5 Attachment(s)
Timing Belt, Water Pump, Valve clearance, Health Check, etc.
Another owner visited my place to go through the TB, WP, Valve clearance and once a year Health Check services.
This is the JDM early type Auto with nice body kits.
I always enjoy driving this AT model.
Up to the VTEC zone, there is not much difference between AT and MT models and when we tested lots of owners on the same day at the same track, most of the AT model owners were more consistent than the MT owners from the lap time point of view.
Particularly, I like the extra push from the AT torque converter from standstill.
I used to track AT models (not NSX) with more than 550hp and 330hp every two weeks or sometimes every week all over the world and as the AT brain was cleaver enough, I didn’t bother using the paddle shift.
If you have big enough capacity on the torque converter, you can really enjoy driving powerful AT models without any AT slip on shifting.
For our NSX, especially if you have later AT version with F-matic, you won’t be disappointed if you know how to drive AT models fast and also thanks to the revised gear ratio and the final ratio.
I didn’t like the position of F-matic lever at the side of steering column but still, you can drive fast enough using the AT gear selector manually.
Fortunately, the owner had the Japanese service documents and I translated them into English in the past.
When I looked at the car, I found that there was no water pump seeping tube sticking out from the timing belt cover which suggested that the water pump was never replaced in the past.
Addition to this, from the service history in Japan and UK, it looked like the timing belt was never replaced for about 18 years. The mileage was well below the JDM TB service schedule when it was exported to UK and the owner covered only low mileage since then.
Attachment 7583 Attachment 7584
During the process, one of the major task would be removing the crank pulley bolt. If it was removed and greased peoperly in the past, it would be easy task but based on the service history, it looked as if it was never removed. So, before carrying out any work, I decided to try removing the bolt and then tighten it back to the specified torque.
As this is the AT model, it requires different crank pulley attachement tool.
As always, I had to use extra long pipe to get more power to loosen the bolt.
Attachment 7585
Before draining the coolant, it is important to set the water/coolant valve to max temperature.
Preparation for the compression check before removing lots of parts.
Attachment 7586 Attachment 7587
Even the car was rarely driven in the rain, the rear bank IGN coils showed some rust/corrosion. There was no sign of misfire so it would be fine by just smoothing them out for the time being but something to be replaced in the future.
Front bank ones were all fine.