Introduction

Kia ora my fellow grease monkeys. I have a 1999 Honda Odyssey 7 seater fitted with the J30a RA5 v6 engine. It has done just under 300k and I have owned it for some 6 months, for which I paid 2 and a half. It has been well looked after, the interior and body still in really good nick for its age, apart from the odd spots of rust here and there. It seems that the previous owners kept up with the service. It uses no oil or water, no sign of a faulty head gasket, nor does it smoke. It seems to have good compression and overall the motor runs well. The spark plugs do not show signs of anything untoward happening internally. It still seems to be quite solid, and I am happy with what I got for the price I paid

When I brought it, the first thing I did was change the oil and the oil filter. I also replaced the 2 valve cover gaskets, and resealed the sump. I fitted new brake pads and rotors. I have had a new cam belt, tensioner, and water pump, thermostat, radiator cap and coolant put in; new accessory and power steering pump belts and the belt tensioner also replaced.

So abit about myself. I am 58 years of age and fully 'unqualified' to work on cars. At the age of 17 through to the age of 20, way back in the early 80's, I worked at Te Hapara Garage in Gisborne, NZ, as a 'grease monkey', responsible for the servicing side of things. I was also responsible for puncture repairs and vulcanising the tyres if needed, and the balancing of the wheels. I also helped the lone mechanic with anything and everything, including valve lapping, which I see is now frowned upon. However, I never did an apprenticeship, something I hugely regret now, and at the age of 20, and after 3 years in a garage, I left the garage, Gisborne, and my grandparents, and moved back home. And that is where my involvement with cars stopped. And over the years the passion for cars also left. I absolutely loved the job. The husband and wife owners, the mechanic, and the secretary all treated this kid with kindness and love. And the 2 young girls who worked the forecourt were the best. The best people, and place of employment ever for me.

So fast forward to 2022 and this 20 year old 'kid' is now 56. As had been happening for awhile, I noticed I was starting to yearn for a return to 'playing' around with cars and working on engines. After all these years. I guess it never left me. So to that end, in 2022, and at the age of 56, I enrolled in the level 3 automotive course at ucol in Palmy, and done the year long course. Since then, I have this huge hunger to learn as much as I can to do with cars, and would love to become fully qualified, but realistically.... huge regret now that I missed that op to do an apprenticeship way back in the day. But I have this huge hunger to work on cars, something I realise I now miss. So I do as much work as I can on my car, have saved myself abit of money doing so, and have been pleased with what I have done.

So to get current, as I say, I am unqualified to play around on cars. However, I have a huge desire to rebuild an engine, something I have never done. So to that end, I am looking at purchasing another J30a RA5 engine for 500 and making that my project, a motor to 'play around on.' Yay. The engine runs, and apparently has good compression. But I am hoping to rebuild it so... I realise it may take me a couple of years or so, as I do not have much money to do too much at once, and I do realise there is going to be a huge expense involved, a huge expense. I just want to leave the engine stock as much as possible, being my first build, with maybe abit more take off power put in somehow. I realise what work I am going to have to leave to the specialists, but my goal is to disassemble, clean, and reassemble the whole motor myself, right up to getting it running and swapped over into my car. I am going to have to rely so heavily on what I can learn from HP Academy, any help I can get through this site, service manuals etc. I really want to rebuild an engine, and the thought both overwhelms, scares and really excites me massively.

So my starting point is going to be purchasing the engine, an engine stand, any specialist tools I am going to need, to add to the tools I have. That may take me a little bit of time as I don't have much money, but once I have all that together, and am ready to start disassembling the engine, after cleaning it off course, then I hope yous don't mind me seeking advice for probably the majority of the build. Any feedback around my plan and the J30a engine will be appreciated. Until then, go well my fellow grease monkeys, a somewhat archaic term I must admit, and no disrespect intended.

Awesome I'm glad you're getting back to an old passion. I also think the J30 is under appreciated and awesome. They love boost if you ever want to put a turbo on it.

Thanks Mike. Something good to consider.