Another Thermostat/hose & Throttle body job (Minor refresh, brakes rebuild, wheels powder coat)

Posting up for the halibut...  :cool:

I had been getting occasional whiffs of coolant smell once in a while, and couldnt find where it was coming from, so bit the bullet for a teardown... (dammit) 

Strip it! 

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Found the source of the coolant smell, one of the small fittings was weeping slightly. Oring smooched like a lot of pics. 

-- Ordered new viton O-rings... from oringsandmore -- credit Captain80s....thanks 

Throttle body vacuum hoses are on the crispy side, ordered silicone vac lines to replace... 

Seems to be a good source, havent recieved yet... 

https://hpsperformanceproducts.com/products/hps-3-5mm-high-temperature-silicone-vacuum-hose-tubing-coolant-overflow-tube

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More parts ordered from RonAyers in process too.... 

Updates as I get the itch and recieve parts.... 

Cheerz and beerz

:beer:

Gotta bag and tag and stay organized or I'll go bonkers... 

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Back at it... some stuff... 

The leaker(s)... 

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New O-rings come in.. 

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So silly ass questions... - O-rings are off diameter spec a bit, exact Honda spec parts wasnt available... one spec is 21.2mm, o-ring is 21.3mm, not too conserned on that one. 

Another spec is 23.0mm dia and O-ring is 23.3mm and the thermostat housing spec is 47.5mm dia, I bought a 47mm and a 48mm

Anybody have any problem when O-rings are slightly off spec? 

Also recieved the silicone hoses, looks like nice stuff... 

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Bought these brass T's to replace the stockers plastic material.. (RonAyers lists them at 14 dollars apiece!) 

Good idea? Bad idea? Havent decided to go with them or just reuse the old T's...

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Assembly coming up next... 

Cheerz

:beer:

1 hour ago, mello dude

The leaker(s)... 

Yikes! Those look a bit worse than when I changed out all the rubbers on mine. Very satisfying work to do though! 

 

Zero problems going above or below spec when sourcing aftermarket. If it is proud enough to squish (but not excessive), and will stay in the groove on assembly, it will be just fine.  Personally proven over and over.

Sometimes a dab of red rubber grease in a tight corner can help hold for assembly.  Usually this refers to float bowls 

Getting ready to go... labeled every OEM hose as I was removing so I know where it goes... then I can match the AS3 hoses..

Its the only way (for me) to keep hoses straight in the labyrinth of connections.

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Scrubbed the hooey out of the hose connections and thermostat housing with degreaser and several different stiff brushes. (not fun) Took far too damn long. 

-- Makes me wonder about getting an ultrasonic cleaner machine....(any tips?)

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2 hours ago, mello dude

Makes me wonder about getting an ultrasonic cleaner machine

One day I will join that crowd with a garage ultrasonic cleaner too... 

Good strategy on keeping the hoses together. I did ye olde find & replace method, so I didnt have to stay so organized, only working one side at a time. 

Those hoses are great, btw. Only Issue I had were the ones going to the Wax Idle unit, but a dremel tool took care of that 😬

11 hours ago, Ughandi

Those hoses are great, btw. Only Issue I had were the ones going to the Wax Idle unit, but a dremel tool took care of that 😬

Had the same issue with the Wax Idle unit bracket, this shows how much I took off for the AS3 hoses:

Finally getting moving on this..(I want to ride this bike!)

Thermostat and hoses (clamps loose)

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Left Started.. 

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Hiccup in the road.. bleah, gotta clean that.. 

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The while I'm at it disease in full infection... (attack of the mello dude)

Well, since the brakes are hanging there...

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Turns out doing the rear brake teardown was a good thing.. 

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Fronts 

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Side tip for the masses.. 

I had been wanting a low range torque wrench and tried a couple from Amazon. They were quite mediocre, returned them. 

Found this Tekton recently and its a little jewel. (10 to 150 in-lbs)  Gives a good positive over center "click" when the torque setting is reached. Very good!

Also have found Tekton tools to be very good.

The wrench is little about 9 inch long. Very useful. 

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Last thing for the day... some commiserating (help?)

How do I get this frickn new grommet into the radiator? I have lubed it but struggle the shit outta it.

(The FSM is comical, its says intsall new grommet. Oh really?Duh!)

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Cheers all

:beer:

I have an old flat blade scew driver that I shaped the tip into a soft arc that I use as a grommet remover / installer.

Get it started and then start going around and pushing thru, while holding/applying pressure to not lose what you got so far..  Doesn't tear or damage them.  That particular style, thick and solid on both sides, is one of the tougher Honda grommets tho I will say.

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+1 on Captain 80's. I actually have several tools I've modified like his. A long shaft medium sized flat blade, a small short shaft flat blade, and a small angle pick. The edges are all polished so I can manipulate stuff without gouging it.

Got the blunt screwdriver thing out, cussed and fussed another hour on the one grommet... no go. Eff it. 

In frustration jumped on the Valkyrie for a good thrashing... back later... 

Sometime the small things get the best of us!

I dont recall having such a hard time with mine... perhaps I erased it from memory 😬

I'm sure you've tried a lot of ideas... perhaps a bench vice could squash it in for you if you get one edge in juuuuust right...

Gotta pinch it a bit and get just part of the slot engaged with the bracket hole.  Then keep pressure in that direction while you work your way around pushing in/thru a little at a time.  Once you get some progress it will better stay at what you've accomplished so far without wanting to back out as easily.

I know I pretty much just said the same thing I said earlier, but that's what works for me.  And like I hinted at before, those are my least favorite to do, so I feel for ya.

For cleaning the aluminum parts check into building a vapor blaster-friend has one and parts look brand new or better after cleaning. It's a "sandblaster" that sprays water and glass beads with compressed air. 

Back at this stuff, been waiting on some backorder parts, (still)... but anyhoo... 

(Jeez this job is getting long in the tooth..)

Powder coated wheels and calipers..... 

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Wasnt going to do it, but the while I'm at it syndrome is strong in this one.. (I blame Ughandi.. :tongue:  j/k)

Working on pistons... long ago, I stumbled into discovering Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish works great on cleaning up pistons... 

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Jumping around a bit... 

Throttle bodys with the 3.5mm silicone vac hoses... .. Tried the 8mm but decided to skip, the tight bends just werent gonna work. 

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Ok  on this one, need your tips, suggestions, I am struggling to get the TBs to fully seat down. 

Front right is fully down, front left is about 75%, rears are about 50%. 

Been using a wood block on top of the TBs and a larger rubber mallet to try to set things home...

Stubborn bastards... waht do you suggest? Huge thanks in advance... 

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The journey continues..

:beer:

13 minutes ago, mello dude

Ok  on this one, need your tips, suggestions, I am struggling to get the TBs to fully seat down. 

Front right is fully down, front left is about 75%, rears are about 50%. 

Been using a wood block on top of the TBs and a larger rubber mallet to try to set things home...

Stubborn bastards... waht do you suggest? Huge thanks in advance... 

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The journey continues..

:beer:

make sure the couplers are fully seated on the engine. when i was putting the throttles back on mine i had to make sure they were all 100% down--i did what you did and used a block and a mallet--but after that the throttles pretty much popped into place. silicone spray would also help.

also i see your PCV valve is capped. unlike PAIR, that actually serves a pretty important purpose by keeping crankcase pressure down. i'd hook it back up or at least stick a cone filter over it.

The PCV cap thing is just temporary to keep junk out while I work on the bike. 

I have rubbed oil on the insulators... mine are being stubborn... As mentioned RF is fully down, I did feel it "pop" into place... 

3 more to go.. 

I used silicone grease on the insulator boots on mine after I did the thermostat, and they dropped into place with just "firm downwards pressure" i.e. me leaning on them. Maybe some heat from a hair dryer to soften yours up a bit more? I did a Dumb Thing ( my specialty) and managed to trap a hose in the front right throttle mechanism so they couldn't freely close, so I had to pop them off again to sort that, and then I had some weird idle/vacuum issues for a bit, difficult to synchronise and the idle rose, so I don't think I initally had a great boot seal but a decent ride fixed that (no tools required aside from me). 

Those blue vacuum hoses have got to be worth another 5 bhp, easy. 

3 hours ago, mello dude

The PCV cap thing is just temporary to keep junk out while I work on the bike. 

I have rubbed oil on the insulators... mine are being stubborn... As mentioned RF is fully down, I did feel it "pop" into place... 

3 more to go.. 

ah, i see. apologies for my hasty conclusion.

3 hours ago, Terry

Those blue vacuum hoses have got to be worth another 5 bhp, easy. 

Awesome!  Hee, hee  :biggrin:

Do yourself a favor, and ditch the rubber mallet/wood block for a dead blow hammer. You can thank me later.

To clarify, I have a Pittsburg 3 pound dead blow hammer guy, I think I'm going to go grab a 5 pounder... 

I only have about an hour of patience at a time with this thing... this fit it stuff drives me nutz... 

Plenty of other work to do in progress.... 

Get the Icon. It's softer, yet more robust. I had a Pittsburg, and it disintegrated.

Burger, 7/15/2025 at 9:20 PM

i'd hook it back up or at least stick a cone filter over it.

+1 on this. Pneumatically locked PCV's is how my old BMW blew a VC gasket.