So ive had this civic in my family since it came off the line. Is a 86 4-door 1.5L Automatic. Bout 10 years back my mom took it to her mechanic to work on some cylinders. While drivin away it started blowin more black smoke than a dang diesel. So now its been sittin fer 10 years. I wanna fix it now that im almost 20 and have the tools, experience, and college outta the way. Now I know im gunna need to pull the motor and rebuild it completely but after all this time im not quite sure what all ill find thats gone bad...or want to. I also know the tranny is fine but will need some maintenance. What I dont know is would it be cheaper to try and find another motor to just swap it with or just replace parts? And if I did swap the motor what would be a good fit?

 

10 years? Ooooh yes get a whole other motor and tranny. Every rubber hose will be cracked or soft, all the oil and fuel has now turned to goo, any crucial seals or gaskets are now brittle or leaking. Save yourself a whole lot of time and grab a replacement motor/trans.

Were you looking to swap in a different motor or the same one?

 

I was just wantin something that i could drop in that i wouldnt haft to replace the motor mounts. If I had to i would but id rather not. lol

 

sadly there aren't many junkyard motors out there for these cars. good luck though. if you don't need it for every day driving, may as well rebuild what you have.

 

Thats what i was findin. Thank ya both.

 

You can probably swap in a cheap b20 and a LS tranny for around 500-800$ max.

 

Your best bet is a D16/ZC swap out of a gen I Integra. Check out redpepper racing for all your engine swap info.

 

get out of here. you don't know jack about these cars..

 

How many miles? Is the body in good shape, no rust, no cracked windshield?

Black smoke can be as simple as the choke signal being corrupted and closing the choke valve, the air flapper could have been shut.... so you can remove the air filter cover and see what will happened when you have finished the steps described below... but as said.... there is no guarantee for success... just a fun afternoon....

The automatic transmission was not the more durable....Our 86 wagon trany acted up after 120Kmiles, but the kids nursed it till 205Kmiles. I now have an 86 hb w stick but the carb and the miles of vacuum hoses does not yield to an easy fix when something will go bad.

Has the engine been cranked already? If no, then you need to lubricate those cylinder walls and rings.... they are dry, and you need to let some oil. The crank bearings are dry as well, but it may get a bit too involved at this point.

You can remove the spark plugs and pour, yes pour some MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil) or transmission fluid and let it sit for a few days, put the spark plug back a few turns to prevent water or dust to get in.
Remove the oil that you poured in.... suction, turkey baster....
Try to rotate the engine from the driver's side inspection cover with the appropriate wrench and see if it turns freely, don't force it.... a 1/4 turn right, then a 1/4 left.
Next step is to either drain the gas from the tank... how much gas was left.... or disconnect the fuel line at the fuel pump and jerry right a hose attached to a fuel can... take all necessary precaution to prevent spills and accident, do at your own risks.... secure the can.

Is the engine oil.... clear or dark... it could be a good time to drain and refill with any cheap oil, change the oil filter as well....

Use a well charged battery, a drained battery will tax your alternator and can fry it. At this time, you want to minimize the incidental breaks.
Turn the key, crank and see what is happening.... But as you said that it was running poorly when the car was parked you may not obtain any results...

If no start, check the carburetor driver's side window to make sure that you have gas.... then check for spark ....

Good luck

 

^^^^This. You can also try luking the classified section at g1teg . org for engines/trannys.

 

Made my morning ^