Roadster33

Guys,

If there is a thread on this please point me to the right direction. I only came across this one here https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...-vtec-3215834/.

My 1.7 D17A2 is failing me miserably, i kept the car (very) well. But it was taken for a drive by a relative and the car broke down due to a leaking radiator cover.

Long story short the car constantly overheated to the max and stalled. I had a head gasket & machining job done - didnt work. Out of desperation i threw in a bottle of K-seal and lo & behold it made the engine overheat quicker

Managed to get a nice looking JDM D17 engine (block only) and plan to get the swap done soon,

I plan to reuse the following (Less than 6 months old)
- Timing belt & bearing
- Water pump
- Spark Plugs
- All the sensors & the VTEC solenoid (The JDM block had its sensors removed)

Please share your thoughts and advice on what gaskets / seals / other parts i should look at replacing before the JDM engine goes in?

Much appreciated guys.

R

sumdewd

I just got done doing a headgasket job on my buddy's D17A2 two weeks ago. Might get some flak, but if I was swapping a JDM engine on this generation I would just replace the headgasket while the engine was on the ground. The HGs on these cars seem to be a common failure point, and there was a decent amount of work to get the head removed while in the car. I feel like it would only take an hour or two while it was out. You could also do a leakdown test to verify I suppose.

I recommend getting yourself a full top end gasket set. We used a Felpro set and replaced the following:

crank/camshaft/rear main seals,
VTEC solenoid gaskets (Might **** a crap ton of oil if you don't),
The black cam plug/seal next to the EGR valve (Purchased separately)
Valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals,
Water pump gasket
Intake/Exhaust manifold gaskets (Unnecessary if you aren't taking them off)
Coolant connecting pipe o-ring
Fuel injector seals

Highly recommend considering:
Cleaning all of your electrical grounds.
Oil Pan Gasket & Oil pump seals
PCV Valve
Genuine Honda Thermostat
Cleaning throttle body/plate
Valve adjustment
Spark plug cleaning and regapping
Check drive belts
Inspecting all engine mounts for wear
Clean IACV

We also did a full timing kit 6 months before the HG blew, so we reused it all except the valve cover gasket. Use a new o-ring when you swap the water pump over.

I found the connecting pipe hose was swollen and cut. I also replaced its oring when I removed it. It was only $7 to get the OEM hose, but nobody had it locally, so I bought a generic hose of the same diameter at ADV auto and cut it to fit just fine.

Consider the oil pan gasket if it's leaking, and if you have that off you can replace the seals on the oil pump and check the pickup on it. Also strongly recommend an OEM thermostat, and flushing whatever system you put the damn sealant into.

His injector seals cracked and fell apart when I removed the fuel rail. I would consider doing those since they're included in the kit.

How is your transmission/clutch doing? It would be a good time to swap a transmission or do a new clutch and flywheel resurface.

Since you'll be taking the axles out and disconnecting lower balljoints, it would also be a good time to see how your front suspension and brakes are doing.

Do you have an engine hoist, or are you dropping the subframe? I've done it both ways and I VERY much prefer my HF engine hoist.

Sorry for the wall of text, but this is definitely an intermediate job and I had a few curve ***** thrown at me. Let me know if you need any additional help. I usually check on here around this time in the evenings.

Roadster33

Your reply is much appreciated - through and full of good info
I plan to reuse the tranny, as its smooth and has never been an issue.

Id love to work on this myself, but I dont have space or the right tools for an engine swap, so its going to the mech & hope it comes out well.

I'll be reusing (as mentioned)
- timing belt, bearing
- water pump
- vtec solenoid gasket as it was only recently replaced - provided they're still good.
- pcv valve - just changed that too
- aisin thermostat - also just replaced - but might have been damaged due to the multiple overheating episodes

Ill be getting
- oil seals (crank/camshaft/rear main seals you mentioned)
- cam seal next to EGR
- water pump gasket/o-ring
- valve cover gasket
- used toyo radiator with fan
- hoses if the old ones are not useable

As the JDM engine is (supposedly) low mileage, less than 100k & looks clean, plus the hand crank compression test was strong ill kiv the following
- spark plug tube seals
- intake/exhaust manifold gaskets
- head gasket
- fuel injector seals
- oil pan gasket & oil pump seals - no visible signs of leakage, will do another inspection.
- coolant connecting pipe o-ring
- engine mounts
- absorber mounts and bush - how many bushes are there and should they all be replaced?
- temp sensor

My mech suggests to use the JDM as is, and avoid burning more $$$ on parts. He doesnt think head gaskets could go on cars with low mileage.

I tend to agree but then who knows what condition these cars were in to begin with.

Theres always a risk of another lemonade if the engine is warped or cracked to begin with

Thanks Again for your reply and hope to see your feedback.

R

sumdewd

I could've sworn I checked back on this thread several times to see no reply, but you replied fairly soon. Sorry man

What kind of warranty is the mechanic offering if he doesn't recommend a few more steps to do the HG on the ground? Or better yet, is there a warranty on the engine itself? Like I said, doing a new HG on a swap engine might not be ideal, so I'm not surprised he doesn't recommend it. I was sick of dealing with my buddy's car, and a machine shop said it was gonna be $375 for the engine work because they refused to do just a resurface. I told my buddy I would replace the HG on the new engine if his old one was out of spec, but we lucked out and it was fine. I was quoted about $400 locally for a new engine, so it was a crapshoot on a rebuild VS swap.

It honestly sounds like you have a good battle plan. Don't forget the newest engine of this generation is now 14 years old. More than mileage plays into this. It would be real easy to replace those small rubber parts, especially if they're already included in a kit.

This model has 4 engine mounts, and they're easily inspected with a light and possibly a mirror. Front/rear, left/right.

I'm not sure how many suspension bushings are on this model. I haven't replaced any yet.

Gaskets usually have to be replaced and shouldn't be reused. When you say you got an engine, did it include the manifolds? If it didn't and you're swapping manifolds, you should replace the gaskets.

My goal was to set my buddy's car up and not touch it again. If this is your daily driver, I would highly recommend doing those little seals and o-rings. You can get away without a headgasket for now, but please consider the other little things for peace of mind.

Roadster33

Thanks for replying man, i know what you mean - if i had known what i would get with a decent jdm engine i would have gone with the swap anyday. Burned 400 on the HG and well it made almost zero difference. Next time an old engine overheats ill just source a used one, HG jobs are touch and go, plus its almost impossible to tell if there is a hairline crack on the aluminium block, the symptoms tend to show up later and the endless troubleshooting begins. My old engine had almost 186miles on it and the jdm 60miles, so thats a big difference. Old engine + a lot of miles, wiser to swap.

So the engine came with a week warranty, and we just did it up with the parts we could get (mentioned earlier). There was a japanese marking on the timing cover, and we realized that the belt and bearing was just replaced, didnt take any chances and we replaced it anyway.

My mounts still look okay, minor vibration so no change. Swapped both the intake and exhaust manifold as mine had new gaskets on them, the block only came with the intake manifold. Infact it was just a block + intake manifold the rest was stripped.

I looked the vin up and the block came from a Civic Ferio 1.7, not sure if theres a hp difference, lets see.

Drove the car around for a few days, and it starts well, is quiet and runs all right. No overheating or loss of coolant. This is just used for short distances, next will be the suspension, the front is starting to make noise and probably ride comfort is not as it used to be.

Also just realized that the front tyre gap to body is higher by almost an inch compared to the back tyre... its like a sagging back... weird!

Thanks again for all your feedback sumdewd, much appreciated!

Cheers!

sumdewd

Glad to see you're rolling again. Don't be afraid to post here if you have any other issues with it. Odds are someone has dealt with the same issue on this generation and can offer insight.

Roadster33

Thanks for the help!

Cheers