Do-It-Yourself (DIY)


NSX “Do It Yourself” write-ups

DIY Categories

The Basics
Maintenance & Repair
Modifications

Overview

The DIY section contains instructions, hints, and suggestions for taking care of a number of maintenance and upgrade tasks related to the NSX.  If you have a new procedure or improvements on an existing one, please send some feedback or e-mail me.

These DIYs augment the service manual; they are not intended to replace it. Anyone who intends to do their own work on their car should absolutely own a service manual for their model year. If you don’t have one, go buy one RIGHT NOW at http://www.helminc.com. There is also a ’91 service manual online Service manuals for emergency reference.

NOTE: Some procedures are available as .PDF files. You must have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later progam to open them. If you cannot open them, you have an older version of Acrobat Reader.

Photographs would help illustrate many of these instructions better! If you happen to be working on your car, please snap a few photos to help show what’s going on.  If you have a digital camera or can scan the pictures yourself, simply e-mail them to me and I will be happy to add them. If you have prints and no way to scan them but are willing to mail them to me, I will scan them and return the originals to you.  I can’t take my car apart every weekend for photos to illustrate all these procedures so your help is appreciated! Thanks, and enjoy the Do-It-Yourself Section!

Project At A Glance

Many DIY procedures include a “Project At A Glance” overview so you can see what kind of time, cost, tools and experience are needed before proceeding.

Project At A Glance
Time / Total Time 0:30 Interval n/a
Total Time 1:30 Standard Tools Jack, Jack Stands
Difficulty 1 of 5 Special Tools n/a
First-Time Cost $60 / $300 Parts  
Subsequent Cost $0 Service Manual  
People 1 Prerequisites jack car, remove wheels
Notes: Properly placing the car on jack stands is critical to safely working underneath.

Project At A Glance – Explained

Time A liberal estimate based on an average DIYer to do the procedure properly. Includes setup and cleanup, but not prerequisite procedures. First timers may want to double this estimate.
Total Time The sum of the prerequisite times plus the procedure time.
Difficulty How hard it is on a scale of 1 (easy) to 5 (you vow to never work on your car again). Computed based on the number of four-letter words, bleeding wrenches and thrown wrenches per hour.
First-Time Cost The cost of the procedure plus any special tools and parts.
Subsequent Cost The approximate cost of the procedure, not including any first-time costs associated with buying special tools and parts.
People The number of people required to do the job easily
Interval The factory recommended service interval for this procedure. You should follow these recommendations. These are from the people who designed and built the car so they probably know what they are talking about.
Standard Tools Standard tools that any decently equipped garage should have which are needed for the procedure.
Special Tools Any special tools required or recommended for the job. Includes NSX-specific tools from Honda.
Parts Parts (Acura or otherwise) required or suggested
Service Manual The relevant pages of the service manual which will almost certainly prove helpful.
Notes Any additional notes or comments you need to know before getting into the job.