D15Z1 Engine swap project log

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by Jack

OMG. Dude that was funny. I almost choked to death on my coffee when I read that!

Glad you liked it...

and it's totally 100% true. most of what I know on parts removal is because of practice at the junkyard.

[GasSavers_DaX]

Originally Posted by Matt Timion

Oh, you're also going to need an EGR control box, which is unique to the VX. You can get them for about $20 on honda-tech.

I may have one laying around. Want me to check?

[SVOboy]

C'mon people you can do your own ecu conversion harnesses, I did mine in about 1:30 and it was easy, worked perfectly, and greatly improved my wiring skillzzz.

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by DaX

I may have one laying around. Want me to check?

I'd post it up for sale in the event that someone here wants one. I bought one a few months ago.

[MakDiesel]

I am just now beginning to gather parts for the build, the HF tranny that came stock on my HF is adequate (I've only driven the car 50 miles total, and that was in October) good clutch, etc. I'm mechanically inclined but wiring (and the automatic transmission in general) are blacks arts to me for now. I can't read a schematic very well and my soldering skills are average, maybe less, hence the need for a pre-made harness. I'll have to find the EGR box, VX harness connectors that aren't included in the rywire conversion (if I get it), and brush up on my HELMS. Any problems that any of you who have performed (performing) this swap had and their solutions would be great. It's my first true motor swap with limited tools and very limited time but it's virtually essential I do it right the first time. My current DD ('85 CRX Si, 220k miles, still 43 mpg) is in dire need of a head/re-ring rebuild (valve guides worn, compression low in 1 cyl, poss. head gasket, etc). Thanks, Mak

[Matt Timion]

YAY!

Wiring is done... well, at least this stage.

Today I converted from Dual Point Fuel Injection to Multi-Point Fuel Injection. This included running four wires to the engine bay, which are the white wires in the picture below. The Red wire is a wire needed for the EGR Control Box (special for the Civic VX)

Two of the wires are for injectors 2 and 4, and the other two wires are for the distributor.

Anyway... here is my wiring with the obd0->obd1 conversion harness in-tact.



And the wires on the right are leading to a plug I installed to ensure easy removal of the engine if I need to the in the future, which is located here:



I added the extra plug for future ease. I'm not so sure the wiring on the engine is 100% pretty, but it'll do for now.

I'm also having a bit of an issue with the speedometer cable. It just fell otu of my car today, so I'm considering just switching to the electronic VSS for now and getting a new cluster on ebay. This will also ensure that I can use the SuperMID when/if I get one.

I know for a fact that I wired up my injectors incorrectly, but I'll most just fix those after the engine is in. I'll just depin and repin the conversion harness instead of tearing into the closed wiring harness that is already complete.

[Matt Timion]

Started the day convinced I'd get the engine in. I cleaned up a little in the garage, moved the d15b2 (the old engine), and went to the junkyard to get a new engine mount for the new engine. I've been told to use the mount from the old engine, but since it won't come off I just went to get a new one instead.

Went to the junkyard and got the mount. Drove home. Surprise, the mount doesn't fit. I was under the impression that the engine mount is just the top part. Turns out the entire mount also includes the part that attaches to the engine block itself. Typicaly newbie mistake, but it was mine to make.

Ignorant of this, I proceeded certain that the other mount I had (from a 92 civic) would work. here it is:



I managed to get the engine in! Hooray! Oh, for anyone planning on swapping an engine the same way I did, I'd recommend removing the front and rear engine mount and attaching them after the engine is in place.



So it's all in and ready to rock, except the drivers side mount (the one above) isn't working correctly.

I'm convinced I can fix it with a hacksaw. For whatever reason i think I can just cut off the tabs on the side (metal interior) and it will fit. So i buy a hacksaw and start cutting. 45 minutes later I have this:



here is a picture my wife took of me screwing with the stupid air conditioning compressor trying to get it to fit while I put the engine in. I actually toyed with the idea of just removing the entire a/c system today because it's so darn annoying to try to put the engine in while the compressor keeps getting in the way.



So with the engine in and the mount cut, I start cussing because the mount still doesn't fit.

So I have to pull the new engine out.



at this point I'm upset because I had to pull the engine AND because I keep losing my 10mm socket. I've been through 4 of those sockets.

So now I have to remove the crank pulley in order to access the engine mount bolts. i have to do this for the new and the old engine. Luckily for me I have Dax's 2x4 trick to speed things up (see first page of this thread).

With the new (or should I say old?) mount installed, I had to trim the plastic on the timing belt shield so it fits. See picture below:



After wasting all day on this, I am finishing up and I notice my cylinder cover bolt keeps spinning.

Yep. You guessed it. Busted.

I've included a zoomed-in version on the left of the image.



Can anyone recommend what to do about this hole? I would use epoxy or something (as I have the piece that broke off as well) but I'm afraid it will fall off again and screw with my rocker arms.

[Compaq888]

well that sucks. Hopefully tommorow you'll have better luck and finally start it up on Tuesday or Wed.

[GasSavers_DaX]

Matt -

That sucks about all your hardships, but welcome to the world of engine swapping!

About the broken casting - there isn't too much you can do about it. Lucky for you, that isn't a very important nut/stud. If I were you, I would just super-glue the chrome 10 mm nut to the valve cover and call it a day. Oh yeah, you'll also have to super glue the metal washer down that the nut goes over. Best of luck with your intial cranking, and don't get too frustrated...it's ok to walk away for a few hours!

[SVOboy]

Yay for matt! You're one crazy guy, I must say, but it's going, and you're learning a ton...how do you get so nondirty!?

You can ask jared, I was covered in black, when I washed my hair I had dirty falling out, , I'm so jealous!

Anyway, vtec-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEe.