'm not entirelly sure what they have added(although there is a charging dock in my front air intake) plus the usual Bose problem.

Thank you,

Stephen(orange shorts ;))

Hi, Stephen.
It was good to see you yesterday. I’m more than happy to go through your NSX so looking forward to hearing from you again in the near future.


Regards,
Kaz

[gumball]

Just to add my recommendation of Kaz's great work and expansive knowledge of these wonderful cars, (I hope you are busy, but not too busy).

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Stephen.
Thank you for visiting my place the other day. I always enjoy talking to the NSX owners as well as watching the NSX DVD during lunch break. I'm glad that I managed to shorten the requried time by using the new lift.

We'll keep in touch to discuss the future service and I'll work on the Bose Amps when I can find some time.

Once again, thank you for using my service.


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

After my Health Check Service, the owner will receive a prioritised recommended service list so that he/she can discuss about it with his/her mechanic or simply with me.

This time, the owner had a very good mechanic friend at his nearby garage so he ordered the parts through me and asked his friend to fit them.
Unfortunately, his mechanic was quite busy and thus, the owner came back to me to have them installed.

As the owner already had an appointment for that weekend, we agreed on the order of the services to be carried out so that we can utilise the limited time efficiently.

1. Tierod/Rack end
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I stopped counting how many rack end that I replaced on the NSX for the last 15 years… Whether it is Right hand drive or Left hand one, the passenger side always starts to rattle first due to the geometry factor. Another common service items on our NSX…


2. Four wheel alignment
6052
The owner had the alignment done about 2 years ago and as I replaced the tierod/rack end, I had to carry out the alignment service as well.
I normally recommend the alignment to be done once a year if you drive regularly but for this owner, it was not his everyday car.
However, I was quite surprised to see how far every alignment data were off from the specified figure even taking into consideration the replacement of the above parts. After several hours, the data came out beautifully and it was such a big difference in handling even for a short driving back to my place.
Later, when I met with the owner, he was really happy with the properly aligned NSX.


3. Coolant system
It is always best to carry out preventative maintenance or deal with the issue at the first sign. Otherwise, it will take extra time and cost you more.
Good example is my other service such as air con Climate Control Unit (CCU), brake calliper overhaul, brake master cyl, ABS and so on.

During the Health check, it was noticed that the header tank was really old and coolant colour was still green. Honda changed the spec of its coolant long time ago and it is now in blue colour. It is called as Honda Type 2 coolant. It can be left for about 10 years without replacing but I’m quite sure you’ll be draining the system before that for your water hoses or water pump services.

So, if your coolant is not blue, then your coolant could be very old or not from Honda.

Back to the original story… All the water hoses were tired and some of the hose cramps were completely rusted. So, it was decided to replace all hoses, cramps, header tank, thermostat, header tank cap and so on. For early model MT NSX, there are 23 hoses to be replaced. For AT, it’s even more due to the ATF cooler… I’ll be working on AT one later. Can’t wait for another long session with the water hoses…
6053 6054

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

In order to speed up the flushing process, I normally remove the thermostat first and put back just the cover to cycle the water inside the system. In order to avoid the old coolant to splash over the exhaust system, it is best to drain the engine block using some sort of pipe.

While removing the thermostat cover, I already knew that it is going to be a big job as there were some leakage and corrosion around the area.
6059 6055 6056
I normally allow 6hrs for just replacing all the hoses but on this NSX, I spent many hours just cleaning the rust and debris on the pipes and etc. You won’t be able to see them as they are hidden under the connection point of the hoses.

Therefore, it is best to have your coolant system serviced based on the recommended interval even you don’t drive your NSX regularly.
Over the time, the coolant will loose its original performance including the rust inhibitor and will result in rusty pipes and so on.

Within the limited time, I cleaned the corroded area as much as possible.
6057 6058

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

The parts replaced at the engine room and the centre channel under the floor.
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By this time, you’ve already lost your hand’s grip power so time to take a break.


And the most time consuming two hoses… The ones at the oil cooler…
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Even I carried out this many times, I still spend about 1 hour just for these two hoses. For me, it is quicker to remove the oil cooler from its original location and rest it on a piece of wood to get maximum space to access these two hoses.
You’ll need to replace the figure of 8 O-ring, clean the special bolt holes and apply small amount of Honda bond when re-installing the Oil cooler.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

The parts replaced at the front compartment under the bonnet.
Another time consuming hoses are the small ones just at the side of the blower fan unit.
6065 6066 6067
After long hours, it is time for the vacuum test and vacuum fill the system. I normally leave the system under vacuum condition for 5min to check for any leakages.

Then, final bleed check and start the engine.

By the way, you must keep the water valve open through out the process so you need to set your air con climate control unit (CCU) to be at 32degC or simply, remove the linkage wire and push the water valve lever towards the cabin side. This is to flush the old coolant within the heater core and also to bleed the air trapped there. If you understand how the coolant flows through the system, you'll understand this.
On our NSX, unlike other ordinally cars, the hot coolant enters the radiator from the bottom side. The inlet/outlet pipes to the heater core are located before the radiator and since they are positioned quite high, you can easily trap some air there if you are not careful.

If everything is fine, then keep the 32degC setup and go out for a short drive with revving the engine occasionally to push out any possible remaining air bubbles inside the coolant system.

Let the engine to cool down and check for the coolant level.

I was hoping to install the new brake line as well as Type-R Clutch pedal and damper less clutch joint but ran out of time… So, these are for the future service.

Done.


Regards,
Kaz

[AR]

I Kaz,

Can you check the PM regarding an estimmate for a clutch. :)

Cheers,

Ary

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Ary.
Good to hear from you again.

PM replied and hope it will help...


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

Through my 15 years of NSX ownership and being very close to it even before it was on the market in 1990, I managed to acquire enough data on NSX in many areas including the important maintenance work based on the climate and driving conditions in Japan.

After moving to UK and driving many NSX and also carrying out the NSX Health Check Service for NSXCB members and other owners, I would like to share my personal view on some of the critical service items.

I can’t cover everything here so I’ll just pick up some of them.

I hope this will help not just the NSXCB members but also the people who is considering the similar service as mine.

Please note that this is just my personal view and you may not agree with these or your environment/driving condition may differ so much that these may not be the case for your NSX.
Please take this into your consideration and I have no intention to criticise anyone or any parties at all. I hope no one will misunderstand the purpose of this post ....


1. Brake Calliper
Until several years ago, in Japan, we had to carry out the calliper overhaul (OH) every 2 – 3 years by law.
Since the rubber material has improved a lot, we are no longer forced to replace the boots, seals, cups and etc under the new law. However, it is still recommended by many reputable garages in Japan to have the calliper OH every 2 years in order to inspect the inside of the callipers and to prevent the rust from getting inside.

It seems that for UK NSX, the calliper OH is not carried out on a regular basis. In fact, I noticed that this is not just the case for our NSX but also for many other cars on the road.

I was lucky enough to drive many NSX based in UK and none of them were showing the same level of stopping power or the solid pedal feeling of the original spec.

One of the reason for this seems to be that the owner believes or being told that the OH is not required if the car was not driven regularly or if it is at low mileage.

Especially, among the owners with super low mileage NSX, the calliper has never been touched for nearly/over 10years.

This is very worrying as the piston(s) inside the calliper just sits at the same position for many months/years if the brake pedal or side brake were left without any movements. Unless your NSX is kept inside the 24Hr air-conditioned garage, the moisture in the air will eventually get into the calliper causing the rust slowly. It will damage your piston, cause seizing and in the worst case scenario, it will cause brake fluid leakage or entire calliper to be replaced.

Therefore, regardless of your annual mileage, it is essential to have your callipers serviced at regular interval. Needless to say, the brake fluid should be replaced every year for standard NSX regardless of the annual mileage and for those who take out their NSX on track, well, I don’t need to say anything as they are more experienced than me. For those who are interested, they are replacing after every track event or after a few events depending on the brake fluid used.


2. Brake Master Cylinder
For the same reason above, in the past, it was mandatory to OH the brake master cyl (MC) regularly in Japan.
In UK and US, the workshop manual only tells to replace the entire brake MC as an assembly and there are no overhaul procedures.

Eventually, we’ll struggle to source the parts in the long term future so personally, I think it is best to know how to refurbish the existing parts rather than just simply replacing them.

Because of the price of the parts and the fact that it should be replaced as an assembly, it seems that many owners are running their NSX with aged brake MC or even with tiny leakage without being noticed.

It is recommended to OH the brake MC at least every 3 years or at the time of calliper OH.
While I was in Japan, it was very rare to see any sign of leakage or rust at the base of brake MC on NSX which was caused by the old leakge.

In UK, most of the NSX that I saw during the Health Check Service or during certain events showed sign of old leakage.

I would strongly recommend to have your brake callipers and MC overhauled on a regular basis regardless of your annual mileage.


3. ABS
Prior to the introduction of one box ABS module on our NSX, all models were equipped with four solenoids, accumulator/pump under the bonnet with control box inside the cabin. This old system requires regular service in order to prevent the solenoids from sticking.

Unfortunately, if the solenoid was functioning properly as an electronics circuit, it won’t trigger the ABS/ALB yellow warning light on the dash even if it was sticking and not releasing any brake pressure when it should under wheel locking.

Because of this, many owners with old type ABS module are driving with partially failed ABS without even noticing it. This is quite common for both UK and Japan based NSX.

It is recommended to flush the system at least every 2 years and if you don’t drive your NSX regularly, then it is a good idea to activate the ABS a few times every time when you take out your NSX.

This will help in preventing the solenoids from sticking.

Please note that if you have old type ABS, the occasional squeaking noise from the front section is from the ABS pump and not from the solenoids. In order to activate the solenoids, you must trigger the ABS by locking the wheels under braking or lift the entire car and use special method.


4. Coolant system
In Japan, I have seen many NSX with burst coolant hose especially among the owners with aftermarket header/exhaust.
One of the three hoses under the header tank and the very short/small one at the Eng Oil cooler just above the oil filter element are the common failure parts.

As these hoses are quite difficult to see without removing other parts, quite often, the owner won’t be able to notice the first sign of the failure. The hose will expand partially like a bubble and then burst.

The OEM hoses have fibre material woven inside the rubber hose for reinforcement. It is not easy to inspect the state of each hose from outside so it is recommended to replace all of them (23 – 25 of them) at a certain interval. Some of the owners managed to survive without replacing them for more than 10 years but as a preventative measure, it is recommend as max 8 years interval by many garages in Japan.

In UK, it seems that most of the owners managed to keep the coolant hoses for more than 10 years. Seems like many owners are staying with OEM header/exhaust and the driving/environment condition is much better than Japan. Traffic jam in the hot humid summer will cause heat soak and lots of NSX in Japan are not kept in a nice roofed garage like the one in UK. Plain land is so expensive and precious in Japan due to lots of mountains. For me, the traffic jam on M25 in the morning rush hour is nothing compared to the one in Japan.

If the colour of your coolant is not blue, then you are either running the old spec or non Honda one. The blue Honda one is called Type-2 and it has the maintenance interval of 10years. As a preventative measure, it is best to replace the coolant hoses before this….

The header tank and the cap are regular maintenance items as well. If you can’t inspect the fluid level through the wall of header tank, your tank is getting old. Eventually, you’ll start to see small leakage around the fixing bolt at the left side or somewhere at the middle of the tank where the upper and lower tank parts are glued.

You may see small crack at the small tube just below the cap where the overflow tube is connected.

It is recommended to replace it regularly or replace it immediately at the first sign of the leakage.

There are several aftermarket tanks available on the market and they will probably last longer than the OEM one. However, I still use OEM one because I know the internal structure and the story behind the design and test process on how long it took to came up with this internal design for the best air separation.

I prefer replacing the water pump at the time of timing belt service regardless of the mileage and I’ll replace the thermostat every time when I replace the coolant or coolant hoses.


5. Drive shaft
Compared to other cars, it seems that our NSX requires more attention to the driveshaft maintenance. Once again, among the owners with aftermarket header/exhaust system, the right side driveshaft boot tends to break first.
Even if there was no damage to the boot, the grease inside the boot can start to leak causing lots of mess and eventually, damaging the internal parts. You will also notice the clicking noise at the parking speed once your grease lost its original performance.
The maintenance interval depends on driving conditions so there is no general distance/time based suggestions but I normally carry out the service whenever I started to hear the clicking noise. My NSX is everyday car and covered more than 120,000miles in 15 years. I don’t track my NSX and drive most of the time on A or B road and occasionally on the motorway. I don’t have aftermarket header/exhaust and based on these conditions, I normally OH the driveshaft around every 30,000 – 50,000miles.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

6. Left Rear Hub/bearing
On some of the NSX based in UK, it seems that this parts starts to cause tiny rattle after some mileage. In Japan, there were some owners replaced this part in the past but mainly they were tracking their NSX or had non-OEM wide wheels/tyres and different chassis setup. Among the standard NSX owners, it is very rare to replace this.

Possibly it is because of the roundabout as I don’t remember having seen one in Japan….

I had to replace mine a while ago and already found the same issue on other owners...


7. Crank pulley
Although this is not in the workshop manual, it is recommended by many reputable garages to replace this at the time of every timing belt service.

I’m keeping one in stock as I’ll be doing my timing belt and possibly the clutch in the near future. I can’t comment on any aftermarket parts around this area as I don’t have any experience or data on the products and personally, for me, this is one of the ‘must’ item to use OEM part for my own protection.


I would like to carry on writing more but I think these are enough for the moment.

In order to support my view above, I will be posting some of the photos from my recent and ongoing services for the NSX owners. Once again, above is just my personal view and may not be the case for your NSX.

Thank you for your time.


Regards,
Kaz

[Senninha]

I would like to share my thoughts and feedback for points 1-3 above under important maintenance items.

During my ownership my only critism of the NSX has been the brakes. During this time I have regularly changed the fluid, updated the discs, cooling ducts, hoses & pads. All of these have shown only marginal improvements and always felt a long way short of say my '04 S2k.

So before investing in any other 'upgrade' parts for the brakes I had long thought it best to ensure that the basics were in the best possible condition. Bear in mind that my NSX has a full and detailed main dealer history and only 56k miles in 11 yrs, 17k of these with myself.

So in the past couple of weeks and following the health check / roadtest of my NSX, I delivered my NSX to the care of Kaz for a full overhaul of the braking system.

In due course you may see photo's and details from Kaz that were taken during my overhaul. To both his and my amazement was what he found during the work. We had both expected this to be a fairly straightforward peice of work given the generally clean and well maintained condition of my NSX.

Last Friday I took the train on route to collect my NSX. Whilst comfortably on the Virgin train I was reading an old EVO and about my regular on road braking comparison, the 911 GT3 RS. I stopped reading and started thinking, even worrying about the work that had been done, the photo's I'd seen and would the time and skills invested by Kaz deliver good results.

After a discussion with Kaz about the work I set about my journey home.

At the request of Kaz, and as planned, I took the first part of my journey nice and steady to get used to the new 'feel' of the brakes. As I added the miles I realised I need not have worried whilst on the train. I can honestly say that in my 3 1/2 yrs of ownership I have never had such a good brake pedal and feedback from the brakes. This was so clearly a long overdue service requirement of my brakes.

On route home I decided to go off the motorway and take in some more challenging B roads. With renewed confidence and with the pedal now allowing me to control the bite of the brakes I had a truly enjoyable drive across country. As the miles passed I found myself leaving my braking later yet with the full confidence they would perform as one would expect from a car such as the NSX.

As I wrote above, I have a number of updates already. All of these were to help improve the brakes. I can honestly say that none of these changes made as much impact as the work recently completed.

Only now do I have brakes worthy of the NSX. I had been considering other changes to improve the brakes but for now feel that these are no longer required. Based on my own experience, if you are considering how to improve the braking efficiency of your NSX, I would strongly recommend you complete a full overhaul to ensure you too have your NSX's braking system working to its most efficeint levels.

I would end by stating that this brake overhaul is quite simply the most effective performance investment I have made and one I would encourage others to consider.

Thank you Kaz and I, as others have, am very happy to recommend your service to all at NSXCB.

Regards
Paul

[gumball]

This last post is making me feel very guilty, Kaz recommended a brake overhaul on my car but my budget is somewhat restricted at the moment.
I have the new discs and pads on order, and I'm just hoping that when I take the calipers off I find the seals are in good order.
Could be the age old problem with sliding calipers when the inside of the disc wears, it is usually due to sticking sliders
(the piston pushes against the inside of the disc but fails to put effective pressure on the outside).

[AR]

Hi, Ary.
Good to hear from you again.

PM replied and hope it will help...


Regards,
Kaz


It has Kas, will try to get a few thoudand miles out of this one, then hope to book the car in with you.

Cheers,

Ary

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

1. Brake Calliper
Until several years ago, in Japan, we had to carry out the calliper overhaul (OH) every 2 – 3 years by law.
Since the rubber material has improved a lot, we are no longer forced to replace the boots, seals, cups and etc under the new law. However, it is still recommended by many reputable garages in Japan to have the calliper OH every 2 years in order to inspect the inside of the callipers and to prevent the rust from getting inside.

It seems that for UK NSX, the calliper OH is not carried out on a regular basis. In fact, I noticed that this is not just the case for our NSX but also for many other cars on the road.

I was lucky enough to drive many NSX based in UK and none of them were showing the same level of stopping power or the solid pedal feeling of the original spec.

One of the reason for this seems to be that the owner believes or being told that the OH is not required if the car was not driven regularly or if it is at low mileage.

Especially, among the owners with super low mileage NSX, the calliper has never been touched for nearly/over 10years.

This is very worrying as the piston(s) inside the calliper just sits at the same position for many months/years if the brake pedal or side brake were left without any movements. Unless your NSX is kept inside the 24Hr air-conditioned garage, the moisture in the air will eventually get into the calliper causing the rust slowly. It will damage your piston, cause seizing and in the worst case scenario, it will cause brake fluid leakage or entire calliper to be replaced.

Therefore, regardless of your annual mileage, it is essential to have your callipers serviced at regular interval. Needless to say, the brake fluid should be replaced every year for standard NSX regardless of the annual mileage and for those who take out their NSX on track, well, I don’t need to say anything as they are more experienced than me. For those who are interested, they are replacing after every track event or after a few events depending on the brake fluid used.

Recently, I was working on one of the member’s NSX. Prior to this, the owner took my NSX Health check service and I drove this particular car. Straight away, I didn’t like the feeling of the brake.

It is a low mileage, well looked after and being serviced regularly at the reputable garage so I thought it just needs good bleeding and going to be an easy job. Wrong….

The Front calliper before the service. As you can see, it is very clean and even I was not expecting to see the problem inside…

Most of the pistons showed rust under the lip of dust boot but one of them was particularly bad and didn’t move smoothly. It had rust even at the seal area and thus, enough damage was done and had to be replaced.
6101 6102 6103

This is quite common for NSX not driven regularly and if the calliper was not overhauled on a regular basis.
There are lots of know-how that are not on the workshop manual to minimise these rust getting inside the calliper and these can only be done at the time of overhaul. Therefore, regular service on the calliper is a ‘must’ item.

So, the Front calliper was inspected in detail and serviced using the overhaul kit with additional parts based on the past experience. The bleeder plug and cap were also replaced with the new ones.
6104 6105

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

The Rear calliper requires extra work as it has hand brake mechanism inside and in the piston as well.
Quite often, if the car was not used regularly or the hand brake cable was not removed for a while, the pin which secures the cable to the calliper will be severely rusted and thus, you’ll struggle to remove it.
6109

And then, one of the piston didn’t rotate smoothly even using the special tool….
Finally, managed to disassemble the calliper and started the overhaul process.

Using special tools to service the hand brake mechanism.
6108 6107

Hand brake lever and parts used for overhaul.
6106 6110

Now the piston rotates very smoothly and we have a happy calliper.

[NSXGB]

Kaz,
Which are the special tools required to service the handbrake mechanism?

Do the offending parts just require a clean and re-grease?

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, NSXGB.

Although Honda states it as 'special tool', you can probably use deep socket to hold the adjuster down against the force of spring.

I just use the Honda special tools because I got them at special price while I was in Japan. Also, I don't want to scratch the internal bore of calliper housing.

You must obtain the long bent nose snap ring plier but you may already have something suitable if you work on your car. WIthout it, you'll spend long time to remove just one snap ring (5sec job) as straight type plier won't reach it or your plier will be hitting the folk of the calliper making it difficult to catch the snap ring. Time is precious for my service as I can only work on the NSX during the afternoon of my private time.

Any rubber parts have to be replaced with the new ones if you have disassembled the calliper.

There are two tiny rubber parts inside the handbrake adjuster so remember to replace them addition to the normal boots and seals.
If you use any chemical for inspection/cleaning rather than the brake fluid, the rubber parts will expand so you must replace them even if you didn't disassemble the handbrake mechanism.

This is why the workshop manual states to use only the brake fluid for the cleaning purpose.

The pistons can be re-used depending on the position of the rust/damage. You will learn it from the experience but if you see any damage to the piston wall below the dust boot groove, it's best to replace it as you don't want to take any gamble.


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

2. Brake Master Cylinder
For the same reason above, in the past, it was mandatory to OH the brake master cyl (MC) regularly in Japan.
In UK and US, the workshop manual only tells to replace the entire brake MC as an assembly and there are no overhaul procedures.

Eventually, we’ll struggle to source the parts in the long term future so personally, I think it is best to know how to refurbish the existing parts rather than just simply replacing them.

Because of the price of the parts and the fact that it should be replaced as an assembly, it seems that many owners are running their NSX with aged brake MC or even with tiny leakage without being noticed.

It is recommended to OH the brake MC at least every 3 years or at the time of calliper OH.
While I was in Japan, it was very rare to see any sign of leakage or rust at the base of brake MC on NSX which was caused by the old leakge.

In UK, most of the NSX that I saw during the Health Check Service or during certain events showed sign of old leakage.

I would strongly recommend to have your brake callipers and MC overhauled on a regular basis regardless of your annual mileage.


Below the brake fluid reservoir, there is a brake master cylinder (MC). It is connected to the brake vacuum booster system which is black colour metal with round shape object at the front bulkhead.

Quite often on many NSX, I saw sign of leakage or trace of old leakage at the base of MC, i.e., the rust mark caused by the brake fluid at the black metal cover of booster system. You can see the trace of leakage around the stud bolt on the left part of the photo.
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For some reason, it is not serviced regularly in UK. In fact, the English version of workshop manual states to replace the entire MC assy rather than to overhaul it. Probably something to do with the local regulation and to avoid complex issues caused by the human error.

The entire assys costs about GBP575.00 inc.VAT + labour so probably this is one of the reasons why it was not treated as regular maintenance item…

As long as there is no scratch/damage to the internal bore of MC, you can overhaul it and save a lot even including the labour charge.

As it is part of the brake system, I don’t think it is a good idea to wait until it starts to leak and then carry out the service.

The procedure is quite simple as it is similar to other cars. After disassembling the MC, clean it and inspect it carefully.
Then, use the overhaul kits to re-assemble.
Although I have never come across to the NSX that required the adjustment of the pushrod clearance at the brake booster, I always check it using the special tool as I don’t know the full service history of each NSX.
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This is very important as you are either having too much play before the brake pressure rises or continuously applying small brake pressure which will be very dangerous.

Once everything is checked, the nice shiny overhauled MC is back in place.
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Although it is not necessary, it may make your life easier if you bench bleed the MC prior to fitting it back on your NSX. If you consider the hydraulic line of entire brake system, you are going to take long hours to bleed the system without bench bleeding the MC first. This is the same even you use gravity bleed or other methods.

[NSXGB]

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8. Door lock switch
Quite often, I was asked to investigate the electrical issues on NSX and one of the common failures is related to the non-waterproof connector being used inside the door. On this NSX, the driver side door lock sw was not working at all.
After long years, the moisture corroded the GND pin on the non-waterproof connector and lost part of the contact point. In order to prevent this from happening again, decided to use gold plated terminal with grease inside the connector. Now, it is fine…




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Kaz, are these connectors a Honda part or standard electrical part? I need a pair for the third brake light so that it can be wired properly....I'm presuming they will be the same ad will clip into the plug housing?
If it's a Honda part, do you have the part number please?

[markc]

Hi Kaz, interesting to see the wear/rust on Paul's caliper pistons. I was going to undertake a rebuild of my calipers over the winter and suspect that I'll find similar damage to the pistons on my car.

A couple of questions if I may...
What does the caliper overhaul kit you mention contain? Do you have a part number to hand?
What other parts should I order?
How many pistons did you replace?
How much, roughly, are they each?

Thanks

Mark

[goldnsx]

What are the part no. for this?

[Sudesh]

You can buy the calliper seal kit from Honda. The seal kits are NO:1 in both pics.

But after that you can basically buy all the other bits too, pistons, bolts, retainers and so on.

Front callipers break down
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j77/icongroup/NSXPARTS/13SL00_008_4.png

Rear Callipers
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j77/icongroup/NSXPARTS/13SL00_008_2.png

[markc]

Thanks Sudesh. Mine's a 3.2 so I'll need the specific p/n's for the kits etc.

I'll do the fronts first so, might need a 12 & 15 (piston) for each side. Maybe new bolts as the calipers have been on and off a few times. The slider pins are good 'cos I checked and lubed them up at the last pad change (for the Silverstone track evening) just a month or so a go.

I must get myself one of these parts CD's :)

Actually there's probably no point in getting the part numbers as the muppets at UK Honda dealer parts desks seem to be incapable of suppling anything without a chassis number.

Cheers

Mark

[Sudesh]

Thanks Sudesh. Mine's a 3.2 so I'll need the specific p/n's for the kits etc.

I'll do the fronts first so, might need a 12 & 15 (piston) for each side. Maybe new bolts as the calipers have been on and off a few times. The slider pins are good 'cos I checked and lubed them up at the last pad change (for the Silverstone track evening) just a month or so a go.

I must get myself one of these parts CD's :)

Actually there's probably no point in getting the part numbers as the muppets at UK Honda dealer parts desks seem to be incapable of suppling anything without a chassis number.

Cheers

Mark

Hi Mark,

No problem at all. The parts pic I used will vary with the numbers, I used it just to indicate the calliper build. I have JDM parts system, UK and US. Some dealers can be picky with the chassis number issue, but with the correct part numbers I have never had a problem going to the dealer. Also alot of the part numbers on the parts CD systems have been superseded, so its always worth checking with the dealer. There will also be a difference in NA1 and NA2 builds.

Personally Mark, if doing a full rebuild I would replace everything, pistons, bolts, seal, retainers, and so forth.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

5789 5790
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Kaz, are these connectors a Honda part or standard electrical part? I need a pair for the third brake light so that it can be wired properly....I'm presuming they will be the same ad will clip into the plug housing?
If it's a Honda part, do you have the part number please?

Hi, NSXGB.

This terminal (pin) is from the OEM parts supplier 'Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd'. They supply lots of looms, connectors, etc for many production manufactures including Honda.

The standard one is not Gold plated and I don't think you can get hold of it as it is not used for the production cars. It was used for the F1.
I don't know whether you can get hold of the standard ones in UK or not as I always get them from Japan. I still have lots of good contacts.

Not sure what the '3rd brake light' is, but if you are refering to the LED brake light on the rear wing, then you need different connector/pin type from the one in my photo.
You need the 090 WPC (Water Proof Connector) type one and the pin is also special to accomodate the sealing grommet at the end of the terminal. You'll also require special crimping tool to crimp the wire and the grommet to the terminal (pin) properly.

UK spec NSX is already pre-wired up to the left rear of the engine room for the LED brake light so if you want to buy the OEM cables for this, you'll need additional two cables.

If you want alternative solution, please send me an email as I may be able to make the cable for you but I need to check the stock of my parts first.


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi Kaz, interesting to see the wear/rust on Paul's caliper pistons. I was going to undertake a rebuild of my calipers over the winter and suspect that I'll find similar damage to the pistons on my car.

A couple of questions if I may...
What does the caliper overhaul kit you mention contain? Do you have a part number to hand?
What other parts should I order?
How many pistons did you replace?
How much, roughly, are they each?

Thanks

Mark

Hi, Mark.

If you look at the 4th photo of the post #67, you'll see the part no and the parts included in the Front OH kit for later spec Front Calliper.
It's 01463-SL0-J01.
You need two of these for the Front.
For those who are interested, please note that the later models has different Front calliper piston size compared to the earlier ones and thus, requries differnt OH kit.

Some of the NA1 (3.0L) engine models were also equipped with this later spec callipers so please be carefiul if you are trying to distinguish the brake calliper spec by the engine size.

Also, if it is a used car, your previous owner may have upgraded the calliper to the later spec. It is quite common and for example, my NSX is 94 model but I'm running the 02 Type-R callipers.

You don't need to replace the pistons and other parts such as the bolt unless they are damaged. You can only judge it by opening the calliper.

For your referece, followings are some of the prices in UK.

HUK price for LATER spec Front calliper
Front OH kit: 80.89 inc.VAT x 2 = 161.78
Front Piston 34mm: 38.16 inc.VAT x 2 = 76.32
Front Piston 40mm: 63.94 inc.VAT x 2 = 127.88

Addition to these, I normally replace the following for the front calliper service. Parts no and image included in the same photo of post #67.
Bleeder screw: 4.67 inc.VAT x 2 = 9.34
Cap, bleeder screw: 2.70 inc. VAT x 2 = 5.40

So, if you go down the route of HUK, you'll be looking at at least 380.00 just for some of the Front Calliper Parts...

As I always service my calliper every 2 -3 years, I don't want to pay this figure so I always order them from Japan or US.

Hope this will help.


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Recently, I was working on another NSX for Brake Calliper OH, Master Cyl OH, Driveshaft service and so on.

The owner bought the NSX as a used car and there were several previous owners in the past.
Initially, the owner brought the car for my Health check and there were many items to be serviced so we discussed the plan based on the available time and the budget.

1. Brake Calliper
The owner had the new brake pads installed at a certain garage and also he was under the impression that the callipers were serviced in the past by the previous owners.
However, at the time of my NSX Health Check Service, I drove this car and the brake performance was nowhere near to the original spec. It was also causing lots of judder when the brake temperature was high. The Brake Master Cyl looked terrible but I’ll touch on this later.

It was agreed to carry out the brake calliper and master cyl OH, replace the brake disks, replace the brake hoses and paint the callipers in matt black.

As soon as I started the service, I found the 1st issue.
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One of the boot was damaged when someone carried out the calliper OH or when re-installing the callipers after the new pads were installed. It was not just one side but on both R & L Front Callipers so it was a human error. Also, found that the orientation of the slider pins was wrong, the torque for the rear calliper bracket was too low which was really dangerous and so many other issues.

I’m glad we carried out this OH service as the owner was planning to take this NSX on Nurburgring in near future.

All of the pistons looked very healthy as they were replaced recently but not sure whether it was serviced by someone who knows the specific knowhow for the NSX or not after finding so many issues.
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It’s a standard calliper similar to other production cars but requires some knowhow.

The Front and Rear Calliper OH parts. The new Front Disk by Dixcel. Thanks to Andy at Vtecdirect. We placed the order long time ago while he was offering special deal on all products as well as the NSXCB member's deal.
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[Kaz-kzukNA1]

The Goodridge Brake Hose kit. Considering the UK road environment during the winter, I went for the Stainless fitting and not the Zinc plated one. May be over-spec but additional peace of mind... It took about 2 - 3 wks for the delivery as it was not stocked at the manufacture. It came with lifetime gurantee as well.
6143

When the owner bought this NSX, the calliper was pianted in red. Well, sort of...
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It was already peeling off and looked very tired. The owner didn't like the red and wanted to have the same style as mine which is matt black (02 Type-R). So, stripped the red paint off and painted in matt black using the engine head cover paint. Now it looks really cool for both front and the rear.
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By the way, the rear disk is the OEM one. For the earlier model, you can save a lot by selecting the OEM one compared to the aftermarket ones.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

2. ABS re-visited and the Brake master Cyl OH
As in my previous post, I think there are lots of NSX with partially failed solenoid on ABS system without being noticed by the owner. This NSX was one of them and initially, it was not possible to recover one of its solenoid. It was electrically fine but mechanically, it was just stuck closed. Under this condition, there will be no warning light on the dash.
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I wanted to try the same trick again and this time, I managed to recover the functionalities.

Once again, the Brake Master Cyl was not serviced for a long time.... There were so many rust at the Booster cover as well as at the base of the Master Cyl. I nearly picked up the phone to call the owner for the permission to replace them altogether.
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However, after initial cleaning, it was possible to recover them so cleaned them really well and refurbished it using the OH kit.

Then, as I didn't know the history of this NSX, checked the gap of the booster pushrod to be 100% sure about the gap requirement. Now the brake master cyl is back to its original performance.
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[markc]

Hi, Mark.

If you look at the 4th photo of the post #67, you'll see the part no and the parts included in the Front OH kit for later spec Front Calliper.
It's 01463-SL0-J01.
You need two of these for the Front.

For your referece, followings are some of the prices in UK.

HUK price for LATER spec Front calliper
Front OH kit: 80.89 inc.VAT x 2 = 161.78
Front Piston 34mm: 38.16 inc.VAT x 2 = 76.32
Front Piston 40mm: 63.94 inc.VAT x 2 = 127.88

Addition to these, I normally replace the following for the front calliper service. Parts no and image included in the same photo of post #67.
Bleeder screw: 4.67 inc.VAT x 2 = 9.34
Cap, bleeder screw: 2.70 inc. VAT x 2 = 5.40

So, if you go down the route of HUK, you'll be looking at at least 380.00 just for some of the Front Calliper Parts...

As I always service my calliper every 2 -3 years, I don't want to pay this figure so I always order them from Japan or US.

Hope this will help.

Regards,
Kaz

Fantastic Kaz, great information as usual.

HUK's NSX prices never cease to amaze do they? £80+ for a couple of rubber seals!!!

As you probably know I do like to work on my own cars but just maybe this job is one for you, especially if you can get the parts much cheaper. I'll be in touch.

Cheers

Mark

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Mark.
Looking forward to hearing from you and working on your NSX in the near future.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

3. Driveshaft and MTF

Another typical service that seems to be left until the very last moment is the driveshaft OH. On this NSX, there was no damage to the boot itself but the grease was leaking from the edge of the boot. The leaked grease was splashed everywhere and required long time to clean it.
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The grease leakage can also damage the nearby short coolant hose at the Engine Oil Cooler Base with the addition of heat from the header/exhaust.
Therefore, it is important to clean this oil cooler area as much as possible.
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As the driveshaft joint lost so much grease, the remaining grease turned into black colour although it looks gray in this photo due to the flashlight of the camera.
6159

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

As the state of the remaining grease was so bad, it was decided to service the roller bearing and re-pack the fresh grease. There are 3 rollers on each joints so 12 of them in total...
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At the final stage of the OH, you'll need to adjust the amount of the air inside the boot by adjusting the entire length of the driveshaft and then tighten the boot band.
Then, re-install both driveshaft back on the hub and stake the spindle nut against the driveshaft.
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[Kaz-kzukNA1]

During the driveshaft OH, you'll need to drain the MTF or ATF before removing the Left side driveshaft.

For the MT car, it is good idea to check and clean the strainer before re-filling the fresh MTF. You may struggle to remove the strainer cover if it was ignored for a long time and it can be easily damaged if it was not removed before. The one on this NSX was so corroded that it was decided to be replaced with the new one with the O-ring.
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Refill the MTF (Honda MTF-3) and leave it until it stops dripping from the filler hole.
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[Kaz-kzukNA1]

4. Main Relay
The famous Main Relay.
The owner bought it a while ago but didn't have time to install it so I just done it for him.

I always would like to keep the original one and re-solder it to be used as an emergency spare in case someone needs it urgently. I always keep it in my boot. I asked the same for this owner to help other members....
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[Kaz-kzukNA1]

5. Front Wing Inner and Cover
Originally, this NSX had lowered suspension kit with unsuitable alignment and chassis setup.
Because of this, the black plastic part inside the front wing and also the cover behind the A/C condensor fan were damaged.
The old set on the left and the new set on the right.
6172

As black is one of the most important factor to sharpen the image of the car, we decided to replace all of them at the front.
Not great photo but it really improved the image of the car.
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[Kaz-kzukNA1]

I had an opportunity to work on one of the beautiful NSX owned by the well known member here on NSXCB.

It was for the famous Crank Pulley...

The owner spotted the first sign of the issue a while ago and he applied temporary measure before visiting my place.

Previously, the timing belt on this NSX was serviced by the reputable garage so I was hoping to be able to remove the pulley bolt without majour effort. Wrong idea...

The original workshop manual didn't show the cleaning and greasing method for this bolt so quite often, I found it very hard to loosen it.

This one was not greased at all so although the specified torque was 245Nm, I used about 700Nm just to loosen it a little. Had to apply similar force several times before the bolt became loose enough for the removal.

After removing the pulley, it was inspected and without the temporary measure applied by the owner, the balancer came off with ease so I'm glad we carried out the service now.
When it is new, it will look like the photo on the left.
The one removed from this NSX without the temporary measure.
The new one installed.
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After replacing the crank pulley, I had an opportunity to drive this NSX.
It has really nice chassis setup including the special suspension kit and many other modifications. It's following the latest trend of the suspension setup that is comfortable for the every day usage but once start driving fast, it allows you to shift the weight with ease. The alignment setup was also spot on.
Very smooth and powerful engine thanks to the mod on the header/exhaust with the combination of aftermarket LSD and felt like it had the modified final ratio.

I heard that this NSX will be in the hand of new owner soon so I hope he/she will keep these nice modifications and looks after it for a long time. You'll be glad to know that the crank pulley has been replaced and the pulley bolt was cleaned/greased properly.


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

For 15 years, I have been carrying out the Health Check on my NSX every 6 months as long as I was in the country.

I better remind the owners who visited my place around spring time for another Health Check session and possibly replacing the Eng Oil at the same time if it has not been done yet.

So, although I was very busy over the last several months, I managed to find some time to carry out the Health Check on my 94 NSX. As I always get similar questions about this service, here is some information for you.

1. The check sheet
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This is the same sheet that I use for everyone. It covers about 150 points and if the owner is happy for me to drive his/her NSX, I’ll include several points from the short test driving session. It will enable me to feel the brake, alignment, clutch, AT, tyre and so on.

2. The Prioritised Health Check Report
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After the Health Check, you’ll receive the report with prioritised future service recommendation in three different priorities. Following is one of the example reports that I sent to the owner recently.

Then, using this report, we can discuss about which services to be carried out in the near future based on the available time and also the budget.
Also, you need to think ahead and be prepared for some of the services required based on the mileage.

This time for my NSX, I replaced the Eng oil and the Oil filter then found the following points to be addressed.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

1. Left side Headlight unit
Due to the design of headlight adjuster, the headlight unit tends to rattle after several years. Also, my NSX is the JDM and it doesn’t have electrical headlight height adjuster that doesn’t help the situation. Long time ago, I worked on this but it looks like they need another treatment.

2. Crank Pulley
My NSX has covered more than 123,000miles so based on JDM service interval, I was planning to replace the timing belt later this year. However, it looks like I don’t need to do it for several months.
As I need to replace the clutch at the similar timing that I am thinking of taking out the engine and gearbox out of the chassis so that I can carry out some refresh work inside the engine and the gearbox.
Having said this, I don’t want to delay replacing my crank pulley so decided to go ahead and replace it now.

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The SST holding the Crank Pulley in place and the pulley bolt cleaned and greased properly. The original manual didn’t touch on how and where to clean/grease this bolt so some of the NSX required huge torque to loosen this bolt.
As in my previous post, I had to apply around 700Nm for one of the member here. The timing belt was replaced in the past but the pulley bolt was not greased properly. Mine came off with reasonable torque.

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The new pulley.

6244
The pulley came off from my NSX (left) and the one from one of the member here (right). The balancer split off from the pulley. You don't want to see this on your NSX....

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

3. Fuel Filter
It’s time to replace this again so waiting for the part to be to be delivered.

4. Air Filter
I use OEM filter and replace it regularly based on the mileage and/or visual inspection.
Hold your filter against the sun and if you couldn’t see it through, then it is best to replace it even if it hasn’t reached the specified replacement mileage.

5. Cleaning TH Butterfly and EACV
My NSX is not DBW model so it still has EACV for idle control. One of the reason why I don’t use aftermarket air filter is that some of them can release small amount of oil over the time and making TH butterfly and port for the EACV very dirty.
It’s time to clean the TH butterfly and EACV again. Regular cleaning will keep your idle rpm stable.

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The front and back face of the TH as well as the internal wall of rubber accordion between the airbox and the TH body looked very clean so I’m happy.
Inlet chamber had some black mist due to blowby but quite normal for early C30A engine. On C30A later model and C32B, the routing of blowby was changed to cope with this oil mist in the blowby under high G cornering.

6. Battery
My battery will be 5 years old in November. As my NSX is everyday car, I don’t feel any weak cranking at the moment even in the cold morning but it’s best to replace it before it suddenly decides to give up. I may consider getting the dry cell type this time…..

7. Cleaning A/C evaporator
As in my previous post, unfortunately, our NSX doesn’t have any sort of pollen filter for the cabin air quality. Therefore, any dust, fume, leaves, etc will be sucked into the blower motor unit unless you are using the re-circ mode 100% of the time. This is regardless of whether you use the A/C or not. Anything managed to get inside the blower motor unit will be directed to the surface of A/C evaporator resulting in build up of horrible dirt or even mould…
If you don’t clean your evaporator regularly, then, you don’t want to know what you are breathing while you are driving… If you look at your cabin temperature sensor head located just below the ashtray in front of your MT/AT shift lever, anything trapped there will show you the quality of your cabin air. You may not be able to see the sensor if it was like the one from one of the owner here.
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So, removed the battery, plastic drain channel, the cover, the blower motor and cleaned them all.
The quick filter that I made last time worked quite well as the inside of the blower motor was very clean.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

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Just quick clean on the evaporator and made another filter.

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The filer goes under the plastic panel below the wiper arm under the bonnet.
If you are going to carry out this process, it would be best to get hold of some of the spare plastic clips holding the rubber weatherstrip under the bonnet as it is so easy to break them after long years.

8. Driver seat slide motor
I started to notice that when it was very cold in the morning, the fore/aft sliding motor/gear of driver seat made strange noise. It sounded like struggling to slide. When it’s warm, no problem at all. So, removed the driver seat and took it outside of the cabin. Re-greased the spiral guide and the seat rail and the noise disappeared.


I was also working on another NSX recently so I'll post the detail soon.

Kaz

[NSXGB]

Kaz,
What do you recommend for cleaning the TB? Something like this: http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Automotive/Lubricants+Sprays/Carburettor+Cleaner+400ml/d60/sd2795/p30713

Is it just a case of spraying it down the TB when the engine is running or spraying the TB with engine off and cleaning what you can with a rag, then a good dose while the engine is running?

[TheSebringOne]

Kaz, is this the 1st or 2nd crank pulley that you've changed on your car?

The one that you changed for a member here, what age and mileage of the car? I think from previous discussions the crank pulley is not on the servicing schedule? Is this best being done the same time as the timing belt?

[Senninha]

The pulley from one of the member here. The balancer split off from the pulley. You don't want to see this on your NSX....


I was looking for the large bolt that kept that one together until you could replace it ;)

It would appear to be another of those preventitive changes worth doing for peace of mind ....



The filter goes under the plastic panel below the wiper arm under the bonnet.
If you are going to carry out this process, it would be best to get hold of some of the spare plastic clips holding the rubber weatherstrip under the bonnet as it is so easy to break them after long years.


Hi Kaz,

As always, thank you for the detailed info.

What is the process for removing the plastic panel please? Is it just the wiper arms and these clips to release it? Is there anything else that needs removal to access this filter and unit for cleaning?

Thank you

Paul

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Kaz,
What do you recommend for cleaning the TB? Something like this: http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Automotive/Lubricants+Sprays/Carburettor+Cleaner+400ml/d60/sd2795/p30713

Is it just a case of spraying it down the TB when the engine is running or spraying the TB with engine off and cleaning what you can with a rag, then a good dose while the engine is running?

Hi, NSXGB.

Carburettor cleaner or similar products designed for cleaning intake manifold would be the safest thing to use.

Please read the instruction on the side of the can as some products will state to be used only when the engine is cold.
Never use brake cleaner for this purpose as it could trigger fire or even release lethal chemical in the air.

Be gentle on the TB and never apply any force. While the engine is off, open the TB and gently wipe off any dirt from the front/back surface of the TB. At the same time, spray small amount of cleaner into the intake channel and wipe off any black residue. Don’t spray too much otherwise you’ll struggle to start up the engine at the next step.

Start the engine and remove the PCV valve from the head cover. Spray the cleaner at the PCV valve in short burst several times.

For non-DBW model, the TB is closed at the idle rpm and the air is fed through the bypass port which is at the upper side of the TH body. Open the TB slightly to keep the rpm higher than the idle and spray the cleaner in short burst mode aiming at the bypass port.

Stop the engine and remove the clock fuse to reset the ECU.
Go out for a short driving to let the ECU to learn the new study value.

After this process, you may need to adjust the idle rpm so be prepared.
If you don’t know the procedure or don’t have the rpm monitor, it is best to let someone else to do the job for you.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Kaz, is this the 1st or 2nd crank pulley that you've changed on your car?

The one that you changed for a member here, what age and mileage of the car? I think from previous discussions the crank pulley is not on the servicing schedule? Is this best being done the same time as the timing belt?

Hi, TheSebringOne.

This is the 3rd pulley for my NSX although it will be my 2nd Timing belt service next time.

I don’t know the exact mileage/age when the balancer split off on the member’s NSX because he/she already spotted the issue before arriving at my place.
The service was carried out as an emergency case and the owner applied short term fix before arriving at my place. However, I do know that his/her NSX was used on the track many times.

While the mileage and age will play some factor for this issue, the biggest factor would be the driving condition such as the sudden change in RPM and the heat. So, for some owners, the pulley will be fine for more than 10 years whereas for some of us, it will fail earlier than that.

You will be surprised to know how heavy the balancer is and it is only held in place by the rubber.
So, inevitably, if you make sudden change in rpm, it will snap off after many years. You can’t judge it just by the mileage or the age. Also, you can't see it from outside as the balncer is hidden by the pulley.

Although it is not defined as regular service item, it is a common practice to replace this at least at the time of timing belt service among the people who works on NSX regularly in Japan.

For those who track their NSX or drive aggressively, it is best to replace it more frequently.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

.....

What is the process for removing the plastic panel please? Is it just the wiper arms and these clips to release it? Is there anything else that needs removal to access this filter and unit for cleaning?

Thank you

Paul

Hi, Paul.

In order to access the inlet channel of the blower motor unit, you only need to remove the plastic pins (7 - 8 of them) holding the long sideway weatherstrip at the front of the plastic panel. Once the weatherstrip is off, you can lift the front section of the panel.

You can't remove the entire panel off the car without removing another trim at the bottom of the windscreen. I don't recommend removing this trim as it is held by special yellow clip and it is so easy to break it as it is getting very old by now.

There is no filter attached from the factory so if you are going to make something by yourself, you need to keep the bottom of your filter material well off the chassis panel to avoid absorbing the water. Any water will get in there through the meshed section of the top panel around the front suspension mount area and so on.

Obviously, you need to remove the blower motor unit to clean the evaporator.
In order to remove the blower motor, you'll need to remove the spare tyre holder, the battery, the relay box, the drain channel and disconnect the three connectors on the blower unit. You will also need to separte the cable clamp at the drain channel. You can get some idea through the manual but it is best to look at on your NSX as some of us installed aftermarket HID units, different battery, removed spare tyre holder and so on.
Be careful not to damage the two plastic pins/studs at the side of blower motor case holding the water valve and the coolant hose unit for the heater core.


Regards,
Kaz

[TheSebringOne]

Thanks Kaz, just to confirm that the job to change the crank pulley is alot easier when you are also changing the TB at the same time? Thanks

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Timing Belt (TB) is located inside the black plastic cover and the Crank Pulley (CP) is outside of this cover.

So, you can replace the CP any time you want without disturbing the TB.
No need to be at the same time.
TB service will require lots of preparation/procedures even before being able to access the TB itself so replacing only the CP is much easier.

You'll need to remove the CP again at the time of TB service but I would be happy to do so knowing that the CP Bolt would come off with ease as it was cleaned/greased properly and more importantly, I don't need to worry about the CP issue.

Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Once again, it’s time to work on the Brake, Coolant system and so on.

This NSX was imported from Japan and there were lots of service record in Japanese so I translated them into English. This document helped a lot on understanding what was done while the car was in Japan.

During the Health Check Test Driving session, it was pointed out to the owner that the brake was nowhere near to the standard of NSX.
So, back to my place and serviced them.

1. ABS
Although the fluid inside the reservoir was replaced in the past, there was no history of flushing the system and activating each solenoid. By the way, you can activate the ABS by locking the wheels under braking in a safe open space to keep it healthy but it is almost impossible to detect the sticky solenoid (closed) failure by this method. Also, you won’t be able to replace the fluid in the solenoid chamber without flushing one solenoid at a time and replacing the fluid after each flush.

So, out comes the ABS T-wrench and this was what inside….
6259 6258
So much air in the accumulator.
Flushed it twice before moving onto the solenoid flush.

In the process of flushing each solenoid.
6260
Luckily, all four solenoids were electrically and mechanically operating fine with no stick. As I don’t want to suck back the air and potential dirt into the flushed accumulator in the first step, I normally replace the entire reservoir fluid after each solenoid flush. As there are four solenoids, you will be repeating this four times.

After all four solenoids were flushed, I’ll flush the accumulator two more times to complete the service. By this time, the fluid flushed into the T-wrench would be clean and clear from any air apart from the small amount left inside the shaft of T-wrench and the tiny ones through the thread of bleeder plug.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

2. Brake Calliper
Quite often, I was asked why we need to service the calliper when there is no leak or even the pedal feels fine.

Well, first of all, you don’t want to wait until you find the leakage. You can stop the car with engine failure but it will be a different story for a brake failure.

Even if the seal at the piston was fine, any rust on the piston will allow the small leakage and quite often, you won’t notice it unless you overhaul the calliper as you can’t see the rust from outside and the initial leakage would be trapped by the dust boot.

Rust can cause piston to seize and as our Front calliper has dual pistons, you won’t be able to tell the difference from the pedal feeling unless you know the original stopping power of our NSX from Day1.

So, started the overhaul and found this….
6262 6263 6264
Unfortunately, the person worked on this NSX didn’t check the installation of the dust boots.
On both Front Left and Right, the dust boots were not installed properly causing the rust on the piston sleeve.
6261
There was no leakage but enough damage was done and the pistons didn’t slide smoothly. As the rust was so deep into the pistons, I had to replace them.

Also, the rust managed to get to the thread of bleeder plug so I normally just replace them as a standard procdedure.
6265

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

There are several ways to install the dust boots but the key thing is to double check it.
6268

First, install the dust boot and then feel it all the way round with your finger that the boot is sitting firmly inside the groove of calliper.
Then, install the pistons and push them all the way in.
6270

Now, to double check the installation, push out the pistons carefully to see the seating of boot and then push them back in again.
6269

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Similar story for the Rear but rotate it instead of pushing in.
6271 6272 6273

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

3. Brake Master Cyl
Once again, it’s time to work on the master cyl.
As mentioned in the past, there is no English manual on how to overhaul (OH) this.

Here is the small leakage already seen at the Brake Master Cyl without being noticed by the owner and the OH kit.
6274 6275

As always, there is no gurantee that the pushrod gap was never touched so it is important to double check it using the SST.
6276

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

4. Goodridge Stainless fitting (not Zinc plated one) Brake line
Considering the road condition during the winter, I prefer to use Stainless fitting rather than the standard Zinc plated one for the brake hose.
6277 6279 6280

It states that it’s guaranteed for life time so it would be interesting to see how it goes as I’m hoping the owner will come back for my health check service every 6 months so that I can build up the carte for each NSX.
6278

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

5. Painting Calliper
The owner wanted to have the callipers painted in red with ‘NSX’ logo in white.
I have quite good experience with black paint but not familiar with the red one.
Also, I don’t have powder coating facility and I don’t know any good places nearby, so we agreed to paint them as a red paint test session. I used three coats of Hammerite leaving almost 12Hrs between each coats although it says 4Hrs. Quite happy with the result so let’s see how it will stand the heat and the chipping.

The Front Before and After. The flash of camera makes it like orange but it's really bright Red.
6281 6282

And the Rear.
6283 6284

Looks nice through BBS.
6285

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

6. Main Relay
The famous Main Relay.
Have you already replaced yours?

This NSX is the early model so it is located towards the centre side of the chassis whereas on the later model, it will be close to the right side chassis panel.
6286 6287
As always, re-soldered the old one and asked the owner to keep it as an emergency spare.


7. Coolant System
This NSX is NA1 AT model so it will require extra hoses for the ATF cooler. In total, there are 25 hoses to be replaced with 49 clamps. The number of hoses and parts no are different for NA1/NA2, MT/AT and so on so be careful.

It took about 15min to warm up the engine so I was quite sure the Thermostat was stuck open. And this is the difference between the old and new one. The one on the left is the original one with stuck open valvle.
6288

And the Header Tank.
6289
If yours looks like the one on the right, it's time to replace it. I prefer using the OEM one although it tends to crack at the middle or at the base of the cap after several years. The internal design of the tank can't be ignored.

Same for the Coolant fluid. I prefer using Honda Type-2 Blue one. It has been developed by the Honda R&D and it just lasts so long that you'll probably have to replace the hoses before replacing the coolant next time.
6290

[Sudesh]

4. Goodridge Stainless fitting (not Zinc plated one) Brake line
Considering the road condition during the winter, I prefer to use Stainless fitting rather than the standard Zinc plated one for the brake hose.
6277 6279 6280

It states that it’s guaranteed for life time so it would be interesting to see how it goes as I’m hoping the owner will come back for my health check service every 6 months so that I can build up the carte for each NSX.
6278

Great work Kaz!

Noticed however that the front Goodridge hoses you have, only have 1 line locator on the front hoses? The hoses I have purchased have 2 locators as per the OEM hoses.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

These are the parts replaced.
6291

The ones in the Engine Room, at the Centre floor and at the Front under bonnet.
6294 6292 6295

The ones at the Engine Oil Cooler with Figure of ' 8 ' O-ring.
6293
Even after carrying out the same service for many times, it still takes 1 - 2Hr just for these 2 hoses.... Seriously...
I'm glad that we replaced all the hoses especially these two. Previously, this NSX had driveshaft grease leakage and lots of grese were covering this short hose. Because of this and with the heat from header, it was already expanded/de-formed and about to burst.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

As always, vacuum filled and leak tested the entire system.
6298 6297 6296

Now the coolant system warms up properly and all the hoses will be fine for many years.


8. A/C Evaporator
As in my old post, our NSX doesn't have any pollen filter. So, anything managed (it's quite easy to do so) to get inside the blower fan motor unit, it will be directed to the surface fin of A/C evaporator unit.
And if you haven't washed it for many years, it will look like this....
6299 6300
I'm afraid this is what you are breathing while you are inside the cabin....

[goldnsx]

I can't see those two o-rings for the radiator in your pics. Those are very critical as if the NSX looses pressure in the coolant system then it's at those two, even without having a leak.;)

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

So, once a year, take off your blower motor unit and wash it gently with special chemical designed for aluminium. Be careful with the aluminium surface fin as they are so fragile. I always use soft brush for cleaning.

At the same time, consider making a simple DIY filter at the inlet of blower motor fan. Be careful not to reduce too much air entering the unit to avoid any damages as well as pay extra attention to prevent the filter from absorbing any water in contact.
Now, the evaporator is in much better condition and the uncomfortable smell is gone.
6302 6301


9. Rear Fog Light Circuit
As mentioned, this NSX is JDM so it has different tail light arrangement compared to UK model and JDM doesn't have factory fitted Rear Fog Light.

Because of this, you need to somehow install the Rear Fog Light.
Unfortunately, the people worked on this NSX carried out not great job and used one of the brake light on each Left and Right Tail lights.
6303
Obviously, this will trigger the 'BRKAE LAMP' warning indicator on the dash and they used black tape to hide it... What a great work....

I was so scared to see the modification on the wiring so first put them back as much as possible to the OEM level and then created the new circuit for the Rear Fog Light.

The OEM Switch and the Connector from my precious spare.
And finally, removed the dirty black tape hiding the warning light.
6304 6305

Now there is no more warning light and the owner will be happy to know that the wiring is back to how it should be.


Took long days to work on this NSX but I'm happy with the result.


Another NSX restored and tailored to the owner's demand.
Happy driving :)


Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

I can't see those two o-rings for the radiator in your pics. Those are very critical as if the NSX looses pressure in the coolant system then it's at those two, even without having a leak.;)

Hi, goldnsx.

If you look at the plastic tray just below the header tank in the photo of post #112, they are in there.

Also, sometimes, I don't have time to take photo of all the parts so you may find something missing but it is covered in my Service Log document that will be handed to the owner with the photo CD so I hope the owner is happy with them.

Thank you for sharing your advice any way as it will help others which is the aim of my post.

Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Great work Kaz!

Noticed however that the front Goodridge hoses you have, only have 1 line locator on the front hoses? The hoses I have purchased have 2 locators as per the OEM hoses.

Hi, Sudesh.
Yes, I noticed it and it was the same for the two complete set that I bought at the same time from Goodridge (not from ebay...).

However, I don't need the 2nd bracket for the Front as both NSX were equipped with aftermarket dampers without OEM bracket any way so had to use high temp heavy duty tyrap.

Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

While I was going through the backup of photos, I found the ones from the day I became the owner of the 94 NSX. It was just like looking at the origin of my Health Check service....

Although I was working very close to NSX, my actual ownership didn’t start until 94.

So, one hot summer day of year 1994 in Japan, after long waiting time, I went to pick up my NSX from one of the best Honda dealership in Tokyo.
I asked the sales executives to put my car on the lift before my arrival. They were not surprised about this request as they knew about my background.
6319 6320 6321
Me and the sales executive under my 94 Red NSX. The white NSX in front. It's the NA1 Type-R that I looked after and drove from time to time for my friend.
From different angle…
Beautiful front section when just arrived from the factory.


6322 6323
Front suspension area.
I almost forgot about how clean it was around the CAT when it was new….

After spending more than 15 years with about 125,000miles, I still enjoy driving it everyday.

Kaz

[britlude]

Unfortunately, the people worked on this NSX carried out not great job and used one of the brake light on each Left and Right Tail lights.
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/testvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=6303&thumb=1&d=1255905044 (http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/testvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=6303&d=1255905044)
Obviously, this will trigger the 'BRKAE LAMP' warning indicator on the dash and they used black tape to hide it... What a great work....

must have been the same outfit that did mine! i spent ages wondering if i actually had a brake lamp warning light!

I rewired mine to to have a fog lamp switch firing a change over relay to turn on the inner brake lamps..

the brake warning light comes on when the fog lights are on, and brakes are applied, which helps as a dash board reminder to turn off the fog lights when appropriate! brake warning lamp resets when the ignition is switched off.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

I was so busy over the past few weeks with my own business + helping many NSX owners.

6329 6328 6332
Was working on several A/C CCU boards and one of them was really in bad condition. At the end, I used 6 hard wires, 2 jumper wires and 2 soldering bridge.

At the same time, I was working on many Bose Speaker Amps. Lots of capacitors were leaking and some of the damages were enough to cause issues to the Bose in-house ICs…

Addition to these, I was working on Power Steering EPS computer. I’m glad that I managed to fix the issue and for the first time since the owner bought this particular NSX, he managed to drive it with EPS working.

I’ll post the detail in different thread as it was quite interesting story.

6333 6330
And then, I was helping one of the owner for the Coolant system and Main Relay.

The owner had the coolant system serviced just about 1 month before my Health Check Service but already the coolant level was at the Low level. Also, there was a question mark on the amount of coolant used on the receipt.

So, the owner came back to my place and had the coolant system completely refurbished.
There were significant corrosion at the pipes under the header tank and the coolant was slowly leaking from there. I'm glad we repalced all hoses this time.
If you left your coolant hoses for a long time without replacing them, best to check the ones under the header tank, the short one at the Oil Cooler and the ones in the channel of bottom centre floor.

The famous Main Relay. Just replace it at your earliest opportunity and keep the original one as an emergency spare after resoldering it.

I'm waiting for many parts from Japan and US so I hope I can catch up with all the backlog very soon and help other owners.


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.
Recently, I was helping one of the new owner here.

1. ABS
Once again, it was full of air and had to close the special ABS T-wrench several times before completely releasing the pressure from the accumulator.
6363 6364 6365
It is recommended to flush the system every year or at least once in two years time. This also includes the four solenoids flush. Luckily, all four solenoids on this car were working fine and they were flushed without any issues. The reservoir was drained after each solenoid was flushed and after the fourth one was done, the entire system was flushed again for two times. By this time, the fluid released into the ABS T-wrench showed [edit] little air and ready for another year.

2. Driveshaft
Another regular maintenance item on our NSX. In order to speed up the process, I’ve re-built my spare right and left driveshafts just before receiving the car. It will include full re-built of pin roller bearing inside the roller assy as well as painting the joint housing.
6367 6368

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

The old driveshaft came off from the owner's NSX and the re-built one from my spare. Nicely painted in black as well....
6369

On this NSX, someone worked on the driveshaft previously but decided to use tyrap instead of double loop metal band to secure the boot. No way….
It couldn’t hold the grease inside the joint and splashed the grease everywhere.
6370 6371

After lots of cleaning, the re-built driveshaft was installed. While working on the driveshaft, it would look quite scarely when all of the suspension bolts were removed.
6372 6373

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

3. MTF
During the driveshaft service, if you are removing the left side driveshaft, you will need to drain the transmission oil. This NSX was MT so it was also a good idea to remove the MTF strainer to check the state of the transmission.
6374
The strainer cover was corroded severely and took some time to remove. It is so easy to break the tab holding the cover to the transmission case but if the corrosion is too severe, it is quicker to break the tab and replace it with a new one.

It looked as if the strainer cover was never removed in the past. There were several tiny metal dust/particle inside the strainer but after more than 90,000miles, it was not too bad. Unless you track your NSX regularly, I recommend using Honda MTF-3. Otherwise, you will feel notchy shifting especially in selecting 2nd gear on cold morning.
6375 6377

4. Suspension bolts
In order to remove the driveshaft, you will need to remove the suspension bolts including the alignment bolt. Just mark the camber alignment position and make sure not to mix up left and right.
6376
As our suspension parts are made from aluminium, please do not use cupper grease on them. As you can see, they are marked with green colour from the factory showing that they were specially treated to prevent corrosion due to non-aluminium parts touching the aluminium suspension.
I normally apply thin coat of silicone grease and for 15 years, my suspension bolts are not corroded and always easy to work with. By the way, for this NSX, it took long time to deal with many bolts as they were corroded. I applied silicone grease for future service.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

5. Main Relay
Another common failure on our NSX. The Main Relay.
When DBW (drive by wire) was introduced on NSX, the location of main relay was also changed.
6378 6379
It has different bracket compared to the original one and the part number is also changed.
Although the number on the case body is different, the internal circuit is exactly the same between the two.
Re-soldered the original one and wrote some information on the bracket for future reference. It will be replaced with the new one once the parts arrived from Japan.

6. Brake Fluid
During the test driving session, it was recommended to the owner to overhaul the brake system such as the master cylinder and callipers. However, the owner wanted to first just replace the brake fluid and then put the car on the brake dyno to test the brake torque before carrying out any brake service. Also, the car passed the MOT just recently.

Eventually, I couldn’t release the car to the owner for safety reason but I’ll touch on this later.

The original fluid… Black. It should be clear unless you are using special brake fluid.
6380 6381

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

7. A/C Climate Control Unit (CCU) and Cabin air temperature sensor
Regardless of the mileage, your A/C CCU will fail.
6382
The CCU computer board was re-furbished and the Cabin air temperature was cleaned as it was making annoying noise.

Lots of dust inside the sensor. You can only clean it thoroughly by disassembling it. Now, it is smooth and quiet.
6383 6384 6385

Now it is clean....
6386

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

8. Rear Brake Calliper
During the Health Check, it was recommended to the owner to have full brake system overhaul. Also, the parking brake was not balanced correctly between right and left.
While tightening the spindle nut to about 330Nm at the end of driveshaft service, I noticed that the rear brake was nowhere near to the perfect condition. The Parking brake between left and right had massive offset and the right side calliper felt as if it was seized. I don't know how it manged to pass MOT recently...

So, picked up the phone and told the owner that although we didn’t agree about the calliper overhaul, I would not release the car because of the safety reason.
The owner kindly agreed to let me carry out the overhaul and these were what I found…

The piston dust boot had cut in one place and not installed properly. The parking brake cable pin was completely rusted and I couldn't even remove it before soaking it with penetrating oil overnight. This was also the cause of the un-balance of parking brake between Right and Left. The lower calliper slider pin was corroded and completely seized. I had to actually hammer it out...
6387 6388 6389

And because of these issues, the piston was heavily rusted and the rust even got inside of the calliper body. Had to clean it for a long time...
6390 6391

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

There was no way I could re-use the piston so replaced it with new one.
The rear calliper overhaul kit with new piston, new bleeder plug and the cap.
The rust was so severe that it even managed to get inside of the bleeder plug hole. The bleeder had to be replaced.
6392 6393 6394

Rebuilding the parking brake mechanism.
Using the OEM special tool to compress the spring used at the parking brake mechanism just behind the piston.
6395 6396

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Almost there...
Using the piston tool to insert (rotate) it with the new dust boot and seal inside the calliper.
As always, it is important to check the installation of dust boot by first extracting the piston to a certain level and then rotating back into the calliper. Throughout the process, the dust boot should show no twist and the piston should move smoothly.
6397 6398 6399

Finally,the new bleeder plug installed and also applied special grease at the parking cable pin to keep it lubricated until next service.
6400 6401

I hope the owner will come back again in near future to complete the rest of high priprity service items.

Regards,
Kaz

[goldnsx]

The original fluid… Black. It should be clear unless you are using special brake fluid.
6380

Good job! The fluid, was this the first and single one ever filled into the system?

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

I hope not...

Having said this, the owner only got this NSX recently so who knows how old this fluid is....

This was not the first time I saw this level of brake fluid on NSX, unfortunately.

And it's not just UK based ones. The other day, LH drive NSX was at my place and the brake system was also very bad.

Hope it will be looked after well from now on...

Regards,
Kaz

[goldnsx]

What I don't understand: why are the cars rusting that much in the UK?

[AR]

Salted winter roads and the fact that a large portion of NSX were/are used year round.

[Senninha]

Salted winter roads and the fact that a large portion of NSX were/are used year round.

I would think that of equally as damaging is the fact that a lot are rolled out for occasional use, driven, washed and then put back in the garage so are not 'dried' through driving, but left for the underside to dry in the garage ...

[markc]

I would think that of equally as damaging is the fact that a lot are rolled out for occasional use, driven, washed and then put back in the garage so are not 'dried' through driving, but left for the underside to dry in the garage ...

Hmmm... normal washing is not going to get any water to the underside of the car though. The brakes will suffer a bit, maybe light surface rusting, and worse case pads rusting to discs but this is rarely a major problem. Of course you should take a short post wash run to air dry all the hard to reach bits.

Unless you mean driven occassionally in foul weather on wet, dirty, salted roads, then quickly washed over with a bucket and sponge and immediately put in the darage still wet... unlikely that anyone here is mad enough to do that ;)

The main problem is, IMHO, regular winter use on our wet, dirty, salty roads. That will bollocks up the underside components of any car :(

Some of the pics on Prime of the undersides of 10+yr old cars, with reasonable milaeges on them, from dry states like California and Arizona are amazing, they look new!

Cheers

Mark

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

One thing I noticed on UK based NSX is that quite lots of them showed the similar rusty brackets/bolts under the body of NSX kept close to the coast area of Japan. In Japan, they don't use rock salt on the road during winter but still gets lots of rust if it was kept close to the coast.

When I moved to UK, I started to wash NSX almost every weekend during winter and then in the Spring, put the car on the stand, remove all four wheels and jet wash the underbody really well. Although I drive my NSX every day even in the winter, after doing this for more than 10 years in UK, it seems to be helping the condition of the brackets and the bolts compared to doing nothing (I just hope...)

I heard that some of the European countries use de-icer spray or brine water instead of gritting. Would be interested to know the effect on NSX compared to the gritting.

Regards,
Kaz

[AR]

Kaz any reason why the NSX brackets, bolts, and some exhausts bits were not made out of a Stainless Alloy? Just curious as everything seems to be so well planned that I can't think of cost been the reason.

[havoc]

Kaz any reason why the NSX brackets, bolts, and some exhausts bits were not made out of a Stainless Alloy? Just curious as everything seems to be so well planned that I can't think of cost been the reason.

I'll await Kaz' answer, but I suspect cost WOULD have been the reason:-
- Alloy arms, brackets, bolts etc. would have been a lot more expensive than ordinary pressed steel, and for a part that no-one would see or care about (until a decade down the road...and what mfr cares about their cars 10 years on?!?)
- Galvanising all those (steel) parts would also have added substantial cost.

...and I strongly suspect the NSX wasn't a profit-maker for Honda, rather a prestige, loss-making 'halo' car.

[AR]

Alloy arms

Well all suspension arms are alloy, most suspension bolts are either heavily galvanized or some special metal as they seem to not be corroded.

I've read on Prime Honda lost $18K on every NSX sold?

There are parts such as the bonnet catch that should have been better protected.

Cheers

AR

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Kaz any reason why the NSX brackets, bolts, and some exhausts bits were not made out of a Stainless Alloy? Just curious as everything seems to be so well planned that I can't think of cost been the reason.

If you are considering about using stainless for bolts and nuts, you need to be very careful on the selection of stainless material especially if you are using it anywhere close to the source of heat, vibration, etc like on our super NSX.

This is related to the material engineering and I only studied this for a short period so please correct me if I made any mistakes.

Almost every owner knows that most of the parts on our NSX were made from aluminium. However, not everyone knows that there are several different aluminium spec were used depending on the design, strength, purpose and so on.


This is the same for the stainless material. There are several different spec within stainless family such as Austenite (SUS304, 310, etc), Ferrite (SUS430), Martensite (SUS403, 410, etc) and so on.

The golden rule is never use the same stainless material for the nuts and bolts especially around the exhaust area. This is one of the reason why stainless material was not used.


Sometimes, I noticed that owners were using stainless bolts and nuts when installing the aftermarket headers/exhausts and causing lots of headache for the people working on the car later.


Most of the stainless bolts and nuts from aftermarket car parts shop are made from SUS304 and using this on both the bolt and nut are NO - NO.
100% guaranteed to seize or weld together. You must use at least different stainless spec such as Ferrite bolt and Austenite nut.

This is one of the reason why I normally don’t work on header/exhaust without having spare O2 sensor. The gasket of O2 sensor is made from Ferrite stainless and although the header is made from Ferrite or Austenite, quite often the threaded boss for the O2 sensor is also made from Ferrite.
Thus, it is so easy to seize if tiny amount of thread compound was not used on assembly as some of the O2 sensor manufactures don’t recommend using it.

It is very important to use OEM nut and stud for the assembly of header to the engine head for the above reason. They are specially treated to prevent them from seizing.

Other points to consider are the characteristic of stainless, the cost, the purpose and so on.
Most commonly used SUS304 has high thermal expansion rate so you need to be careful on where to use. This is why we have accordion type tube in the middle of header and also using the round shape gasket with spring loaded bolts for each connection.


For production car, it is easier and cheaper to break and replace the nuts and bolts than using stainless material especially around the heatshield/header/exhaust area. As it states, it is stain (rust) less and not complete stain (rust) prevention so after long years with heat, vibration and etc, even the stainless material won't survive.


Hope this will answer part of your question.


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Season’s greetings, everyone. Hope you are having wonderful time over this holiday period and wishing you a successful year for 2010.

Before Christmas, I started to work on another NSX and originally, we planed to carry out the alignment service as well. However, due to the heavy snow forecast, we decided to skip any services requiring alignment work afterwards. Good call as even the alignment shop people couldn’t make it to their office and they are now closed until the New Year.

1. Bose Speaker and Amplifier
During the Health Check Service, we found that there was no sound from the Centre speaker (between the two seats), nor from the passenger Foot well one.
The owner investigated further and he found that someone disconnected the connector to the Centre speaker. The owner also kindly removed the Foot well speaker box before leaving the car at my place.

6423 6424
When I opened the speaker box, immediately I noticed strong smell of burnt circuit board. As seen on several Bose Amps in the past, one of the FET was burnt and damaged other surface mounted parts. Also, there was a trace of someone already worked on the circuit board previously.

6426
Instead of trying to repair the burnt board, decision was made to replace it with my refurbished spare Bose Rear Amp. So, the new amp was installed and the sound test was carried out.

We now got the sound from the Centre speaker but not from the Foot well one….
After some investigation, I found this….
6425 6427

There was a damage/burn on the actual speaker. I was already using spare Foot well speaker on my bench system which was provided from the member ‘mutley’ a while ago.
And with the support from another member ‘328’ who will be providing me with another spare Bose speakers, I managed to use my bench speaker to replace the broken one.

I would like to say thank you to ‘mutley’ and ‘328’ for their support.
Also, I would like to say thank you to ‘forumadmin’ who provided me with his broken amp. It will be used to source some of the parts for the future services.

The owner already replaced the door speaker amps in the past so now we have nice deep bass with surround ‘like’ effect using 4 speakers and 3 amps.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

2. ABS
With standard ABS service at the main dealer, they will only replace the brake fluid inside the ABS reservoir and that’s it. This is better than doing nothing but it won’t replace any fluid at the chamber around the four solenoids for each wheels.

It is recommended to bleed the ABS accumulator and flush the four solenoids at least once in two years time but ideally every year.
So, although ABS system on this NSX was serviced by the main dealer, it was still full of air with dirt inside.
6428

6432 6430 6431
I normally bleed the accumulator twice using fresh fluid. Then, for each solenoids, I’ll activate it in a short burst using the full amount of fresh fluid stored inside the accumulator until there is no more pressure built inside there. Then, before moving onto the next solenoid, I’ll drain out any fluid inside the ABS reservoir in order not to mix any debris from the solenoid and the old fluid. After all four solenoids were flushed, I’ll further bleed the accumulator twice to complete the service.

6429
By this time, the fluid returned to the ABS SST T-wrench would be clear with no air inside the accumulator.

This NSX was very lucky that none of the solenoids were sticky.

Quite often, at least one of them was sticky and either not returning any fluid back to the reservoir or causing slow leak over many hours. There is a technique to cure this problem but in the worst case scenario, you will need to disassemble the ABS solenoid housing or upgrade to the later ABS spec.

I’m hoping to carry out this upgrade on my NSX next year.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

3. Main Relay
Another common failure parts on our NSX. This one is non-DBW model so it was easy to replace it.

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The original one was opened up and re-soldered so that it could be used as an emergency spare for other owners.

Looking at the date stamped on the actual internal relay, it was really old and still using the small spring which was from the old design. There was a tiny hairline crack at the solder joint so I’m glad we replaced it now….


4. Crank Pulley – MT version
On this NSX, the timing belt was replaced in the past but not the Crank Pulley.
Considering the age of this NSX, we decided to replace the pulley as a preventative measure.

6436 6435 6437
Although the pulley bolt was removed during the last timing belt service, it was not cleaned/greased properly so it took quite a lot of torque to loosen it but not too bad compared to other ones.
The original one looked really rusty and tired….
The new one installed with the pulley bolt properly treated and torqued to the spec.
It will be fine for many years.

[AR]

Thanks for the explanation on the stainless parts Kaz, thw cutting bolts and nuts bits makes a lot of sense.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

5. Driveshaft – Right side
This is one of the weakest points on our NSX.
Almost all of the NSX will suffer from leaking joints on the driveshaft especially at the right side.

This one was the same and already making noticeable ‘click’ when the wheel was turned by hand.

6441 6440 6442
For most of the NSX, the joint can be separated from the hub/spline with reasonable amount of force. However, on this one, it looked as if it was never removed and heavily corroded that it just didn’t want to come out.

In the end, I had to use the hydraulic hub puller with one big tap to crack open the corrosion. The inner joint was leaking and the outer one was making the ‘click’.

In order to speed up the process, I normally prepare the refurbished one ready for the replacement. During the refurbishment, each joint will be inspected in detail. Then, each roller will be disassembled, cleaned, then lots and lots of pin bearings are packed with new grease to reassemble the roller. With this process, it will provide you with completely different feeling when the joints were turned by hand.

The joints and the shaft were painted in black and using the new boots and grease, the length was set to the spec to adjust the amount of air inside the boot to complete the refurbishment.
6438 6439
Beautiful driveshaft in place.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

6. Radiator drain bolt O-ring
I was talking with the owner on what happened on Eurostar with the thermal shock recently.

This morning, I noticed small amount of coolant on the garage floor.
Although the tiny amount of leakage from the drain bolt was spotted during the last Health Check Service, it looks like the recent severe cold weather and rise of temperature this morning speeded up the leakage.
6443 6444
I’ll be replacing the two O-rings next week…


I’ll be servicing the front rackend/tierod area before going to the alignment place in the new year and at the same time, I'll be looking into the door window alignment if I have enough time.

It’s going to be busy for next few weeks to carry out several Health Check for other owners while finishing this NSX….


Regards,
Kaz

[anachonda]

Thank Kaz for your help, i found lot of informations for my NSX.

[henry_mac]

I visited Kaz on the 3rd January for a Health check on my newly acquired car.
I would echo the comments and sentiments of the forum, Kaz is an exceptionally talented guy with great knowledge of the car. His attention to detail and care taken with the car is second to none.
It was very cold but Kaz's warm hospitality more than made up for the cold weather.
I'm glad i made the visit, I learned a lot and now have a priority checklist of items in need of attention, that I can address over the coming months.

Henry

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Thank you for the kind message, anachonda and Henry.
Looking forward to working on your NSX in the near future.


The NSX that I started to work on before Christmas is still with me as the road condition is not safe to drive with normal tyres.

As reported in the previous post, it was leaking small amount of coolant on my garage floor from the bottom radiator drain bolt.
However, after the car was left inside the garage for a longer period without any engine fire up, I started to notice very slow leakage (a few drips per day) from the top bleeding plug as well.
6458
It won't start dripping on the floor until after many weeks as it will be first trapped in the pocket behind the radiator.

Time to replace O-ring at both drain/bleeding bolts.
As I had spare drain/bleeding bolts in stock, it was easy to replace the O-rings once I received them from Honda.

6459 6460
The old (Left) and new (Right) O-ring.
The old one was almost flat and not doing any job.

After replacing these O-rings, bled the system very carefully and went out for a test driving session to check the re-furbished driveshaft as well.

Since then, there was not a single drip so I’m glad that we replaced them now.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

While waiting for the snow to clear up so that I can take above NSX to the alignment place, I decided to work on my NSX.

I want to do so many things this year in order to create new packaged service menu for the NSX owners.
Having said this, I can spend only a few hours this time so decided to check my IGN Switch comp.

I already cleaned it several times in the past and the last one was done about 3 years ago.
For 15 years, I’ve never experienced any issues such as sudden engine stop but since it is not an expensive part, it may be best to replace it after long years of usage.
As my NSX is an every day car, I’ll be accessing the IGN switch many times per day so it’s a good endurance test.

6462 6461
After removing the [Edit: deleted 'two'] lower panel, you will be able to access the two small bolts holding the IGN Switch comp. It is at the very back of the key cylinder and it has lots of thick wires soldered to it.

6464 6465
There is a brown connector at the other end. After removing the switch comp, the key cyl side will look like this. This will provide you with the original position of the contacts inside the white cover described in the next post.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

On the IGN switch comp, you can remove the white cover to expose the internal contact points. The cover will only fit in one orientation so no need to worry about its original position.

As expected, even after just 3 years, the contacts were already showing fretting corrosion residue.

Needs to clean them again.

You can carefully take out the contacts assy inside the white cover but before doing so, please make a note on its original orientation as you want to put it back into the 'Lock' position.

I normally use super fine wet sanding paper with very little force to re-condition the contacts surface.

6466 6468
6467 6469
Before (Left) and After (Right) of each contacts assembly.

Re-assemble everything and test the key operation several times before going out for a test driving, if I can...

I still need to find some time to replace my fuel filter and install the Type-R Clutch pedal with damper-less setup.


I hope I can visit the alignment place this week...


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Back to the Red NSX that was waiting for the alignment service during the snow in January....

7. Door window glass and weatherstrip
First time when this NSX showed up to my place, I noticed that the rear edge of the door window glass was hitting the Front Pillar Retainer. It was very scary closing the door so I kept the window glass lowered slightly.

Also, when the engine was not running, the window will move only about 10mm (half inch) from fully lowered position so the entire window related mechanical and electrical parts required some attention.

The weatherstrip was not installed properly and because of this, it was already deformed and damaged.
6508 6509 6510

Although I had spare weaterstrip, we agreed not to replace it or carry out the full window alignment work on this occasion.

On earlier model, you need to be very careful with the rest of the parts used on the door when replacing the weatherstrip or adjusting the window glass. The shape of the weatherstrip was modified on our NSX in early 90’s and if you just follow the workshop manual to replace the weatherstrip or adjust the window alignment, you may end up with water leakage issue even if you may be able to overcome the wind noise issue. There are several parts to be replaced/reviewed in relation to the spec of weatherstrip.

So, as I didn’t have these specific parts in stock to match the latest weatherstrip and there is no point in aligning the window glass against the deformed weathertrip, decision was made to carry out the minimum alignment work. The aim was to prevent the glass from hitting the retainer and also at least let the driver to close the window without using hand to pull it up.

It is best to remove the front/rear guide rails and the regulator to clean/replace the parts to improve the up/down speed of the window but for this occasion, minimum service was carried out.
It was also making the ‘popping noise’ so greased the glass holder collar as well.
6514
After these tweaks and the alignment work, the window now goes up and down much faster than previously. Still, not like the NSX just arrived from the factory but good enough until we get the new parts for this.

From time to time, some of the screws holding the retainer were corroded and very difficult to remove.
6511
I’m so glad to have this special plier with me when dealing with these corroded/rusty/damaged screws and bolts.

Although it was for the minimum alignment work, had to spend several hours before I was happy to return the NSX to the owner. As expected, there was some wind noise created due to the deformed weatherstrip but better than hitting the pillar every time closing the door.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

8. Alignment
Before going to the alignment place, I normally remove all of the alignment adjuster bolts, nuts and cams to check for any seizer as well as apply thin coat of dielectric silicone grease to prevent any future corrosion.

On this NSX, both R & L caster adjuster mechanism was completely seized and couldn’t rotate it at all. It’s the bracket at the bottom of the compliance pivot.

The good news for this NSX was that both R & L caster seized very closely each other and they were close enough to the factory setup.

I’m not a fan of compliance pivot but in order to cope with this seized caster adjuster, I now have some procedures to deal with it. Not an easy job though...

After the alignment, the car handles much better and finally managed to return the car to the owner.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Another NSX visited my place recently. The owner bought this NSX recently and it was the beautiful Yellow Targa model.
So many things were carried out so I’ll post them bit by bit….

1. USA Spec PA11-HON (latest model)
I bought the same iPod adapter several years ago and the owner wanted to have the same setup for his iPhone 3G. So, contacted the same official supplier that I used in the past and got it within a week. It was about GBP100.00 including the delivery charge and then paid about GBP27.00 for import VAT and handling charge for Fedex.

These are the parts inside the box;
65156517 6519
PA11-HON controller, CD changer port cable, iPod interface cable, the standard manual and the updated additional instruction sheet.


6516
The latest model comes with this new iPod interface cable (CB-PA85) which has a dongle near the dock connector. This will enable the controller to cope with the different battery charge pin location on old/new iPod and iPhone models.

After testing the new PA11-HON on my NSX, I decided to carry out the same test on this Targa model using the cable inside the boot.
6518
Unfortunately, the head unit didn’t recognise the PA11-HON and instead, I started to smell the burnt circuit board coating when I powered up the head unit. After inspecting the head unit, the ACC power line to the CD changer port was still fine but burnt. As there was no short circuit on the CD changer loom, it looked like the head unit was damaged in the past and I just made it worse by connecting the PA11-HON. Although the ACC line was still fine, I didn’t like leaving it like that so used jumper wire to reinforce the circuit track.
After this treatment, the PA11-HON was successfully recognised by the head unit and ready for the proper installation.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Originally, I wanted to use the same installation method as mine by using the connector behind the passenger seat.
6520

But as I didn’t want to find any issues with the CD changer cable, we agreed to plug-in the PA11-HON CD changer port cable directly to the head unit.
6521 6522 6523
You need to remove this cap with red warning label and plug in this DIN connector to the back of the head unit or to the factory pre-installed cable if you are 100% sure that the pre-installed cable was not damaged in the past.

There is a blue 14pin connector wired in parallel with the DIN connector.
For our NSX, we don't use this blue connector so please insulate it and secure it to avoid any short circuits.

For your reference, with this particular cable, the ACC power was on pin#10 and the Power GND was on pin#3 at the blue connector.


Time to review the layout of the controller and iPod/iPhone.
We wanted to keep the access to the PA11-HON controller box so decided not to install it inside the centre speaker housing between/behind the two seats. Instead, we decided to install the controller inside the arm rest box like mine.

6524
I only have an old iPod Mini and I installed it inside the upper rear compartment of the arm rest box.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

6525
As I don't own any iPhone, I used the cardboard for layout purpose.

Normally, I don't want to drill any new holes on the interior panel and I prefer utilising/enlarging the existing holes.
6526 6527 6528
Considering the length of the iPhone and the dongle on the latest iPhone Interface cable of PA11-HON, it was obvious that unless I drill a new hole at the back of the upper compartment, I won't be able to place the iPhone like my iPod Mini installation. So, we agreed to keep the iPhone inside the arm rest box, the same location as the PA11-HON controller.

6530
At the back of the arm rest, there are lots of existing holes that can be used for the installation.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

In order to obtain the max free space after the installtion, it was decided to place the PA11-HON controller box as close as possible to the rearwards of the arm rest box.

6531 6532 6533
One of the existing hole was enlarged and similar size hole was drilled to the thin aluminium plate inside the arm rest box. This plate can be purchased from Honda and very cheap so you can always try different setup or go back to original. The rubber grommet was placed to protect the PA11-HON CD changer port cable and the installation was done.

6534
Depending on the dip sw position on the controller box, you can use another device on the AUX port. This feature was also tested by selecting the Disc #6 on the head unit.

6535
After the installation, I tested it with original iPhone as well as the iPhone 3G with the support from another NSX owner.

When the iPhone is connected to the interface cable, you'll see a message on your phone display such as 'This device is not compatible...... Do you want to go to Flight mode....'.

Just tap on the answer 'NO' on the screen and everything works fine including the battery charge feature.

You need to use specific Play list name such as 'HONDA1, HONDA2' and so on but it was very nice to play music on iPhone with PA11-HON.

It would be interesting to see what will happen to the music if the phone receives a call... Probably mute the music and ring tone through the speaker???

Any way, after the installtion of PA11-HON and Bose speaker Amp refurbishment, the owner was very happy with the level of deep Bass even using the compressed MP3 format as the source.

More to follow....

[WhyOne?]

For your reference, with this particular cable, the ACC power was on pin#10 and the Power GND was on pin#3 at the blue connector.

Thanks Kaz.

Super write up of install as well which will be very useful to many I am sure.

[NSXGB]

8. Alignment
Before going to the alignment place, I normally remove all of the alignment adjuster bolts, nuts and cams to check for any seizer as well as apply thin coat of dielectric silicone grease to prevent any future corrosion.

On this NSX, both R & L caster adjuster mechanism was completely seized and couldn’t rotate it at all. It’s the bracket at the bottom of the compliance pivot.

The good news for this NSX was that both R & L caster seized very closely each other and they were close enough to the factory setup.

I’m not a fan of compliance pivot but in order to cope with this seized caster adjuster, I now have some procedures to deal with it. Not an easy job though...

After the alignment, the car handles much better and finally managed to return the car to the owner.



Hi Kaz, I'd be interested in seeing your procedure for this...

[henry_mac]

Hi Kaz,

"
It would be interesting to see what will happen to the music if the phone receives a call... Probably mute the music and ring tone through the speaker???
"

Regarding your query of what happens when the phone rings, the music mutes and the phone ringtone sounds on the speaker. If you answer the phone by "sliding to unlock" the phone is answered. If you subsequently click the speaker icon, the caller is heard over the car speakers.

Henry

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Thanks Kaz.

Super write up of install as well which will be very useful to many I am sure.
Hi, WhyOne.
It may be too late but I hope this will help for your future installation modification.


Hi Kaz, I'd be interested in seeing your procedure for this...
Hi, NSXGB.
I knew you will be after this information. I'll send you the detail over the email once I have proper photos. You'll need proper tools as you need to take out the compliance pivot which means that you will be disconnecting the two ball joints at the pivot. You must use the proper tool and not the cheap ones.


Hi Kaz,
.....
Regarding your query of ..... the caller is heard over the car speakers.
Henry
Hi, Henry. Thank you for the information. That's cool!!
I may need to get hold of iPhone for bench testing purpose ...




Back to the Yellow Targe subjects;

2. Audio Head unit volume ring and on/off switch
Quite often, I came across with the volume knob on the audio head unit with small amount of rattle.
6536
On this NSX, it was rattling significantly. So, I opened it up and tighten it with Loctite 243 to secure it.

Now, it feels much better.

6537 6538 6539
The owner was not happy with the existing appearance of the volume ring and the switch. It was scratched severely. So, new parts were ordered from Japan and now it looks much better.

3. Targa Roof Weatherstrip
When removing the roof, you need to be very careful with the roof weaherstrip.
The owner reported that he was suffering from excessive wind noise and even water leakage around the door window glass. On arrival to my place, I noticed that the weatherstrip was not installed properly and the door window was not possible to fully close when the roof was in place.

6540
Here comes my favourite air line mileage club card usage…. BA card is so smooth compared to other air line ones.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

6541 6542
Originally, we agreed to deal with just the roof weatherstrip but after start working on it, I thought it would be best to look after the entire weatherstrip so decided to apply silicone grease not only to the driver side roof area but also the front/rear sections as well as around the doors.

6543 6544 6545
Now they look much better and the owner was very happy with the result when driving back to home after collecting his NSX from my place.

[Senninha]

..............to look after the entire weatherstrip so decided to apply silicone grease .................Now they look much better .............

Hi Kaz,

I have the Honda lubricant for the rubber trims. Is this simply a case of massaging it into the weatherstrips sparingly? Do you apply any additional sealer / material apart from the grease please?

regards,

Paul

[NSXGB]

Hi, NSXGB.
I knew you will be after this information. I'll send you the detail over the email once I have proper photos. You'll need proper tools as you need to take out the compliance pivot which means that you will be disconnecting the two ball joints at the pivot. You must use the proper tool and not the cheap ones.



Thanks Kaz.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi Kaz,

I have the Honda lubricant for the rubber trims. Is this simply a case of massaging it into the weatherstrips sparingly? Do you apply any additional sealer / material apart from the grease please?

regards,

Paul
Hi, Paul.

There are several know-how involved for Targa model.
The key is to treat the hook/channel at both side of the forward section of the roof. Otherwise, you will get squeeking noise under vibration.

You'll also need to apply the silicone grease not just on the visible surface but also hidden section. Be careful with the roof weatherstrip as there are several adhesive tape used on forward/rearward section and you don't want to peel them off.
After applying the grease, I normally leave it overnight and then wipe off the excess.

The Shin-etsu silicone grease that we used to be able to get from Honda garage is no longer available in UK. It was replaced with Honda brand and they are super expensive. Still, worth the money for the brake calliper service... I now get it directly from Japan as well as using the products from Dow Corning.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Back to the Yellow Targa NSX....

4. Main Relay

All of the owners who took my Main Relay service will have their original parts re-soldered so that it can be used for emergency spare for other owners.

I received several requests regarding how to replace the Main Relay so would like to share this info with you.
When the Main Relay fails, you can still crank the engine with the starter but there will be neither fuel nor spark and thus, the engine won’t fire up.

Depending on whether your NSX is equipped with DBW or not, the location of the Main Relay is different. Don’t worry even if you don’t understand the word ‘Drive By Wire – DBW’ model. The first interior panel that you need to remove is the same for both DBW and Non-DBW model.


[Edit: Parts No. Info.]
39400-SL0-003: For non-DBW model
39400-SL0-A01: For DBW model


6546
The Main Relays for DBW and Non-DBW model. Although the number on the case is different (0101 vs 0152), the internal circuit board and the parts are the same. The bracket is different between the two. Also, on the relay inside, you can see the Year number on it. The internal relay was upgraded during early 90’s. Originally, it had coiled spring inside the relay module but later it was replaced with the spring plate.

6547
When you sit on the right side seat, the Main Relay on Non-DBW model is located just behind your Left shoulder. For DBW model, it is behind your Right shoulder and thus, you will need to remove extra interior panel.

6548
First, you need to remove the Rear Upper Trim. There are three clips at the top and one sharp needle like pin located at the left top side of the trim. There are several metal hooks at the bottom. Using both hands, first push down the top side of the trim and then pull it gently towards your body and lift it up to release the hook. The upper trim will come off.

6549
Now look for a small black box behind the left shoulder of the right side seat with the label as ‘RELAY ASSY, MAIN RZ-0101’ on it.
It is next to the big silver box (EFI ECU).

If you can’t find it, your NSX is DBW model and requires extra panel to be removed.

If you found the Main Relay, you can replace it with new one by removing just one fixing bolt on the bracket and two connectors at the bottom. You may struggle to access the connectors but if you remove the fixing bolt, it will provide you with extra space allowing you to access the connectors.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

On DBW model, you need the following extra procedures.

6551 6552
Remove the Engine Hatch Opener by gently removing the spring behind the lever. After removing the spring, just insert it back on the lever to avoid loosing it and you can just push in the lever against the shaft during the re-assembly process.

6553 6554 6555
Pull out the Fuel Filler Door Opener and lift up the Side Sill Pad.
Remove the Door Trim and then remove three screws to lift up the Right Rear Side Trim.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

6556
The Main Relay on DBW is located just behind there. Unfortunately, the case with the white text is facing rearwards so you won’t be able to see it. Please refer to the photo.

6557 6558 6559
Remove the bolt and the cable mount and then the two connectors.

6560
Replace it with the new one. I always put the Month/Year info on the bracket for the future reference.

Put back the interior panels in reverse order and start the engine for testing.

If you want, re-solder the original Main Relay for emergency spare and again, write down the re-soldering Month/Year info on the bracket.

Job done.


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

5. Air Con (A/C) Climate Control Unit (CCU) and Cabin Air temperature sensor

The detail can be found in my other thread here;
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/testvb/showthread.php?t=5940&page=5


6580 6581
There were lots of leakage from the capacitors and I even had to replace one of the resistor to repair the board. The cabin temperature sensor was also very dirty and was making lots of noise.

After this service and the fix on the weatherstrip, the owner can now enjoy the sound of Vtec without the annoying noise under air conditioned environment. Of course, it is nice to take off the roof and enjoy the drive as well. One day, I would like to try it on UK road in the summer.


6. Driveshaft
Ideally, it is best to service both Right & Left shafts at the same time. However, in order to deal with as many High priority items as possible, quite often, I recommend the owner to carry out the drive shaft overhaul only on one side (most of the time, the Right one) first and utilise the available budget on other areas.

Normally, I prepare the rebuilt driveshaft using my spares before the arrival of the owner but as I was too busy recently, I had to refurbish the very driveshaft from this NSX.

6582 6583
As on many other NSXs, the Right side Inner joint was already leaking and splashing the grease around that area. It’s time consuming to clean it ….
The heat shield was also covered in grease and lots of sand, grass, etc.

6584
The boot was opened and the grease was already broken down and run out like a melted coffee ice cream.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

As I always use the same procedure for Drive shaft overhaul to keep the same standard for everyone, each roller was also disassembled for inspection and re-packing of grease.

6585 6586
Time consuming to plant each tiny roller bearing for each roller and there are three rollers on each joint.

6587 6588 6589
Fit the roller on the spider, place them back in their original position at the joint and tighten the metal band.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

On the outer joint, the grease was not leaking but making some noise.

6590
On inspection, two of the three rollers showed scorching marking on the internal wall. This is why it is important to have the drive shaft serviced regularly and I have already seen the same damage on several NSXs.
Not many people will inspect the inside of the roller but just replace the grease and the boot for overhaul process.
For this roller, the damage was still small and managed to smooth it out using the super fine oil stone normally used for the Japanese sword.

6591 6592
Before and After the drive shaft overhaul service. Both joints and the shaft were painted with high temp spec black with white line for the right shaft.

6593
Installed the drive shaft, put back the wheel, torque the spindle nut and stake it.


Done.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

7. ABS

I can’t remember how many times I used this ABS T-wrench by now…
6598
For some reason, this service is not included in the Honda’s service schedule and thus, lots of NSX are running with partially serviced ABS.

This one was the same. The fluid inside the reservoir was replaced in the past but the accumulator was not flushed at all. Thus, full of air.
6599

First, I’ll flush the accu. twice.
Then, move onto each solenoid. When you activate the solenoid, it will show lots of tiny bubbles - almost like white fluid.
66006601 6602
I don’t like to re-use this so I’ll suck it out and then pour new fluid before activating the pump to pressurise the system and then move onto the next solenoid.

After all four solenoids were flushed, I’ll flush the accumulator again twice. By this time, the fluid retuned to the ABS T-wrench will be clear with no air.
The ABS system has finally serviced properly and should be fine for long period.

It is also important to activate the ABS from time to time to keep the system healthy.

Ultimately, it is best to upgrade to the latest ABS system.
Probably, one of the best modifications that you can do on early models.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

8. Door Fix It Thingy
While carrying out the Bose Speaker Amp service on this NSX, I noticed tiny scratch at the bottom of the door handle. Also, it felt heavier than normal NSX to open the door from inside the cabin.

6604 6603
After removing the door handle, I found the issue... The famous crack at the door lever. It already started to crack so the owner was informed and he will get the 'door fix it thingy' from US. It would be nice to find an engneering company to manufacture the same parts within UK.

[Sudesh]

It would be nice to find an engneering company to manufacture the same parts within UK.

Hi Kaz,

When I was doing the "door handle snap"
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/testvb/showthread.php?t=6758

I spoke to 3 engineering companies here who quoted me extortionate prices to do this, not to mention having to place a big order. With the NSX community being quite small here and in the UK, I didnt think it was worth going to hassle and expense, as Dali were cheap and deliver was very fast.

[NSXGB]

Kaz, is there a particular brand of brake fluid you use?

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, NSXGB.

I used to use AP and now I’m using Ferodo DOT4 but it’s purely because of what I can get through my supplier at reasonable cost.

If you are not tracking your NSX, DOT4 from any major suppliers is fine for street driving as it has been DOT approved and exceeded the required spec category. I think Honda lists DOT3 as well.

For me, it’s more important to replace the fluid at least once a year than using expensive racing fluid for occasional/every day car without track events.

I used all sorts of racing fluids at different circuits and depending on the spec, it may require extra and regular attention/service. At certain circuits, quite often, we had to flush after each session or at the end of each day but that's an extreme case....

Just don’t use DOT5 (5.1 is fine) on our car.

Regards,
Kaz

[NSXGB]

Thanks Kaz.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

9. One of my specialities, the calliper overhaul (OH).

6609 6610
Although this piston was re-usable, there was lots of surface rust/debris preventing the smooth movement of the piston. I couldn’t move it at all by finger.
Front calliper washed and waiting for inspection before final cleaning process.

6611 6612
As the calliper slider pin was sticky and the piston was kind of seized, I didn’t like the condition of the Front brake pad surface. So, trimmed tiny amount and decided to carry out bedding in process after the OH. I had to do this any way as the Rear pads were replaced with the new ones.

6613
The front calliper OH kit. There is several know-how that are not on the manual and these will make big difference until the next OH timing.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

6614 6615
Always check the installation by pushing out the pistons and then push them back with the fingers to check the smooth operation.

6616 6617
Rear calliper OH kit.
Quite often, the parking brake cable was so rusty that it was almost impossible to remove it from its holder. I had to remove the holder itself from the calliper body on this NSX otherwise, I couldn’t remove the calliper body from the calliper bracket. I soaked it with the WD40 inside the Ziploc bag overnight and finally managed to detach it from the holder.

6618
In the process of Rear calliper OH for the parking brake mechanism.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

6619 6620
Again, it is important to extract the piston by rotating it counter-clockwise and then rotate back the piston to check the smooth operation.
As there were just a few mm left on the rear pad, we decided to replace it with the new one.

6621
After this, pressure bled the entire system. My DIY adaptor got broken the other day so I’m now using this new one from one of the Japanese tool manufacture and modified my existing pressure bleeder equipment. Works very well and saves the waste of fluid. The system is always under pressure even when the bleeder was loosen so there is no worry of air getting back into the system.

In order to get rid of the air especially inside the piston at the rear calliper, there are several technique/procedure to be used.

Time to bedding in the new pads and discs.
After several mid-hard braking with long cool down period, the brake feels much better and the ABS kicks in at perfect timing.

Another brake system saved.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

After working on beautiful Yellow NSX-T, it’s time to work on another Yellow model but this time, it’s the Coupe. This NSX was at my place in the past for Health Check and other services.

It's always nice to work on the same car again as I can build up the service history on the specific car.

It will save the time and cost for both the owner and myself as I know what needs to be done through the Health Check Service and also my own Service Log file will tell what has been done on this particular NSX.


1. Calliper lower slider pin
Last time when I worked on the Rear calliper, I found that the lower slider pin was completely seized and I actually had to hammer it out as it was so tight.
As I didn’t have the spare pin in stock, I smoothed the pin out and it worked very nicely.
6622
Now I got the spare in stock and although the re-furbished one looked fine, we decided to replace it for preventive measure.


2. Brake Master Cyl
Time to overhaul the Brake Master Cylinder.
Although the rubber material quality improved a lot over the years, the seal and cup will eventually wear down as they are always sliding against the internal wall of the cylinder. This is the same for brake callipers as well as Clutch Master and Slave cylinders.

If you see black debris/residue in your fluid reservoir, some of them are the broken down rubber materials from the seal and the cup. Although it is not in the Honda’s regular maintenance schedule, I recommend servicing this at least every 2 - 3 years.

6623 6625 6624
The new pistons, seal, cup, stopper pin and so on. Torque check the stopper pin and then the master cyl will be placed in a bag to avoid any dust getting inside while setting up the bench bleeding system.

6626
Although it is very unlikely that you need to adjust the clearance of push rod at the brake booster, I have no idea on the service history of each NSX so I always check it using this SST.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Although it is not in the manual, it will save your time and brake fluid by carrying out the bench bleeding if you emptied the Master Cyl.

If you look inside the master cyl, you’ll find that the fluid holes for the two outlet port towards the two brake pipes connected to the Cyl are not at the 12 or 3 o’clock position. Instead, it is more like 1 or 2 o’clock. And the brake fluid has higher viscosity than the water.

Because of this, if you emptied the Master Cyl, it will take long time to get rid of the air from the brake hydraulic system. Also, you could end up just pushing and pulling the air inside the brake pipe if you let too much air inside the master cyl as well as inside the pipe.

6627
Connect two brake pipes to the mater cyl and pressure bleed on the bench. By using this method, you can tilt the master cyl in the exact angle to quickly push out the inside air out of the way. Also, it will help by tapping on the cyl body to move the sticky air bubbles from the internal wall.
6628
Once all the callipers and brake hoses are connected, place the Brake master cyl in original place and it is time to pressure bleed the entire system.


3. Brake Hose
The owner ordered the Goodridge Brake Hose with custom made length. Also, he went for the Stainless Fittings and not the Zinc plated one.
Initially, he didn’t get the Front brake hose with two fixing holders but thanks to the quick response from Goodridge and the modified ones were directly sent to my place.
6629 6631 6630
Always start from the banjo bolt side and the new hoses were installed, torqued properly.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

6632 6633 6634
The installation was checked to make sure none of them were touching any part of the chassis while the steering wheel was turned as well as when each corners were in full droop and compression while on the lift and on the alignment rig.

[NSXGB]

Kaz, I had the following parts listed for rebuilding my master cyl but noticed you seem to have a lot more parts in your picture. It looks like I maybe missing some extra seals...

I had;
46185-SE0-003 - Seal
57520-SL0-953 - Primary Piston
57540-SL0-953 - Secondary Piston

Can you tell me what I'm missing please?

Thanks in advance.

P.S. Mine is 1993 5SP MT.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, NSXGB.
I don’t have full access to my parts system at the moment so I can’t provide you with the specific parts number.

Yes, indeed, you are missing some of the seals and washers for the OH service. You must purchase the OH kit as certain seals are not even shown on the parts system. Addition to the OH kit, you need the stopper pin as well.

Before you start, please make sure to get hold of the instruction as I have never seen it in English. In fact, the only instruction in English that I saw in the past was stating as ‘Do not try to disassemble the master cylinder. Replace the master cylinder assembly with a new part if necessary‘.

Unless you have serviced your NSX from Day1 by yourself, please make sure that your booster pushrod clearance is within the spec by using the special tool as seen in my post.
Although it is very unlikely that you need to adjust it (I never had to adjust it in my life), I know my friend had to re-adjust it on two NSX in the past because someone touched it without following the correct procedure.

We are talking about in the range of 0.2mm and unless you are the only one who has ever worked on your NSX, there is no guarantee that no one has ever adjusted it before.

I'll send you the parts no over email once I have access to the system.

Regards,
Kaz

[NSXGB]

Many thanks Kaz. There's no rush on this.

[NSXGB]

Kaz, I would like to get some of the Dielectric silicone grease like the ShinEtsu stuff that Honda don't sell any more. Can you recommend another?

[Sudesh]

Send him a PM or Email.


Kaz, I would like to get some of the Dielectric silicone grease like the ShinEtsu stuff that Honda don't sell any more. Can you recommend another?

[NSXGB]

Yes, no rush....

[NSX_Wannabe]

Hi Kaz

The kind gentlemen who have replied to my message of distress...

http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/testvb/showthread.php?t=7455

have pointed me in your direction.

My local garage are suggesting that I should get my ECU and Multiplex units checked out to see if they are fried..

Are you able to assist?

Car is a 2001 3.2 Manual

Thanks
Justin

[NSXGB]

Justin, you may get a quicker response via email or PM....

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.
I was out of UK for several weeks and finally, I’m back in UK. (Thank you BA for forcing me to change my itinerary again…)

My apology for many NSX owners and NSXCB members who contacted me over the past few weeks. As I didn’t want to mention that I was out of UK over the web, I had to either turn down the offer or delay the requested services. Also, I was too busy and simply didn’t have time to sit down in front of the PC as well as had to change my flight plan.

At the moment, I’m in the process of synchronising my remote email data with the desktop one but if you didn’t hear from me in a few days, I’ll appreciate if you can contact me again using email or PM through this NSXCB site.

During the busy schedule, I had great opportunity to compare NA1 & NA2 Coupe, NA1 & NA2 Type-R, standard Type-S and tuned NSX under the similar conditions. I’ll touch on this later.

Attached is some of the parts for my future services.

One of the best header in Japan. Have actual dyno data as well.
6675 6676 6677

Upgrade kit to the latest ABS.
One of the best thing you can do on your brake system if you have early ABS module. Compared the performance between the early/latest ABS on skid pad as well as on down slope covered in snow.
6678

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Will be replacing Lost Motion Assys on my engine during the Timing Belt Service. As Timing Belt is so important, I even put them in my hand carry luggage.
6679 6682

Spark Plugs, Timing belt service related parts and Water Pump.
6680 6681 6683

Regards,
Kaz

[WhyOne?]

It sounds like you have had a very interesting trip Kaz - look forward to hearing more about it when you get the time to post.

:)

[havoc]

Glad to hear you're back safe...look forward to reading more...

[markc]

Will be replacing Lost Motion Assys on my engine during the Timing Belt Service.

Regards,
Kaz

Hi Kaz, are these the later versions that significantly quieten valve chatter?

If so please put my name down for a set of these. I'll be after a cam belt, water pump and full water hose set replacement at the same time. I'll take my place in line for your time but am flexible and in no rush.

Cheers

Mark

[TheSebringOne]

Kaz, is the ABS upgrade for a NA1 to a NA2 pop up or a upgrade from pop ups to fixed headlamp version?

[NSXGB]

LMA's are on my shopping list too when my next TB service is due. I'll be watching. . .

Glad you mentioned that Mark, I wondered why I had a different number for the the LMA. Just checked and the number I had has been replaced by the one in Kaz's photo so it must be the new style.

[nobby]

what sort of cash is the ABS upgrade suppiled and fitted?

[Sudesh]

The part numbers for lost Motion Assy are

14820-PCB-003
14820-PCB-305

Both are the same price £11.73 and neither number has superceeded, so not sure what the difference is as both showing available to order.

[Sudesh]

SOS do an upgrade for $1,765.50 dollors.


what sort of cash is the ABS upgrade suppiled and fitted?

[TheSebringOne]

Me too, I will need a new LMA when I'm doing the TB, WP etc

Are the LMA different as NA1 and NA2?

I can't believe the price for either LMA is that reasonable! :eek:

[Sudesh]

From what I can gather the Lost Motion Sensor for NA2 had the part number:

14820-PR7-A02 which was £41.07 plus vat BUT that has been superseeded to
14820-PCB-305 which is the one Kaz has pictured


Me too, I will need a new LMA when I'm doing the TB, WP etc

Are the LMA different as NA1 and NA2?

I can't believe the price for either LMA is that reasonable! :eek:

[NSXGB]

FYI $24 each in the US.

[markc]

From what I can gather the Lost Motion Sensor for NA2 had the part number:

14820-PR7-A02 which was £41.07 plus vat BUT that has been superseeded to
14820-PCB-305 which is the one Kaz has pictured

I thought there was a later design perhaps coinciding with the +02 LEV engine? These cars always sound quieter to me.

I had all the valve clearances checked and re-set, although none of them were out apparently, and mine still sounds a little "tappety" as do most earlier cars.

With mine not being double glazed and also having the mesh engine cover it sounds a bit clattery in the cabin hence the desire to upgrade.

Cheers

Mark

[Senninha]

Would these be stock on the NA2 NSX-R?

When we heard that car on tick over at Chiswick it was for me the quietest engine Ive come across. If this is the result I'll be in the que with you Mark.

regards, Paul

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

Originally, Honda designed different Lost Motion Assy (LMA) for MT and AT engines.
It had somewhat complicated design using spring inside the cylinder body. This design was used on both C30A and C32B engine up until the introduction of LEV engine in 99 (JDM).

When LEV engine was introduced, Honda decided to simplify the design of LMA (now just a spring) and also used the same LMA for both MT and AT engines. The parts no for LMA for LEV engine onwards is 14820-PCB-003.

In 2006, Honda decided to stop manufacturing the original LMA with complicated design (spring inside the cylinder) for the pre-LEV engines and superseded it to the latest LMA 14820-PCB-003 as above.

This raised lots of question marks as the body length of the latest LMA was shorter than the original ones.
We actually raised concern to Honda regarding this.

In fact, when my master used the latest LMA on the pre-LEV engine with high lift camshaft, it made more mechanical noise than before.
So, he designed a thin spacer to be seated at the base of latest LMA to make the body length to be the same as the original one. I think SoS designed similar products for different reason.

After long waiting, finally Honda released a new version of LMA for pre-LEV engines to match the body length of original LMA design.
The parts no of LMA for pre-LEV engines is 14820-PCB-305 and this is the one that I purchased for my engine.

As each country has different definition for ‘year model’, it is best to check the actual LMA parts number used on your engine based on the VIN (as long as you haven’t modified your engine).


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

In memory...
6696 6697

[gumball]

Nice pics Kaz, Ayrton would have been fifty today. R.I.P.

[markc]

Thanks you for the excellent and very complete advice Kaz.

Sounds like only late UK pop-up cars (1999-2001) might be in any doublt.

I can be fairly certain that my 1997 built JDM 3.2 needs the retrofit parts, p/n 14820-PCB-305, that you are fitting to you car.

How much does a set of these cost?

Cheers

Mark

[Sudesh]

Mark they are £9.98 each plus VAT,
Total £11.73 each.




I can be fairly certain that my 1997 built JDM 3.2 needs the retrofit parts, p/n 14820-PCB-305, that you are fitting to you car.

How much does a set of these cost?

Cheers

Mark

[NSXGB]

Mark they are £9.98 each plus VAT,
Total £11.73 each.

Are you sure sudesh? That's cheaper than in the USA.

[Sudesh]

Yeah! Thats the latest price quoted on the parts system.


Are you sure sudesh? That's cheaper than in the USA.

[markc]

How many of them are there, one per valve (24) or one per lifter/rocker set/finger (12)?

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

You need 12.

Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

By the way, if your engine is LEV onwards equipped with the later LMA 14820-PCB-003, then you are very lucky because they will survive much longer than the original ones used on pre-LEV models like mine.
This is why I'm going to replace it some point this year as I'm in the process of creating new engine re-fresh menu.

Regards,
Kaz

[NSXGB]

How many of them are there, one per valve (24) or one per lifter/rocker set/finger (12)?

http://www.acurapartswarehouse.com/

You might find this link useful for part numbers and exploded diagrams. (Usual disclaimers apply :))

[Chris B N]

Spent last Friday with Kaz at his place for a health check and a CCU overhaul.
I know I only repeat what others say but as an owners club we are so lucky to have Kaz and his services.
as well as checking various maintainance aspects I also learned so much more about my car

Also pleased to have Kaz check the CCU I was not having problems but as my car is now 13 years old thought it best to have the CCU overhauled.
It was only when the unit was out that it was very evident that some
work had been done on the unit for or by a previous owner, unfortunately
not to a very good standard,
So the check may well have saved the unit.
so now just have to get on with the tasks to be done.
A job well done Kaz.
and many Thanks Chris :)

97 3.0T Auto
04 Civic 1.6
01 MX5 1.8

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Nice pics Kaz, Ayrton would have been fifty today. R.I.P.
I’m glad at least some of us recognised his birthday.
Around this time of the year and early May always make me emotional… I kept lots of photos working with him.
The 2nd photo is me working on his dash.


Spent last Friday with Kaz at his place for a health check and a CCU overhaul.
I know I only repeat what others say but as an owners club we are so lucky to have Kaz and his services.
as well as checking various maintainance aspects I also learned so much more about my car

Also pleased to have Kaz check the CCU I was not having problems but as my car is now 13 years old thought it best to have the CCU overhauled.
It was only when the unit was out that it was very evident that some
work had been done on the unit for or by a previous owner, unfortunately
not to a very good standard,
So the check may well have saved the unit.
so now just have to get on with the tasks to be done.
A job well done Kaz.
and many Thanks Chris :)

97 3.0T Auto
04 Civic 1.6
01 MX5 1.8

Chris, thank you for your kind message.
It was nice meeting you and your NSX.
Please allow me some extra days for the Health Check Report and the CCU service as addition to my normal business, I’m still trying to reply back all the emails and PM while working on another NSX during my spare time ….

Regards,
Kaz

[gumball]

Nice to know there is only one degree of separation between me and the great man(having never met him.(although I did meet Bruno once :))

Anyway, Hi Kaz, any more information on the headers and how your going to deal with the heat problem? I know I should be replacing old hoses but headers are getting so very tempting, possibly with a taitec 06 silencer. :D

[Senninha]

I’m glad at least some of us recognised his birthday.
Around this time of the year and early May always make me emotional… I kept lots of photos working with him.
The 2nd photo is me working on his dash.

Regards,
Kaz



I recognised the great man's birthday by wearing my special TAG and taking his legacy out for a 150 miles of spirited driving, just as he would love to have done (albeit lacking some of his finesse).

Hi, Kaz.

As I sit in my study I have memorabilia all around me including his autograph mounted with the official FIA poster for that weekends events.

Gone but never forgotten.

I thought that the second photo may be of significance.

Regards and good to see you yesterday.

Paul

[Chris B N]

As the easy option I fitted Bosch wiper blades when new were needed
please be aware these sit slightly higher than the Honda blades and
the nearside wiper arm catches the underside of the bonnet resulting in bare metal on both.
Easily repaired but also easily avoided.
The Honda blade and carrier is believe it cheaper than Bosch from Halfrauuds
or your local motormania.

[Sudesh]

The complete wiper from Honda is only £9.16+vat, and as mentioned its complete with spoiler [drivers side] and metal frame. Price is the same for passenger side.

[TheSebringOne]

I cannot believe it, but a OEM NSX part for around a tenner! :eek:

[Sudesh]

Its funny because they actually list just a wiper refill too, which is almsot the same price? but when I was hunting through part numbers and prices I found the complete units for £9.16 so bought those.


I cannot believe it, but a OEM NSX part for around a tenner! :eek:

[mutley]

Its funny because they actually list just a wiper refill too, which is almsot the same price? but when I was hunting through part numbers and prices I found the complete units for £9.16 so bought those.

Sudesh, what are the part numbers? I could do with new ones?

Cheers
Jim

[Sudesh]

I used:

76620-SL0-309 Drivers side
76630-SL0-309 Passenger Side


Sudesh, what are the part numbers? I could do with new ones?

Cheers
Jim

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

I hope my wife is not watching this website....

As I had so many parts delivered and struggling to store them properly, I decided to keep them in my wife's room....

Nice looking parts....
6732

Just arrived. Lots of Driveshaft Boot kit.
6733

ABS upgrade loom. Where is my ABS controller, Honda Japan? It was out of stock but should be arriving from Japan soon, I hope...
6734

I'll promise to hoover the carpet soon...


Kaz

[Sudesh]

Kaz what header is that?

[NSXGB]

Is that the SOS loom or have you found another supplier???

[Sudesh]

Doesnt look like it unless the changed it along the way

http://www.scienceofspeed.com/products/braking_performance_parts/NSX/ScienceofSpeed/NA2_ABS_System_Upgrade/ABS_harness.jpg


Is that the SOS loom or have you found another supplier???

[Chris B N]

Back to the wipers,
when i bought the new blades HUK said the drivers side with the wind deflector on it is no longer available and the part No has been changed to the same as the passenger side ie a simple blade and carrier
Being the hoarder I am I still had the original driver side assembly , repainted and replaced the new rubber blade.
Honda apparently have a standard price for wiper blades irrespective of model
or size.
wiper blade for the NSX is part No H76630SL0306 price £9.16 each

[Sudesh]

As mentioned, you can buy the whole assembly new, its not discontinued as I bought mine about 2 months ago and the part numbers are different for driver and passenger side. I also just ordered another one on Monday and have it sitting here in front of me brand new from Honda with the spoiler!

The "76630-SL0-309" you mentioned is the passenger side and I mentioned that a few post back:

See here:

76620-SL0-309 Drivers side
76630-SL0-309 Passenger Side




Back to the wipers,
when i bought the new blades HUK said the drivers side with the wind deflector on it is no longer available and the part No has been changed to the same as the passenger side ie a simple blade and carrier
Being the hoarder I am I still had the original driver side assembly , repainted and replaced the new rubber blade.
Honda apparently have a standard price for wiper blades irrespective of model
or size.
wiper blade for the NSX is part No H76630SL0306 price £9.16 each

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Chris and Sudesh.

Although it looks as if the information from both of you conflicts each other, you are both talking almost the correct thing.

What you don't know is the difference between JDM and UK models. Interesting enough, it's also different from other country models as well.


Driver side:
JDM: Originally, 76620-SL0-003 (550mm). Superseeded to 76620-SL0-309.
UK: Originally, 76620-SL0-E01 (500mm). Superseeded to 76630-SL0-306. Same parts as on the passenger side.

Passenger side:
JDM: Originally, 76630-SL0-003 (550mm). Superseeded to 76630-SL0-309.
UK: Originally, 76630-SL0-E01 (500mm). Superseeded to 76630-SL0-306.

The spec of the wiper arm is different between JDM and UK at the driver side ONLY. So, not sure whether you can fit JDM 309 on the driver side of UK NSX.

Simple :) …

Kaz

[Nytram]

I am just about to change the engine oil and filter, the oil filter I have is shorter than the one on the car, Honda tell me that the longer ones have been discontinued, is this correct and is it ok to continue with this smaller one 15400-PL2-505 ?
I'll be using Mobil1 0w 40w as recommended by Kaz.
Also going to change the transmission oil as well.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Nytram.
Apology for not being able to provide you with the short instruction for doing the Oil/filter/MTF replacement. I need to finish Chris's Health Check Report first while doing my main business and working on another NSX at the same time.

Yes, you are correct. From quite a while ago, we were no longer able to purchase the tall body filter from Honda. Just use the shorter one and I normally replace it at every oil change interval.

If you are doing the MTF, it would be best if you can try to check the strainer as well.
Be careful not to break the fixing tab of the strainer cover. There will be lots of corrosion (you can't see it until you remove it) at the strainer cover making it very difficult to remove unless it was treated in the past.

You may find some metal powder inside the strainer which is not unusual.
However, if you find any metal pieces, then pay extra attention to your shift feeling and be prepared/plan for O/H in the future. Any big metal debris will be trapped by the magnet next to the oil pump housing before reaching the strainer so it's just a brief health check.

Please use MTF-3 from Honda, if you don't track your NSX.

You need just below 3.0L (about 2.7L) so try to bring empty container with you when visiting Honda. Don't buy the 1.0L ones individually sold at the dealer. Just ask them to pour 3.0L into your container from the dealer's 25L one. It's cheaper than buying the 1.0L ones.
Oh, and as others suggested in the past, make sure to loosen the filler plug first before draining the MTF. I never had any issues but if you can't open it, you will be in trouble after draining the MTF.

Regards,
Kaz

[Nytram]

Many thanks Kaz it's really apprieciated, I will be in touch to schedual the next stage of work/improvements that you recommended.

Regards Martyn

[Thunder]

hello Kaz, congratulation for your admirable work on our NSX, you have gold fingers!!! , can you give me N° of the parts has to order to replace the strainer gear box? then I to ask you or order themselves all your parts? thank you very much

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Doesnt look like it unless the changed it along the way

http://www.scienceofspeed.com/products/braking_performance_parts/NSX/ScienceofSpeed/NA2_ABS_System_Upgrade/ABS_harness.jpg


Is that the SOS loom or have you found another supplier???


In Japan, you can get hold of the ABS upgrade loom from a few places.

As far as I know, that loom on the SoS site is actually from one of the shop in Japan.

As the ABS controller is now built into the ABS module, the system diagram is much simple than it used to be and thus, I could have made the loom by myself.

However, due to my previous experience, I wanted to use the Teflon coated wires for the loom under the bonnet behind the radiator using proper crimping tool for the specific terminals. You can get hold of the white 18pin and 20pin mating connectors for the original ABS controller box quite easily but you may struggle with the big black/orange one.

As I had to order the Teflon coated wires in a batch of 100m for each colours, it was much cost effective to simply buy the loom than making my own one.

After some investigation and visiting the actual shops, I decided to purchase it from KSP Engineering in Tokyo, Japan.

They are probably the most well known shop for NSX in Japan.
My new header is from them as well and I’ll touch on this with actual dyno data when I have more time…


Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

hello Kaz, congratulation for your admirable work on our NSX, you have gold fingers!!! , can you give me N° of the parts has to order to replace the strainer gear box? then I to ask you or order themselves all your parts? thank you very much
Hi, Thunder.

Unlike the engine oil filter, you will re-use the MTF strainer (filter) once you have inspected and cleaned it so don’t throw it away.

6738 6737
Strainer cover looks like this and you just need to replace the O-ring after removing the cover.
You will see above parts inside the cover. The O-ring is located at the cover.

If you have never done this before, it would be best to get hold of spare strainer cover in case you have damaged it.
6739

O-ring: 91307-PR8-005
Strainer Cover: 21261-PR8-000

You can get them from your local Honda garage.
Good luck.

Regards,
Kaz

[NSXGB]

I am just about to change the engine oil and filter, the oil filter I have is shorter than the one on the car, Honda tell me that the longer ones have been discontinued, is this correct and is it ok to continue with this smaller one 15400-PL2-505 ?
I'll be using Mobil1 0w 40w as recommended by Kaz.
Also going to change the transmission oil as well.

If you know someone with a Costco account, they're currently knocking Mobil 1 out for £23\4 litres inc vat. Might save you a few sheckles. I'll be stocking up soon if anyone local wants some.

[Thunder]

Hi, Thunder.

Unlike the engine oil filter, you will re-use the MTF strainer (filter) once you have inspected and cleaned it so don’t throw it away.

6738 6737
Strainer cover looks like this and you just need to replace the O-ring after removing the cover.
You will see above parts inside the cover. The O-ring is located at the cover.

If you have never done this before, it would be best to get hold of spare strainer cover in case you have damaged it.
6739

O-ring: 91307-PR8-005
Strainer Cover: 21261-PR8-000

You can get them from your local Honda garage.
Good luck.

Regards,
Kaz


Hi Kaz, thank you very much for your good councils! and, excuses me for my error!
best regard
Alain

[Senninha]

Hi Kaz,

Can you offer some words of wisdom please to this problem ... http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/testvb/showthread.php?p=69794&posted=1#post69794

Thank you in advance

regards, Paul

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Done, I hope...

Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

6760
Finally, my ABS controller for the upgrade has arrived.

I wanted to bring it back with me on the way back from Japan recently but it was out of stock at Honda Japan.
ABS upgrade is so popular among the Japanese owners that quite often, this parts goes out of stock. It’s the same story for the ABS upgrade adaptor loom. It ran out of the stock for the big black/orange AMP connector that connects to the ABS controller and lots of people are waiting for the delivery.


6761
Also, I received my spare O2 sensors from US.
It took extra days due to Easter holiday as well as people not familiar with the international shipping.
Although I brought back the header by KSP Engineering with me from Japan, I have a policy of never touching the header/exhaust area without the spare O2 sensors.
Now they are here so I really want to install all of the parts for the header but I just don’t have time and space….

I hope I can install the header and ABS upgrade in time for the Japfest…….

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Just for the record… AT Crank Pulley

After the owner took my Health Check Service, he wanted to replace his Crank Pulley and several other parts so I included them into my regular parts delivery from Japan and US.

His NSX is AT and he kindly allowed me to open the box so that I can take the photos.

6762 6763 6764
AT spec on the Left and MT one on the Right.
From opposite side.
Larger diameter on AT one.

6765 6766
AT spec from both side.


By the way, you will need different HEX adaptor tool for AT and MT.
HEX 45mm for MT and 50mm for AT.

Kaz

[NSXGB]

By the way, you will need different HEX adaptor tool for AT and MT. HEX 45mm for MT and 50mm for AT.

Doh! Any auto transmission owners thinking of changing their crank pulley? I bought the 50mm tool for my MT by mistake. I'll put it in the for sale section. . . !

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Or, you can keep it if you have other Honda models and willing to work on them. HEX 50mm is common on almost all of other Honda models but some of them require specific depth/height design due to limited space around the pulley.

Kaz

[AR]

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135104

Any idea of their meaning Kaz?

Cheers,

AR

[Sudesh]

Different lettering but similar place

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j77/icongroup/NSXPARTS/EngineService.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j77/icongroup/NSXPARTS/TimingService.jpg

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Ary.


Yes, I also noticed it long time ago on several NSX engines but can’t remember whether it was on all of the engines or not.

To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to it as it is far more important to focus on the bolts used on the cam holders/holder pipes for me.

In fact, I always mark the numbers #1, 2, 3 ….., 24 or up to 28 next to the bolts to show the torque sequences.

I think the marking on cam holder is grouping them for the oil clearance and accuracy purposes. I’ll ask my master about this as he has far more experience than me.

One thing for sure, it’s from the factory.


Regards,
Kaz