Wdpfreak145

The vehicle:
1995 civic sedan EX
d16z6 engine, 5 spd.
Mods: Skunk2 pro intake man, AEM SRI, ebay header, test pipe, and catback.

Backstory: After an extended trip I discovered my car 2 qts short on oil from a leaky pan gasket. Replaced the pan AND gasket (old one was dented) and changed the oil, obviously. Car developed a SLIGHTLY audible knock under acceleration. I also substituted a quart of oil for a quart of lucas.

Last night: Checked the oil before I left my house, which I do routinely. Full and clean. On my way to town, the car developed a HIGHLY audible knock. I limped it to a friends house, shut it off. Checked the oil, still full and clean. Had it towed home this afternoon, still knocking under acceleration and startup. If I hold engine speed steady, no knock.

I have plans to boost the car, but funds are short. My question now is how can rebuild the bottom end, for boost, but most cost-conscious? I don't make a lot of money working as a mechanic currently lol.

TomCat39

Rebuilding stock so just new OEM bearings and Rings, assuming you still see the factory cross hatching so only a super light hone needed, you are still looking at a few hundred dollars.

Since you want to boost, now you are looking at new pistons and new rods on top of that which is another 600 or more dollars just for the block alone.

And this is just parts and doesn't include labor or machine shop work/charges.

Hopefully this gives you a rough idea of what you are in for. You may do a little better on your costs, or a little worse. That's pretty much the rough estimate I got when pricing out my rebuild options.

So yeah, YMMV but probably not by a whole lot.

Wdpfreak145

Right, I've been trying to price pistons and rods all day. It's not going to be any kind of dedicated car, it's still going to be my daily. I just want it to be able to handle a substantial amount of boost without worrying about pencil-thin (stock) rods. I will be pulling the engine myself, and having the machine work done locally through my shop. I'm already planning on having a hone or bore & hone if necessary, so I've been shopping for pistons in stock bore and oversized.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

A hone should always be considered necessary.

If you want cheap and good, Supertech pistons are amazingly affordable, and Eagle rods are about as cheap as you'll find that are still reliable. Take this opportunity to bump your CR to 10.5:1, and you'll have a fun little ****** to drive around town on a daily basis

Wdpfreak145

THIS is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Of course the hone is necessary to put the crosshatch back in the cylinder walls, I was speaking about the necessity of boring the block, which I am not sure of yet.

Any recommendation on bearings?

White_EG1

Acl rod bearings and rod bolts. And arp head studs should run you under $210 with shipping and tax.

Wdpfreak145

I will look into ACL bearings. I'm assuming you're talking about ARP rod bolts? Whichever rod set I go with, I will be getting ARP2000 rod bolts to go with. Should I look at ACL for main bearings as well?

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

I'm also a fan of ACL bearings. Really though, as long as you get them from a major company (ACL, King, OEM), they'll work fine - it's all in the install. Make sure your journals are clean, and your bearings are well-lubed. You can check my build thread for procedure there.

I wouldn't worry too much about rod bolts. If you get quality rods, they'll come with quality rod bolts out of the box. If you're sticking with OEM rods, you're also sticking yourself with OEM pistons (which I don't think you want to do). ARP rod bolts would be a good "peace of mind" upgrade, but you'll still be limited by the pencil thin rods. You also may need to get your rods line honed if switching from OEM to ARP rod bolts. They apply torque differently, and can (don't always, but can) cause slight warping that'll spin bearings. The same stands true for upgrading to ARP main studs (which aren't really necessary).

Yes, definitely look for main, rod, and thrust bearings. Spec them all out properly. If you aren't sure how to do that, have the machine shop do it for you.

Wdpfreak145

I actually just found a set of Nippon pistons, SCAT rods w/ ARP hardware, NPR rings, King rod, main, and thrust bearings, pins and locks for just over 500 via ebay. Not ideal considering the source, but it is all-inclusive for that price. All non-crucial gaskets I will get via my parts store.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

That's not too bad, but also not considerably better than OEM for power handling. It just comes down to what you want to spend, though. A setup like that, I wouldn't personally push much past 250 WHP. Supertech pistons on Eagle rods could handle 300-350, and with a slight bump in compression you'll have better power delivery and more fun driving, but it'll also cost you in the realm of $800 for the pistons and rods alone.

All comes down to what you're willing to spend.

Wdpfreak145

Well like I said before, this car will still be a daily driver, with plans to retain p/s and a/c. So power goals aren't stupid high for a sohc. Just enough to walk away from the rich boy cars.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

From experience, I can tell you that 200 WHP isn't going to walk away from much. 4.6L Rustangs, sure, but pretty much anything German is faster than a 4.6L Ford. There's nothing stopping you from having a good daily driver, with PS and AC, and still pushing 300+ with the right internals. You can have your cake and eat it too

Wdpfreak145

LMFAO. That post pretty much made my night. I've also been eyeballing this manifold. Again, an ebay piece, but probably from a private shop doing small runs of this type. Beats paying 500+ for a "designer" manifold and downpipe. The idea here is to pay for the product without paying for the name behind it...

Civic CRX D15 D16 EG EK T3T4 T4E Equal Length Stainless Turbo Manifold Keep AC | eBay

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Oh ew, you don't want a manifold like that for your car. It looks cool and all, but it's too big for a low to moderate power D series, and is gonna introduce some unwanted lag into the equation. A reasonably sized turbo (Disco Potato, AKA GTX2860RS would be great for your goals) a quality cast manifold (find a used Drag unit, or something that's properly designed and not just "shove the runners together" Chinese ****), and the other related supporting mods and engine work, and you can have a reliable, fun to drive little sedan that'll chew up cars worth three times as much.

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

agreed on the cast manifold. not pretty, but damn do they ever get the job done. cost less too.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

And they're generally harder to break. Sure, they're less flash, but who cares? It's under the hood. It's invisible unless you're popping your hood at a meet or some ****, and meets are too full of thieves to even be worth thinking about going to. If I'm using one for a 400 WHP build, you can use one for a 300 WHP build