Hondata gasket

[rstark]

We were helping our friend install this today and what a pain it was. We were tempting him all night long to tow it into Honda and have them finish it and just pay the damn $450 that they quoted him to install it! For a $60 part, it sure is a bitch to install. Definitely not recommended for any beginner mechanic, or even if you have more experience, you may want others to help you since bending over for a long period of time really kills you. We had four "brokanics" working in shifts (hey we're getting old and our backs and legs were giving out). Heck, we even made a few suggestions like cutting away the fenders and firewall just to get more access. They spent more than 10 hours trying to get the intake manifold off and finally back on.

Getting the fourth bolt on the bottom of the intake back on is killing us. I don't recall how we got it off, but we can't seem to find a way to get it back in. We called it a night at midnight. He had no choice but to sleep over at a friends house with his car still in pieces.

I'm sooo glad I'm not going back there tomorrow since I'll be on pain killers all day Sunday :cry: I've already taken my horsepill motrin so I can get to bed tonight!

Okay my friend, this is the last mod I'm going to help you with!!! :D :p

[Greg Stevens]

I'm REALLY surprised that you had such trouble with this one. It seems so straightforward to me and simple 'remove and replace' kind of thing. I think you're just getting old... :p :lol3:

Seriously, I wonder if others have had this much difficulty. I was toying with doing this...if others have had similar stories, I'd love to know. Ten hours seems like a long damn time for this...!

Still funny as hell, though...

Maybe the wife felt sorry enough for you to give you a massage... :lol3:

[RyanITV]

I've got to get this done as well, but I'm having two of the techs come to my place after hours to install one on the S2000 as well as the wife's RSX. We'll see what happens...

[rstark]

I think the total time spent was 14 hours and a few dings in the fender :yikes: This was with four guys doing the first ten hours and three guys finishing up the next day for four hours. It's a lot easier if you use snap on tools since they have slimmer walls than other brands and that's what made the next day a lot easier.

[Urmil]

Ryan,

I like the simple, clean, classy banner!

Greg,

Let me know when we want to do this. I'll order three or more of these gaskets from Hondata. I've been wanting to do this for a while now. I know Harry, you and I are in on this. Let's see if Ulrich, Phil, or anyone else want in.

Rick,

You and Greg are old. ;)

[rstark]

Originally posted by Urmil
Rick,

You and Greg are old. ;)
Yeah, I'll admit that, my back was the first to give out. :banghead:

[hecash]

For whatever it's worth to put salve onto your wounds, when I asked King to install the Hondata gasket for me, thinking it was an easy job, they told me what a pain in the ass it was when I went back to pick up my car.

In light of all of the tough things I've asked them to do without a whimper from them after the fact, I'd say it was a "real" project.

So, consider yourself as having done a heroic project, Rick.

[Ulrich]

Originally posted by Urmil
Let me know when we want to do this. I'll order three or more of these gaskets from Hondata. I've been wanting to do this for a while now. I know Harry, you and I are in on this. Let's see if Ulrich, Phil, or anyone else want in.
Uhm... Probably my lack of English kicking in here (after all, I thought a 'gas cap' must be this highly technical part of the engine when the mechanic explained to me what he did when I took my car in because the CEL came on; kind of like a distributor cap or so :p), but what exactly is this?

[Urmil]

The gasket that is in topic here is a thin material that goes between the cylinder head and the intake manifold.

The OEM gasket does a great job of sealing the intake air and prevents it from leaking out as intake air is pulled from the intake manifold to the cylinder head. However, that gasket is a metal one. It also does a great job of transferring heat from the cylinder head to the intake manifold, which in turn heats up the intake air (which is already under pressure, and ends up absorbing a greater deal of heat than wanted).

The Hondata gasket is a $60 gasket that is made of some fibrous material (the one I used on my Prelude seemed to consist of a ceramic/fiberglass blend of thread....but that's just a guess). It does a much better job of insulating the heat in the cylinder from transferring to the air in the intake.

End result: Cooler air enters engine, which means the engine gets more air into the cylinders (cooler air takes less space)....more air---> less fuel left unburnt in ignition--->more fuel burnt translates to more power at the crank---->more power at the crank exposes weak clutch, transmission, driveshaft, or differential---->Honda service denies warranty fix due to Hondata gasket.

Ok, I got carried away, please disregard the last few steps of the "End Result"

[AP1 Turbo]

When I hear the word Hondata my skin starts to crawl. :biglaugh: The first one I installed took me about 8 hours total labor. The second one (on my car) I got it down to about 4. It's not for the newbie wrench that's for sure. And make sure you have lots of attachments and extensions for your ratchet set! :thumbsup: