Skyline's many, many, many cars (2015 Honda Fit LX, 1991 Honda Nighthawk, 2003 Honda Accord EX V6))

SkylineFTW97 · 7 July 2020 17:12

An update on the Subaru: The shipping got delayed by about a week, so it just got here last Wednesday. Today was the first day I had to tinker with it. I went ahead and replaced the dead battery. The electronics all work, including the fuel pump and starter. And contrary to the auction report, it does run (and go into gear). But they were correct about it being a timing issue. My scanner read a misfire on cylinders 1, 3, and 5. The right cylinder bank. I was planning on having to go into the timing cover anyway, so it’s about what I expected. I’ll be ordering a new water pump and idler, as well as guides and tensioners. Because the water pump is in there, I’m gonna do a complete cooling system flush, and change the hoses and thermostat. The timing cover seal is leaky, so that will be redone. It also needs a new power steering hose and fresh fluid before I move it since I don’t feel like changing a pump.

The list of problems thus far:

Timing on bank 1 is out of sync

Timing cover leaks

The power steering system leaks

One of the keys is stuck in the ignition

The tires are mismatched (Big no on AWD cars) and one of them is flat

SkylineFTW97 · 10 July 2020 13:51

Finally had the time to get some clips of the Subaru.

SkylineFTW97 · 12 August 2020 00:09

Update on the Subaru. I’m finished disassembling the timing assembly. I’ve also set the parts cannon to full auto and am
replacing a bunch of stuff for the hell of it.

I ordered the following parts (In addition to all the timing components, water pump, and other cooling system parts):

Transmission filter/pan gasket

Trans cooler lines

Power steering pump (It was bad after all)

Power steering pressure hose (I’m gonna replace all the regular rubber hoses too)

Fuel filter

Air filter

Fresh timing cover bolts

A/C gaskets (I don’t really use air conditioning, but I decided to get some practice for fixing up more cars to sell by refurbishing the system in this car. The system was evacuated properly. I’m EPA Section 609 certified, meaning I’m legally allowed to service automotive A/C systems, which I have done, but not in a while beyond simple evacuation and recharging)

It’s also gonna get new inner and outer tie rods and 4 brand new tires within the next couple weeks. I’m leaning towards getting BF Goodrich Advantage T/A Sports, but I’m not firm in my choice yet. I also plan on getting a set of Michelin Pilot Sport AS/3s for the Mazda within a few months. I also may or may not need rear CVs for the Subaru, but I’ll cross that bridge later. I’ll also be replacing the oil cooler lines and the washer fluid pump soon.

SkylineFTW97 · 14 August 2020 00:19

The new chain, guides, and tensioners are all in. I’m gonna finish cleaning the sludge off of the timing cover, then bolt it back together.

I could’ve done this in a couple days, but I did it while working 2 full time jobs and having to delay myself to grab parts. Plus I went overkill and decided to replace a bunch of stuff.

SkylineFTW97 · 21 August 2020 05:53

The Subaru is finally in driving condition. And I drove it for half of today and put about 50 miles on it. Handled its first day pretty well.

Brakes feel good (although I will be flushing out all the old fluid), trans feels good, engine doesn’t miss or hesitate at all anymore, although it did develop a lean code on bank 1. Also has an airbag light on. But I work as an auto mechanic, so I have access to one of the high end scan tools. I can use it to clear the airbag code and diagnose my lean code (probably a bad O2 sensor. It is on the same bank that was misfiring). I also have 2 or 3 more drain and fills to get all the old trans fluid out (I’ll be dropping the pan and changing the filter on the last one).

My main focus now is just fixing a bunch of little general maintenance items and knocking out the stuff I’ll need to pass state inspection. I think the only thing I’ll need for that is new tie rods (which I already ordered). Also got new rear sway bar links since the current ones are shot. I’ll also be stopping off at a junkyard tomorrow to grab a few things. I know I need a new trans dipstick (the old one was stuck in and had to be mangled to remove it), a new passenger mirror, new washer fluid pumps (both are busted),and I’ll grab a new roof rack bar since one of mine is bent pretty badly. Maybe a new grille for the passenger fog light too.

I also have a few little things to change, like the wiper blades, gauge cluster bulbs, and rear running and stop lights. I also like to replace my reverse light bulbs with LEDs to make for easier nighttime vision. Same thing with the dome light bulb.

SkylineFTW97 · 10 October 2020 18:08

I really need to update more often. Big news. I decided to sell my Accord. I didn’t really feel like carrying a car note since I detest paying for full coverage. I also can’t stand having to monitor a car that’s in nearly perfect shape cosmetically. It drives me mad worrying about it.

As for the Subaru, I’ve been driving it around fairly frequently, and it’s doing well. I had to stop driving it though since the right mirror glass fell apart and I didn’t want to risk taking it into DC traffic like that. A new one is en route.

The Mazda got a brand new set of tires. Michelin Pilot Sport AS/3s to be specific. Winter is coming and I wanted to prepare early. I’ll also be undercoating my whole fleet soon.

Speaking of my fleet, I made a surprising new addition. I bought another truck to replace my old GMC. And I decided to test my luck. She’s a 1999 Land Rover Discovery. First European car and first British car I’ve personally owned. I’ll post some pictures soon.

Slim_Jim · 12 October 2020 04:04

Well, I’m still keeping my Accord, but then again it is paid off so. I do get what you’re saying about keeping a cosmetically good car clean. I’m not even 2 weeks into the Camaro and I can see what appears to be very minor road rash starting to develop.

I thought about getting Pilot Sport AS/3s to replace the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s on my Accord, but they don’t make them in the OEM size (I would’ve had to go with the 235/45-17s as I did with the Indy 500s). Instead I replaced them with Vredestein Quatrac 5s because they’re severe snow rated. Keep me posted on your experience with the AS/3s I’m curious as to how they will handle in the snow.

Yes please - pics of the Discovery. Congrats!

SkylineFTW97 · 12 October 2020 06:55

My experience with the AS/3s is positive thus far. My Speed3 uses 225/45R18s. I don’t need them to be super capable in the snow as we usually only get a few inches per year. Our biggest problem is usually black ice.

As for the Disco, I bought it at auction and won’t be able to pick it up until tuesday at earliest.

SkylineFTW97 · 14 October 2020 20:27

Just got the Disco towed to my shop. I could’ve driven it, but I had no way of driving there or driving my Mazda back otherwise since nobody was available to help.

Anyway, first impressions:

It’s actually pretty clean inside and underneath. There are a couple small spots I’ll need to hit with a needle scaler, but most of the frame is really solid. Engine starts quickly and runs smoothly. Trans shifts just fine. No codes either.

There was one mishap, but that was my fault. I accidentally broke the hose going from the radiator to the expansion tank. Not a cheap mistake since an OE replacement was $45 on FCP Euro, but I also grabbed the 180 degree thermostat and I’ll do both at the same time. I wanted to do the latter as preventative maintenance anyway, so not the end of the world.

I’m also gonna change the oil and all the driveline fluids. For the oil, I’m gonna use Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 diesel oil due to the included ZDDP additive the older flat tappet design requires for proper protection. It’s a common practice according to the Land Rover forums.

Also finally got a new passenger mirror for the Subaru. It’s almost ready to pass state inspection.

SkylineFTW97 · 3 January 2021 23:23

I’ve made a bit of a hard decision. I’ve decided to sell the Mazda after all. I drive 60 miles a day 6 days a week, and 93 octane is expensive when you drive a minimum of 25000 miles annually.

I listed it for sale last week, and I’ve gotten a few hits on it. In the meantime, I decided to go back to my roots and buy a sub-$1000 compact as my new daily. And with that, I ended up with this gal, a 2000 Nissan Sentra GXE.

She has the QG18DE 4 banger, and even better, the 5 speed manual. I initially hoped to find a 1st gen Dodge Neon or a B14 Sentra, but the B15s are still surprisingly light at about 2550 pounds. That and the price of just $625 made it a worthy prospect to me.

It’s laid up in the shop I work at for now, as I don’t want to pay insurance on 5 cars at once (I also bought a pickup, a 2008 Nissan Frontier with the VQ40, 6 speed, and 4 wheel drive. No pictures yet), and I’m going to be flipping the Land Rover and Subaru as well. Once one of those sells, I’ll register the Sentra. Plus I ordered a bunch of parts for it.

It had 2 definitive issues when I bought it. The alternator is shot (so is the battery, but that’s routine maintenance) and it needs 4 tires. I went a bit overkill and bought a brand new set of Michelin Defenders for it. It uses 185/65R14s, so they’re not that expensive. For all 4 with shipping, it was just under $450, and since I work at a shop that does tires and alignments, both of which I’m very familiar with doing already, those cost me $0. I also changed the oil earlier today (with my usual Penzoil Platinum full synthetic and a Mobil 1 Extended Performance filter). It had 1 more issue that I found after picking it up, a misfire on cylinder 1. The coils look old, so I assumed they and the plugs were original, so I also ordered all 4 coils, and 4 iridium plugs, both NGKs. They’re expensive, but they work the best in my experience. Also ordered 3 quarts of Red Line MT-90 gear oil for the transaxle. I’ll be changing out all other fluids and filters as well.

SkylineFTW97 · 6 January 2021 23:34

I made a brief video showing the car and it’s condition. Let me know what you guys think.

SkylineFTW97 · 13 January 2021 01:58

The Sentra has an issue where it shudders and stalls at idle once it hits operating temperature. It’s also in some sort of low power mode. It won’t exceed 5500 RPM in gear and feels rather sluggish on the road. I ordered a new idle air control valve and I’ll reset the idle once I put that on. If that fails, a new MAF sensor is next. On the forums, a bunch of people said that even a MAF that appears to work properly on these can commonly have some intermittent fault. I have access to a Snap-On Solus Edge scan tool at my job and used it to verify that the sensor is functioning properly. It could be an intermittent fault and it would be hard to tell that from the readings I got.

I also bought a new sound system for the Frontier. I’ve been dailying that for the past few weeks. I’ll post a video of it soon, but I have some work to do. I need to change the driveline fluids, do some rust prevention, install a trailer hitch, and replace the head unit and speakers.

SkylineFTW97 · 1 February 2021 09:03

Finally got around to showing off the Frontier a bit. Also finally put the trailer hitch receiver and the head unit in it. I’ll post some pictures once I get a new USB cable. I don’t have any that transfer data at the moment, at least no type C ones. Also changed the transmission and transfer case fluids. Used Red Line MT-85 for the trans and D4 ATF for the transfer case. I’ll do the front and rear differentials at the same time in a bit.

SkylineFTW97 · 2 February 2021 21:43

The USB cables finally arrived, and I can finally post the pics.

And the new head unit. It’s been in for 2-3 weeks now. I like it thus far.

I really missed having a proper head unit with bluetooth. Haven’t had a car with one since my 94 Civic. The Sentra will be getting one as well once it passes state inspection and it gets it’s plates. But first, I really need to cut down my fleet. Even I can’t justify owning 5 cars, so 3 of them will be sold. Waiting on a new power steering pump for the Subaru, and that will be next to go once I’m done fixing it.

And speaking of the Sentra, I took a few videos of it, but I only have 2 of them uploaded. I ordered a bunch more parts, and I’ll try to film it once they arrive.

SkylineFTW97 · 22 June 2021 17:44

I went and did it again. Bought even more cars.

I finally sold the Speed3 after over 3.5 years with it. 93 octane is getting far too expensive and I do even more driving these days (25,000+ miles annually was already normal for me). So what did I replace it with?

She’s a 2013 Ford Focus SE Sedan with the appearance package. That mostly just gets me those nice looking black 17" alloys, but it also has the Sony sound system, which I really like, and the black leather seats, which I’m not too crazy about, but whatever. Has every option except for 2: push-button start (which I didn’t want anyway) and the Moneyshift DCT (which I REALLY didn’t want). Of course that means it’s a 5 speed. Not as nice as a Honda or Mazda one, but it’s not bad. And for something on the portly side for a compact sedan (weighs around 3,000 lbs with all the bells and whistles, not to mention all the tools I keep inside it), it’s very nimble, so it’s still fun to drive.

In usual fashion, I bought this one at an auction. And at $3000, it’s the most expensive auction car I’ve ever purchased. That being said, it’s in very good shape cosmetically (especially for a repo car), and it did need some work to pass inspection, but not much (I replaced the alternator, upstream O2 sensor, and rear pads and rotors to pass Maryland state inspection and to ensure that it would charge). Only other real issue is that the hood latch is broken (I can still open it with a pair of needlenose pliers), and that the battery light is stuck on (I’ve already verified that it does charge properly on multiple occasions, and the new alternator is a brand new Motorcraft one I bought straight from the local Ford dealer, so that’s definitely not the problem).

It’s actually been my daily since I bought it in late February. I’ve already put 10,000 miles on it in that time, and just did my 3rd oil change last week. The tires were basically new, so that was another plus. So far, I average 28-30 MPG in mixed driving and 33-34 highway. Already a good bit better than the Speed3, plus it does it on 87 instead of 93.

One of the other things I did as soon as I passed inspection was swap the standard MD plates for the orange agriculture ones. Orange and black are my favorite colors (I was less than 12 hours from being born on Halloween), and I think they compliment each other far better than the standard white.

As for my 2nd purchase, I just got it last week. I made a brief video on it.

SkylineFTW97 · 15 January 2022 21:50

I just can’t seem to hold onto anything for very long. I got made an offer I couldn’t refuse on my 4Runner, so I took it. And while the Focus was a decent little car, I got sick of dealing with various bits of Ford fuckery on maintenance. Same reason why I sold my Mazda. And in it’s place, I got the car I originally wanted when I bought the Mazda, a 2006 Honda Accord EX V6 6 speed sedan.

I took a quick video of it since I didn’t feel like standing around in the cold to get good pics. I bought it a bit over a month ago. It’s a higher mileage example (224k when I got it. Should be at 227ish now), and it needs some work. I already did the front brakes, trans fluid, serpentine belt, and PCV valve. It still needs front control arms and engine mounts to pass state inspection, and it will most likely need a timing belt service soon. But I’m going to do all of that ASAP since I love this car already. It’s about as fast as the Mazda with all the same sleeper status that it had, but it’s way easier/cheaper to service/fuel. And this thing is properly fast. It boasted a 0-60 of 5.8 seconds back in the day (probably a bit less on modern rubber), and I’ll bet it has a top speed north of 150 (even my old Camry would do 140 after all), maybe even 160. And it has the tossable handling feel you would expect from a Honda.

On other notes, I still have the Discovery, but it’s been sidelined due to needing a new set of keys, plus me not having the time to replace the upper radiator hose. I’ll make some time to got it sorted soon since it’s a slow period for me work wise. I also bought another car I’ve wanted for some time. A P10 Infiniti G20. Granted mine is a beater spec one I dragged out of an alley in DC for $850. The front right fender is FUBAR, the power steering pump is seized (and since it uses the same drive belt as the water pump, I can’t run it for more than a few minutes at a time until it’s fixed. And yes, it does run and drive. It even had the title). That’s gonna be a more dedicated fun car for autocross and such, although I will be taking the Accord as well.

LordLetto · 15 January 2022 23:54

Nice! Cool car, the North American Nissan Primera (people that played the OG Gran Turismo may recognize it from looking at the Nissan offerings) just like how the G35/37 & Q40/50/60 is the North American Skyline.

SkylineFTW97 · 16 January 2022 01:23

Yup. I specifically wanted a P10 for the multi-link front suspension that supposedly gave it the best handling of it’s class at the time.

Slim_Jim · 16 January 2022 06:50

Congrats on the V6 6-speed Accord! (Still miss mine, thanks Hurricane Ida). It’s electronically limited to 135, but it certainly has the power to go quite a bit faster. Definitely cheap to run and incredibly reliable, you’ll enjoy every mile. Just keep it away from water.

SkylineFTW97 · 16 January 2022 13:00

Shame what happened to it. I hardly see any of these cars. I’ve only ever seen 2 manual V6 sedans in person. That includes mine. This one is definitely a keeper. She will be driven (with nearly 230k, she won’t be going to Barrett-Jackson in all likelihood), but she’s also getting the royal treatment on service and maintenance. One of the perks of working at a Honda dealership is that we have an abundance of parts just lying around. I’ll be doing the timing belt service in the next couple weeks, and one of the master techs said he had a set of cam seals and a front main that I could have since mine leaks oil from just about everywhere (remember to always clean/change your PCV valve every 50k or so, kids). But on the bright side, it no longer leaks power steering fluid.

And hopefully it won’t ever see flooding. Granted I do live in Maryland between the Potomac river and Chesapeake bay, but thankfully, I don’t live in an area prone to flash floods, although I’m not particularly far from places that are.