lexruger

Hi guys.... semi new to hondas. I have had my b16a2 swap for about 6 months now. When i got, the guy who sold it to me completely ripped me off. I have had to spend 3000 grand on a 5k car gettin it roadworthy. Cheap ebay turbo at 11lbs. wasnt tuned. Plus, the ecu was non vtec with a chip soldered on and it wasnt responding to hondata. Had to buy a new ecu, new tial wastegates and bov, turbo timer, injector dynamic 1000cc injectors, hondata s300 and tune. Its been smoking from the oil breather for a few months and the idle would dip a bit while cruising in neutral. I initally thought it was the headgasket or piston ring. Did a hrd thrid gear pull yesterday and something went on it. It stalls when not under power and smokes like its on fire. NO CEL on and the light does work.

Needs a rebuild. Just want to run it at 11lbs, it pulled 270 hp at 8k. I need to stay as cheap a build as i can so was wondering what is necesary to invest in. it has aStock bottom end, and it has some port and polish done to the head.

I was thinking just of gettin forged pistons. Any suggestions?

CleanazzEJ1

Pick up an LS for like $500 and boost that my friend got a Eg wit a LS boosted stock motor 9 lbs made 255hp at the ground. Been beatin the crap outta it just get a tune from someone who knows what they're doin!!

lexruger

but i still would be on a stock block? i got a 57 trim turbo and a good tune now with hondata at 11 lbs... i dont push it that had maybe once a month and i never even gone to 8k besides when tuned

wouldnt getting an ls with install be as much as gettin my b16 rebuilt with forged pistons?

lexruger

would i be ok with the b16 with forged pistons and rods to push it around 300 hp?

gooberguy31

LS with install would be less time and most likely WAY less money, buy it, swap turbo parts over, drop it in, get it tuned, beat it ALL THE WAY HOME--- compared to--- pulling your b16, taking it apart getting new parts $, replacing the other parts while in there$$ machining$$$ plus who know's even what went wrong, if your b16 crank/block/pistons are still reusable, parts to "build" the bottom end$$$$, in the end if your gonna rebuild a motor, be prepared to spend a lot of time and money, rebuild gaskets are a largely overlooked expense for rebuilding, plus once you get in there your gonna wanna do more cuz it's gonna be beat on at least a litle bit, so just in a few things your already looking at like $400+ and that's on the WAY cheap side, You can get a good LS for $500, swap over the turbo parts yourself, hell even put it in yourself(cuz it's easy, if you already have a b series in there, then it's just Plug n Play), hardest thing you gotta do is trailor/tow it to your tuner. I SAY LS ALL THE WAY, even if you have a shop do it, a good reputable shop could do all that with the LS in prolly less than 2 hrs, that's only like $150 for labor at a rate of $66/hr- Just my opinion though, you want cheap do it yourself, read and learn a little on here, that's all the info you need.

lexruger

the ls has a vtec head or would i have to put my b16 head on the ls block?

yeah i see what you mean, i dont know what happened to the inside of it

lexruger

where do you guys buy your engines from? i loked on hmotorsonline but there ls was well over a thousand

Should i look at a place like craigslist or ebay?

the ls engine is a single cam, its the b18b?


wouldnt i lose horsepower going with the ls vs the b16 with my same turbo setup?

lexruger

im sorry to keep asking all these questions but the car is my dd and i need to make a decision on what to do quik... i have to walk 2 miles to work

lexruger

any thoughts?

98civdx

you need to first figure out what is wrong with the b16, then start to look at engines, no point to replace the b16 if it could be fixed for less.

lexruger

im gonna spend a bunch of money for them to tell me whats wrong with it... seems like a lot of money for me to know its crapped out

are all b series engines regardless of year plug and play if i were to do a swap?

D16SiHatch

if the smoke is white, then headgasket most likely. cracked sleeve considerably less likely. if blue smoke, then you may have melted a hole through the piston ringlands. unless it was running really lean/experiencing a boost spike, then it's more likely the first scenario then the latter.

basically yes. physically they all bolt in the same, but electronics may be slighty different. depending on the chassis you have and what year the motor is will determine what needs changed to make it work.

the ls b18a1/b18b1 is a non-vtec dohc engine.

i would check craigslist if you're looking for something cheaper, but unfortunatley there will be no guarantee. well over a thousand? you can get an ls from hmotors for a little less than $1000 shipped. friend just ordered one a few weeks ago. you don't need the swap, just get the longblock.

http://www.hmotorsonline.com/shop/sc...age&item=30026

not really no. the ls does not rev as high and does make as much hp, however, it has a lot more low end torque. its also easier to tune due to the lower static compression ratio. stock block/internals, guys are making 300whp+.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/forced-induction-16/lst-ls-t-turbo-b18a-b18b-setups-1323059/

98civdx

it could be something fairly easy and cheap to fix, run a compression test, check oil and see if its milky.
white smoke? or blue

lexruger

Thanks for all that helpful info.... much appreciated


im guess your thinking its the headgasket, no antifreeze in the oil

what about the fact that its a non vtec, vs my vtec b16.... should i keep my head and eventually get it switched back on.... is that possible?

lexruger

i can turn the boost up a bit due to the fact that the ls has a lower compression than the b16... makes sense. SHould i look into possibly replacing the headstuds to prevent a future headgasket problem or should i get a cometic or stick with an oem gasket?

lexruger

any input on b16 vs. ls vtec?

the machine shop nea my house said they could do the pistons and studs w/o taking the engine out.. saving me some money or gettin the ls, makin a vtec, and then addin the pistons and rods


seems like fixin the b16 makes more sense?

98civdx

^^ block needs to be honed when installing new rings, and i doubt you can do that with the engine in.

lexruger

No way to install pistons and rods with the engine in the car?

I can pick up a ls for about 350... i would have to get the sandwich plate and switch over my b16 head to make it vtec?

The guy at the shop told me that i wouldnt be able to rev the ls as high as the b16 and the b16 would have more top end power....

any suggestions as far as to stick with fixin the b16 or swappin the ls and makin it vtec?

canadaek

head gasket can be leaking and there won't be any oil in the coolant get a c0 test done if you have carbon monoxided in the coolant then it's mixing with exhaust gases. compression test will also help find the leak . replacing the headgasket isn't that hard if you have some basic auto skills just make sure the head's not warped maybe think about droping the boost a little if this is your dd

98civdx

for the new rings to seal properly THE BLOCK MUST BE HONED.
do you even know whats wrong with the b16? compression/leak down? anything?
you could do an ls/vtec, but youd need the ls/vtec kit. and would be smart to get arp rods bolts.
theres lots of arguments about what can rev higher, it goes back and forth. a ls/vtec that was built correctly can rev just as high as a b16 and make more tourqe. b16s are gutless....

as i said already you need to find out what the hell is wrong with the b16,

D Griff

Definitely figure out what's wrong before buying a new motor or something. I think I would try to keep the B16, they rev higher, have more top end (a lot less torque though), and you already have it. Good luck getting your car fixed!

D16SiHatch

yea definitely try and figure out what happened to the b16.

whether you rebuild the b16 or swap to an ls, you'll be able to make some decent power.

if it were me, i'd probably stock rebuild the b16, arp studs, a new hg, and put her back together. BUT, since it sounds like you won't be doing the work yourself, that changes things. you'll have to decide which setup is going to cost more, which one you think you'd rather have more, and go from there.

with the ls-vtec kits you will be able to run the b16 head on the ls if you so choose, but be aware the stock ls rods will only be safe to a stock ls redline. now at this point you could decide to put in stronger rods, different pistons, etc. it's a matter of what you want out of the car, and how much you are willing/capable to spend.

you could, but why would you is the question. you could even install crank, rods, pistons, the whole shebang with the engine in the car. it would however be much more difficult, especially considering how easy it is to pull the engine out.

lexruger

The guy at the machine shop said he could do all the work with it in the car....why? i dont know... i figured if he could do it like that it might save me a few bucks....

No i dont know, i will definently bring up the fact about the rings and the block needing ot be honed. Thanks for the help, im gonna go tomorrow and have them rip it apart and i'll take lots of pics of the rebuild process.

98civdx

^^ have them run a compression test before they take a single part off! they could rip the whole thing about just to find that the rings arent the issue.

lexruger

whats the point of the compresion test? theyre gonna have to take the engine apart no matter what... right?