Trondelond's EK4


Trondelond

Mr. Poopypants
Joined
Jun 4, 2012
Messages
284
Engine/gearbox :
JDM B18CR
BWR Gear linkage polybushes
DC2 Gearbox (98 Spec 4.7FD, LSD)
DC2 Gen. 2 Driveshafts
DC2 Airbox
EK9 Cat
EK9 shifter and linkage
Fidanza lightweight flywheel
Mishimoto radiator
Mishimoto fan shroud
Mugen EK9 TwinLoop exhaust
Mugen header
Tegiwa Engine Damper
Walbro 255 fuel pump

Handling :

1" GSR MC/BB
ASR subframe brace
Carbotech XP10 pads front
DC2 rear anti-roll bar, powerflexed
DC2 5-lug swap (282mm brakes)
DC2 top hats
EBC Blade front brake discs
EK9 OEM front strut bar
Energy Suspension steering rack bush
Function7 rear LCAs
Function7 rear endlinks
Mugen complete front LCA bushing set.
Prothane front arb bushings.
SPC/Eibach front camber/caster kit
SPC/Eibach rear camber arms
Spoon fixed rate dampers
Spoon progressive springs
Spoon rear strut brace
HEL braided hoses
Tegiwa Brake Stopper
Ultra Racing fender braces

Exterior :
Spoon CF spoiler
Spoon CF Mirrors
EK9 Front facelift conversion
"EK9" Front PU lip
EK9 Rear bumper
EK9 Rear lip
Euro Led rear lights

Volk TE37 15x6.5" Wheels (summer)
- Bridgestone Potenza RE002​
DC2 OEM Enkei 15x6" Wheels (winter)
DC2 OEM Enkei 15x6" Wheels (trackday)
- Toyo R1R​

Interior :
Bride Brix drivers seat
Bride Ergo II passenger seat
EK9 Cluster
EK9 Cupholders
EK9 Gaitor
Momo Model78 steering wheel
Rockford Fosgate Punch 5.25" front speakers
"Halfords" 6x9" rear speakers
Skunk2 gear knob
Spoon wide rear view mirror
Pioneer DEH-X8500DAB head unit

So, here's my EK4 Type-S. It does come with a bit of a story though - it was fairly well known in the norwegian owner's club, and previous owners had taken real good care of it. Except for the last one - whom I bought it off.
The car replaces my supercharged, lsd'd, coilovered and fiddled-to-death Del Sol, and is supposed to be sort of my daily driver whenever it's done.
I also own a Nissan Pulsar GTi-R, which is mostly used during summer.

Anyway, here's a couple of pics of what it used to look like at least :

7267359086_976b0e3048_z.jpg


7267358964_e10a1d9a59_z.jpg


As there's not too many ek4's (or ek9's for that matter) here in norway, I figured this would be a good place to source ideas, get feedback, input and whatnot. On with the story!

Worklog
04.09.12 - Quick recap
07.09.12 - Started working.
09.09.12 - Engine out, gearbox off.
11.09.12 - Clutch installed.
18.09.12 - Changed timing belt, water pump and tensioner.
20.09.12 - New thermostat, front hubs and coilovers removed.
25.09.12 - Removed engine harness, rear RTAs, hubs, dampers etc.
02.10.12 - New engine mounts, tie rod boots and steering rod. Installed gearbox and changed VTEC solenoid gasket.
04.10.12 - Rear ARB bushes and ARB installed, tidied up wiring.
10.10.12 - LCAs installed, engine wiring installed, started work on a little rust.
11.10.12 - A little rear damper fixing, new toe arms and testfitting of 5-lug conversion rear.
14.10.12 - New plugs/alternator belt. Rear end bolted up, front dampers ready, new steering rack bush and engine in place.
21.10.12 - Suspension torqued up, painted a little in the engine bay, installed GruppeM intake.
23.10.12 - Gunked up wheelarches, water temp sensor "replaced", catback installed.
24.10.12 - Mugen header installed, Ultra Racing fender braces installed, doors adjusted.
05.11.12 - New door handle, assorted ranting.
06.11.12 - Soldered up the stereo wires, fixed heater problem.
22.11.12 - New pollen filter, one inner fender in place.
29.11.12 - Front right ABS sensor fixed. DC2 steering wheel in place.
17.12.12 - Made up new front left ABS lead, BWR gear linkage polybushes, and exhaust gasket.
29.12.12 - Koni/Eibach installed, new distributor and cleaned the IACV.
20.01.13 - OEM Front discs and pads.
21.01.13 - Changed throttle body, strapped in new ABS ECU.
31.12.13 - Changed F/L ABS lead and sensor, ABS working.
07.02.13 - New drivers side seatbelt.
19.03.13 - Heaps of stuff done. And oil/filterchange - 238000-ish.
20.03.13 - Last RTA bush in place, new rear SPC/Eibach camber arms.
23.03.13 - Installed SPC/Eibach front camber/caster arms, new balljoints and wheel bearing in the front.
28.03.13 - Inner fender in place, new OEM discs/pads in the rear.
04.04.13 - Wheel alignment done
14.04.13 - Done camberkit with loctite and torque, new fuse for stereo, test fit of TE37
16.04.13 - Bunch of stuff done. Seats, tinting, blahblah.
17.04.13 - Seat rails welded.
07.05.13 - New tires, started brake overhaul, new ASR/Function7 droplink combo.
09.05.13 - Overhauled brakes installed.
13.05.13 - Summer wheels and tyres on. With the rubs.
14.05.13 - New cam seal, adjusted droplinks.
02.06.13 - New right headlight, new nylon knobs for the seatbacks.
29.06.2013 - Front subframe out, 1" MC/BB installed, new Spoon rear dampers/springs, ++
08.07.13 - New floormats, spoon springs/dampers, mugen lca bushings, endlinks, etc
09.07.13 - Handling and brakes officially sorted.
23.04.14 - Prepping the B18C for transplant
11.05.14 - Spoon rear strut brace installed.
14.05.14 - OEM EK9 front strut brace installed.
23.05.14 - Brakes, arb and seats approved.
15.06.14 - New EK9 Gaitor, installed OE EK9 cat, and refilled gearbox.
18.06.14 - DS2500 installed in the front.
24.06.14 - New windshield, MoT passed, EK9 parcel shelf and Skunk2 oil filler cap.
07.07.14 - B18 installation ramblings.
09.07.14 - B18 installed. (260000-ish)
12.07.14 - Installed Pioneer DEH-X8500DAB and an EK9 cupholder.
14.07.14 - Fitted airbox, tegiwa engine damper and brake stopper installed.
09.08.14 - Trackdayreport and EK9 cluster fitted.
14.08.14 - EBC Blade discs installed in the front.
28.08.14 - 6x9" speakers installed in the rear, and new rear wheel bearing.
17.09.14 - Oil change at 266ooo-ish. Warped brake disc again.
23.09.14 - Toyo R1R for the trackdaytires, new wheel bearing and resurfaced discs.
29.09.14 - Motor- and gearbox oil change.
12.10.14 - New door hinges, last wheel bearing replaced, new radiator stay, front conversion work.
14.10.14 - EK9 facelift front conversion done. EK9 rear bumper installed.
17.10.14 - "EK9" PU front lip installed.
22.02.15 - Front mudflaps installed.
13.07.15 - Function7 Rear LCAs installed.
17.07.15 - Spoon wide angle rear view mirror installed.
02.09.15 - Bunch of stuff, XP10 pads, HEL hoses, Bride seats etc..
22.09.15 - New OEM radiator hoses
10.10.15 - New OEM rear brake caliper left.
 
Last edited:
First post - a short introduction to some of the things I've done so far. The car seems to have been worked on while the "mechanic" has been drunk, asleep, and/or on acid.

The first thing I had to do was replace the lambda, as this was shot. As per usual, it would not leave the exhaust without a fight :

7155418849_9ece28967a_z.jpg


Slapped on some braided brake hoses, as the old ones didn't inspire much confidence :

7342988810_74bc9facdc_z.jpg


The car had a lot of "racing" stickers on it, which had to go :

7346299554_51f0d362d1_z.jpg


After a quick going over with the heat gun :

7161091151_39bbbfbe79_z.jpg


I did keep the "JPS" logo, as this is somewhat the car's trademark, and of course the Nürburgring sticker on the boot, as it's bad ass.

Almost every joint boot on the car was busted, so these had to be replaced. Also, I swapped the plastic strips that had been used with proper ones.

7395734364_97e52e1583.jpg


..aaand the other one :

7413014122_28b036230e_z.jpg


The engine was leaking water pretty bad, this just turned out to be a pretty bad job of attaching radiator hoses. But when I got the leak under control, I noticed that the gear box was leaking as well. Turned out that the shift rod boot and gasket was busted, and they've tried to fix it with liquid gasket.. :angry2:

7403103680_56356ffa69_z.jpg


The car came with a ridiculous shortshifter, so I got an EK9 linkage from VTEC Performance on here. I'm liking this a lot more :

7416354942_a58dc2a7aa_z.jpg


Also slapped on a weighted Skunk2 gear knob :

7416359574_c7d36a843f_z.jpg


A lot of the sensors seem to have been connected as the engine has been dropped, so the wiring has been ripped out. This was a problem with the knock sensor (in addition to the fact that the connectors were broken). So I took care of that temporarily. Replaced the knock sensor and spliced the wires. Couldn't get enough space to solder, so that's on the todo-list when the engine is out.

7416361736_c498a2effa_z.jpg


I guess that's most of what has been done, and there's more to come.. :)

I've purchased a'98 spec gearbox to put on here, along with a Fidanza lightened flywheel. The reasons for replacing the gearbox are numerous, but I'm saving the best one for when I can take pics of it coming off.. :D
The car was fitted with a high-comp, JE-pistoned b16a1, but that died just before I came to pick it up. So a stock one was put in. I did get the old engine with the car, so I'm planning on building it into something hysterical.

I've also ordered some OEM'y goodness to aid me with the process here :

LH Door Handle
Clutch Disc
Pressure plate
Release bearing
Thermostat
Spring mount
Tie Rod Dust Seal
Tie Rod Dust Seal
Tie Rod Clip
Tie Rod Band
Water pump
Timing belt
Belt Tensioner
Belt Tensioner spring
 
Last edited:
Picked the clutch off the high-comp engine, something doesn't look quite right here..

7916417728_025cef7f89_z.jpg


7916414346_1165ee783c_z.jpg


Threw it away along with the flywheel and exedy clutch, I'm not risking anything with that damage!
 
Time to get the engine out, and do some more stuff.. front wings off, this is what it looks like on the inside without the inner mudguards, kids :

7924487498_3ea9651735_z.jpg


Because of this,the A-pillar had accumulated a lot of dirt at the base, with rust building. Will have to sort this out.

7924490750_00b7da3998_z.jpg


Got the sad little exhaust off :

7924641190_34432cd132_z.jpg


Anyone have an exhaust for sale? Something gentleman'y and not insanely loud. :D

Here's really the piece de resistance. On one droplink there had been used some sort of fastening band during the install.. and the other one had a "bushing" made out of... tape! :shocked:

This didn't give much support, and consequently the rear ARB bushes are shot and will need to be replaced.

7928370874_6b5e3f23bb_z.jpg


So there we are, a little stuff done.. much more left.

7925972800_a4581061a4_z.jpg
 
Engine out, and the rear engine mount seemed pretty wobbly, so that had to come out for inspection. Always promising when it's encapsulated by paper tape..

7964513102_2d2222e328.jpg


Upon removal, I found that the mount was ruined, and it had been mended with... toothpaste?

7964517352_0d895ef456_z.jpg


Will have to order a new one. Anyway, got the gearbox off and got the flywheel ready for installation with a new bearing. The old one said "china" on it. :eek:

7964520638_e52fa5cf81_z.jpg


There we go, ready to slap on the clutch and DC2 gearbox :)

7964533084_3c1bf77e08_z.jpg
 
Got the clutch on at least, but the shop I ordered from seem to have forgotten that I ordered a release bearing as well.. so I guess I'll start with the timing belt and waterpump while I wait for my shipment. Ordered a few other bits, new engine mounts, a battery stay getup and assorted nuts, bolts, washers and gaskets as well.
And new Blox droplinks arrived yesterday! :)

7977334237_7a814c65bf_z.jpg


A buddy dropped by the garage for the unveiling of the clutch housing hole. The seller claims he hasn't noticed this, and knows nothing of it. I doubt this goes unnoticed when you actually change gearbox! :angry2:

[youtube]1MHWLLE6UIU[/youtube]
 
holy **** thats crazy ! looks like you know what your doing though mate good luck with the rest of the build
 
holy **** thats crazy ! looks like you know what your doing though mate good luck with the rest of the build

Heh, there's a few niggles with the car - yes. :) Picking it apart isn't that hard, hopefully assembling it will go as planned. Didn't know much about mechanics a couple of years back, but I bought my GTi-R and lost my license in it (easy thing to do), so I figured as it wasn't going back on the road anytime soon, I'd rebuild the engine. Learned a lot from that, and still learning.

Looking well,good progress

Thanks! Out of town for a few days, but will hopefully get back in there soon! :)
 
While I´m at it - anyone have a decent exhaust to sell? Preferably something fairly quiet. Twinloop, OEM EK9 and similar.
With catalyzer if possible.

I don´t have enough posts to post this in the "want to buy" section, but I still need an exhaust pretty quickly. Hopefully I won´t have my head cut off for this. :)
 
have a very loud buddyclub one for sale if you ever need to be heard on mars :p savage build man, wish i knew someone who could do this kinda stuff
 
Heh, thanks for the offer, but I´ll have to pass. The plan for this car is more of a sprightly tourer than racing! :) At least until I´ve built the other engine..
There´s no reason why you can´t do your own build (unless you don´t have anywhere to actually work on it), the collective input from a forum like this should get you through pretty much any problem you encounter. :)
 
Heh, thanks for the offer, but I´ll have to pass. The plan for this car is more of a sprightly tourer than racing! :) At least until I´ve built the other engine..
There´s no reason why you can´t do your own build (unless you don´t have anywhere to actually work on it), the collective input from a forum like this should get you through pretty much any problem you encounter. :)

im the kind of person who couldnt draw a straight line with a ruler, i pride myself on being able to change wipers bulbs and put in air. not good with my hands and mechanical stuff whatsoever! but i could take a computer into 10000 pieces and put it back together blindfolded. but when it comes to cars it goes over my head, which is a pity cos hondas are something i have a serious passion for
 
Computers, cars.. same thing, just bigger screwdrivers and hammers. :D I'm guessing you couldn't put a computer back together blindfolded the first time you tried either!
 
Got the timing belt, water pump and tensioner replaced with brand spanking new OEM items.

8000986297_8b8d8f1cee_z.jpg


Yeah, that's about it for now. :)
 
Oh, here's what happens when not everything in the engine bay is properly bolted and rubs against the alternator belt :

8000988271_7c80f6332d.jpg


Also ordered more OEM bits to piece it together - new main engine mounts, battery stay assembly, alternator belt, spark plugs, some nuts, bolts and washers, and a couple of gaskets. Whew.
 
Last edited:
Wow, nice thread mate! You certainly had your work cut out - am shocked by some of the shortcuts you've uncovered!
 
Me too! This is the reason for me yanking out the motor in the first place, just to see if there are more hidden secrets. For instance - the engine mount I removed to get to the timing belt only had one bolt tightened, the other two could be undone with my fingers. :) But hopefully most of it will be bolted together properly when I'm done.
 
At least I can remove "caliper overhaul" from my todo list, as I managed to grab a dc2 5-stud conversion from rd55_dun's bargain bin. Now to get some 5-stud wheels..

Received my powerflex bushings for the rear ARB, but I've had a mental meltdown and completely forgotten that the reason for the tape on the droplinks I removed was that there are _no_ bushings on the end of the arb. So I've ordered some Powerflexes to slap on the ends as well.

8007470693_3f789f59d3_z.jpg


The water temp gauge is all over the place, so while the engine is out I changed the thermostat. This may not be the cause of the problems, but still. It's a new thermostat. I like new stuff.

8007465018_7caf4697ae.jpg


Some of the bits didn't cooperate when I was removing them, but an angle grinder helped me through it. The state that the left one was in leads me to think that it's a good thing to replace the right one as well anyway.

8007466052_d0c851399d_z.jpg


More double-sided fun, the steering boots are shot on both sides. Ripped off in the same place. Got these off, and the removal process leads me to believe that the installation of new ones will be fairly fiddly.

8007464247_2833fa77c1_z.jpg


Here we go, got some parts off! I'll have to disassemble the coilovers so I can get some dust covers on, and check the condition of them at the same time. I'll also adjust them height wise, as I don't want to use the car for plowing purpouses during winter.

8007472310_70750242d7_z.jpg
 
Got the engine harness out, as some of the wires need to be soldered. A lot of them have been cut/ripped off, and I suspect this is due to the harness being put on the engine wrong. The little spades for the alternator plug were so firmly stuck that I'm thinking I'll just do some crimping on it instead to avoid shorts.

8024485357_915592a360_z.jpg


Hit a bump, everything fell off.

8024485943_b090cb5f0a_z.jpg


Had to rip out half of the rear interior as one of the damper nuts got completely rounded. Got it off in the end.

LCA bushes are completely gone, I've ordered some replacement bushes to last through winter. Then I suppose I'll just get some proper LCAs on.

8024487161_ef8ed13acd_z.jpg
 
Back
Top