NSX Health Check Service

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

7. ABS

I can’t remember how many times I used this ABS T-wrench by now…

For some reason, this service is not included in the Honda’s service schedule and thus, lots of NSX are running with partially serviced ABS.

This one was the same. The fluid inside the reservoir was replaced in the past but the accumulator was not flushed at all. Thus, full of air.


First, I’ll flush the accu. twice.
Then, move onto each solenoid. When you activate the solenoid, it will show lots of tiny bubbles - almost like white fluid.

I don’t like to re-use this so I’ll suck it out and then pour new fluid before activating the pump to pressurise the system and then move onto the next solenoid.

After all four solenoids were flushed, I’ll flush the accumulator again twice. By this time, the fluid retuned to the ABS T-wrench will be clear with no air.
The ABS system has finally serviced properly and should be fine for long period.

It is also important to activate the ABS from time to time to keep the system healthy.

Ultimately, it is best to upgrade to the latest ABS system.
Probably, one of the best modifications that you can do on early models.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

8. Door Fix It Thingy
While carrying out the Bose Speaker Amp service on this NSX, I noticed tiny scratch at the bottom of the door handle. Also, it felt heavier than normal NSX to open the door from inside the cabin.


After removing the door handle, I found the issue... The famous crack at the door lever. It already started to crack so the owner was informed and he will get the 'door fix it thingy' from US. It would be nice to find an engneering company to manufacture the same parts within UK.

[Sudesh]

It would be nice to find an engneering company to manufacture the same parts within UK.

Hi Kaz,

When I was doing the "door handle snap"
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/testvb/showthread.php?t=6758

I spoke to 3 engineering companies here who quoted me extortionate prices to do this, not to mention having to place a big order. With the NSX community being quite small here and in the UK, I didnt think it was worth going to hassle and expense, as Dali were cheap and deliver was very fast.

[NSXGB]

Kaz, is there a particular brand of brake fluid you use?

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, NSXGB.

I used to use AP and now I’m using Ferodo DOT4 but it’s purely because of what I can get through my supplier at reasonable cost.

If you are not tracking your NSX, DOT4 from any major suppliers is fine for street driving as it has been DOT approved and exceeded the required spec category. I think Honda lists DOT3 as well.

For me, it’s more important to replace the fluid at least once a year than using expensive racing fluid for occasional/every day car without track events.

I used all sorts of racing fluids at different circuits and depending on the spec, it may require extra and regular attention/service. At certain circuits, quite often, we had to flush after each session or at the end of each day but that's an extreme case....

Just don’t use DOT5 (5.1 is fine) on our car.

Regards,
Kaz

[NSXGB]

Thanks Kaz.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

9. One of my specialities, the calliper overhaul (OH).


Although this piston was re-usable, there was lots of surface rust/debris preventing the smooth movement of the piston. I couldn’t move it at all by finger.
Front calliper washed and waiting for inspection before final cleaning process.


As the calliper slider pin was sticky and the piston was kind of seized, I didn’t like the condition of the Front brake pad surface. So, trimmed tiny amount and decided to carry out bedding in process after the OH. I had to do this any way as the Rear pads were replaced with the new ones.


The front calliper OH kit. There is several know-how that are not on the manual and these will make big difference until the next OH timing.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Always check the installation by pushing out the pistons and then push them back with the fingers to check the smooth operation.


Rear calliper OH kit.
Quite often, the parking brake cable was so rusty that it was almost impossible to remove it from its holder. I had to remove the holder itself from the calliper body on this NSX otherwise, I couldn’t remove the calliper body from the calliper bracket. I soaked it with the WD40 inside the Ziploc bag overnight and finally managed to detach it from the holder.


In the process of Rear calliper OH for the parking brake mechanism.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Again, it is important to extract the piston by rotating it counter-clockwise and then rotate back the piston to check the smooth operation.
As there were just a few mm left on the rear pad, we decided to replace it with the new one.


After this, pressure bled the entire system. My DIY adaptor got broken the other day so I’m now using this new one from one of the Japanese tool manufacture and modified my existing pressure bleeder equipment. Works very well and saves the waste of fluid. The system is always under pressure even when the bleeder was loosen so there is no worry of air getting back into the system.

In order to get rid of the air especially inside the piston at the rear calliper, there are several technique/procedure to be used.

Time to bedding in the new pads and discs.
After several mid-hard braking with long cool down period, the brake feels much better and the ABS kicks in at perfect timing.

Another brake system saved.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

After working on beautiful Yellow NSX-T, it’s time to work on another Yellow model but this time, it’s the Coupe. This NSX was at my place in the past for Health Check and other services.

It's always nice to work on the same car again as I can build up the service history on the specific car.

It will save the time and cost for both the owner and myself as I know what needs to be done through the Health Check Service and also my own Service Log file will tell what has been done on this particular NSX.


1. Calliper lower slider pin
Last time when I worked on the Rear calliper, I found that the lower slider pin was completely seized and I actually had to hammer it out as it was so tight.
As I didn’t have the spare pin in stock, I smoothed the pin out and it worked very nicely.

Now I got the spare in stock and although the re-furbished one looked fine, we decided to replace it for preventive measure.


2. Brake Master Cyl
Time to overhaul the Brake Master Cylinder.
Although the rubber material quality improved a lot over the years, the seal and cup will eventually wear down as they are always sliding against the internal wall of the cylinder. This is the same for brake callipers as well as Clutch Master and Slave cylinders.

If you see black debris/residue in your fluid reservoir, some of them are the broken down rubber materials from the seal and the cup. Although it is not in the Honda’s regular maintenance schedule, I recommend servicing this at least every 2 - 3 years.


The new pistons, seal, cup, stopper pin and so on. Torque check the stopper pin and then the master cyl will be placed in a bag to avoid any dust getting inside while setting up the bench bleeding system.


Although it is very unlikely that you need to adjust the clearance of push rod at the brake booster, I have no idea on the service history of each NSX so I always check it using this SST.