As soon as another dead Fit arrived on the field I went to check it out. Of course, the super stupid wheels and airbag-free sports steering wheel hub were gone, but I was never hunting for such cheesy mods!

The goals of the visit:

Practice starter removal (since radiator was in and no front damage it will be very relevant practice)

Pull the radio and take apart LCD screen to the component level (it has been cracked anyways), salvage volume knob if possible

Look for some new parts under hood (A/F ratio sensor)

What I've found:

The interior had strong macho scent (mix of perspiration, urination, fast food, cigarette smoke and aftershave);

The radio screen is composed of several layers glued together top to bottom:

- the flat glass screen (please excuse my terminology incompetence) with 96 legs sticking out of it (48 on each side) soldered trough-hole to the circuit board

- sticky layer of adhesive

- white plastic panel (back light?)

I could speculate that deterioration of adhesive film between glass and backlight panel is the reason of low contrast at hot weather. The knob fell apart when trying to take it out

The car had severe problem with cooling system (thick layers of rust on the cap, inside of the expansion tank and in the filler neck; there was also an attempt to check /replace /delete thermostat (screw clamps on the hoses) and some new hardware. I am afraid that the engine has been toasted after bad overheating. This is first Fit engine with mechanical failure I see.

The A/F sensor was original.

The ignition coils were recently replaced (no white powder on the high voltage terminal), but were likely a cheap imitation of the genuine coils because:

- No part number has been molded on the housing (this number is present on Hitachi-Honda or Hitachi 053 coils)

- The bushing for the coil mounting screw was bronze colored, not zinc plated steel

- Finally, the rubber boot ends were badly stuck to the plugs; only top part of the coil assembly came out



Someone put Gates K050448 drive belt; this belt is very stiff and may damage the bearings in a long run.

The car had rebuild starter installed not so long ago; here what I’ve done to remove it:

- Removed air cleaner assembly

- Detached lower radiator hose bracket form the starter (10 mm head size)

- Unlocked battery to starter cable from its brackets (four total) and battery tray

- Removed 14 mm starter to engine bolt (it was not to tight, so I used 14 mm box end offset wrench)

- Removed dipstick (was easy, thanks for recent removal and replacement)

- From under car I removed 17 mm starter mounting bolt (used 12 point quality socket and skinny breaker bar); I used my foot to break it loose

- Unsuccessfully tried to remove clip on terminal and cut it off

- Began pushing the starter toward passenger side; it got stuck in the wire to the oil pressure sender; I cut a zip tie attaching it to the harness holding bracket to get more slack.

- Pulled the starter completely and lowered it down with cable attached; it was loosely secured to the “battery” solenoid terminal with supplied 13 mm nut

Inspection of the starter (AutoZone budget brand) :

- The solenoid was new (Made in China); the clip on terminal had been glued to it with Superglue!

- The screws were new

- The label was new; all other parts were original!

- The motor had hammer marks on it (indicates open pole in the armature or high resistance of the pull in coil in old solenoid), risky purchase

- The goofy gray-green grease (like used on Toyota CV joints) was covering planetary gears

- The overrunning clutch with gear was sliding very easy on the shaft with almost no grease; I am guessing that excess of the grease is one of the reasons for the starter noise after the engine fires

- The brushes were in the good condition

Resume: cleaning the starter pinion shaft form extra grease may fix the noise in most cases, eliminating need for rebuild starter.

Will add pictures later

 

Yeesh, my minimally citrus-y smelling car with none of those other smells must be the most feminine thing in the world.

 

Pictures:

Rebuilt starter with CV joint grease in planetary.

Output shaft with drive: it is not new either

The sporty steering wheel is gone!

Arrows pointing to the battery to starter cable

17 mm starter bolt

Getting the starter out with battery cable still attached (lower radiator hose removed for clarity)

Busted LCD screen