98 Civic LX Engine Swap: D16Y7 to D16Z6 V-Tec

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J

jeremiahm

New Member
I can't get over the fact that this forum exists! I feel like I won the lotto!

My 98 is dead after 300,000+ miles... Threw a rod through the block. :readfaq:

I have another civic available to me for next to nothing. The engine is fine. I'd like to swap motors between the two cars. The donor car is a 95 EX V-TEC. Both cars are standard shifts. The 98 is an LX. Put it this way, when I scrap the extra car and blown motor, I'll make money in the long run. ;) This is how this swap is feasible, it's free...

Can this swap be done? If so, can someone give me a run down on what to look for, what gaskets I'm going to need, if any, and what kind of computer issues should I expect? (Actually, would I be smart to put the donor car's computer in the LX while I'm at it?)

The donor car has a new clutch already in it, so I'm thinking I may as well just go ahead and swap trannies while I'm at it. Good move? I know the LX's tranny is good, should I risk it?

I can swap anything else between the two rides, just let me know what would be smart.

Any help would be much appreciated.
 
Yes, it can be done. I'm in a rush right now but simplest would be swap in the D16Z6 bottom-end and just reuse everything else. Only thing you'd have to worry about is getting a new head gasket, but can possibly also change the timing belt, water pump, and tensioner while you're at i.
 
Yes, if you reuse the accessories and head from the 98 engine, then you don't need to worry about any OBD issues. The 95 motor is OBD1, and your car is OBD2, so to swap the whole engine you have to convert. Not a huge deal, especially if you use a conversion harness, but if you're in a state where they do inspections, you may have issues running an older engine and OBD setup in a newer car...
 
OBD = On-Board Diagnostics. OBD1 ended in 95. 96+ Hondas will have OBD2, meaning that they have additional sensors and wiring. When swapping an older engine into a newer chassis or a newer engine in to an older chassis, OBD issues will need to be dealt with. You can buy a conversion harness from a place like www.rywire.com in order to make the wiring plug and play...
 
Which harness on that site do I need? I can't find anything specific on my swap.
 
Hey guys, I think I'll forego swapping the entire motor out and just swap lower ends. That way I can not fool around with the OBD stuff. Also, from talking to the owner of the donor car, the vtec manifold may not be 100%. He said he never really felt like the vtec ever kicked in. That being said, I know all my induction works and I already have a new distributor/cap/rotor/wires that I could continue to use.

So, if I only do the bottom end swap, could you guys tell me which gaskets I'll likely need in the process? I'll also probably go ahead and put on a new timing chain and water pump too.
 
Timing Sensor?

Looks like my 98 bottom end has a timing sensor on it, but the 95 bottom end doesn't. I'm going to use the 98's wiring harness, so will this work? If so, what do I do with the extra plug?

Also, I took both motors out with the transmissions still attached. I plan on just keeping the 95 motor/transmission together and put it into my 98 shell using my 98 accessories. I have been told that both transmissions are the same. Is this correct?

Thanks. I got both motors out and just ordered a head gasket to pick up tomorrow. I plan on putting the 98 top with the 95 bottom back into the 98 tomorrow night, so any help would be greatly appreciated!


Jeremiah
 
I guess the sensor in question is called the crank position sensor, not a timing sensor (even though I think that's exactly what it does, sense timing compared to the distributor?) This sensor is found under the timing belt cover on the crank.
 
Or maybe it's called the knock sensor, either way, what is the best way to handle this? Anyone?
 
Ended up swapping oil pumps between the two blocks so I could use the crank sensor on the Z6. Worked well, but I had to also swap oil pans since the dipstick is on the Y7's oil pump so that pan is also a little different. I used the timing cover off the Y7 also. The motor purrs like a kitten!
 
Sounds like a honda owner learning the ropes well done!
 
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