Okay folks. Here's the ride. it's a 1998 5sp AWD. only rust is on the top of the rear window lid.

inside its dirty as crap and needs a good cleaning. The engine I would assume was given zero TLC as it has oil coming out of everything that could possibly leak oil which I would imagine is what ended up causing the rod of cyl 2 to find itself out the front of the block.

Anyways our first thoughts were to drop a replacement motor in and sell it. However I'm starting to fall in love with this damn thing and might just keep it since my only other car is a 1999 civic D16 which has seen many better days.

We haven't found hardly anything wrong with it so far other than a power steering line needing replaced, Also we have been told the A/C does not work (would want to fix) Brakes are newish, tires are new.

I was thinking of getting a 99-00 B20B from hmotors to replace in it.

What should I do with this car? is it not worth the fix? or should we battle on and have myself a nice daily for cheap.

I need a bigger car since getting a dog and weekend lake trips suck in a civic coupe where you can't even fit a cooler in the trunk.

Also is the motor I'm looking at the right choice?



Attached is a pic of the car in question in my garage torn down. Don't worry we are not using that makeshift death trap in the form you see.

 

did you come to a crv forum, which is mostly filled with 1st gen crv's, and expect to say "no, dont keep it. its a piece of ****. worst car ever" ?

 

honestly asking if there's things I could look for and general help from enthusiasts in the vehicle.

I know nothing about this car other than it's a honda and easy to work on. I don't know whats problematic, what I should check. any of that ****. Didn't think i'd get a response like that, I just generally would like some input on what I should do with it.

Obviously I want to keep it I just want to make sure the juice is worth the squeeze and who better to ask than people on a CRV forum? If it's going to cost more than it's worth to get this thing running pretty I would expect people here to say something. Maybe let me know what kind of issues I should look out for and if the motor i'm looking for is the right idea or maybe other options for the power train.

Thanks for your help though pal.

 

Great find doggy! All CR-V's should have a chance to live, feel free to come to the crv forum anyime. You will usually find positive and helpful info here.

 

I'm pulling the motor tomorrow. I have everything disconnected from it aside from the A/C lines. What do i need to look for with that and disconnecting the lines?

Actually looks like I should probably go about recovering this refrigerant if there is any even there (previous owner said the AC didn't work). Is there some kind of tool I can get for that or a place that can rent it out?

 

You don't need to open up the line for the AC. Unbolt the compressor from the block and move it out of the way as you pull the motor. I would definitely keep the car. I want a 5spd first gen CR-V a LOT. Wish I could come up on a free one that just needed a motor. B20s are cheap!

 

thanks man. I was thinking of that route but wasn't sure if it was doable. that will make it all much easier.

My idea is to not really trick this car out or anything but just restore it to its former glory back before a girl ran it ragged.

 

I have not heard of any rentals of the recovery unit, I think that is a shop function. If the issue with the a/c was a leak then the chances of recovering anything worth while is very slim. One thing to be aware of when r+r this engine is there are 2 plugs located between the firewall and the engine, one (ribbed wire protector) plugs into the IACV on the intake manifold and the other is for the p/s (smooth wire protector) and located about 10" directly below the IACV and plugs into an aluminum hose/pipe. If you switch these, which is very easy to do, the car idles very low and is prone to stalling. This mistake will also usually toast your ECU as well, and you end up having to replace it.

 

you need a HVAC license to run a ac recovery machine, but it doesnt matter, just unbolt the compressor from the block and tie it up as far away from the engine as you can when pulling it. When pulling the motor, remove the intake manifold, or at least the throttle body. the throttle position sensor breaks every time because you smash it on the fire wall. It doesnt really matter how careful you are, its going to happen. b20's are solid motors but make sure to check the valve lash as it losens up over time. b20's are also fairly cheap compared to other motors. You can b20vtec them to get around 200 hp quite easily but remember the rev limit doesnt go up as its limited by the bottom end. ARP rod bolts make a big difference. b20z makes a bit more hp (20) due to higher compression, slightly wilder cams and a shorter intake manifold. Front CRV coil springs are prone to breaking at the very top on the first loop. No one see's it unless you look specifically for it with the vehicle jacked in the air or you take out the strut. CRV clutches are known for only really working at the very top of the petal, regardless of clutch condition, so dont be worried when you go to take it out and you stall it. Make your decision if you want to lift, lower, or keep stock height now, it will save you $$ in the future when you notice parts that you need. Change your lower ball joints now before they fail. Its at the age now that even if you dont see much play in it, it can pop out on you. its happened to me and ive seen it happen more than a few times. No, there are no bolt in rear disc conversions. Good luck with your new CR-V.

 

thanks for the pointer on those two plugs. surely a rookie mistake we'd make. I have messed with honda's my whole life but nothing this extensive. My friend helping me is a mercruiser mechanic so he has no idea about hondas or anything that isn't a ***** to the wall marine v8 so we are both learning here and passing the winter time with beer/tools/music.

I'd love to Vtech the motor but I really don't think that's in my wheelhouse right now. I think it'd be better to just go ahead and get a replacement in before we go that far.
where should I get replacement balljoints? are autoparts store lower balljoints okay or should that not be something I skimp on and definitely go for OEM at honda?

Thanks for the info on the TPS sensor. The motors from hmotors do not come with a TPS sensor and i'm guessing that's why. that will be the only sensor we need to pull from the old motor. we would've surely tried to drop the new one on with everything attached and break the only TPS we have.

 

moog or oem are the only ball joints id use. Lower, anyways. Im using SPC extreme adjustable prelude upper ball joints in the front, but thats because im slammed.

You can remove the TPS sensor by using a dremel on the end of, what would be, the bolts that hold it in to cut a slot then use a flat head screw driver to drive it out. they come out easy. you can then install it in the other motor if you choose, or just reuse your throttle body on the other motor. if you remove the TPS sensor you have to re calibrate after you install it in the other throttle body using a multimeter. there are lots of threads about how to do that on the interwebs, so its your choice. buy a new throttle body gasket and avoid calibrating the TPS, or calibrate the TPS after install and save a couple bucks.

When you buy a motor from any jdm importer, they dont guarantee any accessories or sensors because they may be broken from shipping. Make sure not to toss your motor or any sensor before everything is working fine, even then, i wouldnt throw anything out. This is coming from the guy with enough parts to build a CRV in his bedroom, including a full engine.

 

Ummmm.. are you using those pieces of wood to pull ur motor out? Lol it reminds me of this pic

Sorry I saw the resemblance so I had to post

 

ive used a few wooden A frames to pull motors and they do it just fine, including a diesel, as long as you build it right. the planks standing on end, for example, makes a big difference. look at how a roof or floor is made...

 

Ya.... and once you get the engine out you can use the family bath tub to degrease it.

 

Yup. I dont understand what people see wrong with that. Anyone who thinks its gross, i ask them why. They can never come up with an answer. The tub substained no damage and i didnt use any dangerous chemicals to degrease it. Actually, i found the best think to use was Dawn Power Lift. Same **** they use on animals that have been covered in oil. Its a dish detergent. Its no more gross than getting all greasy yourself then taking a shower.

 

Not gonna lie there are often trim parts, mudflaps or interior parts soaking in my bath tub. My fiance hates it.

 

That's a far cry from a greasy engine but it' one good reason not to use the family bath tub. Be careful or you may end up suffering from "lackofnookie".

 

Well we didn't die. However we didn't have a good way of moving the motor with it in the air so we dropped it to the ground on some cardboard and slid it out from under the crv. I feel the the transmission was the heaviest part and will likely install it separately from the new motor. Anyways I've ordered two moog lower balljoints and yesterday installed most of the new motor mounts all but the one by the power steering resevoir were cracked or shot.

Here's a few pictures of the work done this weekend with lots of music and beer.

http://imgur.com/a/3Q3fG

There won't be too much to really do on this project until we get the new motor. which hmotors is not getting a new shipment of the 99-00 until the 25th. So in the mean time I'm just looking to replace a leaky PS line and the balljoints, oh and lots and lot of cleaning.

 

I've ordered about $600 in parts so far. It looks like the upper balljoints are pretty crappy. What should I replace them with? I was looking online and it almost seems like you have to replace the whole upper control arm assembly with the balljoint.

Here's a running total of the costs so far: $609.84
Lower moog balljoints = 79.84
Timing Belt, Tensioner, Cam seals, crank seal, water pump = 160
Exedy clutch kit = 115
power steering return lines & o-ring = 49
NGK Plugs, wires, oem rotor cap = 91
all 5 Motor Mounts = 80
Flywheel resurfacing (NAPA) = 35

 

You are correct, the ball joints and the upper a arm assy. are sold together. if the price seems too good to be true... it is, go with a name brand.

 

what's a name brand i should be looking for? It's hard for me to get a discount at the dealership without having to hassle old friends to buy parts for me. Is there a aftermarket brand I could look for online?

 

I think dorman makes a good set. BTW I agree with you, the utility of the CR-V and the rtawd is what really makes it stand head and shoulders above other rigs. I won't buy one w/o awd because they are too hard to sell in my area, and if they do sell it's usually for $1500 less than the awd. I think upgrades are good as long as they don't adversly affect the driveability or reliability. I've bought a few CR-V "frankenbuggies" because the owners made so many "improvements" that they couldn't keep them running, repatriated them back into the CR-V family and sold them. I do appreciate a well built custom and some of the shadetree engineering that goes on at this site.

 

Buy OEM upper balljoints unless you feel like replacing them all the time. The same goes for the lowers really. You can always order stuff from majestic Honda to save money.

 

Yeah after pricing that's about $200 more than I want to spend right now considering I'll be dropping another $1000 on the B20B at the end of the month. I'll wait until my raise in april before I upgrade those. I can get by right now. It's not something essential to change immediately on this rig, the lowers were in really bad shape. after all I'm budgeting this along with home improvements and vacations. I'll try to get you guys some pics of the progress so far just to show you how disgusting the interior is right now. We have been taking our time the last few days since it's basically a after work night time beer drinking project right now and we don't have parts to tinker on right now.

What do you guys suggest for cleaning up headliner stains as well as carpet stains. The center console is full of change that's currently caramelized in dried up coke.

 

WD40 actually removes stains quite well. Also for upper ball joints, im using SPC Extreme Adjustable prelude joints. If youre keeping stock height, you can get the SPC Adjustables. It can be adjusted to be in spec for stock height, or changed up to 1.5* (If i remember correctly) for lift/lower. Mine are 1.5-3* i believe.