MoogieBoogie

I picked up a 1992 Civic DX auto, 128k miles sedan. The engine won't start, and the previous owner told me that it had something to do with coolant leakage. I'm guessing blown head gasket?

In any case, I was wondering what I should do with it. Part it out or try to fix it up and give the car a good home.

How difficult is it to switch from auto to manual on this car? From searching and looking around, it seems that the cheap engine choice is the ZC, but a lot of people just go with the b16. I have no clue about these, so what do you guys recommend? How simple would it be to swap in a new motor?

If there are any good sites to read for information, please point me in that direction.

Thanks everyone,
-Brian.

MoogieBoogie

OK, forget about the auto swap. Reading some more posts here, it seems more trouble than its worth, although one guy says he did it himself for $300 in parts. I'm not too mechanically inclined, so forget it.

What are my options for engines and keeping the auto?

Thanks,
-Brian.

brentmc79

If you're on a budget, then you'd probably wanna reuse your transmission, which would mean staying d-series. So you're best bets would be ZC, d16z6, d16y8, or d15-vtec.

MoogieBoogie

Thanks brentmc79.

I can use the d16z6 with the stock auto transmission? After searching through some threads, it seems that this is the engine to go with (SOHC vtec). Are they reliable?

Also, the car cranks, but it doesn't start. The guy told me he drove for three months adding coolant whenever the temperature gauge would go above normal. Then one day the car just wouldn't start. I'm guessing blown headgasket? Is there anyway to start up the car?

Thanks again,
-Brian.

BatuKing

blown headgasket should still fire up, check everything.. timing belt, ignition, ect ect

brentmc79

Not necessarily, if it over-heated bad enough to warp the head, then there may not be enough compression to start the motor.

ABK

I would still change it to stick. If you want a vtec p28 ecu for auto I got one that I could sell for dirt cheap.

lohatch

i would swap it. it is not hard. the holes are in the firewall for the clutch pedal already. you take out the center counsel and rip all the auto shifter **** out. there is one cable that runs to the tranny, so disconnect it and pull the motor out. when your new one is in you drill 2 holes and bolt the shift linkage up. Hmotorsonline sells d15b vtec motors with the tranny for like $585 plus under $200 on shipping which is a pretty good deal for a fresh motor. then you would need to source an ECU, linkage, and pedal assembly, which can all be had at a junkyard. you will also need to either buy an adapter for the top trans mount(cuz the auto and manual ones are a bit different) or cut the auto one off the frame rail and weld a manual one on. run a vtec wire and some little odd **** and thank me later. dont get overwhelmed. you arent the first one to do an auto to manual swap and this is honda-tech. if you have a question post it up and in under 5 minutes you should have some hits. also invest in a HELMS manual and the search button is your friend. when looking for motors keep in mind that it will be easiest to use a motor that is OBD1, which is what your car is. good luck man. and dont give up

civic_tuner

lohatch has it right.. try and get ahold of a d15b or a d16z6 both complete swaps can be had very cheap 5-7 hundred bucks. as for the tranny mounts either place racing or hasport has a auto-2-manual adapter mounts that bolts up to the auto mount.if you know how to weld to can also cut the auto mount and weld a manual mount in its place. I got all the other parts that I needed at a junkyard for about $60.(clutch lines, slave and master cylinder, as for pedal you only need the brake and clutch, the gas is the same..just do alot of research. all the info you need is in the archives.. good luck.

suspendedHatch

Nah just keep it auto and keep your stock trans or they'll probably give you the auto trans that's correctly geared for the engine for free if its still on the engine. Make sure you get all the mounts with the engine, or else you will have to grind down your drivers side mount slightly to work and cut your timing belt cover slightly. Get a JDM D15 VTEC or D16Z6, yes they are reliable if you get a good one from a good source, since they'll have 50k miles or so. Check the oil, coolant, and tranny fluid, for tell tale signs like oil/coolant mix, metal shavings, gunk in the valve cover. Be sure and get an auto ECU. Don't let anyone talk **** to you, Civic autos are (can be) fast. If you want more power get a turbo that will be plenty to get you killed if you survive after the swap. You can also get a TCI high stall converter that's what I got, no (similarly equipped) manual trans has the torque pull you feel in my car.

MoogieBoogie

Thanks everyone for the replies.

If I keep the auto transmission, could I swap in the manual transmission later without much more labor than it would be to do it together? Could I get the D16Z6 and then just keep it mated to the current DX auto trans?

I'm not so sure I could tackle a auto to manual swap. This is the first time I'm doing anything this comprehensive, so all of this is really new to me. I would be really wary about just doing it for the first time, because I'm afraid I'll run into problems due to poor installation, and will have to rip it all apart again. I'm on a fairly tight budget so I don't want to spend more than I really have to. I would prefer a manual transmission due to the added fuel economy and just personal preference. You guys just make it sound so easy

With the mounts, if the mounts are not included with the engine, could I just purchase them somewhere? I think I should be on the safe side and swap the water pump and timing belt, possibly the radiator as well. I don't want the car to overheat again.

Where do you guys recommend that I get my engine from? I'm near the Chicago area.

Thanks again,
-Brian.

APEXcoupe

I have a D-16 (Single cam, v-tec) for sale. The only problem is the tranny! It
"DOES NOT" go into third and forth.... So far best offer is 300.........

civic_tuner

If you already going to pull the engine out. the only thing you have to tackle is the pedals and the bolt up the auto-2-manual tranny mount. trial and error is how I learn how to do anything. so I say if the engine is coming out already, why not.

APEXcoupe

the engine will be out a.s.a.p, i say by tomorrom, (Saturday). So if ur interested, make me a offer, im looking to sell it all together......

APEXcoupe

MoogieBoogie

I am probably not going to do anything until June or so. I did take off the valve cover today and found the oil inside covering the valves to be very milky. So I think the engine failed due to a blown headgasket. It still doesn't start, but I think it may be due to flooded fuel in the chambers.

Whatever.

Since you're in CA, shipping will probably be too expensive. How many miles are on it?

I'm probably going to go with the d16z6 motor, but I need to know if that could be mated to my DX stock auto transmission. Or any D-series for that matter. I don't want to spend too much on this, so the auto to manual swap is out.

Thanks again,
-Brian.

APEXcoupe

No problem dude, Good luck with your car ......