spun95

My buddy and i found this integra for $1100 with the intentions of fixing the engine problem and reselling it to make some extra money. We were told by the previous owner that the oil pump seal was bad and oil would basically pour out of it while the engine was running. I asked if the motor was ever ran without oil, and he told me no. Only to find out later that was not true. I just wanted to share this build because it will be my first ls/vtec build. I have done my research, and i have experience building honda's, but any extra advice for the ls/vtec will help.

Here is some pics of the teg before i loaded it up on the trailer to take it home. It needs some paint!



There was a re built B16a2 engine with new rod and main bearings, itr flywheel, arp headstuds, itr oil pump, gsr water pump/timingbelt tensioner, supertech valve locks keepers, gsr cams, blox cam seals, new dizzy, plugs and wires.


Pulled the motor out because we heard it run before we bought it and heard a slight knock, so we figured at worst it spun a rod bearing. Accidentally broke the vtec oil pressure switch, sucks cuz those things are like 70 bucks.




Once out, we got a closer look, and not only was there oil everywhere from the leaky oil pump seals, but the head gasket was leaking oil too!! so we decided to replace the head gasket, and also check the bottom end to see if there was any damage from the oil pump seals leaking so bad.


we found shavings in the oil pan, and pick up tube, so we had to check at least one cylinder, and then we found a spun rod bearing.


Now we had decided to drop all the pistons and rods, check all the cylinders, and we had found this. Its a decent size scratch all the way up and down the second cylinder, which we determined was caused by an improperly installed piston ring.



So now we had to make a decision, should we have the block bored to the next factory service limit, buy new pistons, pins, rings, and rod bearings and replace the seals that caused the problem in the first place? Or should we do a ls/vtec build with all the nice factory parts that we have?

We decided to go with an ls/vtec oem build.

The plan was to get an ls block use the bottom end, replace the oil pump, water pump and flywheel with the itr parts from the b16 block, use stock ls crank and rods, and replace the pistons with the pr3's from the b16 replacing the rings, hone the block and put new bearings in the ls bottom end. We figured this bottom end set up with the b16 head and gsr cams would be a respectable oem build up, make for a solid dd, and we already had almost all the parts we needed. Except for the ls/vtec conversion kit, and new headgasket.

Long story short when we had the wrist pins pressed out of the b16a pistons to be switched to the ls rods, the clearance was way beyond oem specs between the pins and the pistons. Which basically means the engine was run a lot without oil, and the pistons were trash. So we had to order new pr3 pistons, pins, and rings.

Like i said earlier this will be my first ls/vtec build and here is what we have so far:
B18b1 block
ls crank
itr flywheel
itr oil pump
gsr water pump
gsr timing belt/tensioner
ls rods
pr3 pistons
ls head gasket
ls vtec stainless steel oil line (t from oil sending sensor to head)
ls vtec dowel pins
B16 head
gsr cams
p30 or p72 ecu not sure, havent checked yet.
gsr trans

B20ztek

iTrader: (1)

Ouch, someone didnt know what they were doing!

Looks like you do though, interested to see the outcome. Car looks like it has lots of potential. Doesnt matter what ecu you use, it will have to be chipped/tuned anyway.

Also will want to remove that pulley from the alternator and go back to stock, it won't be able to put out enough amps at idle and will cause it to die and lights will be very dim.

spun95

yea the car needs some body work too. just want to get it driving first. I was wondering about that pulley, i have honestly never used or seen a lightweight pulley on an alternator, lol, it looks way bigger than stock. makes sense though, it won't spin as fast as the stock pulley because its bigger. Will probably end up just replacing the alternator because of all the oil that was on it.

spun95

Here is the b18b1 bottom end we are using, just need to clean it up...



Using a fine wire wheel on a drill, wire brush and a lot of engine degreaser and brake parts cleaner, i was able to clean up the outside of the block pretty good.

DirtyDA9

Nice start. What are your plans for the lsv? If you list the setup you had in mind we can give you advice.

spun95

here is what i have so far for the lsvtec:
B18b1 block
ls crank
itr flywheel
itr oil pump
gsr water pump
gsr timing belt/tensioner
ls rods
pr3 pistons
ls head gasket
ls vtec stainless steel oil line (t from oil sending sensor to head)
golden eagle ls vtec dowel pins
B16 head
gsr cams
p30 or p72 ecu not sure, havent checked yet.
gsr trans

Im trying to keep it all oem, as it needs to be a solid reliable dd. My plan is to sell once its built and possibly painted.

DirtyDA9

Add ARP head studs and rod bolts to that list. And it wouldnt be a bad idea to have the rods shotpeened.

spun95

I have the arp headstuds, and my rods are in the machine shop now, im waiting for my new pistons to come in so they can be installed. I will call the shop tomorrow and ask him about getting the rods shotpeened. I was told the oem rodbolts and rods would be ok as long as i wasnt planning on going to much over 200hp. is this true?

DirtyDA9

Well rod bolts are most of the time the first thing to break when you increase hp and rpm range. The bolt holes will need to be bored since arp's are 1mm wider.

spun95

Decided to paint the valve cover today while still waiting for some parts to arrive.

Here is what it used to look like


getting it cleaned up and ready for paint


Primed and almost wanted to leave it this color, it looks like a clay pot. lol


right after the second coat of paint



going to let paint sit over night, next step is to polish out letters.

spun95

here is how the valve cover turned out

DirtyDA9

Wow that dried into a really different color lol. I like it. The clay pot primer was neat too.

spun95

Thanks, yea it turned out a little darker than i thought it would, but i like it too. That was my first time painting a valve cover so i hope it will last, i used high temp ceramic paint.

spun95

Does anyone know if i will be ok to use arp main bolts and oem b16 main bearings on a b18b1 block and crank?

1ls/vtec

For ECU purposes, use either the p30 or p28 since they are for the B16. P72 is for the GSR and (correct me if I'm wrong) will throw a CEL for the B16 not having butterflies in the intake manifold. You can probably bypass that problem. Just thought I'd bring that up just in case you weren't aware. Good luck with your build.

spun95

Thanks for the advice. im pretty sure it's a p30. To be honest I haven't checked yet, I will today. There was a cel on when I got the car. Not sure why, but I noticed there was wiring for the vtec solenoid and oil pressure switch. If the car has a non vtec wiring harness and was tapped for vtec would this throw constant cel? Also, does anyone know if I can use b16 main bearings and main bolts in a b18b1 block with ls crank??

SoNiC_BooMDC5

Props on the engine build. Got my own 00' LS with the stock b18b1 and I'm itching to start my own ls/vtec build sometime soon...

spun95

Thanks, had to choose between boring out the b16 block to the next service limit and rebuild from there or get a ls bottom end for cheaper then the machine shop and do the lsv. stoked to see how it will turn out. Goal is to have a solid dd. Just waiting on the new pr3 pistons and rings to come in the mail so I can put it together!

1998GsRIntegra

On using B16 bearings and main bolts, just compare the factory part numbers. If they are the same, you are fine, if they're different, you aren't fine. Lol

DirtyDA9

Pretty sure the p28 is a single cam ecm.

And dont waste your money on arp mains, factory mains are more than enough. Plus you would need to have the main cap bolt holes align honed forvthe arp's.

spun95

yes p28 is for a d16, thats what i had in my ej1. i forgot to check again what this teg has. lol.

I already have the arp main studs in the b16a2 block im not using and they are only a couple months old, i will not be able to use them with b18b crank and block anyway.

also found out that the b16a b18c b18b and the b20 all use the same main bearings. but when it comes to rod bearings there almost all different. so make sure to use the rod bearings for the rods you are using.

spun95

This was weird, I was going to install a plug into the b16 head, for the vtec conversion, when i found out that it was already tapped and plugged!!!


so I came to the conclusion that the last person must have sourced different parts for his b16 build and got a head that was already used for an lsvtec. The guy never unplugged it when istalled on the vtec block! so i guess it worked to my benefit in a way. lol.

Then i could not help but notice how dirty the combustion side of the head was so i taped off the oil and coolant holes in the head and sprayed each cylinder chamber with intake cleaner, wiped them out then, very carefully, took a fine wire brush on a drill to each valve bottom and cylinder, sprayed it down with intake cleaner and wiped it out again. It turned out good!

Before


after


once it was clean, i was able to see that on the first cylinder, closest to the dizzy, something, at one point in time, must have blew to pieces in that cylinder. The valves still close all the way and it does not affect the seal of the head deck to block, so i imagine it will be ok.

Has anyone seen anything, or used a head like this before? I would hate to throw it away when everything seems functional.

1ls/vtec

yeah the p28 came in the SOHC civic. I have a B16A2 head on my LSV swap and am running a chipped p28, what kind of chip I have no idea. I bought it from a guy that used to work at Polk Performance in AR. It runs just fine, besides the terrible MPG

spun95

Did he sell you the whole ecu, or just the chip? I was wondering if those are hard to install. How bad is the mpg's?

spun95

Got the new pistons in the mail today and took them straight to the machine shop to have the put onto the ls rods. The company sent me pistons for a b16b instead of b16a, so i now will be installing ctr pistons instead of the pr3's!!!