Project Bob78CVCC

Civic 1973-1979 Projects
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bob78cvcc
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Post by bob78cvcc »

I'm very glad I still have my parts car. It has been very generous with parts that I need to put mine back together with proper Honda parts.

The red battery cable is 4 ft long and spliced with a black ground wire that is about 2 ft long and grounds in 2 separate places.
No wonder I couldn't figure out where it was supposed to go. It's certainly not meant for a 1stgenCivic.
The parts car supplied me with 2 "normal" cables in decent condition. Problem solved.

I still can't believe how butchered some of my wires were. :)
78 Civic CVCC

It's just a Civic thing :)

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bob78cvcc
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Post by bob78cvcc »

Got some more done today as the weather warmed up nicely.
I installed my very first oil seal. Replaced both drive axles.
Hopefully, tomorrow, when I look under the car, no more oil leak. :)
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New Dr Side Drive Axle Oil Seal 3 (484 x 600).jpg
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78 Civic CVCC

It's just a Civic thing :)

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bob78cvcc
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Post by bob78cvcc »

Today I took 2 steps forward and one step back.

The good:
the engine fired up for the first time. :)

http://youtu.be/ebeIti-Lqcs

The bad:
there is a coolant leak of currently unknown origin
the starter is whining out and won't let me restart the car. :(

I'll pull the starter out tomorrow.

Any useful suggestions on how to proceed? :)
Attachments
Coolant Leak 1.jpg
Coolant Leak 1.jpg (62.69 KiB) Viewed 1017 times
DSCN1360.jpg
DSCN1360.jpg (43.79 KiB) Viewed 1017 times
DSCN1359.jpg
DSCN1359.jpg (41.24 KiB) Viewed 1017 times
78 Civic CVCC

It's just a Civic thing :)

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Post by Bill »

The most common leak at that point is that a gasket for the distributor housing was used for the early 75 CVCC engine. It is almost right, but causes a leak at the bottom of the housing. The part number is close and a lot of parts books show it as the correct gasket, but it just is not right. If you can't get the right one, cut one from some card stock and use that, I have done it many times.
Clean off the area and check it close first though, better to make sure than to start chasing it with parts. make sure that the tube into the head is tight and that it was installed with sealer...
Good luck, let us know how it goes.

=Bill

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bob78cvcc
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Post by bob78cvcc »

username wrote:The most common leak at that point is that a gasket for the distributor housing was used for the early 75 CVCC engine. It is almost right, but causes a leak at the bottom of the housing. The part number is close and a lot of parts books show it as the correct gasket, but it just is not right. If you can't get the right one, cut one from some card stock and use that, I have done it many times.
Clean off the area and check it close first though, better to make sure than to start chasing it with parts. make sure that the tube into the head is tight and that it was installed with sealer...
Good luck, let us know how it goes.

=Bill
Thanks, Bill - here's another pic that seems to confirm your diagnosis. Does this confirm it's the distributor housing? :)
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Coolant Leak 2 (600 x 455).jpg
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78 Civic CVCC

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Post by Bill »

Yeppers, looks like that is the wrong gasket. You don't want the one that ends with the -000 that is the early one. The later one is a -010 or later number. Or you can make one yourself, there are tricks to make your own in the tips and tricks section. I have made some in the middle of parking lots, hundreds of miles from home, they work fine.

=Bill

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Post by Kurt »

I usually make my own gaskets these days for the carburetor, thermostat, dist. housing, ect...I just made new ones for my carburetor :)

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Steph
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Post by Steph »

I had to trim my carburetor gaskets up so they didn't cut off flow, or stick out over the outside edges and look ugly. By the time I'd finished, I might as well have made them myself!

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Post by bob78cvcc »

Kurt wrote:I usually make my own gaskets these days for the carburetor, thermostat, dist. housing, ect...I just made new ones for my carburetor :)
Kurt, what material are you using to make your gaskets? :)
78 Civic CVCC

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Post by bob78cvcc »

Today was a productive day. :)

The coolant leak happened because the distributor housing bolts
weren't tightened enough. No more leak. :D

With the new starter installed it fired right up. :D

Now I need to begin putting it all back together.

What should the AC drier mounting height be?
Does the pic below look about right?
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DSCN1376 (600 x 450).jpg
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78 Civic CVCC

It's just a Civic thing :)

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