Official Thread for posting daily FE updates

[krousdb]

The catalytic converter arrived yesterday. Now I just need to find the time to install it. I just went over 500 miles on this tank and the gauge is still pegged above F. I seem to remember that on the maiden voyage from Chicago to Pittsburgh, the needle dropped below F at about 415 miles. Yes, there is a problem with my fuel gauge. The plan is to run the tank down far enough so I can remove the fuel filler tube without having to drain the tank. I need to make sure that the vent tube isn't clogged. While I'm at it I will remove the sending unit and take some measurements to see what the deal is.
I have a feeling that I will smell like gas for a few days after I am finished.

[SVOboy]

Replace the cat by taking the exhaust manifold off and putting it down in there instead of trying to go up from the bottom.

I doubt I will pass epa unless I do something else major, so whatev, I suck and we all know it.

[krousdb]

I jut finished replacing the cat. The old one looked just like the one I put in. The catalyst matrix was intact. After taking a drive, it seems to smell the same, so yea, I suck.

Anyway, I got my vacuum pump, gauge, brake bleader kit from ebay today. I checked the operation of the EGR and it seems OK. Applying vacuum kills the engine and the EGR holds vacuum.

Next I checked the PCV. The manual says to crimp the hose leading to the PCV and it should make a clicking sound. Well I didnt hear squat. So I removed the PCV and blew thru it with no problem. In, out, in , out. No valve action. Im wondering if the valve is stuck open then it seems to me that it would cause a vacuum leak at idle. The idle is a bit rough and never gets down to the 600 rpm where it should be. It is usually at 800 rpm.

Anyway, could a stuck open pcv cause high HC at idle? At any rate, I will get a new one tomorrow.

[GasSavers_brick]

The new commuting route is going ridiculously well. I've seen steady improvement both down-hill (morning) and up-hill (afternoon) since I started it at the end of last week. Today's results were better than expected:

Morning: 47.0mpg
Afternoon: 39.3mpg
For the day: 42.8mpg and 0.796 gallons burned over 34.1mi. (I work at two offices, one of which is a couple miles shorter to get to than the other. That's why the daily mileage is a little different.) Not bad compared to the gallon and a quarter daily average from before!

I've been CODfishing my butt off to get these numbers, and I'm loving the dramatically reduced aero drag at the lower speeds.

[SVOboy]

Nicely done, brick. Makes me wish I still had a route to travel on, but pretty soon the car will be kicked off insurance and hopefully will find some room in the garage under a sheet...

Anyway, dan, I dead pcv will cause a vacuum leak, I had this problem myself, popped in another pcv and everything was mint.

[budomove]

Dan, i did the click test on mine a while back, and mine didn't click either. I bought another one, and it still doesn't click.

[krousdb]

Yea but when I blow thru it there is no resistance. It's like an open pipe. Unfortunately the CX/VX PCV can't be had at an aotu parts store. Back to the Honda dealership for me. Then maybe ill be mint like Ben.

[krousdb]

Now Im up to 530 miles and the needle finnally dipped below F, but unly when going up a steep hill. The lowest I have ever seen the needle was just under 1/2 tank when I filled it up for the very first time in Chicago. I put over 11 gallons in a 10.6 gallon tank so I guess I shouldn't let the gauge get much below 1/2.

[SVOboy]

You can use any old pcv valve. I'm using some random one I found in a box,

[krousdb]

Finally, at 585 miles, the needle is at 7/8 tank. The MID shows 68ish MPG. I'm hoping that when I changed the fuel parameter that I overdid it. It would be nice if I ended up around 72 instead.

One word of advice. When bleeding your rear drum brakes.... dont remove the drum. It turns out that when you have the drum removed and pump the brakes to pressurize the system, your wheel cylinder pistons will blow out and brake fluid wil fly quite far. How do I know tis you ask??? Er, um, someone told me that it happened to them. What an idiot!!