UPDATE guys!!! Thanks to my buddy Chris for helping out with the part I needed, yep the valve cover and gaskets was officially( still wondering about that 7.5 fuse though) the "it" problem for now. After all that diagnosing testing and troubleshooting, the car is finally running and driving now after about a week of sitting, wow. Yep as you can imagine had to jump of the battery multiple times as it kept going down after many cranking and no charging from the alternator. But today it got a good charge so we'll be keeping an eye on that battery if it's weak or if the alternator is time to retire or if it's pumping apms into that battery haha. Chirs thanks so much, I just want to publicly thank you for helping me out my brother . And hope you are making some headway on your current project! Well, this might be all there is to this thread I don't know but yall(anybody) don't shy to chime in if you have something to say or question about what's been posted are if want to share project pics etc. by the way I'm sure you've noticed the pics about what I want my Lancer ES to look like soon? So you're probably wonder what's the next thing I'm gonna do to reach my goal? Well, first things first, safety and reliability from this engine is crucial as it is a project car AND daily driver at the same time. So I need to fix the air intake, just gonna go with a simple and obvious cold air filter set up there right after the MAF sensor. Also I have the timing belt cover but no bolts so really need to get the bolts so I can get that belt system protected. And also on my next todo list is fix the tail lights. I'm going to try to repair them myself(sand off the paint, and use a lense repair kit to restore it to the original condition close as possible) . Actually I can't even tell if it's an after market light or the factory light because it's been painted though I'm hinting at it being factory which trully what I want. I want performance and style but I really do want to keep looking as close to stock as possible as the ninja sleeper I'm trying to build. High performance stuff will come later, there are loads of cosmetic issues inside and out that need fix first. And of course the exhaust is on my list also but my buddy Chris has inspired me to do a complete custom exhaust so it will take a little time to piece that together just the way I want it. CHEERS!!! updates another day guys, take care

 

By the way I'm still using my home made silencer. My theory is because the old valve cover and gaskets were already defective, the added pressure from the silencer must have caused the gaskets to blow. And "maybe" I did use too much steel mesh, "maybe". Right now I'm using half of what I used the first time. Ok I will leave you guys with some current pics if I can get them to upload.

 

My homemade silencer. This is half of what I was using before, so it's possible double this was too much back pressure. Guess we'll never know lol




Before pic, unsightly and defected valve cover. Even from this distance you can see the gap between the middle bolt going to our right.




After pic, an original quality(and color lol) valve cover. And no gaps! Yehey thanks Chris! I really owe you one

 

Hey, man, like I said: it's not a problem. God's had me pull some odd stuff in the past and it just keeps turning out to be useful many moons later. I'm glad to see that it fixed a part of your problem, and I hope that once you get your exhaust fabbed up, you're done with the car awhile. You mentioned the interior; I don't know how practical it would be, but seat covers aren't expensive and would get you by for a while. Definitely cheaper than a new interior, and that's what you seem to need to focus on right now. I'd love to see this build progress all the way to "finish." Good luck, man! Pay it forward.

 

Chris, thanks so much man. Hey about the interior remember I told you I had something to show you? Ok if I can get the link posted please check it out and let me know what you think ok here it is http://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-a...0zorz-1925743/

 

Also here's some pics of the Lancer 20 miles away from the house at my work. First day to successfully make the 40 plus mile daily trip. 20 miles up and 20 miles back. The Lancer has to make this trip 5 days a week wow the miles wil certainly add up fast on the car.

 

Yeah, man, if you can afford it, I think that would be great. Just make sure that everything is nice and clean before you start. I don't know how well it holds up to sunlight, and time in general, but if it will get the interior changed out and not get you high behind the wheel, go for it.

Oh! You said you might need an alternator. I've got a spare that's been remanufactured, but the warranty is out on it. I've had it in a box for a couple of months. PM me if you end up needing it. Seeing that you managed to drive it to work and back, it looks like you won't need it, after all. Just let us know how it all turns out, man! Keep the dream alive!

 

Hey, before you do anything with the lights, try a tube of toothpaste. It's great for the headlights if they're oxidized, but if you do the tail lights, I'm not sure. For $1, it can't hurt your wallet too much. A can of clear coat after you scrub and clean them will keep them from turning colors.

 

Well bro haven't had any problems with the battery so far so that's good . I really do appreciate you letting me know about parts you have. The car has been running good with one issue for now. You know that little screw you use to adjust the idle? Yeah it's missing on my Lancer. You know, when you screw it in it sets the idle higher, and as you unscrew it the idle goes down, just like pressing and releasing the gas pedal. Well anyway yeah that little screw is missing. So basically, the idle is all the down and idling very low, and as you can imagine it wants to cut off because of the low idle. As long as i'm on the gas it does fine and that's how I know the idle needs to be turned up. The car does fine after it warms up and drives. But when I first crank it up(happens everytime) it idles very low and shakey and pretty much well you guessed it, cuts off. Starts right back up though no problem and runs good as long as your on the gas and driving it and like I said after it warms up the problem seems to go away. So right at start up it's running weak and needs that idle bumped up. My dad has quite a larg selection of screws so tomorrow hope to find one that fits . Other than that haven't had any other problems as far as being able to drive it. I removed all of the carpet by the way. Everyday trying to do something to make some progress. I like to think of it this way: everyday(as I get time) I will do what I call "mini projects" . Whether it be cleaning, inspecting, researching, testing, or anything, no matter how large or small, gonna try to get something done for the Lancer each day. I would love to have this car looking and performing decent by the time my wife gets here. Everyday I let her know and explain what I been doing with the car and showing her all pics of the projects. Even letting her know about the expenses of everything. My wife by the way is a big Fast and Furious fan might I add lol. So she likes and has appreciation for tuner cars , both when it comes to styles and performance. I would love to get most of the cosmetic problems fixed and of course have it running good and strong before she gets here. My man Chris knows what I mean by "get here". Anyway yeah man thinking seriously about the aerosol color dye. A dark gray. The color theme would be black car with black rims and dark gray interior. I keep thinking about it over and over and I keep leaning towards that color them. Especially the black car with black rims. The Lancer will look sweet all black with some black 18s and lowered wow it will look really fast and unique . Tomorrow will upload pics of the interior removed. Sometime after I try to find a screw that fits there for the idle adjustment

 

Thanks man for that tip! Hey along that line of thought, you think baking soda would some justice for cleaning the lights? I use baking soda to brusg my teeth because can get the a little whiter faster. It's seems like it would make a nice gentle scrub for cleaning the car lights...just curious because baking soda scrubs but doesn't scratch right? For car lights it seems it would scrub them real good without doing any damage. But the tail lights really need a good scrubbing. Unless use a paint remover chemical. They actually sprayed regular black paint over the tail lights. I wont even ask lol.

 

What idle control screw are you talking about? Is it the hex screw that's got a jam nut to it over on the throttle body? If you're having trouble and can't find that screw, then there are two 10mm screws that hold your throttle cable to a kind of bracket on the plenum on the intake manifold. Tug on it until your idle comes up. That's what I had to do. It just idles really low if not.

 

Yes I remember it being a hex screw that you need an allen wrench for and yep it may a spring jammer or something like that. I remember adjusting that screw multiple times when I had that OZ Rally before like yours man. Here is the spot for it in the pic...


Hard to see from this angle




There it is yep I got it circled

 

Man I found a couple of screws that fit . This long black one fits great but I don't like the star head. I prefer a hex head. I do have a screw that fits and has a hex head but I don't have the allen size for it hahaha lol always something. This will do for now .

 

Update guys a short ram cold air intake I never saw coming! I checked Ebay and the local Walmart and the cheapest intake I could find was for about $25 and that was the Spectra plastic chrome one. Buy the way I did some research and looks like there's differing opinions about which is better, plastic or metal intake so I had made up my mind I would settle for plastic. So anyway I started Googling: DIY cold air intakes. I got so siked up and excited and thought: why pay for something that I can make myself and it will perform the same if not better? Absolutely forget about the intakes that costs hundreds of dollars. Good night to that. But even the cheapest one I could find I also said good night to haha lol that was funny. As I matter of FACT! I spent a wopping total of $3 dollars to complete my DIY cold air system as I already had the other stuff to complete it. And if you still have your stock air system then you also probably have 99.9% of what you need also, no kidding. I'll post pics so you can see, but I'll just tell you also. I didn't even touch the MAF sensor and the black rubber/plastic piping from that to the intake manifold, just left that be, as it becomes the short ram pipe literally. Didn't even have to buy an expensive filter because I used Scotch Brite scratch pad for my filter. I kid you not. No, I kid you not. Once again, no, I kid you not. And also incase you are wondering, no, I'm not crazy, but, yes I've been known and thought of as being crazy many times in my life lol. I've done a great many not normal things. Ok so check this out, yes it's a DIY cold air intake modification, and yes I'm happy and satisfied with the filtration, and yes there's plenty of cold air getting there as the intake is aimed away from the engine and there's LOADS of cold air coming in from behind the battery/fender area, and right from under the battery itself there's a BIG opening and of course also from the front radiator area. So the basics are covered and personally I feel my filter is much more high flow than a normal cold air filter. And 3 pads came in a pack so I already have 2 extra replacement filters. And MAN! Does it sound good! It LITERALLY sounds like a household vavuum cleaner and I recorded the sound for 1 minute and hope to be able to upload it some how. So anyway here's some pics and please give me your feed back negative or positive. All I know is I got a $3 fix for a high performance cold air intake system and it looks, sounds, most important, performs great! As loud as my exhaust is right now you can't anything but the intake sucking with the hood up. Gonna try to let you guys hear it some how