5/16 MD Plenum Spacer Installed. Having Idling Problems...
09-04-2007, 09:38 AM
#22
if your car stalls out, then it is one hell of a vacuum leak. If you thought you felt the hp gain before, wait untill you get everything figured out. I bet half your HP gain has been flying out the window with the rest of this ordeal. Get it tightened down, strut bar all figured out, and you'll probably be more pleased with the mod then you are now.
09-04-2007, 09:57 AM
#24
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Originally Posted by HondaKiller
if your car stalls out, then it is one hell of a vacuum leak. If you thought you felt the hp gain before, wait untill you get everything figured out. I bet half your HP gain has been flying out the window with the rest of this ordeal. Get it tightened down, strut bar all figured out, and you'll probably be more pleased with the mod then you are now.
09-04-2007, 12:03 PM
#26
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Originally Posted by NA&CH
You might have to sell me that strut 
Good luck ARC ***** 
Chris
Good luck ARC ***** Chris
09-04-2007, 03:24 PM
#28
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Originally Posted by roast
do you hear any hissing around the engine bay?
have you checked the intake tube at all?
I test drove mine before putting the strut brace back on....
have you checked the intake tube at all?
I test drove mine before putting the strut brace back on....
I will make sure to leave the strut bar off and test drive tonight.
09-04-2007, 10:12 PM
#30
Originally Posted by vo7848
+1 on the strut bar touching. I tried using the spacers, but the hood was hitting the bar. I took the lessor of 2 evils and opt to have the bar touch the plenum. I'm thinking the vibration is more vaccum leak orientated. The vibration along with the sound it makes doesn't quite seem characteristic of the bar touching the plenum. Another thing that happened when I started the car up a second time, was it died on me. This has never happened before.
You may need to adjust the tension of the stock strut bar. I'm 99.9% sure that with just a 5/16th MD spacer you do not need to get a new strut bar. I have the Mrev2 + 5/16 spacer and at first when I installed it, the strut bar was rubbing like crazy. After a few adjustments (the middle bolt on the passenger side) everything was all good.
+1 on what Alberto says. If you're still not sure, spray some liquid (water is fine too I think) and you'll see it spraying out from the plenum if you have a leak. Also, it is normal for the passenger side of the engine to hiss a little bit. Hahah... seems like many ppl have been through this including myself.
09-05-2007, 06:39 AM
#31
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Found the leak..
Good news. I removed the upper plenum last night. It was quite obvious where the leak was. There were visible portions of the gasket that had been saturated with vapors/oil. This was the area that was leaking. It was on the rear passenger side of the plenum.
Let me tell you, I missed a few vital steps during installation. Problem was, I didn't have instructions so I didn't think anything about it. I had already installed a plenum before, but not a spacer. The torque specs, necessity of lock-tight, and need to remove the alignment pins are the big differences between installing a spacer vs. a one for one stock plenum swap.
Now that I had instructions I applied lock-tight to the center 6 bolts, I also removed the alignment pins and used two more bolts to fasten the plenum down. Previously I left them in. Of course when I went to install the plenum, they were too short. I didn't think anything of it and decided not to worry about it. I figured the plenum would seal good enough minus the 2 nuts.
The lock-tight is a necessity on account of the center bolts having plastic spacers. The spacers give a bit, so this lessens the torque on the bolts a bit. Without the lock-tight, they just vibrate loose. It was quite evident, because when I went to remove the bolts they were damn near finger tight.
Upon retightening everything I used the tightening pattern along with correct torque specs. All outer bolts finalized at 100 inch libs, while the center bolts reminded at 80 inch lbs.
Final product, I love it. Car runs smooth and idles great. There is a greater throttle response and as before, the 5k to redline has greater pull than stock. IMO it's a good bang for the buck.
I've attached pics to show where the leak was. You can see the saturated portion of the gasket.
VO(satisfied)
Let me tell you, I missed a few vital steps during installation. Problem was, I didn't have instructions so I didn't think anything about it. I had already installed a plenum before, but not a spacer. The torque specs, necessity of lock-tight, and need to remove the alignment pins are the big differences between installing a spacer vs. a one for one stock plenum swap.
Now that I had instructions I applied lock-tight to the center 6 bolts, I also removed the alignment pins and used two more bolts to fasten the plenum down. Previously I left them in. Of course when I went to install the plenum, they were too short. I didn't think anything of it and decided not to worry about it. I figured the plenum would seal good enough minus the 2 nuts.
The lock-tight is a necessity on account of the center bolts having plastic spacers. The spacers give a bit, so this lessens the torque on the bolts a bit. Without the lock-tight, they just vibrate loose. It was quite evident, because when I went to remove the bolts they were damn near finger tight.
Upon retightening everything I used the tightening pattern along with correct torque specs. All outer bolts finalized at 100 inch libs, while the center bolts reminded at 80 inch lbs.
Final product, I love it. Car runs smooth and idles great. There is a greater throttle response and as before, the 5k to redline has greater pull than stock. IMO it's a good bang for the buck.
I've attached pics to show where the leak was. You can see the saturated portion of the gasket.
VO(satisfied)
09-05-2007, 06:41 AM
#32
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BTW, thanks Alberto and Bugs for chiming in with the good trouble shooting tips. 
09-05-2007, 06:59 AM
#34
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Originally Posted by blasian
Sounds like the exact same problem I had.
Congrats on the install though, its definitely a great bang for the buck.
Congrats on the install though, its definitely a great bang for the buck.
09-05-2007, 07:48 AM
#36
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Originally Posted by HondaKiller
Glad to hear things worked out for you.
09-05-2007, 07:59 AM
#37
Hi Vo7848,
Sorry for the late response but glad to see you found the leak. Yes, the guide pins need to come out. I'm curious, how did you not get the instructions with your kit? We are usually pretty good at getting instructions packaged in.
As for the ARC bar, you may need to do some experimentation with it. The spacer kit has been fully optimized for a stock strut bar but I'm not too familiar with the ARC bar.
Tony
Sorry for the late response but glad to see you found the leak. Yes, the guide pins need to come out. I'm curious, how did you not get the instructions with your kit? We are usually pretty good at getting instructions packaged in.
As for the ARC bar, you may need to do some experimentation with it. The spacer kit has been fully optimized for a stock strut bar but I'm not too familiar with the ARC bar.
Tony
Last edited by Hydrazine; 09-05-2007 at 08:02 AM.
09-05-2007, 08:04 AM
#38
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Originally Posted by Hydrazine
Hi Vo7848,
Sorry for the late response but glad to see you found the leak. Yes, the guide pins need to come out. I'm curious, how did you not get the instructions with your kit? We are usually pretty good at getting instructions packaged in.
As for the ARC bar, you may need to do some experimentation with it. The spacer kit has been fully optimized for a stock strut bar but I'm not too familiar with the ARC bar.
Tony
Sorry for the late response but glad to see you found the leak. Yes, the guide pins need to come out. I'm curious, how did you not get the instructions with your kit? We are usually pretty good at getting instructions packaged in.
As for the ARC bar, you may need to do some experimentation with it. The spacer kit has been fully optimized for a stock strut bar but I'm not too familiar with the ARC bar.
Tony
09-05-2007, 08:05 AM
#39
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Originally Posted by Hydrazine
As for the ARC bar, you may need to do some experimentation with it. The spacer kit has been fully optimized for a stock strut bar but I'm not too familiar with the ARC bar.
Tony
Tony
09-07-2007, 11:18 AM
#40
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Strut bar adjustments were a success...
I stopped by Home Depot yesterday and picked up 16 3/8 washers. I used 2 washers per bolt. It elevated the strut bar approximately 1/4 inch. The was just enough to give the plenum ample clearance and at the same time keep the hood from making contact with the bar. To be on the safe side, I layered the top of the bar with painter's tape then closed to hood to make sure it didn't make contact....