WHATS SUP FELLOW HONDA HEADS? I GOT SOME QUICK QUESTIONS THAT I NEED HELP ON. I NEW TO THIS BUT NOT KNEW TO THE HONDA SCENE. IM GETTING READY TO BUY A 90 DA9 FOR 1700. BUT IT NEED PISTON RINGS. THEY HAVE THEM JUST NOT INSTALLED. IS THIS GONNA COST ME A ARM AND LEG FOR THE INSTALL. AND HOW BAD IS THIS PROBLEM. IS IT EVEN WORTH BUYING? THIS IS GONNA BE MY DAILY AND TRACK CAR DOWN HERE AT THE QUALCOM DRAGS IN DAYGO. I DONT WANNA GO BOOST CAUSE I LOVE THE SOUND OF OF A B SERIES OF K SCREAMING DOWN THE STREET. OH THE MOTOR IS A JDM B16. MY LAST QUESTION...THE GUY SELLING THE CAR SAYS HE WILL THROW IN A B20 BLOCK WITH A B18 HEAD IN FOR A EXTRA GRAND. SAYS ITS SMOG LEGAL AND HAS A LOT OF TORQUE. I DONT REALLY SEE THIS SWAP TO MUCH SO I CANT REALLY DECIDE. NEED HELP. ANY ADVICE WILL BE TAKEN. THANKS!

 

B20 isn't smog legal in cali unless its in an crv or you go to the state ref and get it bar'ed for a passenger car. And if its a b18 non vtec head, i wouldn't even bother, you can put the b16 head on a b20 block if you want an b20vtec.

 

You cannot ref the B20 in that car, period. They won't do it. $1,700 for a working DA is too much in my opinion much less for a broken one. Sounds like you are being taken for a ride.

 

my other question is how bad is it when i have to replace the piston rings? is it gonna cost me a arm and a leg? is it even worth it?

 

Typically you don't just replace the piston rings. Depending on the mileage, the block COULD need a hone or even worse a bore. If it needs to be bored, you need new pistons and rings as well as to pull the whole engine and disassemble it. Figure in machine work, etc. at that point. If you were planning on JUST rings, OEM rings are approx $100 a set of four. Head gasket is something like $50. From there, its labor. You will also most likely need an oil pan gasket and possibly intake manifold gasket as well. Assuming nothing else broke at that point you would be into it I would say 8 hours labor from a shop, possibly more. Its going to make much more sense to rebuild the bottom end (new bearings, rings, inspect, etc) then to just replace the piston rings.

 

If you tear it apart you might as well replace bearings (crank and rod) and seals also. Its not too bad if you do it yourself because labor is the main expense. If you are not able to do it yourself you're better off just buying a used jdm engine and swap that in. Plus you can always have the old one rebuilt over time and save your car the downtime. But dont just throw rings in it you'll probably regret it soon after.