Probably about time I posted something for the first time in almost 3 years!
It certainly has been a while and as you can imagine A LOT has happened!
In summary - when I last posted on August 15th 2015 I was SO stoked with my new K20 and everything it had to offer. From then on, things went on a downward spiral. One day out driving enjoying the sunshine, next thing smoke bellowing out the back of the car; oil pressure light comes on and I pull over switching it off ASAP. Turns out oil cooler hose had come loose and actually spun into the exhaust manifold melting the rubber hose (K series manifold is at the rear next to oil filter), dumping the majority of the oil all over the engine bay, roasting exhaust manifold (causing a fire) and the road behind me
. Got towed home, filled up with oil, removed oil cooler completely, carried on with life.
The '9 was my only car to this point but after installing the fixed seats & harnesses this became tiresome. My decision to buy a daily driver was drastically accelerated when on the eve of September 16th 2015 disaster struck. Driving home from work, I accelerated away from traffic lights wide open throttle, up to about 3rd gear and suddenly BANG, followed by lots of clunking, a horrible whirring sound & total loss of power. Pulled over at the side of the road and to my horror, smoke bellowing out of the engine bay AGAIN! This time though, it was totally shagged. I could just tell from the way it let go at about 7000rpm. My K-swap was 3 months old, I was devastated.
After various tests & observations, it was clear that cylinder 1 had let go blowing a hole in the back of the block. I could only conclude that this failure was attributed to by the oil cooler hose incident and running pretty much dry on oil for a short period until I registered what was occurring.
Following this, I purchased my daily driver 2 days later - Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost, cracking little motor!
The '9 then spent almost an entire year sat on my driveway in disgrace, I totally fell out of love with it & set about eventually getting another K20 for it. I finally bought another K20 in May 2016 and set about prepping it for install.
The install was complete once again by end of June 2016. The hole in the block was clear to see, there was a piece of conrod floating round in the sump, the bottom of the rod was still attached to the crank & the top was attached to the piston but had embedded itself under the skirt. So basically full on snapped a rod & part of it blew a hole in the block. I have the piston as an ornament now.
What a saga! Two K20's later and we're all good. Everything has been right as rain since then & I'm loving it again. Almost 2 years with this engine now & no sign of stopping! Even plucked up the courage to install an oil cooler again but this time with braided hoses. A lot of lessons learned from my first K, valuable lessons.
So that's the story from the last few years. Other than that I've done some other tweaks & mods over the time. Full spec list provided below for those who are interested. Good to be back
Here's some more photos to tell the story including when I resprayed the inside, fitted my LCA & tie bar and some track stuff.
Engine & Transmission
- K20A2 (the way Honda built it)
- NPQ3 Gearbox w/ MFactory Helical LSD & Carbon Synchros
- EP3/DC5 Drive Shafts
-Wire Tuck
- ACT Streetlite Flywheel
- ACT Stage 2 Street Clutch
- 3" Hybrid Racing K-swap Intake
- S90 3" throttle body
- RBC Inlet Manifold Ported 3"
-3" Solid Fabrications decat exhaust
- K-Tuned wiring conversion harness
- Hybrid Racing 4-2-1 manifold
- HASPORT K-Swap engine mounts 62A bushings EKK2
- K-Tuned race spec shifter cables
- K-Tuned no-cut shifter box
- K-Tuned clutch line kit
- K-Tuned heater hose kit
- K-Tuned fuel line kit
- K-Tuned fuel rail
- K-Tuned fuel pressure regulator w/ gauge
- K-Tuned pulley kit
- Mishimoto K-swap radiator, fan & hoses
- PRB ECU running Hondata KPro
- Clockwise Motion Sump Baffle
-Setrab 19 Row Oil Cooler with Mishimoto Braided Lines
Suspension & Steering
- BC BR Series Coilovers
- Hardrace Drop Links
- DC2 subframe, forks, ARB & steering rack
- Karcepts KWH005 hubs w/ ARP extended lugs
- Power steering removed
- A/C removed
- BWR LCA & LTB
Brakes
- Stoptech Powerslot Grooved Disks
- EBC Yellowstuff Pads
- Goodridge Braided Lines
- Castrol SRF Fluid
Wheels & Tyres
-OEM EK9 Enkei Wheels
-Bridgestone Potenza RE002
-Advan RG Track Wheels
-Federal RSR Semi Slicks
Interior
- Sparco Evo FIA Buckets
- Sabelt Harnesses
- Tegiwa Harness Bar
- Momo Steering Wheel
- Battery Relocate
- Stepper Motor Oil Temp & Pressure Gauges