Ryhaz

Hello H-T, I bought 1995 Honda Civic with a B16A swap in it used but the previous owner put smaller pistons in. Now I have no idea if they made the bore bigger or what they did, how can I measure it? I don't have a Bore Gauge nor is it very easy to obtain one. is there any other way I can find out to order the right pistons?

jbpnoman

No, you need a dial bore gauge. Also, there's no way the PO put "smaller pistons" in the car - it doesn't work that way.

Ryhaz

well I say that because when i removed the Head you can move the pistons around its not tight there is about 1mm space between the piston and the cylinder wall on EVERY piston.

jbpnoman

Then the PO had the motor honed, and put the wrong sized piston in. That's a big no-no when rebuilding an engine.

Ryhaz

So I would need a dial bore gauge to see the correct size and then order the right pistons?

jbpnoman

That's correct. You should also have those cylinders honed - with the pistons currently in there, you probably have a LOT of blowby that needs to be honed off.

Any competent machine shop should be able to do this for you, if you can't get your hands on a dial bore gauge.

Ryhaz

Thank you! also one last questions, can I bring the block to the machine shop and tell them it needs to be honed for 81mm pistons (for example) and that's done? then buy 81mm piston set with rods and everything and it should fit no problem?

Please excuse me for asking os much as you can see I'm totally new to engines.

jbpnoman

They can't hone it smaller, only larger. The stock bore on a B16A is 81mm, so you'll have to go larger than that.

Ryhaz

hmmh well they say 82mm is the maximum to go without a sleeved block so i'm hoping when they switched out the stock pistons for forged ones they just bought the wrong size and didn't hone it :\ then I would need too buy sleeves too.

jbpnoman

You can get a hone without boring it further - take it to a machine shop and see what they can do for you. You can also go a little bigger than 82mm, as long as you don't plan on running any power adders.

Ryhaz

I have another question... Can i get stock dry sleeves and put in the cylinder and have it bored to 81mm? or am I wrong and its not possible? also how would this go? does the machine shop press the dry liners into the current sleeves? yes I'm completely new to this so be patient please.

The car has been sitting for a while now and I have no idea what to do with it I should take it to a mechanic but this is meant to be a learning project for me (I do work with a mechanic when i work non the car but hes not always here).

jbpnoman

It's a little more complicated than that, but yeah, you can. Make sure the machine shop that does the work is damn good, though, and expect it to cost a small chunk of change.

If you're willing to get the block resleeved, I'd almost recommend finding a machine shop to install Darton MID's or AEBS sleeves for you.

B_Swapped93

just get a new(different) bottom end sounds like that last owner just threw it together and said lets see what idiot buys it. the cost of sleeveing alone would out weight the price of a b18/b20 bottom end. my vote ditch the pos b16 block and get a b20 one and go B20V more torque. I'd get some better rods/pistons tho if I went b20 or you'll be limited to the 7K rpm range

Ryhaz

I'm a actually thinking of doing just that It should make it more worth it down the road if i want to boost wouldn't it? Darton MID sleeves, Wisecon forged piston and eagle rods?

jbpnoman

Definitely. Darton MID sleeves are great, and AEBS sleeves are grenade-proof. Just make sure they are professionally installed by an authorized retailer - it'll cost you a little bit more, but you can rest at night knowing that you won't have problems with sleeve sink.

TripleLude

82mm is the max oversize of the B20a5 motor, yet I am running one bored to 83mm without any problems. It went from a 2.0 liter to a 2.1 liter. Stock iron sleeves, B21a1 pistons, B21a1 head gasket.

I think the 82mm limit is mostly in regards to the head gasket cylinder size. You can't easily find a B16 head gasket which is bigger than 82mm.