muddywj

Picked up a 97 dx today for $1k and have a few questions. It's had an engine/trans swap done and I have No idea what I'm looking at here so Any help would be appreciated. It's main focus will be a DD with a little oomph. I took a picture of the engine tag. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty.

muddywj

Former User

The block is from a Civic HX. Post the head code:

https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d.../#post48684945


...and also a shot of the engine bay.

muddywj

Head code is P2A-4

Former User

Head seems to be from a 96-00 D16Y7 or 96-00 ZC SOHC NON-VTEC

Mix and match

What ECU?

muddywj

Is it Any kind of big deal for smog or getting parts? I still need to run through everything but don't want to get stuck with my thumb up my butt. PO Did a number of WTF things to it so I have to untangle the mess.

Former User

What ECU? Is it a P2E? Are any CEL codes thrown?

muddywj

Engine light works but not illuminated. Any way to check ecu without pulling up passenger carpet?

muddywj

Former User

You may be fine for smog if the engine runs okay.

muddywj

Thank you. As for parts do I order for a dx or hx? Would this be a vtec-e equipped engine?

Brends4

Looks to me like you may have bought a lemon sir, Mix and match parts are never a good thing even if it was a LS/vtec, or b20 vtec the problem with having this is that , you don't know the quality of the work they did to put it together, also nobody puts together a d series like this because a d series is the weakest engine honda make, granted with couple grand you could boost it but this car will not be reliable, The best thing you could do at this point is to take it to a good shop you trust and have it thoroughly looked at, or perform an engine and Tranny swap, i almost guarantee that if the Block and head are mix and matched it may have a different tranny on as well, People do this to make a quick buck man a civic shell costs 500 Cheap d series parts are something you can get for a couple hundred, he probably already had a few pieces laying around and through it together to get rid of it. TO answer your last question no this is not a vtec-e equipped engine, its not a vtec engine at all, the sohc vtec engines are the Y8 which is what i have but they are just as bad because its a D series also you should buy Dx parts because you have Dx at least if your thinking about cosmetics or anything other than the engine you'll want DX parts aside from the engine your best hope for the engine is getting a new head gasket and a y5 head and have a shop put it together, that way at least both halves will match, Since your engine looks this way i would be sure to take a look at everything else mechanical you're definitely in a scary mess.

muddywj

I'm fairly mechanical being from the Jeep world and have No problem diving into this to make it my DD. As far as I can Tell it needs a little Love ie tuneup but it runs strong and doesn't leak surprisingly enough. Stays too cool for my liking but That's probably a stuck open tstat. As I dig deeper I'll find out stuff I don't like but Hey it was a $1k vehicle from a tow yard. Appreciate the feedback. Not looking for anything cosmetic, purely mechanical.

TomCat39

I don't totally agree with you here.

Swapping in a good block on a D series is a cheap fix over a full rebuild as the parts are cheap. The block was a good match up for the Y7 head.

OP you can check out block side parts for the HX and top side parts for the 6th gen DX. You may also want to compare part numbers for the block end between the 6th gen HX and the 6th gen DX and see what all matches up.

The hardest part maybe the timing belt. Water pump will be the HX if the parts don't match between the two models.

I am aiming to do up a D series. I want to get myself a D16Z6 block and a JDM 3 stage (dual vtec) D15B head.

Using just the D15B 3 stage motor and a turbo, another person managed to put down a nice 238 HP with good fuel economy and nice low end torque.

With a built Z6 block I'm sure I can surpass the 238 mark safely and maintain high fuel economy and good low end torque all with a SOHC motor, and all reliably.

Not all D series suck.

And before you go there, I really don't need or want more than 250 HP in my tiny lightweight 5th gen civic for a daily driver.

Brends4

Hey man to each his own, that build sounds awesome but what this guy has isn't, i have a Y8 i used to have a b18b1 i love my sohc gas is amazing and high end torque is fun i was going to get new cams and improve it but i decided its not in my best interest but you are right D series parts run cheap you can blow a motor ( hard to do) and then buy another one with a pretty penny, im going for B20 myself here soon, but this thread isnt about a build, i was just showing my concern man.

TomCat39

OP will be fine with that franken motor.

By the looks it's only a franken motor by stamp.

Compression ratio is the same with 9.4:1 on both motors.

Then looking up the parts for OP. The timing belt is the same on both motors, the rods are the same on both motors, the crank set is the same on both motors.

The only think different on the block part wise is the piston itself. The HX has a piston design more conducive to the lean burn. I'm not sure what that will do to the non lean burn mode head setup. Might tweak emissions a touch but I'm confident it will still pass efficiently.

Brends4

My concern wasn't just in the motor man this just looks like some parts someone through together to create this and that scares me i've had similar experiences vehicles in this condition man, you have to admit, there's 2 possibilities, someone was 1) either piecing it together just to get it running for cheap, or 2) this is a red flag about whoever built this and the work they put into it, for 1k you cant argue, you get what you pay for.

Former User

DX/D16Y7 engine

...unless you need block replacement parts, in which case buy for the HX/D16Y5 engine.

I'm a little concerned about the aftermarket intake system set up. I don't see the IAT sensor, and the intake could suck in some water during a rain, especially if the splash guard is removed, or could suck in some coolant if the reservoir overflowed. You may want to pick up a stock D16Y7 intake system from a salvage yard.

The D16Y5 block originally came with a VTEC-E head, but this was replaced with a non-VTEC D16Y7 head.

94EG8

It's going to vary with a swapped head since the combustion chamber volume and pistons are different. With that setup you're looking at 9.24:1

Play with this and you'll see:

Honda D-Series Compression Calculator by ZealAutowerks

It will still run fine in this case, but sometimes you'll end up with a ridiculously high or low compression ratio depending on what combination of parts you use.

muddywj

IAT is directly in front of TB on the backside of the tube. Hard to see from the pictures but it's there. I have plenty left to go through. As far as sucking up water, That's always my concern with a CAI. It's gonna take some work but I'm up to it. The front end rattles when hitting bumpy roads and it tracks which ever way it wants sometimes when braking. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions as I'm new to IFS and import.

muddywj

Can I pick up a y5 head and make it closer to the way it was designed? If so what all is needed? I passed emissions by through way. Thanks for all of your help and reasurances.

slomofo

iTrader: (1)

Wow, I can't believe they got that to fit and it looks like it came that way from the factory. I believe this engine to be the 4A-GZE engine that came stock in the 88-94 Subaru Evolution GSR.

That car is worth some serious coin, I would hold onto it forever.

muddywj

This does not help in the least. Trying to be funny is Okay but at this point I'm going for a mini-me as it's pretty simple and I've got half the parts on the engine already. Z6 head, ecu and ex trans.

HondaPartsHero

Don't use the y5 head unless you plan on using the y5 ECU and adding items like 5 wire 02, EGR, etc

muddywj

I'm guessing all the vtec-e stuff was too complicated for the shade tree mechanic who put this thing together. I'm happy to do this as I will know exactly what was done. Any idea how to see what trans I have? I'd like an EX because of the shorter gears.