kmead
Old enough to know better
So last night I went out with some friends. While I was out, my middle child who finally attained a level of independence we have been hoping for (he got his drivers license and he now ‘owns’ the 2007 Element I have been driving since last November) calls with “my car won’t turn over and isn’t starting”.
Now this was not entirely unexpected but I was hoping to get through more than just a few days of him driving himself to work and back before a problem cropped up. So my wife who was home went up to assist with a jump, sadly to no avail. So I have them just return home, we will tow the car in the morning.
This morning, my day off as I burn some vacation, I take him to work, go through the pain of dealing with a tow and as I have been anticipating this situation of the Honda K24 eating its starter at 167,000+ miles I actually have one on the proverbial shelf.
There are two approaches to doing this job: dismantle the intake and take out the starter or the ‘fast way’ which is to do it from underneath. I of course want the fast way which leaves as much of what should be untouched as untouched as possible, so I choose the fast way which is done from underneath.
What isn’t obvious is just how little room there actually is to swing a wrench within those confines. I don’t own air tools (something I intend to rectify) so it is all small little arcs to undo what some sadistic Honda engineer specified as M12 fine thread fasteners. After hours of painful work it is back together.
So the next time someone whines about changing an X starter, let me assure you it is a proverbial walk in the park comparatively.
So I hook the battery back up hop in and .... nothing. The exact same behavior. No turn over, no starting and most of all, no happy dance of a job well done. Isht.
So there is a different problem which one hopes is something minor and electrical. However have you ever seen a Honda manual?
Yeah each one is most of three inches thick.
Fun times, fun times.
I don’t envy you guys with Honda engines in your Xs when it comes time to fix a few things
Now this was not entirely unexpected but I was hoping to get through more than just a few days of him driving himself to work and back before a problem cropped up. So my wife who was home went up to assist with a jump, sadly to no avail. So I have them just return home, we will tow the car in the morning.
This morning, my day off as I burn some vacation, I take him to work, go through the pain of dealing with a tow and as I have been anticipating this situation of the Honda K24 eating its starter at 167,000+ miles I actually have one on the proverbial shelf.
There are two approaches to doing this job: dismantle the intake and take out the starter or the ‘fast way’ which is to do it from underneath. I of course want the fast way which leaves as much of what should be untouched as untouched as possible, so I choose the fast way which is done from underneath.
What isn’t obvious is just how little room there actually is to swing a wrench within those confines. I don’t own air tools (something I intend to rectify) so it is all small little arcs to undo what some sadistic Honda engineer specified as M12 fine thread fasteners. After hours of painful work it is back together.
So the next time someone whines about changing an X starter, let me assure you it is a proverbial walk in the park comparatively.
So I hook the battery back up hop in and .... nothing. The exact same behavior. No turn over, no starting and most of all, no happy dance of a job well done. Isht.
So there is a different problem which one hopes is something minor and electrical. However have you ever seen a Honda manual?
Yeah each one is most of three inches thick.
Fun times, fun times.
I don’t envy you guys with Honda engines in your Xs when it comes time to fix a few things
