Bought a JDM civic motor (What am I thinking??)

[Eikon]

*Edit.. Turns out it's a D15B engine and not a D16B.

Anybody heard of a d16b? Me neither.. Apparently it's a single overhead cam vtec 1.6 L motor from a JDM civic. What the heck am I doing??? I never thought I would see the day when I was spouting off honda engine codes... especially crappy d series motors.. lol.


Here's the back-story if anyone is interested:

So I finished school and got a job.. Unfortunately it's 70 miles round trip.

I figured the smart thing to do would be to get a small used car, pay for it with cash, and get really good gas mileage for my commute. So, I picked up a 98 Honda Civic sedan. It's got 192k miles on it, but has very little rust.. it's very very clean for a NE Ohio car.

I thought I found a cherry for only $2,000. Unfortunately, I'm starting to think it's not such a great deal after all.

I'm not sure if I just didn't hear it when I checked out the car or if he had been running it for a while before I test drove it, but I didn't hear that clatter from the bottom end when I test drove it. But, now that I've had it for a little while, I hear it all too well. I did an oil change and put in some Lucas oil additive, but it hasn't helped. Still, it runs really nice when up to speed. I got 42mpg on my last tank of gas, so I'm really pleased about that. I just can't help but wonder how long it will be before the motor goes...

So I figured I would buy this motor from a local guy on craigslist to have as backup for when the current motor dies. It was only $350 bucks, with headers and transmission and all attached parts and he delivered it to my house for me.

I just need to figure out how to convert a non-vtec obd2 car to a vtec odb1 engine. Still it's honda, so I gather most of it is plug and play.

[dre1507]

well what you want to do with that is, find a nice and light rwd oriented chassis, fab up some stuff, put it in there and boost it. The K-series responds well to boost, but the D-series is the one that is most notorious for being a boost mutt.

[Eikon]

this is a FWD motor though. I mean.. anything is possible I guess..

[dre1507]

lol, that's why i said to fab up some stuff.

[Razi]

That'd be too much hassle for an engine like that.

I bet there are write-ups on wiring that engine into a car like yours!
Honda dudes have been doing all kinds of stuff for ages.

[dre1507]

lol razi, it's just a dream of mine.......as i said before, should my rsx's shell magically crumble one day, leaving the engine untouched, i'm prepping it for an s13 coupe the next day.

[Razi]

Like this!


Okay, that's enough derailment from me.

[nissangirl74]

Start doing some research and just drive it till it blows. Have you seen some of those smoking Civic monstrosities on the freeways? It could run another 2-3 years with that rattle.

[Eikon]

Start doing some research and just drive it till it blows. Have you seen some of those smoking Civic monstrosities on the freeways? It could run another 2-3 years with that rattle.

I think you might be dead on about that!

[BusyBadger]

Uh oh...I can see it now.

[alms24sebring]

First, nice find and good price on the engine and trans shipped! Im not sure but if you drop it in I think all you have to do is rewire and repin a couple things in the ECU... something like that. Everyone sware up and down on the single cams but I always hated them. Im not sure if you can still pass emissions but if you do it right.. maybe. Im no honda guy.. Check out Hondatech.com and search.

Agreed that the K series motor is a beast especially with a turbo. That is something I could mess with but any swap costs close to $10,000 for just the engine and trans and making it fit. Id rather have a RWD turbod 240

Actually now that I think about it you might need different axles (spline number) and motor mounts to make it work.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Your current head is good right? Basically all the emissions and wiring is in a head, so just plop your current head on top of the JDM TyTE! (haven't used that in a while) block.

Bolt it all in, and Bob's your uncle.

[IanS]

Your current head is good right? Basically all the emissions and wiring is in a head, so just plop your current head on top of the JDM TyTE! (haven't used that in a while) block.

Bolt it all in, and Bob's your uncle.

But then he will lose the mad Vtak yo, and we cant have that.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

We can't? I thought this was a fuel saver. Shouldn't be revving that high anyway

[elwesso]

How can you expect VTEC to kick in if you have no VTEC.

Personally what I would do Seth is get the car up to temp (as warm as it gets, so the oil is the thinnest) and check the oil pressure. IF your bearings are going bad it should show low oil pressure.. If its a 5 speed, sometimes rattly throw out bearings can sound like bottom end issues if it goes away putting the clutch in..

Oil pressure test will either make you feel comfortable or renew your AAA membership...

[Eikon]

It would be nice to keep the vtec if possible... for those few times when I need to pass traffic on the two-lane I drive everyday. But, if the method for converting the motor from obd1 to obd2 and wiring for vtec is a big pain, then I'll just use the block as James suggested.

I'm sure not planning on a turbo for this motor/car.

Good call on the oil pressure test Wes. I just need to figure out what tools I need for that job. I'll give a listen with the clutch in/out to see if I notice a difference.

Man... I do love 42mpg!!!! Hopefully the motor in the car will keep going for a while and I can just resell the new motor someday in the future.

[Eikon]

So I wheeled the motor out into the sun to see if I could inspect it a little better.. Looks like it's a D15B and not a D16B. Still a sohc vtec engine, so I don't really care if the guy told me the wrong engine code.


D15B VTEC

Found in: 1992–1995 Honda Civic Vti (Japanese Market)
Displacement : 1,493 cc (91.1 cu in)
Bore and Stroke :75,0×84,5 mm
Rod Length : 137 mm
Rod/Stroke : 1.62
Compression : 9.3:1
Power : 130 hp (95.4 kW, 130 PS) at 7,000 rpm
Torque: 106 Nm
V-tec switch over : 5,500 rpm
Redline : 7,500 rpm
Rev-limiter : 7,200 rpm
Valvetrain : SOHC (4 valves per cylinder)
Fuel Control : OBD-1
ECU : p08 (small case ECU)

[Eikon]

So if I ever wound up installing it, I think I would swap the original transmission back on the new motor.. The final drive is lower and would get me better mpg!

[Razi]

I wouldn't be surprised if you could.
Hondas are like Legos.

[alms24sebring]

Hmm if I recall correctly I think the D-series motors have a pin or a notch in the head that only fits a D-series block. But I think you can cut it off and flatten it out, really good for the gasket, and put it on. Something like that, it might be Vice Versa. I didnt think the D15 SOHCs were VTEC either... Whatever

Then again this was from an aquantence that would lie about what he had for dinner..