Girth

Hello all. New to the forum and new to Hondas in general, so lets hope I don't screw up my first post too bad. Figured I'd combine an intro and tech questions into one post. I just bought my first Honda, and boy is she awesome........and by awesome, I got what I paid for, and it needs work...a LOT of work.

1995 Civic DX coupe, 5sp, with a D15B Vtec.... which Im not sure is the original engine. Been reading threads trying to figure it out, but I've given up, and figured I'd just join and ask some guys who know. Snapped some pics of the block and head markings, as well as the AWESOME engine mount someone "fabricated". I can see where the original mount bracket WOULD bolt to the block.....if they hadn't broken the casting where those two bolts thread in. Looks like Im rolling the home grown mount until I weld something better together.

I have a bit of an oil leak, looks to be coming from two spots. What I think is the vtec solenoid on the back of the head, and from the bottom of the distributor.

Of course it failed the emissions test. Figured it would, since it came from a county where they aren't required. Passed the high rpm test fine, failed the low idle by a small margin. Smells like its running pretty rich. Installed a stock air box/intake today to replace the aftermarket one that was one there, so I can get a waiver and get it licensed. Its got a bit of a miss at idle, probably needs a tune up bad. Gotta replace the drivers side CV axle first though...man that things loud in a turn.

So yeah...thats my long, drawn out intro/vent session. I guess the real tech question is engine ID? Im thinking its a JDM replacement, but I just don't know. Timing belt seems a little loose to me, but Im not sure how tight it should be. Suppose I need to know what motor I have so I can get the right belt....and yeah, I probably need an upper cover for it.

Oh...other question... what tech manual will get me by for general maintenance? Are the Haynes/Chilton manuals useful on these? Any help/input/etc would be appreciated. Im out of my element on these. Seem easy to work on, just a bit of a learning curve.

Girth

Holy huge pictures batman.... sorry bout that. Here's the other two.

Former User

JDM D15B VTEC swap.

What ECU?

Oil leak is most likely from distributor O ring/internal seal and/or VTEC solenoid.

Girth

Good to know, thanks.

I don't know. Have to go find it, but I'll get back to you on that.

Kind of what I figured after reading about others having similar leaks. I'll have to look into those seals.

Former User

O ring versus internal seal

Remove distributor cap, rotor, and inner cover. Check for oil inside distributor. Oil inside = bad internal seal.

Girth

I'll add that to the list of to-do's.

ECU....which was just laying under the carpet on the floorboard, is marked -P06-A00

Former User

I'm not absolutely sure, but I believe you need a P28 ECU for the current engine.

The P06 ECU is for the original DX engine, which I think was a D15B7.

Is the P06 plugged in? Did you check behind the kick panel.

Girth

I just saw that in a quick search...the P06 being for the original DX engine. Looks like I get to research ECUs now, or at least see how they have this engine running off the incorrect ECU.

Yes its plugged in, though its just laying there under the carpet, the harness runs up the firewall. The plastic kick panel is not there. The ECU is big too, at least it seems so to me having never looked at a Honda ECU before (around 8inx10in without actually measuring). It doesn't look like it would fit there if there was a kick panel.

Former User

...

tollickj

The ECU for that motor is a P08, but everyone uses the P28's, there more common.

Girth

Huh... the space just looked too small to me, but I am new. There is nothing mounted in that location though, and the bracket shown in that diagram is gone. Harness still has that flat sleeve over it, but as I said, the ECU was just laying under the carpet.

Former User

Former User

Just wanted you to see how the ECU is properly mounted, if you wish to go that route.

tollickj

If you need help get a Haynes manual. I personally perfer these. Get a 92-95 All SOHC Honda Civic manual.

Girth

All right, stupid new guy question. I'll ask it since Im here, but I get the feeling I have a lot of reading to do.

Obviously the car is running (though maybe not as it should) on the original ECU, and has been for some time. Are they just plug and play, or did someone likely repin/rewire to get the JDM engine to work? Im gonna run it as is for a while (car was purchased for a commuter) but if I can just plug in the proper ECU, I will certainly add that to the growing "to-do" list.

Girth

I appreciate the rapid responses. Thank you.

Thats what I'll do. I have them for our other vehicles, just wasn't sure how helpful they would be with a not so stock vehicle. A decent starting point Im sure.

Former User

The factory Helms manual is superior to Haynes, in my opinion.

tollickj

You would have to check the vtec solenoid to see if its connected. If there's no wires connected then you don't have vtec set up and if you want that you will have to wire it. Its two wires you'll have to route. I couldn't tell from the pic you have. Take a closer pic of your vtec solenoid (back left of your cylinder head).

Girth

Well it looks like I have to work on it sooner than expected. I was under the mistaken impression I could get an emissions waiver, and work on it later. Apparently with the JDM engine, they won't grant a waiver. It HAS to pass emissions. Or at least thats what the local "Certified Repair Shop" just told me when they said I was wasting my money asking them for a diagnostic/waiver. At least if I was planning on doing my own work.

I'm sure I'll be back with more questions, but I'll be tearing into it this weekend. I don't think it failed THAT bad, so hopefully I can tweak it enough to pass the Idle test. Test result numbers below.....

HC (PPM) / CO (%)

Cruise Limit 400 / 3.00
Cruise Emissions 76 / 0.07

Idle Limit 400 / 3.00
Idle Emissions 590 / 4.05

Former User

The wrong ECU is running the engine. Is that the tweaking you plan to do?

Girth

Figured I would see where the timing is at, see if the O2 sensor is working, and see what temps are on either side of the CAT. Maybe bump the idle a little as its down around 800rpm.

Need to open up the ECU and see if its been chipped as someone suggested before.

Would a simple change of the ECU make all the difference? If so, thats what I'll do.

If its gonna take too much money, just to get it to pass, I'll probably cut my losses and walk away from it. Chalk it up to a hard learned lesson....

Former User

Based on information you provided so far, you are basically running a D16Z6 VTEC engine with D15B7 ECU. There's a good reason that the D16Z6 and D15B7 were designed to run different ECUs. Install the correct ECU and go from there, or cut your losses. It's up to you.

Girth

The P08 or P28 ECUs mentioned earlier.... either would be suitable in their factory trim? Or would they need any tuning/chip/programming?

Former User

Either stock ECU should be fine. Your engine has a D16Z6 head.

Girth

Am I correct in assuming the "version" doesn't matter? A01 vs A02 for instance?