new motor questions 01 civic

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PhqOph Racing

New Member
I have an 01 civic ex 5 speed, it spun a bearing at 198k miles, (i expected more but oh well), I found an 03 non vtec 1.7 for 500 bucks, brand new, it was out of a car that was in a wreck while being transported, i figured for the price and what we do with the car the non vtec was no big deal, i drag race bikes, so the civics power doesnt concern me, i droped the new motor in thursday nite and it runs good but it has kicked the check engine light on and wont rev pass 3900 rpms, i took it to a buddy that works at jiffy lube and he put it on the machine, it kicked 2 codes, they are p1259, which is the air/fuel sensor, i swapped it with the brand new one off the motor and the other is p0401 which was egr insuffecient. im wondering if it doesnt have something to do with the new motor being a non vtec, do i need to get a non vtec ecu for it? do i need to find the egr on the new motor and rewire it, because i cant find it and everything is pluigged in, the only extra plugs left was from where the solinoid was on the left back of the head. Any help will be very appreciated, im not anew mechanic but im new working on hondas, this was the first majoy honda work ive ever did, ive never had to diagnose a problem or anything like that.
 
getting an lx ecu will help. I'm surprised you're not getting a code for the missing vtec. what happened to the motor? did it run out of oil?
 
not sure, i was on my way to work one morning, lost a little power, thought it was odd, downshifted, when i came off the exit ramp it died, when i fired it back up it was knocking.

I bought a wrecked car for the tranny, figured i might as well change it to with the mileage so i have an lx computer, just gotta find it, will the plugs be the same?

I also forgot to mention the motor was for an automatic, does that matter?
 
swapping the ecu didn help, car wouldnt even start, i guess i need to just put a vtec head on it, anybody know if the blocks are the same?
 
use your original intake manifold that came with the car, any D series head will fit

If you use anything besides a D17 head then you'd have to figure out a way to replace the coil pack ignition with standard spark plugs and wires, and you'd have to figure out a way to run it all (i.e., what ecu, and what OBD setup?). Not worth the hassle in my opinion. Just stick with a D17 engine...
 
it is a d17, just a non vtec in an ex, ive talked to a tech at honda and he said i have to have the key programed to the lx computer, thats why it didnt fire, but he cant promise it will help, anybody know how to bypass the immobilizer?
 
put the ex cylinder head on the lx block. it should bolt right up. use the ex intake manifold also.
 
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