OBDII 97 EK swap to B18B1 non-vtec

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Update: I just finished the B18b1 swap and I have a few snags. The D16Y7 throttle cable is too short. I researched and was advised that the LS throttle cable would work. It doesn't...too long. Anyone know which throttle cable I need to use?

I'm also having a coolant issue. The coolant doesn't seem to be circulating and I'm getting surges. I looked quickly for a bleed valve on the JDM B18b1, but couldn't find it. I think the surging is because I didn't bleed the coolant system. I'll post pics as soon as I can.
 

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it's not uncommon to put an LS engine in a civic. at all. and of course the brackets are going to be different you're trying to put a bigger engine in the car that only comes with a 1.6
 
it's not uncommon to put an LS engine in a civic. at all. and of course the brackets are going to be different you're trying to put a bigger engine in the car that only comes with a 1.6

It's not uncommon to put an LS engine in a Civic? Really?

NO SHIT! HE ALREADY FINISHED THE SWAP!

Read the entire thread before you hit reply please...
 
Update: B18b1 swap complete! I'm throwing one CEL code #41 for primary O2 sensor I think. Everything is hooked up so I'm not sure why that is happening. New H&R OE springs/KYB GR2 installation complete! Heading to a local muffler shop this morning to have the used Magnaflow exhaust installed. The engine runs great and everything worked out. Just a heads up that the LS throttle cable did not fit as it was about 1.5" too long. We made a throttle cable bracket extension and it seems to do the job. Please post any info you may have on the O2 code that is being thrown.
Thanks!
 

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Update: Well, I cleared the O2 sensor code #41. The JDM B18b only needs one O2 sensor and I have two O2 sensor connectors in the D16 harness. I swapped over to the second O2 sensor connector on the D16 harness and that cleared my CEL. The Magnaflow exhaust is on and is a bit loud but it's working. Four wheel alignment after springs/struts/ball joints/tie rods were replaced. I'm ready to head back home to CT! I still have tach and clock gauges to install, so I'll work to complete those before I head out. All and all it was a pretty easy swap, but the research and cost were more than I expected. The LS tranny gives me 35mph in first, 60mph in second, 90mph in third, and I stopped at 110mph in fourth without reaching the 6800rpm max speed in that gear. I'm sure I'll keep tweaking as time goes on, but this swap will meet my towing needs and still give me decent MPG so I'm happy! I'll post pics after I get back home. Thanks for all of your input and feedback!
 
I left for CT on Friday at 3:45pm and arrived home on Sat morning at 12:45am. I only shifted back to 4th gear a few times and kept the avg speed at about 68mph. I was very happy with the results. Of course the trailer was about 500lbs lighter on the way back but I had plenty of power to spare. I installed the clock and tach from Summit Racing and they are working well. I'd like to keep the larger stainless steel MagnaFlow exhaust for power reasons, but may have to install some sound deadening materials as the rumble inside the car at 70mph is too loud. Had to remove the rear swaybar from suspension techniques as it was hitting my brake line brackets. I'm exchanging emails with them now to resolve the issue. See pics I am posting. My brother is standing next to the new animal in one of the pics. He was my lead mechanic for suspension upgrades, axle installs and shift linkage install. Let me know if you want any info or pics that may not be posted.

Thanks!!
 

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couldnt you just flip the bolt and bend the bracket?

everything looks good but please for goodness sakes take off the 1.8l DOHC sticker it looks terrible [imho] and youre asking for the car to get stolen.

do you have any under carriage pics of the exhaust? if you get a riffled resonator it should calm the sound down

great job!
 
I'm not a fan of the1.8l emblem either. Its just begging for thieves. Its gonna be tough to quiet down that exhaust because its a strait through design. Get a muffler shop to weld on something chambered. The Apexi ws2 muffler is one of my favorites because it looks subtle and isn't very loud.
 
couldnt you just flip the bolt and bend the bracket?

everything looks good but please for goodness sakes take off the 1.8l DOHC sticker it looks terrible [imho] and youre asking for the car to get stolen.

do you have any under carriage pics of the exhaust? if you get a riffled resonator it should calm the sound down

great job!

When I called suspension techniques they told me to do the same thing, but if you look at the pic closely you'll see the washer is hitting the brake line bracket. It doesn't matter how the bolt is installed if the washer hits. I installed H&R OE springs with KYB GR2 struts. The car sits at the same height it did before the upgrades.......so I know it has nothing to do with the issue. Has anyone out there installed the suspension techniques rear anti-sway bar on the 92-99 Civic hatch? If so, did it work ok for you?

I'm not a big fan of the decals myself. I do like them for personalizing the car, but I think these are way too big. Luckily I live out in the sticks where I get to shoot anything that trespasses, so coward thieves don't visit our area much. I wanted to see if the decals would grow on me.....thanks for the feedback!

I don't have pics of the whole exhaust, but I'll try to get some this weekend if possible, I'm running the downpipe into a stock non-CA cat and then into a modified magnaflow stainless b-pipe. The b-pipe has a resonator and then goes into the muffler.
 
I'm not a fan of the1.8l emblem either. Its just begging for thieves. Its gonna be tough to quiet down that exhaust because its a strait through design. Get a muffler shop to weld on something chambered. The Apexi ws2 muffler is one of my favorites because it looks subtle and isn't very loud.

Thanks. I'm looking for a little lower profile muffler that also quiets things down a bit. I'll check out the Apexi ws2.
 
you should be able to bend the bracket out of the way. give it a try
 
you should be able to bend the bracket out of the way. give it a try

I could bend the rear brake line bracket to clear the rear anti-sway bar hardware, but how much clearance do I need? I'd rather move the bracket a safe distance from the new anti-sway bar. I'm kinda disappointed that suspension techniques would put something out that was not right. I'm still communicating with them and hoping I did something wrong that can be corrected to make the setup work.
 
Looks like you had all your ducks in a row before starting the swap, good work! I'm piecing together a B20b swap along the same lines, I'll likely check back here a few times before that goes down.
 
Looks like you had all your ducks in a row before starting the swap, good work! I'm piecing together a B20b swap along the same lines, I'll likely check back here a few times before that goes down.

B18 and B20 swaps should have a lot of similarities. Never assume something is going to work....always verify and you'll do fine. My only previous experience with engine changes and rebuilds was 67-68 mustangs I rebuilt about 15 years ago. To tell the truth I was surprised at how easy things went together for me. Most of it had to do with the great reference info I read on this forum. I did a ton of reading and it paid off. Let me know if you have any questions.
 
I did a ton of reading and it paid off.


precisely. if only more "noobs" understood that, instead of just jumping onto every message board asking a billion questions. this thread is living proof that the answers are out there if you're patient enough and take some initiative to find it yourself. where in CT are you from anyways? i live up north in Suffield. it's right on the Mass border
 
precisely. if only more "noobs" understood that, instead of just jumping onto every message board asking a billion questions. this thread is living proof that the answers are out there if you're patient enough and take some initiative to find it yourself. where in CT are you from anyways? i live up north in Suffield. it's right on the Mass border

I live in Ashford, which is next to the UCONN main campus. I worked at Bradley in the CTANG for six years before heading off to EMC Corporation where I work now(Hopkinton,MA), so I'm familiar with Suffield. I'm hoping I can keep my foot out of the new go-cart so my 120 mile round trip commute mpg stays decent. The car is a true blast to drive now. Did you go to the UCONN car show a few weeks back? I went to observe as much as possible before I did my swap. Every little bit helped. Do you know of any car shows in our area in the near future?
 
Things have settled down a bit with the car and it looks like I'm getting 30mpg when I drive at 70mph on the highway.....tach at 3000rpm. One issue that is nagging me is the idle seems to be inconsistent on the B18b1. above 1000rpm there is no problem at all, but at 750rpm there seems to be misses and the idle is not smooth. Has anyone had this problem on an engine swap before? I adjusted the valves and they seemed to be ok.....I hear no valve noise. I thought maybe the intake was dirty from sitting so used sea foam fuel cleaner in the intake and as a fuel additive......no help. I had one vacuum port on the drivers side back of the intake that didn't have a home so I just plugged it. I also had a vacuum port right above the air opening of the intake and I connected it to the fuel canister. Any help I can get on this would be great. Thanks
 
did you adjust the valves when the engine was COLD as in not started over night?

and the idle a little more than 750 and less than 1k is the best spot... imo
 
did you adjust the valves when the engine was COLD as in not started over night?

and the idle a little more than 750 and less than 1k is the best spot... imo


The engine was not installed at the time I adjusted the valves.....it was pretty cold. No doubt the little bit of rough idle I'm getting is of no consequence to the engine operation, but I'd like it to run like it was new. Warm idle is between 750-900rpm. I haven't done a compression check yet so maybe I'll start with that....then maybe a vacuum check after that. If those look good, then comes electrical. I installed a new fuel filter so I'm ruling out fuel as a problem for now.
 
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