NSX Health Check Service

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

Based on the result of my Health check service, this time, I was asked to work on the suspension area, ABS, A/C cleaning and so on.

1. Bonnet release

Well, I started to work on this NSX but every time when I tried to open the bonnet, it was stuck in the original position and I couldn’t open it. I had to hold the opener upwards and pull the bonnet to open it. As I didn’t like to return the car in this status, I decided to remove the entire lock mechanism, soaked it in the cleaner and re-greased it. Now, it opens freely.


2. Bilstein damper with OEM early Coupe Spring

We spent long hours discussing about the chassis setup and for the damper/spring, we decided to go for the Bilstein damper with OEM spring.
For this combination, I always use new bushes and mounting rubber so placed the order to Japan.
I only drove the car to/from the alignment place but I already found it was a good combination to meet his demand and budget.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

3. Stabi link, stabi bush, tierod/rack end

While replacing the damper/spring kit, we also replaced the old and tired stabi links and stabi bushes. Removing the locking nut on the stabi link is always the challenge as quite often, the hex hole is rusted and too weak to hold the big torque on loosening the self locking nut. In fact, for one of the link, I had to cut the shaft to release it from the stabilizer.

Quite often, I found small movement on the passenger side tierod/rack end but on this NSX, both sides were rattling. So, new parts were installed before going to the alignment place.


4. Alignment

Back to my favourite 2Hr alignment session. From time to time, I found seized alignment bolt even on NSX but this one was really tough. After fighting against some of the nuts and bolts, the final alignment result came out beautifully. Although it is a very old frame, no severe damage to the chassis and thus, perfect alignment to my own setup.


5. ABS

ABS has been neglected for a long time so when I used my SST to drain the old fluid, some of the debris from the ABS were trapped inside the one way valve of the SST and when I lifted it, almost all of the ABS fluid was released on the floor… After flushing the system several times, I managed to push the debris out of the one way valve so my SST function was recovered.
Unfortunately, I found that one of the four solenoid was already dead no matter how we flush/activate it. I could disassemble the unit and try to refurbish it but instead, it would be best to convert it to the latest ABS system so that will be on the future menu.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

6. A/C Evaporator cleaning
Unfortunately, when NSX was designed, there was no plan to fit cabin air filter like the modern production cars. Because of this, you’ll be surprise to see or may be, I should say, you don’t want to know how dirty the air could be inside the cabin. This is one of the reasons why the fan on the cabin air temperature sensor starts to make some noise after several years.
You may find lots of dirt around the air inlet of the blower motor unit. Once you have managed to remove it, you can see the evaporator.

This one looks very dirty but in fact, not too bad. In Japan, the summer is very hot and humid so the A/C is continuously being used and thus, lots of moisture is always at the evaporator resulting in black dirt or even sometimes some mould on the surface of evaporator.
First, blow out as much dirt as possible. Then, wash it with water followed by the cleaner. Wait for a while and then rinse it with plenty of water.

Don’t be tempted to clean the surface fin of the evaporator as they are so fragile that you will do more damage than cleaning it. Just use reasonably high pressure to apply the cleaner and rinsing water. Once you are done, spray some medical alchohol or similar product to disinfect any germ.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

As I don’t like dirt to get inside again, I normally make simple cabin air filter attached to the intake. This is good enough until I make something out of FRP and commercially available cabin air filter.


7. Cabin air temperature sensor

The cabin air quality was so bad that I found so many dust and debris on the temperature sensor. It was also making quite annoying noise so although it was not requested from the owner, I decided to clean it. This is what I found and I’m glad I cleaned it….

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

8. Door lock switch

Quite often, I was asked to investigate the electrical issues on NSX and one of the common failures is related to the non-waterproof connector being used inside the door. On this NSX, the driver side door lock sw was not working at all.
After long years, the moisture corroded the GND pin on the non-waterproof connector and lost part of the contact point. In order to prevent this from happening again, decided to use gold plated terminal with grease inside the connector. Now, it is fine…

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

9. Painting wiper arm

Black is very important for the presentation of your NSX. For example, it will make great appearance if you have nice black colour at the front lower spoiler, the upper seal of front windscreen, the tyre, the pillar and so on. Unfortunately, our wiper arm is very old design and sticks out behind the bonnet resulting in chip by the stone, etc. Also, if you wash the car regularly and if you are not careful, you can gradually scrape off the paint from the wiper arm.
So, it would be nice to spend some time painting them. Strip the old paint off and apply several coats of primer first. Then, wet/dry sand it down a little to get smooth surface and wash and dry it. De-grease it and then apply several coats of nice mat finish black paint. Now it looks much better.


10. A/C gas leakage

There are several common places to check for the A/C gas leakage on our NSX. The worst part to find the leakage is at the evaporator. While I was cleaning the evaporator, unfortunately, I found the leakage there. This is a big job to repair as we need to first remove the entire interior panel (yes, the whole one in front of the driver and passenger seat…), take out the evaporator and heater core as a package and then replace/repair the evaporator. As this NSX is using the old R12 system and although alternative R12 gas in available, we’ll be replacing the compressor, pressure valve, O-rings and so on to convert it into R134a system in the future.

The next stage is the complete Brake service, Driveshaft refurbishment and so on.
Just waiting for the parts to arrive…


Regards,
Kaz

[NSXGB]

8. Door lock switch
Quite often, I was asked to investigate the electrical issues on NSX and one of the common failures is related to the non-waterproof connector being used inside the door. On this NSX, the driver side door lock sw was not working at all.
After long years, the moisture corroded the GND pin on the non-waterproof connector and lost part of the contact point. In order to prevent this from happening again, decided to use gold plated terminal with grease inside the connector. Now, it is fine…

Kaz, are these connectors a Honda part or standard electrical part? I need a pair for the third brake light so that it can be wired properly....I'm presuming they will be the same ad will clip into the plug housing?
If it's a Honda part, do you have the part number please?

[markc]

Hi Kaz, interesting to see the wear/rust on Paul's caliper pistons. I was going to undertake a rebuild of my calipers over the winter and suspect that I'll find similar damage to the pistons on my car.

A couple of questions if I may...
What does the caliper overhaul kit you mention contain? Do you have a part number to hand?
What other parts should I order?
How many pistons did you replace?
How much, roughly, are they each?

Thanks

Mark

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Kaz, are these connectors a Honda part or standard electrical part? I need a pair for the third brake light so that it can be wired properly....I'm presuming they will be the same ad will clip into the plug housing?
If it's a Honda part, do you have the part number please?

Hi, NSXGB.

This terminal (pin) is from the OEM parts supplier 'Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd'. They supply lots of looms, connectors, etc for many production manufactures including Honda.

The standard one is not Gold plated and I don't think you can get hold of it as it is not used for the production cars. It was used for the F1.
I don't know whether you can get hold of the standard ones in UK or not as I always get them from Japan. I still have lots of good contacts.

Not sure what the '3rd brake light' is, but if you are refering to the LED brake light on the rear wing, then you need different connector/pin type from the one in my photo.
You need the 090 WPC (Water Proof Connector) type one and the pin is also special to accomodate the sealing grommet at the end of the terminal. You'll also require special crimping tool to crimp the wire and the grommet to the terminal (pin) properly.

UK spec NSX is already pre-wired up to the left rear of the engine room for the LED brake light so if you want to buy the OEM cables for this, you'll need additional two cables.

If you want alternative solution, please send me an email as I may be able to make the cable for you but I need to check the stock of my parts first.


Regards,
Kaz