Engine bay tucking tips

ASSISTANCE Hybrids & Advanced Aftermarket Engine Performance
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So I haven’t ever seriously looked into this but lately I’ve been interested in making my bay look a little less complicated. The DA engine seems to be more busy than it needs to be. It seems like there are way more vacuum lines and such than need be and I’ve seen countless bays that have a ton of these vacuum lines deleted. Im curious what items we can delete with no effects on how the car runs.

Here are some examples of what im talking about, here is a pic of a stock 1990 b18 engine bay. Particular attention to the vacuum lines by the firewall and on the intake manifold.

Here is a diagram of some of the things I’m interested in. Particularly the solenoid valves on the firewall next to the map sensor. Also the Dashpot Diaphram and Air-Boost valve.

What do these items do? Why do I see engines without these all the time?

What other things have you deleted or moved in your engine?

Any tips and pics are appreciates!

b18a1-vacuum-diagram.jpg
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Hey, im sure others on here would know alot more about most of the stuff your asking, im in australia so my engine bay is slightly different being rhd.

I read up on the dashpot, its basically a little shock absorber so the throttle plate doesnt slam shut, i took it off, no difference that i can tell, so that can go.

Im in the process of sorting out my purge valves and charcoal canister… i need it in there, for what you guys call “smog inspections” but im sure it can be cleaned up abit.

If i think of anything else ill let you know :wink:

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actually if you look at each individual component instead of the engine bay as a whole, its not as complicated as it seems.

imagine with me for a second…

block out all the wire harnesses
now block out the cruise control box
moving on to everything ps and ac related
imagine the clutch cable under the intake manifold instead of on top of it
pretend the battery was in the trunk
the two solenoids on the firewall (I believe are solely emissions related. neither of my da’s have them) gone
and everything gone off the intake manifold that isn’t the vacuum line for the fpr, pcv, map sensor and brake booster
then put an aftermarket intake

bam… clean engine bay…

1 Like
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Good info fellas! I believe a lot of people could benefit from this thread if we keep it going.

You are correct, the components under the hood aren’t that complicated, I just like getting ideas from what other people have done.

Here is my bay as is. No cosmetic or tucking done at all since its just my autocrosser.

I have relocated the battery under the intake and went to a single bend DC integra intake arm. I need to paint my valve cover and tuck some things and I think it will look a lot better.

As for the solenoid valves, do you guys just pull them out and plug the hole on the charcoal canister and plug on the IM?

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looking at the vacuum diagram above:
delete the dashpot, airboost valve, charcoal canister and both solenoid valves.

as far as what vacuum lines to run where, run a line from the map sensor to one of the two open nipples on the driver side of the intake manifold and run a vacuum line from the fpr to the other nipple. you don’t HAVE to use the ones on the back of the intake manifold. just run them to wherever is open. they just need to see a vacuum source

any open nipples after removing the components can be blocked with vacuum caps… done and done

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http://forums.g2ic.com/showthread.php?185951-The-DA-wire-tuck-write-up

The above link helped me out heaps, altho im not planning on going all out on mine, just a basic tidy up… lol, well i say that.

I walked out to my car to change the a leaking cam cap, and it snowballed from there, i thought “why not paint the valve cover while im here” (which came up great), and while i was at it, hell, why not pull off the intake manifold and give it a clean/paint?!, and you cant put all the clean stuff back in with those wires everywhere, so i loomed and braided afew lines. As you work on it, youll figure it out. As for me, im waiting for some wiring to redo my starter/alternator power (cuz yea they had to come out for a clean too!) and earth cables… once its all back together it should look nice, ill try post a pic once its done :slight_smile:

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[QUOTE=DA_all_day;2319578]looking at the vacuum diagram above:
delete the dashpot, airboost valve, charcoal canister and both solenoid valves.

as far as what vacuum lines to run where, run a line from the map sensor to one of the two open nipples on the driver side of the intake manifold and run a vacuum line from the fpr to the other nipple. you don’t HAVE to use the ones on the back of the intake manifold. just run them to wherever is open. they just need to see a vacuum source

any open nipples after removing the components can be blocked with vacuum caps… done and done[/QUOTE]

Seems simple enough. I just wish I knew exactly what those solenoid valves on the firewall do especially considering they have a wired plug going to them. I know it doesnt matter but im just curious why Honda didnt just vent directly into the manifold?? The guy who designed these solenoid valves must have also been the one to put the oil filter in the middle of the back of the block… that idiot!!!

Just a minute ago I had the car running and unplugged the plug to the solenoid valves and it didnt throw a light or seem to effect the running. Im assuming these valves (one connects from the charcoal canister and the other from the FPR are just fumes that the solenoid valves release back into the manifold directly in a controlled manor, rather than just a direct vent. Maybe once so much pressure builds they release? I also dont mind having the charcoal canister there because you cant really see it so ill just vent into the manifold.

I think I will just run the vacuum hose from the charcoal canister directly to the nipple on the driver side of the manifold where the solenoid previously vented. Ill also vent the FPR directly to the back of the manifold to the other nipple and possibly split the MAP into that vacuum line. Then hide the plug for the solenoid valve somewhere.

Also has there been any solution to plugging the air-boost valve? It seems if you took that off you would need some sort of plug that.

[QUOTE=Denied;2319601]http://forums.g2ic.com/showthread.php?185951-The-DA-wire-tuck-write-up

The above link helped me out heaps, altho im not planning on going all out on mine, just a basic tidy up… lol, well i say that. [/QUOTE]

Dang I could look at that thread all day. Im not looking to go that crazy (Although Im sure that’ll change once I start, haha) but it would be nice to get rid of some of the meaningless stuff though. I may look into routing the headlight harness under the fenders to clean that up. Otherwise Ill just button up small things here and there.

You guys are a huge help as always :slight_smile:

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[QUOTE=Boostpyro90;2319604]Seems simple enough. I just wish I knew exactly what those solenoid valves on the firewall do especially considering they have a wired plug going to them. I know it doesnt matter but im just curious why Honda didnt just vent directly into the manifold?? The guy who designed these solenoid valves must have also been the one to put the oil filter in the middle of the back of the block… that idiot!!!

I think I will just run the vacuum hose from the charcoal canister directly to the nipple on the driver side of the manifold where the solenoid previously vented. Ill also vent the FPR directly to the back of the manifold to the other nipple and possibly split the MAP into that vacuum line. Then hide the plug for the solenoid valve somewhere.

Also has there been any solution to plugging the air-boost valve? It seems if you took that off you would need some sort of plug that.
[/QUOTE]
yea, im pretty sure those solenoids are purely for emissions and make no difference on drivability installed or removed. you dont need to re route the charcoal canister vacuum. its already set on the tb. that red vacuum line on top of the tb goes to the canister. i mean, you CAN move it if you want but its already set somewhere… =\

when you remove the air boost valve, you can either get the holes welded shut or tap the hole and put a bolt. another option is to get a b18b intake manifold. its already deleted for you

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Those solenoids (from everything ive read) control the venting of all the built up vapours on startup, it opens up apparently for anywhere between 5sec-30sec (cant find the exact number) once you start the car, then shuts off.

Ive read all the charcoal canister delete threads and everyones left with a hose that goes to the tank that they vent under the carriage so you cant notice any fuel smell, what i was thinking of doing, if it works, is just bypassing the solenoids themselves, running straight hose to the original locations… think that would work?.. only thing im wondering is that you really dont know how much its venting at any given time, would that mess with the a/f ratios? Anyway, keep it coming!!

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[QUOTE=DA_all_day;2319613]yea, im pretty sure those solenoids are purely for emissions and make no difference on drivability installed or removed. you dont need to re route the charcoal canister vacuum. its already set on the tb. that red vacuum line on top of the tb goes to the canister. i mean, you CAN move it if you want but its already set somewhere… =
][/QUOTE]

I know the red hose runs up to the top of the tb, but there is also another hose from the canister that runs directly to one of the solenoid valves, then it vents right into the IM. I was going to bypass the solenoid valve and vent directly into the IM (I’m referring to the black hose off of the canister, both other hoses are red; one rubber and one braided) hope that makes sense.

Its easier to see in the diagram I posted above. There are 3 hoses off of the charcoal canister.

Keep it coming!!

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Do you guys have a thicker tube coming out of the bottom of the charcoal canister? Seems to go into my wheel well. Any ideas?

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I could be wrong but isn’t that where the gas tank vents to? Thus through the charcoal canister it vents back into the engine via solenoid valves and directly into the intake manifold… makes sense in my head anyway. Haha

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Im going to pull the sucker out to find out! Ive got 1 more question for you guys, the hose that goes to the MAP sensor… theres a T connector right under it and then maybe 2 inches of hose that is just plugged at the end (you can see it in the pics above), is there any reason for this extra bit?

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Started deleting stuff tonight! Got rid of the diaphragm and moved a few other things. How has everyone plugged the hole on the air boost valve when that’s deleted? (Besides what was mentioned above, just looking forother suggestions I have the tools for)

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Update for the sake of the thread. I deleted the dashpot diaphragm and took it for a drive and it was flawless. No negative affects.

Next will be deleting the solenoid valves. And I think I’m going going to have a small block off plate cut to bolt to the air boost valve hole on the IM. I’ll spray some copper gasket on it and bolt it on to block off the hole. Then I’ll be moving the ground cable on the front of the intake manifold to the rear of the engine. After that I’ll look into tucking the headlight harness under the fenders to run to the front of the car.

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Any reason for not just swapping to a 92+ intake manifold to delete the air boost valve? I think it would look a lot cleaner and OEM than a hand-cut block off plate. Pretty sure I have one laying around that’s probably going to end up in my scrap metal/dump run once my move is closer to being finished up. I’d be willing to donate it to your cause if you wanted to go that route.

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Also no one has mentioned it yet but the brake booster can be flipped 180 degrees upside down and you can reroute the vacuum line running from the intake manifold to brake booster so that it’s shorter and less visible. You DO need to keep the check valve installed in its correct original orientation though. The newer lines (I want to say 94+) incorporate the check valve into the line though so it’s not as visible. Just have to get a little creative with cutting and routing a section of the line from a newer integra to achieve a cleaner look.

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I’d love a 92+ manifold! Plus it would give me an excuse to install a hondata IM gasket. Good call on the brake boost flip as well!

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Shoot me an email about it and I’ll make sure to pull it off the junk head before scrapping it. michaelessila@gmail.com

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That engine bay looks so nice and clean as is, might be a shame to tuck that thing :frowning: I’m feeling that the tucking/shaving trend may be dying. I hope we don’t lose the original idea of cleaning things up and attention to detail, but I think it’s time to pull back for sure. Check out Jason’s EG about halfway down this page for what might be the future of engine bays: http://stickydiljoe.com/2014/08/12/wekfest-san-jose-2014-coverage-part-1/ (this is the same “.J.” btw whose DA we’ve been drooling over for over 15yrs and is just as relevant now as when he first put it together)