70RustBucketList
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- Sep 6, 2021
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So, as I am going through the 95 GT convertible I recently bought for my wife, I am performing general maintenance, making sure it's safe and reliable. As I drive it around town I noriced that it pings horribly at WOT, so I did what any meat head with a computer and a penchant for quick fixes would do, I searched google for a fast answer. That lead to a broad range of everything from hot spot heads to a re-program of the ECU. I was not thrilled by the "pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey" approach to the problem I seemed to be headed for, so I decided to do the following.
Back Story :: I used to have both a 95 GT and a 96 GTS back in 96 and never had out of the box pinging issues so I was dead certain this could be resolved without getting into ECUs and hacks. THe car I am working on is bone stock with 136.5K on the odometer, and very clearly has had absolutely nothing done to it from a maintenance perspective, like... ever. Maybe an oil change or 5, but that's it.
The Solve :: What I did, like anyone would do was to replace the following in no particular order after the cap, plugs and wires.
1. Replace cap, rotor button, wires and plugs with facrory .52 - .54 gap. tested the car on the road, and pinging improved, but not gone.
2. Replaced the EGR with a "best quality" part. :: No change in pinging
3. Replaced MAF with an OE part :: No change in pinging
4. Checked timing with jumper pin out, it was at 16 degrees BTDC, adjusted to 10 BTDC :: Pinging gone completely.
Additional Parts I changed, as I feel all of these below will affect timing, and are just old ::
1. Pulley :: I needed to get into the motor for front leaks anyway, good time to just replace it
2. Timing Chain and gears :: a notoriously overlooked wear item that will contribute to pinging
3. Fuel Filter :: No brainer
4. Fuel pressure Regulator :: an additional wear item that can cause lean conditions
5. Fuel Pump :: with 136.5K on the odometer, why not
6. Fuel Injectors :: These will become so inieffecient now that we have ethanol, there's no way these are still working optimally
Things I didn't do ::
1. Switch to high octane fuel :: if you are running lean, this will do less than nothing
2. Run seafoam :: While this might treat a poorly functioning fuel deliver system, it will not do it over night, and never will it return old parts to like new condition that are almost 30 years old. I have also never found it to eat carbon much, as I have tried to use it on valves with the head off and can't imagine it working any better with them on (my opinion here of course, your actual results may vary, and are not covered by my full coverage PhonyBalogne warranty)
Now, as I had the front of the motor apart, I went ahead and replaced everything, as I honestly think all of it was never touched. Keep in mind that I have been building and tuning Honda engines for 20 years an just couldn't buy into the ECU and header claims, considering these things ran great when new. Also keep in mind this is just my opinion of course, and I will probablhy concede that if you live in high altitude areas, this might not be easily fixable. I will say that if you plan on keeping the car, I can't imagine not replacing all the parts in both full lists above. I think that most of what I did could be performed by anyone with tools and access to youtube, and a fridge full of your favorite adult beverage. I hope this helps someone who has chased this down.
Cheers!
Back Story :: I used to have both a 95 GT and a 96 GTS back in 96 and never had out of the box pinging issues so I was dead certain this could be resolved without getting into ECUs and hacks. THe car I am working on is bone stock with 136.5K on the odometer, and very clearly has had absolutely nothing done to it from a maintenance perspective, like... ever. Maybe an oil change or 5, but that's it.
The Solve :: What I did, like anyone would do was to replace the following in no particular order after the cap, plugs and wires.
1. Replace cap, rotor button, wires and plugs with facrory .52 - .54 gap. tested the car on the road, and pinging improved, but not gone.
2. Replaced the EGR with a "best quality" part. :: No change in pinging
3. Replaced MAF with an OE part :: No change in pinging
4. Checked timing with jumper pin out, it was at 16 degrees BTDC, adjusted to 10 BTDC :: Pinging gone completely.
Additional Parts I changed, as I feel all of these below will affect timing, and are just old ::
1. Pulley :: I needed to get into the motor for front leaks anyway, good time to just replace it
2. Timing Chain and gears :: a notoriously overlooked wear item that will contribute to pinging
3. Fuel Filter :: No brainer
4. Fuel pressure Regulator :: an additional wear item that can cause lean conditions
5. Fuel Pump :: with 136.5K on the odometer, why not
6. Fuel Injectors :: These will become so inieffecient now that we have ethanol, there's no way these are still working optimally
Things I didn't do ::
1. Switch to high octane fuel :: if you are running lean, this will do less than nothing
2. Run seafoam :: While this might treat a poorly functioning fuel deliver system, it will not do it over night, and never will it return old parts to like new condition that are almost 30 years old. I have also never found it to eat carbon much, as I have tried to use it on valves with the head off and can't imagine it working any better with them on (my opinion here of course, your actual results may vary, and are not covered by my full coverage PhonyBalogne warranty)
Now, as I had the front of the motor apart, I went ahead and replaced everything, as I honestly think all of it was never touched. Keep in mind that I have been building and tuning Honda engines for 20 years an just couldn't buy into the ECU and header claims, considering these things ran great when new. Also keep in mind this is just my opinion of course, and I will probablhy concede that if you live in high altitude areas, this might not be easily fixable. I will say that if you plan on keeping the car, I can't imagine not replacing all the parts in both full lists above. I think that most of what I did could be performed by anyone with tools and access to youtube, and a fridge full of your favorite adult beverage. I hope this helps someone who has chased this down.
Cheers!
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