97' Honda Passport (Ongoing)

The 1997 Honda Passport is a rebadged Isuzu rodeo. It features a body on frame design with a 3.2L V6 Engine and 4WD transfer case. Although very uncommon, these vehicles offer suprisingly attractive specifications compared with other similar cars from its era.

Project Goals

This car was purchased with the intent to repair and restore the engine and drivetrain back to full function. This project isnt about doing what works but rather maximizing the remaining life of the vehicle through quality repairs. Although I have plenty of experience performing repairs and maintinence on my daily driver, this truck provides a low risk platform upon which to improve my automotive expertise. Despite mechanical issues with the engine and some minor cosmetic defects, the vehicle is still in remarkably good shape for its age. With some tender love and care, this passport will get to experience many more years on the road.

Engine Troubles

Thick white smoke with an odor of burning oil was emmited from the tailpipe when running. This heavy oil consumption is likely due to cylinder ring failure. Shortly after getting the car home, the engine siezed completely.

Replacement Engine

Under the assumption that the original engine has suffered severe internal damage, a used engine out of a 1999 passport was sourced from a local junkyard to be its replacement. Although these engines have much in common, significant changes were made between 1997 and 1999, such as the switch from a SOHC to DOHC valvetrain. While overcoming some of the compatibility issues may be challenging, the replacement engine still remains the best availible option due to extremely limited supply of origional components.

Engine Overhaul

To ensure the health of the donor engine and gaurentee its longjevity, it has been stripped down to a bare block for cleaning and inspection. Once fully detailed and checked for damage, the engine will be reassembled with new gaskets, bearings, piston rings, pumps, timing components and more.

Broken Head Studs

Upon removing the cylinder heads, 2 of the 16 head bolts failed leading to a major disruption. To solve this issue, the engine block was taken to the RIT engineering machine shop to precisely bore out the broken head studs. Once fully removed, the holes were repaired using standard heli-coil thread repair inserts. Due to the depth of the threads, a bespoke low profile tap extension tool was created to allow for subsurface tapping.

Broken Valve Cover Screw Posts (Back to the Shop)

Both screw posts holding the cylinder #3 ignition coil experienced brittle failure likely due to impact during the engine removal stage. To repair the valve cover, replacement posts were milled from a single billet of aluminum. The new posts are fastened down by passing two bolts through the inside of the valve cover. Two bolts were necessary due to internal casting geometry. To prevent oil escaping through holes in the valvecover, thread locking sealant is used on the bolts and RTV silacone creates a gasket on the mating surface.