I just bought an ef hatch for cheap cause the dude said there was something wrong with the motor. So I pulled the head off and found a broken valve. Should I just replace the head and keep the bottom end or replace the whole motor? I'm not to sure on the condition of the bottom end but when I pulled the plugs, it was dripping with oil.. what do you guys suggest I do?

 

Complete Engine Rebuild!!!

 

In the end it's up to you. But here are your options.

1) replace valve and reseat the valve port
2) complete head rebuild/ or purchase a known good one
3) complete engine rebuild
4) swap in a known good engine


1) Option number 1 obviously is the cheapest route initially, but what if there are other problems? Would you be willing to tear the motor apart again? Also how many miles are on this engine? Was the piston damaged from the valve? Those need to be taken into consideration when comparing your options.

2) A complete head rebuild can be costly, especially if this is just a daily, and especially when compared to the cost of just buying a running long block. You could rebuild or purchase another head but then you run the risk of the bottom-end going out. Rebuilding the head and increasing the compression back to stock could very easily be to much for the old/worn out stock bottom-end (i've had this happen before, ended up going with option 4 after wasting money a complete head rebuild )

3) Compared to the cost of just buying a running longblock, it doesn't really make any sense to rebuild a stock sohc to factory specs for a daily beater. Would be a great learning experience and can be worthwhile if building for more power, but from what it sounds like you are just looking to get it running.

4) Swap in a known good engine, this is probably the best bet. You can readily find running sohc longblocks in the 200-400 range. This is cheaper than rebuilding a head/ or engine and sounds like it would be your best bet.


Hopefully that will steer you in the right direction. I suggest option 4, but in the end its up to you.

 

I'd like to avoid rebuilding cause I don't have the time. But damn my plans were to just find a new head and throw that on there, I didn't know that about the bottom end. The car has 300,000kms. I guess I'll find a new motor. fAK

 

I would suggest that.

But not every time will the bottom-end go. You could fix the head or replace it and the bottom-end could last you a few more years. But judging from the fact that the motor has quite a bit of miles/kms on it, its probably a safer bet to just swap in another engine.


I did a complete head rebuild to factory specs on a d15b2 that had 211xxx miles on it. Slapped the head on it and started it up, rings went out almost instantly. Spent a few hundred on the head and then ended up buying another d15 to put in the car.

What i'm trying to get at is, its not a 100% sure fix if you just replace the head on such an old engine.

If you can find another head for cheap, mine as well try it. but it wouldn't hurt to plan on buying a replacement engine down the road.

 

So I found a d15z1. I believe it's vtec? Would I need to do any modifications with wiring? I see that it's got a different intake manifold than my d15b2. Could I just take the manifold off of the d15b2 and put it on the z1? I need to know whats needed to put it in before I buy it.

 

Ok I did a quick search and the d15z1 is obd1. Can I still swap it in and keep it obd0? I realize it won't have vtec but I don't really care, I just need my car running.

I will also be using my dx tranny, and hopefully be able to use the dpfi and not have to swap that out, I don't want to deal with changing the wiring.

 

You'll be able to run the engine obdo and dpfi if you must. It won't be to its full potential, but it will run fine.

The dx tranny will bolt right up to it as well.

 

Ok so I picked up the motor this morning and so far I've swapped the dizzy. It doesn't bolt up correctly, I've got it held on with one bolt, it's pretty ghetto but if it works it doesn't bother me. I've also noticed on the top left corner of the z1 right by the dizzy theres something there. Vtec solenoid? egr? Do I need this? I'm gonna borrow a hoist soon but this is as far as I've gotten.

 

If you described the location correctly, then it does sound like its missing the vtec solenoid.

Is it plugged off?

 

I'm not too sure what it is yet but I'll go back to it later.

I check all the wiring on both motors to see if theres any differences and the only one I could see besides the dizzy was the coolant temp sensor for the cooling fan. On the b2 it's located on the back of the block right above the oil filter and has a black boot over it with yellow and black wires. On the z1 it's located on the thermostat housing. Does anyone know if they have the same plugs? I couldn't reach behind the block to check.

 

I would suggest just pulling the coolant sensor out of the old block and installing it in the z1. That way you don't have to worry about finding a plug or ghetto wiring up the sensor to fit near the thermostat.

It will fit in the block and you won't need to wire anything up if you transfer it over.

 

Theres actually a problem with that. On the z1 theres no hole on the block for me to plug in the sensor, meaning that it would require drilling. I'll have to find the plug from a junk yard tomorrow and ghetto rig the wires to it.