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-   -   A Beater of an Insight (https://www.fuelly.com/forums/f8/a-beater-of-an-insight-7127.html)

Compaq888 02-29-2008 09:12 PM
wow...2k is quote a steal

GasSavers_Red 03-01-2008 07:07 PM
Thanks compaq888

Great weather to be wrenching today. Got the rear hatch struts replaced in the back, makes life much much easier now than the stupid broom rod.

Got a couple of quotes on pulling the dent out. Seems to range from 700-1500 for the thing. Most places don't seem to care that the body is made out of aluminum which worries me a bit.

Vacuumed out the inside, found 33 cents in change, an earring, salt shaker, speeding ticket, cancellation of phone service notification and an ATM receipt. Seat sliders badly need some lube. Drivers seat is fairly worn and stained. Going to try steam cleaning them else I was debating replacing them with S2000 seats if I can find them cheap.

Windshield will be replaced next week. I don't think $250 installed at my home is too bad of a price.

Was attempting to pull out what remains of the old quarter panel window, but the sealant is a pain in the neck to cut through. Going to try to find either a gasket cutter or some sharp blades to cut though it.

So far Rommie is starting up fine, SOC hasn't moved much as I've been starting it and moving it around a bit. Granted it hasn't really been used but seems ok.

Going to spend tomorrow cleaning out the harness around the front 02 sensor, see if that will patch it up.

Compaq888 03-01-2008 07:29 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red (Post 92535)
Thanks compaq888

Great weather to be wrenching today. Got the rear hatch struts replaced in the back, makes life much much easier now than the stupid broom rod.

Got a couple of quotes on pulling the dent out. Seems to range from 700-1500 for the thing. Most places don't seem to care that the body is made out of aluminum which worries me a bit.

Vacuumed out the inside, found 33 cents in change, an earring, salt shaker, speeding ticket, cancellation of phone service notification and an ATM receipt. Seat sliders badly need some lube. Drivers seat is fairly worn and stained. Going to try steam cleaning them else I was debating replacing them with S2000 seats if I can find them cheap.

Windshield will be replaced next week. I don't think $250 installed at my home is too bad of a price.

Was attempting to pull out what remains of the old quarter panel window, but the sealant is a pain in the neck to cut through. Going to try to find either a gasket cutter or some sharp blades to cut though it.

So far Rommie is starting up fine, SOC hasn't moved much as I've been starting it and moving it around a bit. Granted it hasn't really been used but seems ok.

Going to spend tomorrow cleaning out the harness around the front 02 sensor, see if that will patch it up.
I would keep looking for a better deal for windshields...I've heard of people paying $140 installed...use your money wisely to replace other things...

How about some pics of the Insight?? My imagination isn't that good and a picture is worth a thousand words...

GasSavers_Red 03-01-2008 09:26 PM
True true, but I have yet to fine a local place that would be willing to do the Honda under $250. Would love to get it lower though. Can't legally drive it or tow it anywhere far.

np, I have some old pictures posted up earlier
https://www.gassavers.org/showpost.ph...1&postcount=36

Need to give it a wash and take some new pictures soon.

GasSavers_Red 03-02-2008 05:49 PM
In between helping my dad put up the shed I got a couple of things done.

Replaced the front parking light bulbs, now my front emergencies work again. Tiny little things, utterly pointless, but hey it works now. And only cost a buck.

Tried to replace the tranny fluid but the fill plug seems like its welded itself to the tranny. Cheater bar didn't help so I've sprayed it with PB and later on I'll put it on stands and see if I can get some better leverage on it.

Played with the LAF a bit. According to the ECU & the FSM its slow and non functional, but I'm wondering if its possible to clean it? Figure it worth a shot before I blow 220 bucks on a new one. So far I've heard there are 3 different ways of cleaning one
1) Heating it up with a blow torch then quenching it to knock the carbon loose
2) Spraying the crap out of it with carb cleaner
3) Dunking it in acetone
The sensor is physically dirty and apparently there are some kind of vent located on top of the sensor that could get clogged and cause a similar problem. I am going to try to clear the vents first, then pull it out and clean it with something.

MD2000 03-02-2008 06:53 PM
FYI
Insight Central has just upgraded their forum software, and now has a search function that can use all of the standard search delimiters.
Much better ability to find stuff.

GasSavers_bobski 03-03-2008 07:31 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by wikipedia
Sensor failures
Normally, the lifetime of an unheated sensor is about 30,000 to 50,000 miles. Heated sensor lifetime is typically 100,000 miles. Failure of an unheated sensor is usually caused by the buildup of soot on the ceramic element, which lengthens its response time and may cause total loss of ability to sense oxygen. For heated sensors, normal deposits are burned off during operation and failure occurs due to catalyst depletion, similar to the reason a battery stops producing current. The probe then tends to report lean mixture, the ECU enriches the mixture, the exhaust gets rich with carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, and the mileage worsens.
Leaded gasoline contaminates the oxygen sensors and catalytic converters. Most oxygen sensors are rated for some service life in the presence of leaded gasoline but sensor life will be shortened to as little as 15,000 miles depending on the lead concentration. Lead-damaged sensors typically have their tips discolored light rusty.
Another common cause of premature failure of lambda probes is contamination of fuel with silicones (used in some sealings and greases) or silicates (used as corrosion inhibitors in some antifreezes). In this case, the deposits on the sensor are colored between shiny white and grainy light gray.
Leaks of oil into the engine may cover the probe tip with an oily black deposit, with associated loss of response.
An overly rich mixture causes buildup of black powdery deposit on the probe. This may be caused by failure of the probe itself, or by a problem elsewhere in the fuel rationing system.
If the vents in the outer shield are clogged, that's obviously a problem. The 3 options you listed should deal with carbon build up, though I wouldn't quench the sensor - you're likely to crack the ceramic element. Lead, silicone and silicate poisoning can evidently be dealt with by heating up the sensor beyond the boiling points of these materials, though you should be careful to avoid boiling off the catalysts in the process.

red91sit 03-03-2008 09:19 AM
That really was quite a steal! I can't wait to see what kind of gas mileage this thing is able to pull off.

GasSavers_Red 03-03-2008 06:00 PM
IC is still a pain in the arse to find something technical. I don't know if its the nature of the vehicle, but in the Jeep community its cake to find technical component information.

Crap, so cooking it might not work if the sensor is simply worn out.

I need spring break........

ZugyNA 03-05-2008 01:27 AM
https://www.gnttype.org/techarea/ecms...O2sensors.html

If you are not able to make a change either way, stop the engine, unhook the sensor wire from the computer harness, and reattach your voltmeter to the sensor output wire.

Repeat the rich and lean steps. If you can't get the sensor voltage to change, and you have a good sensor and ground connection, try heating it once more. Repeat the rich and lean steps. If still no voltage or fixed voltage, you have a bad sensor.

If you are not getting a voltage and the car has been running rich lately, the sensor may be carbon fouled. It is sometimes possible to clean a sensor in the car. Do this by unplugging the sensor harness, warming up the engine, and creating a lean condition at about 2000 rpm for 1 or 2 minutes. Create a big enough vacuum leak so that the engine begins to slow down. The extra heat will clean it off if possible. If not, it was dead anyway, no loss. In either case, fix the cause of the rich mixture and retest. If you don't, the new sensor will fail.

GasSavers_Red 03-05-2008 09:31 AM
Sweet thanks Zugy

GasSavers_bobski 03-05-2008 10:26 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZugyNA (Post 92807)
Do this by unplugging the sensor harness, warming up the engine, and creating a lean condition at about 2000 rpm for 1 or 2 minutes. Create a big enough vacuum leak so that the engine begins to slow down.
Unfortunately, most Hondas use a speed/density system rather than mass airflow to meter fuel. That means that a vacuum leak will simply boost the idle speed rather than turn the mixture lean.

GasSavers_Red 03-05-2008 07:19 PM
If I ran it hard would that net me a similar effect?

The Toecutter 03-05-2008 08:14 PM
Two off the wall ideas to make this car unique that may be more trouble than they're worth:

1) Turbocharge it. John Wayland rode in Willie Williford's Honda Insight that has a turbocharger installed in it running 5 psi of boost. 0-60 mph was about 7 seconds and there was no penalty in fuel economy if driving style was kept unchanged. You could go baiting Porsche Boxters, Audi TTs, and BMW Z3s.

2) Convert it to electric. The glider is perfect for making an 80+ mile range conversion using lead acid batteries due to its low weight and good aero.

rangerbentman 03-07-2008 06:07 PM
How long do the batteries actually function in the Insight. And what is the cost to replace when the time comes?

GasSavers_Red 03-07-2008 07:04 PM
Cost seems to range from anywhere from 5000-1200 bucks. Battery life I'm assuming to be around 150k as that is what they have been warrantied to.

ZugyNA 03-08-2008 04:31 AM
I think there are some commercial additives that will help prolong the life of lead acid batteries? Check out something for DC operated forklifts or golfcarts?

GasSavers_bobski 03-08-2008 06:26 AM
You would have a hard time using such an additive with an Insight. The main battery pack consists of 120 sealed "C" size (IIRC) NiMH cells. Even if it were compatible with the chemistry, you would need to break down the battery pack and somehow evenly inject the additive into each battery cell.
I guess you could use it in the much smaller 12V lead-acid starter battery, but they likely cost less than $50 to replace, so what's the point?

GasSavers_Red 03-08-2008 09:02 AM
Exactly. Now if I replaced the pack with lead-acid or added on a lead-acid booster pack like Mike has then it would make sense to find such an additive.

ZugyNA 03-09-2008 03:52 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobski (Post 93057)
You would have a hard time using such an additive with an Insight. The main battery pack consists of 120 sealed "C" size (IIRC) NiMH cells.
What will they think of next? :confused: :thumbup:

GasSavers_bobski 03-09-2008 08:07 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZugyNA (Post 93124)
What will they think of next? :confused: :thumbup:
40 Li-Po cells? :p

But seriously, their choice to make the battery pack out of many smaller cells rather than one monolithic block is good for the consumer. The smaller cells are widely available, so the battery packs could, in theory at least, be rebuilt when the cells reach the end of their service life.
The cells are likely welded together, so you couldn't just go out to the drug store and buy 120 C batteries and pop them in, but the proper equipment is publicly available if someone chose to go into business rebuilding these things.

GasSavers_Red 03-09-2008 10:46 AM
And Panasonic the OEM mfgr does sell the cells catch is you have to buy hem in 10k lots


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