D16Y8 Cam Question

[Cypress]

Ok. Engine swap out of the question, what should i do to my d16? I don't really want to turbo it, cause by the time i want to turbo i'll probably be ready to engine swap. I just want to do begginer mods on my d16. You know learn some s**t. If you guys have had d16s then that probably means you were once at the stage I am at so help a brother out and tell him how you did it. Believe me I want an LS or a B or K or whatever, but thats a lot of money and know how which at the moment I don't have. In fact maybe I'll take your advice sooner than I thought. RIGHT NOW I own the cam and springs. I'm gonna try to put em on starting tomorrow. If you can think of useful info hit me with it. I still haven't gotten any advice besides that I should in fact do the retainers. So anyone who has replaced a cam or springs on a d16 and can remember some parts where I might run into trouble or stuff I want to make sure to avoid hit me with it. Other people will almost definitely use this thread as a base for there own builds so post please. There really is very little info on doing a d16 cam out there. Might even make a vid when I'm done with it.

 

[civicmand16y7]

if its in deed a stage 1 cam you dont have to change spring or anything on the head. What I would do is buy a rebild kit for the head. Mit as wall since you have tooken apart.Ya dig. I would take it to a machine shop cut out on the valves to get bigger valve. ummmmmm have a racing valve job, maybe shave the head. Have it port and polished. thats all i can think of of the top of my head....NOTE if you get aftermarket springs dont get them to stiff becouse the cam lobs want be long enough to push them down.... Get a skunk2 intake main. or or some other name intake bigger fule injectors. Full rail. Convert it to obd1 with a chipped p28. If your going to build the head like you say you are, gohead and build the bottom end to egal rod wissco 10.5:1 piston or 11:1 and bam you have a hell of single slamer.....if any body want to add or change this please do so

 

[12.8:1 Ls/vtec]

well bolt ons and a tune is all I'd do to a D. Anything else all motor is a waste of money IMO. You can dump a whole lot of money into it and not get a whole lot of power. That is why most people do turbo with a D. it is just a vessel for boost at that point. If i were you at this point don't dive head over heels into it, just start small.
Just do this:
go obd1 and tune it
use your valvesprings and retainers and cam
header
exhaust
intake

 

[civicmand16y7]

well bolt ons and a tune is all I'd do to a D. Anything else all motor is a waste of money IMO. You can dump a whole lot of money into it and not get a whole lot of power. That is why most people do turbo with a D. it is just a vessel for boost at that point. If i were you at this point don't dive head over heels into it, just start small.
Just do this:
go obd1 and tune it
use your valvesprings and retainers and cam
header
exhaust
intake

I ike this idea better

 

[Cypress]

Ok. I'm gonna try really hard to not sound condescending, but that is exactly what i said I wanted to do. I already have FULL EXHAUST and a K&N INTAKE. I need to know HOW to do the cam.

An example of some advice might take the form of "...... is how you get your engine to TDC." or "When putting in your cam don't ...... or you'll f**k everything up."

So give me some of that I'll be a happy man.

Civicmand16y7 --- that bit about the springs, good s**t. Thanks.

 

[emerican]

If its stage one you can leaave the stock springs and retainers agreed might as well get the rebuild kit while its ripped apart.
Never done the cams in a y8 but a google search found this http://www.carolinahondas.com/installation-how-articles/32902-how-camshaft-valve-spring-install.html complete how to do it its installing a different cam, but that wont matter
i have a y8 and mine will never have boost or engine swap either i have i/e header is on the way future mods are skunk2 intake mani hondata gaskets and b series t-body after that and a tune im calling it quits. may do stage 1 cam, but i doubt it

 

[Cypress]

Awesome. Thanks for finding that. I'm broke, but in a couple weekends i should have the time, parts, tools, money to do the job. I'll post whatever happens.

 

[emerican]

No problem man always try to help if i can it may be a little different but i dont think it is.
Cant wait for pics of it.

 

[Cypress]

It is with a heavy heart that I post this update on the camshaft install. The following tale is one of tragedy...

Saturday: I had a late morning to mid afternoon bowling outing with coworkers. Afterward I went to O'reilly's Auto Parts to pick up a torque wrench and ask a few questions. I was lucky because a very Honda-knowledgeable and extremely helpful guy was working. He showed me exactly how to get my engine to TDC (which I will post in detail later) and how to remove my spark plugs as well as other various information regarding camshaft installation. I returned home and began work. By the end of the night I had my engine to TDC, my timing belt off and was messing with my distributor. I misread my manual and went too far into my distributor and got stuck on removal of the rotor.

Sunday: With high hopes I returned to O'reilly's for advice on the distributor rotor. They had the rotor I needed in stock. I returned home with a spring compressor tool, extension magnet thing, rubber mallet, and ratchet extensions. Back to work I decided to delve on and sawed my distributor rotor until i could break it off. I then extracted my ignition coil. Then I realized I didn't have to do any of that. I removed the damn distributor as an assembly. On to the rocker-arm assembly. Removed it and put rubber bands around the rocker-arms. I removed the stock camshaft.
At this point I took a break and went to see if I could remove the springs on the other valve head I had bought previously to mess around with. The tool didn't work. After I broke it and fixed it 3 times I gave up on it. My buddy got off work and came over in the middle of a crazy Minnesota snow storm at 12:00 midnight. Installed the new cam. Replaced the rocker arms. Put on the Cam gear. Replaced the timing belt and did all that stuff. I then began to replace the distributor but needed a new rotor.

Monday: With my friend went to O'reilly's AGAIN and got a new rotor and some NGK iridium plugs. Back to work. Got the distributor back together with the help of a Chilton's manual. Everything was going well....EXCEPT....my timing belt was loose. Decided to say "F*** it" and put it back together and started it up. Sounded good and then not so good. Turned it off and stood around stunned. My buddy left to have a life and I returned the torque wrench to O'reilly's. Got back and looked up how to re-tension my timing belt online.

http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2844952

Great link. Went back to work and got it going.

Monday Night.....: Started the car. And it ran!!!! It was still blizzarding out and I went for a drive. I hopped on the freeway after a little slow cruising. I went a little too fast and hit a pot hole. Smashed into an attractive woman's mini-cooper and found myself and her on the left shoulder. My car is in pieces and probably totaled. The end.

I will post pictures of everything, including the car if I can stomach it to look at them, tomorrow.

 

[emerican]

Damn man im so sorry to hear that. Are they gonna total the car, what kind of insurance was on it.

 

[Cypress]

I'm not sue yet. I'm at work right now. I've got state farm = 500 deductible collision.

 

[emerican]

How bad was the damage to it.
Radiater support bent?

 

[Cypress]

I dunno. I can't find the camera cord for my computer to upload pictures, but when I do I will make sure to take some of the car as it sits now in my driveway and post em. The front is pretty f'd up. The headlights are crunched and the hood only latches if you slam it and I haven't tried to open it since. My fenders are crushed and there is a good bit of damage to the passenger rear panel (quarter panel?). I'll look for the cord again tonight. At work til 6.

 

[Cypress]

Ok. Picture time. These are just pics of the build. I have to take pics of the car still. And I don't know how to put them in here as images so they are links.

So, really this advice is not necessarily correct since I'm not sure I did the build 100% correct because my car is not really running right now, but take from it what you can and treat it all with some skepticism I guess.

Loosening the timing belt tensioner bolt (even though this was actually taken when i was trying to tighten it): http://img594.imageshack.us/i/dscn2627m.jpg/
- Turn this bolt 180-360 degrees but no more and your timing belt should be loose. You may have to turn the crank a little, but make sure you get it back to TDC. IMPORTANT: Almost definitely you will have to take off the nearby engine mount to break this bolt loose. You get 3 inches of room to position the ratchet on the bolt and about 6 (maybe) to crank on it. I got a small circumference piece of pipe from home depot in order to get the necessary leverage and even then it was difficult
Sorry I forgot to take pics of TDC, especially cause it is easily the most important part. PM me if you need to know and if I'm still on this site I'll get back to you. But I might be buying a different car now.

Timing belt off: http://img20.imageshack.us/i/dscn2624l.jpg/

Remove the distributor: http://img715.imageshack.us/i/dscn2629z.jpg/
-Don't be stupid like me and dismantle your distributor. All you have to do is take off the cover so you can mark where the rotor is pointing, put the cover back on, and take out the three holder bolts.

Rocker arms off, stock cam out: http://img341.imageshack.us/i/dscn2630r.jpg/
-Just ratchet the bolts out in the correct backwards torque sequence going 1/4 turns at first, then maybe 1/2, and once they are loose enough just get the bitches out. DO NOT REMOVE BOLTS FROM ROCKER ARMS! If you remove the bolts completely the arms will fall apart on you and you will be f**ked.

Comp cam on top, stock on bottom: http://img337.imageshack.us/i/dscn2633.jpg/

Put the cam in, tighten down the rocker arms (in the correct torque order of course 14ft/lb for the 12s, 9ft/lb for the 10s), reattach distributor (make sure rotor lines up), and theeeeen......

Timing belt re-tensioned after much hard work and some injury. Please note on the lower left side of the cam gear a piece of skin. It came from the side of my right thumb: http://img10.imageshack.us/i/dscn2637p.jpg/
- I previously posted a link explaining how to re-tension your timing belt. Don't mess around if you're doing this. Follow the instructions on the link exactly. And do your best not to strip this bolt, as in make sure you're getting the ratchet on there tight before you crank on it.

All back together: http://img546.imageshack.us/i/dscn2644.jpg/
-ignore my asian bling battery tie...

Then I crashed the car. Now it won't start. I don't know if I messed something up on the build or if the crash did something to it, or if its because of the bolt I just broke off in my valve cover. Whatever. Updates soon. I'll post pics of the car later even though i'm not sure if anyone but emerican cares.

 

[Cypress]

A smattering of pictures...

http://img690.imageshack.us/i/dscn2655a.jpg/
http://img17.imageshack.us/i/dscn2654in.jpg/
http://img64.imageshack.us/i/dscn2652k.jpg/ I don't know why this was so blurry
http://img338.imageshack.us/i/dscn2650u.jpg/
http://img25.imageshack.us/i/dscn2649k.jpg/
http://img257.imageshack.us/i/dscn2648l.jpg/
http://img407.imageshack.us/i/dscn2647u.jpg/
http://img248.imageshack.us/i/dscn2646is.jpg/
http://img402.imageshack.us/i/dscn2645v.jpg/

To me it doesn't look too bad. I need new fenders, but I already needed a new right one, I need that front bumper brace, I need the back right quarter panel, one of my tires doesn't seem like it's quite getting clearance so I don't know if that means anything else or not, new headlights, new headlight mounts... other small stuff that comes up i suppose. Oh yeah a new hood too, but if I keep the car I'll go carbon fiber.

Oh yeah, and it works. I'm a dumbass and forgot to plug my spark plug wires back in after taking off my valve cover. It's fast and it is loud!

Anyway. That's the end.

 

[Cypress]

Anyone know how bad it is to try to bend out the front of your engine bay? On the driver side the fender is pinched in between the first and second connecting bolt from the front of the hood. This is making the left to right (across the car) view farther out on the passenger side and more in on the left. I've noticed that the front piece of metal past the bumper reinforcement is pretty thin. Sorry if this was a confusing explanation, but anyone got any suggestions on bending this out and if it'll do any good or if anyone knows what this piece is called so i can look up pricing. I'm gonna be pretty sad if I have to scrap her, so anything helps.

 

[emerican]

If you are talking about the radiater support you need a frame straighting machine.