Hey guys, heres my first post. i recently purchased a 1988 crx dx 5spd 174k miles.

the car is spretty beat up from the outside and interior is missing alot of things. but its drives pretty good. its stock d15 but it has some kind of after market headers and stailess steal exhaust all the way back. and cai!

its sounds ok kinda sounds like a wrx around 1000 to 2000k rmp then starts getting a lil ricey all the way up.

only problem i have is that its smoking white smoke a little when i drive aggresively but if i just cruise around i dont really notice any smoke. so i checked the coolant and its pretty much drained filled it up but still smokes rechecked and the coolant level is low again. i guess its leaking coolant....? maybe blown head gasket?

thats pretty much my only concern everything else is all cosmetic. But so far Best 500bucks i have ever spent.

 

More than likely you have a blown (or atleast starting to blow) headgasket. Time to change it out before it starts overheating and end up warping the head.

 

awesome. congrats with the purchase.

i picked up an '89 crx si project car this past weekend too. overall decent car. the first thing i'm doing is swapping the gas tank out. i have a leak.

 

Congratulations on the find! Post some pics when you get it looking better. As for the smoke, my guess, too, would be a head gasket.

 

thanks guys. yea i think its an awesome buy i basically stole it for 500buck. coil-overs are already worth half what i paid for. hehe

its definately not a looker tho. drove it to school today and already got laughed at lol but idc since i had the last laught when i smoked most of their 20k cars their mommy and poppy bought for them. and seeing their jaw just drop.....thinking wtf just happened!

Yea thats what i thought head gasket might be bad! the car doesnt over heat yet but gulps coolant like no ones business i definitely would like to replace it asap. can anyone tell me where to buy a head gasket kit? and is there i thread here showing how to replace it? since im diy kinda person. i would rather do it my self!

Ohh it would be my sleeper project car. im not changing anything to the exterior at all except wheels and tires. planning on doing a d16 or b18 swap when it hits 190k!
Will have pics soon.

 

you can go to honda they will have everything you need

also pick up a helms or hayness manual they will have the info you need on replacing the

HG gl post some pics

 

get the manual it saves lives... Nice buy and good luck with that head gasket. Not too hard to do yourself if you have the time, a couple of tools, and moderate mechanical skills.

 

Welcome to the family man, you'll find some great information on this site dating back to the 90's. Best of luck with your build!

 

hey guys sorry wont have pics for awhile but will get some as soon as my camera stops acting up.

i bought some parts off a wrecked 1990 si yeaterday for real cheap.
got my self a front and rear strut bar and a pair of glass windows and also a pair of leather retractable leather seats.

now i have plans on this car thinking either going turbo or swap. but knowing my car is high mileage(175k) can it still hold up to FI. or would it better doing a swap. d16,b16,b18.....what would be the most straight forward. im hoping to get the numbers around the 150-200whp. might sound like a noob question. but come on its my first honda ever.

 

Congrats man. I'm happy for you and im sure that you will get lots of good help from here. and as far as the engine question goes i'd say do a swap but in the world of honda everybody has an opinion because they are so customizable. that being said i will say you dont see alot of built d15's and personally i think finding parts would be a pain. pick a motor you would like to do and as far as your horsepower goal is its just about how much money you got. Theres a guy witha d16a6 that has 400hp. So the choice is completely yours. just a quick question would you be doing the hg yourself or a mechanic?

 

I also just bought my first honda with a BHG! ive been reading for days and also watching clips on youtube...i don't have alot of experience with mechanics but i do want to learn...i also would like to do the HG myself but the cluch also seems to be gone...unless there is some way to adjust it???...i feel an engine swap would be the most sensible way to go but i dont have any one to help so im kinda at a loss as to what to do....any ideas??

 

Do you own a CRX?

 

thanks man! yea ill be doing a the head gasket myself. seems like im lucky all of a sudden. im gettin a BN head gasket kit and like 5 boxes of random crx parts from a/c condenser to radio and speakers and a even i think a set of wheels(steallies)from a guy i met all for 20buck! WHOOP WHOOP! im also picking up a Chilton service/diy manual today.

Yea i myself think a swap is the better route. i realize if i do a turbo on a my d15 i would probably need to rebuild it first since its very high mileage.
Has anyone done a b18 swap before? motor will come off a 1990-91 integra.
or is a D16 swap be better? im looking for the most straight forward swap. and i heard d16's just slides right in the crx engine bay! But i just had the b18 in mind coz their practically every where over here.

 

no, it its a 96 accord lx f22b2...i would post it in my own thread but i am just a trial user, so for now i have to post on others threads...sry

 

Only thing is when you got to swap your crx your going to have to do a dpfi to a multiport. After you do that you can basically drop anything in. b swap youll need to get a mount kit.

 

Oh ok, no worries. To answer your question, if I were in your shoes I wouldn't worry about swapping out the engine. Just change the head gasket, and leave it as a stock and reliable commuter. As far as your clutch goes, search for similar symptoms on the forums and see how others troubleshooted their Accord clutch problems.

 

yea im thinking of converting to mpfi soon. the guy i bought my parts from is selling me a complete conversion kit i think it comes with d16 si manifold,pm9 or 8 ecu, the small box thing that is connected to the intake and some other stuff pretty much everything i would need for the convertion he is asking 100 for all. is that a fair price?

also thinking of going d16z6!

 

i was gonna say if your gonna let a mechanic do it then dont go for it... that would be 400 dollars towards a new swap. as far as rebuilding it is not a problem there is a problem in rebuilding it for performance because unless things have changed (somebody correct me if im wrong please) there arent many performance parts as far as internals go for a d15b2. And d16z6? my opinion go with an a6 or go b series (much more complicated swap but the torque and later mods are great). That being said before i start world war 1 honda edition i am not saying b series is better or faster than d series just my personal preference. Hopefully the last line will not start a b series versus d series discussion with toque vs weight of motors

 

i would say if u are gunna swap anything thing into a crx imo do a b series so much fun i have a 91 crx with lsv love it. if u do go d series go with d16z6 but also do alot of reading google is ur friend and also this forum will help out alot two.

 

Buy some Blue Devil Gasket Sealer. Lifetime guarentee, and I know the **** works. I've used it on 2 cars already. Both are still running strong at 20k miles later.

 

im leaning more into the b series swap either b18a1 or b16! i had someone offer me a full b16 swap kit every single thing i would need even nuts and bolts except for tranny mounts. he is asking 750 for the whole kit. it seems like a fair price because the other swap kits a see for sale go for 15 to 2500. but i dont know for sure. if there is a cheaper route. if i dont go with this one i would most likely go for the b18a1 since the junk yards near my place have atleast 10 of them. and a ton of integras.

 

i just recently bought a 88 crx si for $400, and im humping a b18a1 ($200).
check ebay, and my luck has been with craigslist. i just got a $600 intake for 60 bux. dude also tossed in a matching fuel rail and ECU too! ride a couple hours and save alot. have fun with the build and even more fun when done! The most pricey items ive run into is the machine work on the block and head. recon i dont know anyone, pfft

 

yea man CL is the bomb! i bought my car for 500 and some other parts. I also bought 2 strut bar and sway bars and i pair of used recaros. there not it really good condition but i still got them for a steal all those for 65bucks! im always on CL looking for cheap stuff that i could turn around and make some legit ****!