NEW ACTY Owner... Questions

[spaniels1]

I'm now the proud owner of a 96 ACTY. Great little truck, but I have a few questions. The body is very straight and no rust. I found 3 small dents, but that was after waxing it. It's in really terrific shape.

Added a lift and some wheels and tires. But wanting to fix a few more things - or at least find out what is available/possible.

1 - Engine whine. Is this normal? It almost sounds like a gear drive or something. It runs really well, plenty of power. It doesn't sound like something is broken or breaking - just not something I am used to hearing from a motor. Is this normal...?

2 - Seats. Is there something that is compatible with these little devils? My driver seat has a rip and one of the 'springs' broke and my tail is about to push through the seat. I was looking at bass boat seats or maybe small import bucket seats (civic or small mazda car).

3 - wiring harness. The radio/cassette player wires are hanging and I can't seem to figure out where they connect so it's usable. Any wiring diagrams or user manuals around (in english)...?

4 - shifter seems loose. Is there a way to tighten that up or is a replacement my best option (are they even available). Seems to be a lot of slop or travel required to get a gear.

Thanks in advance for any help or ideas!

--Jeff

[Jakester]

Can't help you with the engine whine, my '95 doesn't do that. (Is it 'real time 4 wd'?) Maybe you could replace the seats without much problem. I am interested in how much you lifted it and how. Where did you get your tires and rims?

[Mighty Milt]

I'm now the proud owner of a 96 ACTY. Great little truck, but I have a few questions. The body is very straight and no rust. I found 3 small dents, but that was after waxing it. It's in really terrific shape.

Added a lift and some wheels and tires. But wanting to fix a few more things - or at least find out what is available/possible.

1 - Engine whine. Is this normal? It almost sounds like a gear drive or something. It runs really well, plenty of power. It doesn't sound like something is broken or breaking - just not something I am used to hearing from a motor. Is this normal...?

2 - Seats. Is there something that is compatible with these little devils? My driver seat has a rip and one of the 'springs' broke and my tail is about to push through the seat. I was looking at bass boat seats or maybe small import bucket seats (civic or small mazda car).

3 - wiring harness. The radio/cassette player wires are hanging and I can't seem to figure out where they connect so it's usable. Any wiring diagrams or user manuals around (in english)...?

4 - shifter seems loose. Is there a way to tighten that up or is a replacement my best option (are they even available). Seems to be a lot of slop or travel required to get a gear.

Thanks in advance for any help or ideas!

--Jeff

you didn't mention mileage so i'm just going to throw a couple suggestions out there.

as far as the whine goes... could it be road noise from the tires? or does it do it when the truck is stopped and you are revving the engine.

the seats... there was a thread going a while back about miata? seats maybe fitting in there. my biggest apprehension with swapping out seats is the back has to be so thin or it scoots you a lot closer to the wheel. i just pulled my driver seat yesterday and welded it all back up where it was broken and the comfort level has improved dramatically, the next step is to have them re upholstered at a local shop for more comfort.

the radio... i would get under there with a test light and find the hot wire and the keyed hot wire... if it's an aftermarket radio it's usually the red wire to hot and yellow to the keyed hot. then look for some speakers and trace the wires back.

the shifter... i don't know about honda, but most of these trucks use shift cables, one left to right and one fore and aft. you can always look to see that they don't need to be adjusted, and also check your bushing on the shift linkage on the tranny and on the bottom of the shifter.

[spaniels1]

Thanks!

It's a 96 with 99k km.

The whine is could be the alternator...? It does only when it's not idling.
(and does do it when it fast-idles). So it only shows when it gets some Rs.

The wiring part seems to be the lack of harness coming from the radio.
Once I get a radio (or harness for the one that came with the truck) I should be in good shape.

Jakester: it's got about 3" of lift. I think the kit came from Crossroads, but there were problems. It didn't fit right and had to be modified to fit the larger size tube diameter for the strut mounts in the front. Apparently the vehicle I have is odd or something - as the kit is supposed to fit but did not.

Wheels and tires: they are ITP wheels and Carlisle All Trails.

The truck, tires and wheels came from Indiana: http://www.Indiana-Mini-Trucks.com

Hope that helps. If I can help anyone out with info from the truck - just let me know. I'm new to this, but have a family member that works for Honda - so we are learning things pretty fast.

Thanks again!

--Jeff

[Tom's Mini Trucks]

Jeff, It very well could be your alternator,I have encountered a few Acty's (strange never found this on any other makes) were the body of the alternator swells from corrosion causing the armature to hit the electo magnet . You can fix this by removing the alt. take the 2 body halves apart (remove the body half from the non pully side,leaving the armature secure in the pully half) clean the corrosion from the body seam area's (this is the problem area on all the ones I have done) by scraping away the whiteish powder (corrosion) with a small sharp knife and tap the body half with a hard plastic mallot to help loosen the corrosion up.Repeat untill the corrosion is mostly removed from the seam area's (where the 2 halves of the body meet). reassemble the alternator and see if it now spins with out hitting on the magnet anymore. Hope this helps!

[Jakester]

Jeff,
Is yours a 4wd? I understand there are issues with lifting a Honda more that 2 inches especially in the front. I hesitate to lift if there are problems with drive shafts etc. I'll try to get some audio of my truck running. Thanks

[spaniels1]

Hey there-

thanks for the alternator info!

On the lift - I'll measure it to be certain. It could be 2" - it is whatever was required of the equation to put the tire/wheel combination. I could be wrong.

And - the wheels are STI, not ITP - I was wrong there too. I checked this morning.

Jakester - I'll try to get some audio here too. I'll also check that alternator idea too - I may do that this weekend while I'm out at the races (it's my get-around vehicle at the track).

Thanks for the info, guys!

--Jeff

[gregw98]

Try removeing your Alternator belt and starting it to see if noise goes away. Just be careful if it also turns the waterpump to not overheat it. You don't want to run it for any length of time, just enough to check for the noise. Belt off, noise gone; waterpump or alternator. If you have a piece of garden hose, you can search around engine with one end to your ear and the other touching spots around the engine. I have heard you can use a screwdriver or broom handle to your ear also.
greg

[Tom's Mini Trucks]

Gregs got the right idea here, I am betting on the Alternator ... remove your engine cover from the bed ,the alt. sits right up top so it is easy access press a long screw driver against the body and put your ear against the handle to listen .
Tom