May 2008 ROTM - pooponurhead

[Si Speed]

Members ride thread: http://www.preludezone.com/showthread.php?t=7258

Well...back in May of 2007, after driving a 2-ton, rear drive V8 sedan and getting about 15 mpg, I decided that I needed something a little more practical. I looked at a variety of unlikely sport compacts, including the Mazda3, RSX-S, and, most embarrassingly, the Neon SRT4. One day, browsing Cars.com, I found two Type SH's, one a 99 and the other a 2001. I contacted both sellers, but the only one who responded was a guy named Brian with the 2001. The car was gorgeous...65K miles, new tires, timing belt, water-pump, OEM lip kit, CF trim kit, brand new floor and trunk mats. I, with a lot of help from my dad brought the price from 12500 without MD inspection to 11700 WITH inspection. Now, almost a year later, it sits in the driveway with RSX Type S 17s and brand new Michelins (740 shipped from SoCal), a 1.5 in drop, minor engine mods, a Carbon Creations two-tone CF hood, and a whole lot of love and care. Thanks to everyone who voted for me...and even to those who didnt. Theres no one I would rather be locked in a tie with than Stephanie.
Here are some new shots:

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll298/Pooponurhead/207.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll298/Pooponurhead/208.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll298/Pooponurhead/209.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b269/DGGMNinetySSix/175.jpg

[Prelude13]

Damn, that is one sexy Prelude...congrats on the win Poop! well deserved man! love the new exhaust setup!! woot!

[Rolland]

Congrats on the win poop! That is one fine Lude! :biggrin:

[Brash22]

Like I said, teh hotness. You've come a long way in a relativly short time mate, and you have something you can be proud of. Congrats on your ROTM win mate!

[99PreludeSh]

Congrats Jesse!

[PreludeBoy95']

wow...that lude is so CLEAN....congrats on the win :thumb:

[dubbs.]

Gorgeous lude, congrats!!

[Dwend]

Congrats, Your Lude is Spot on.
RSX Rims Are amazing.

[R8GYY]

awesome ride...damn thats one clean 5th gen...well deserved win jesse

[ImPorTuNeRdJ]

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbeautiful, congrats on the win!!!

[rc114]

Congrats on the win. Clean lude. Keep up the good work.

[snakerb]

I can't see what it looks like yet (bet it looks d@mn dood), on the work pc. Just posting so I can check it out when I get off lol.

[BadMofo]

Good win man... well deserved. This month was a tough one..

Beautiful ride bro

[snakerb]

DAMN that's a nice ride. Is it ok to be jealous???

[Mdtdnb]

well deserved win bro, sick lude for real

[1BadBB6]

awesome, way to go poop. the rsx-s wheels really set it off.

[98vtec]

beautiful car

[00CDMLUDER]

well deserved win poop! your lude is soooo clean!

[xiayu]

<3 the two-tone hood.

[Prelude85]

yeah, this 5th is very nice. Very surprised to see the many beautiful cars here on Preludezone, very nice.

[ImPorTuNeRdJ]

sex on wheels in person...i just wanted this car...lol

[Prelude13]

i saw this Lude in person too...FAAAWKING HOT.

[2KSH]

^ x2.. beautiful ride to see.. congrats on rotm!

[Pooponurhead]

Thanks a lot guys. I really appreciate all the feedback. Shes a work in progress.:biggrin:

[Brash22]

So where to next mate?

[ogsmakdade]

cleanest, mostly stock, 5th gen at the meet.

[Pooponurhead]

So where to next mate?

Well, it was gonna be cams and whatnot, but I obviously dont have the money for that. I still have my Fidanza 3.2 clutch and 8lb flywheel in my room at home, but i dont have the money for that either. I could get the ATTS fixed, but I dont have the money for that either. So I'm not really sure. Dang.
:mad:

[BadMofo]

Well, it was gonna be cams and whatnot, but I obviously dont have the money for that. I still have my Fidanza 3.2 clutch and 8lb flywheel in my room at home, but i dont have the money for that either. I could get the ATTS fixed, but I dont have the money for that either. So I'm not really sure. Dang.
:mad:

Hey man, I'm sure you already thought of this... but do you know which component of your ATTS is actually bad? Like is it the ATTS itself, or just the MCU (moment control unit)?

There is a separate set of codes for the ATTS light that can be checked the same way as the CEL... If it's just your moment control unit, try to get in touch with the guys at slidegood.com. They part out lots of 5th gens and I got some type sh tie rods off of them for like 30 bucks shipped...

I'm sure you could get an MCU off of them for cheap.. maybe even a full ATTS.

[Pooponurhead]

Well, when I took it to Honda last summer, all they told me was it was the ATTS Control Unit and the PGM Communicator. So I dont know.

[BadMofo]

the ATTS control unit would be the MCU I believe... I don't know about the PGM communicator, but the MCU would be easy to replace... It's expensive as **** from honda, but like I said, slidegood would probably be able to part one out for you and it's just like replacing your ECU... it's right next to it actually I believe...

Edit: Here ya go, found some stuff for ya broseph.

Here is one available from slidegood on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-01-Honda-Prelude-SH-Electronic-Moment-Control-Unit_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQitemZ260240072127)

and here is one available from Honda parts connection on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-98-99-00-01-Honda-Prelude-SH-Moment-Control-Unit-OEM_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQitemZ110167719689)

I have used both companies and can highly recommend both of them to ya... slidegood is nice too because they specialise in only a handful of different kinds of cars, and the 5th gen is one of them... anything you can't find on their ebay page, you can go to their website (http://www.slidegood.com) and simply get into contact with one of their reps, and they will sell you any part you need for a good price (maybe they would know what the "pgm communicator" is). Like I said, I got both tie rods from them for 30 bucks shipped =).

Ooh, another good thing to note, both of those MCU's are from 99 lude which is good... when you buy a MCU, try to get one out of a 98 or newer... the 97 MCU had a few design flaws that made it malfunction when driving on variable terrain at low speeds...

[BadMofo]

Hey... after doin a bit of research, I think that the "PGM Communication line" is probably just the wires that run from your ATTS to the MCU... so if your MCU is indeed bad, then thats why you are also throwing the code for the PGM communication line...

On the other hand, it could be that the PGM communication line is bad, and your MCU is not bad at all...

Fortunately for you, if you are mechanically inclined, it's not too bad to get your ATTS unit down a bit so you can check the wiring...

There is a large sub harness connector that runs 5 smaller harnesses off of it to your ATTS. In the tech manual their should be a diagram of where each one plugs in (although it's pretty dummy proof... out of the 5 harnesses, 3 of them are completely unique from eachother in shape and size, and the other 2 are oil pressure sensing lines, and their corresponding wires should only be able to reach the one it's meant to reach... ). I would check these first, check the connections themselves, and then check them with a multimeter... Also... I recommend leaving the gigantic subharness alone (unless that is what is busted) becuase it is a royal PITA to unattach/reattach... it's got a metal tab running through the side of it that also acts as a mount for it, and it's really hard to get to if you have big hands... it took me forever to figure out that not only do you have to push the plastic tabs in, but you also have to remove the metal tab from it... it's hard to explain, but if you see it you'll see what I mean...

As far as dropping the ATTS unit itself, it's not too bad... You gotta remove your suspension+axle from the driver side, the black beam thingy (the one that runs front to back under your oil pan... can't for the life of me remember what it's actually called lol), and your header "downpipe" and then theres 4 bolts that mount the atts to the block. Undo those four bolts, and pull/squirm it straight out from the input/output shaft/tube (pull it straight towards the driverside of the car until it breaks loose and you can lower it down).

It's not extremely heavy... I estimate about 40-70 pounds full of fluid, but it doesn't hurt to get a floor jack underneath of it to lower it down... Try to keep it level, because if it tilts too much it will spill ATF out of it where the axle splines go into it or the other side where the output shaft slides onto it... Not a big deal, but if you can avoid this then you can (presumably) avoid refilling it. Lower it down slowly, and NOT all the way because their is a rubber breather hose that connects to a nipple on top of the ATTS... it is barely long enough to reach the ATTS, and it WILL stretch as you drop the atts, but as long as you don't drop it too much, it won't come off (you don't need to take it off for what you're doing... but if you do want to drop the ATTS all the way, you will need to take it off... just keep in mind it's kind of a pita to pull it back down and get it on that nipple once it comes off... it retracts back up into the bay like a rubber band lol). Once you get it down a little bit, you should be able to see the 5 wire harnesses that connect to the ATTS on top of it towards the passenger side... make sure that they are all snugly connected, and make sure the two oil pressure sensor lines are not reversed... (it should be clear which one is supposed to go where...). If any of them are loose and not connected all the way... well there is your problem. Keep your eye out for any frayed/torn wires along the way. If everything looks good, then it cant hurt to test the wires with a multimeter and the aid of the wiring diagram....

When you are ready to reinstall the ATTS, just reverse the steps =)

The technicians manual has a great step by step guide in the differential chapter.

If everything looks good, and you don't think it's a simple wiring problem, then it's probably safe to bet that it is the moment control unit...

[h22sh97]

that setup is clean bro big ups to u

[Pooponurhead]

Thanks man. Besides my future TSX retro job, I'm pretty much done.:smile: