Hello, First time poster here, I need some help and advice for what I should do with my '89 civic RT wagon (automatic). Last week I hit something in the road which ruptured the coolant system which then fried the engine a few miles later. I'm looking for a decent replacement OE motor or a relatively simple/cheap JDM swap (SOHC ZC?). Or I would be willing to sell the car whole to someone but I think its too nice to part out. Its in relatively good shape otherwise (damaged on the right side but really solid) and totally worth fixing. Being a newbie I can't post in the classifieds. I am located in Maine but would travel as far as PA for a good deal on a replacement motor. I would also be interested to know if there is anyone relatively local who would be interested in taking on the job of fixing it. I would be willing to pay a fair sum for the work, I just don't trust most of the shops around here. I plan to pull the motor to make it easy to tow if I decide to sell it. Feel free to contact me with offers or questions at cstbikes@gmail.com Thanks Ps I am a member of civicwagon.com but I didn't get much of a response there so I thought I should broaden my audience.

 

N series Turbo charged Diesel

 

Your stock motor is a D16A6. You could get a replacement from a 88-91 Civic Si or CRX Si, or the JDM ZC equivalent. You could get a D16Z6, swap the oil pans and convert to OBD1. Don't think the DOHC ZC is worth the effort.

 

Locate a D16Y7 long block with no accessories, then swap everything from your stock engine to this one. You can put your distributor, alternator, intake and exhaust manifold... everything on it and it bolts right up. You can keep the stock ECU, no rewiring at all. You have to swap ALL THE ENGINE MOUNT BRACKETS from your stock engine to the d16Y7. Simplest, cheapest fix you can possibly find.

I have done it a bunch of times back when I used to flip Civics with blown engines.

 

what effort? - bolts right in just like a D16A6, with minor wiring change at the distributor

 

If you want to [easily] keep the AWD, you'll need to stay D-series.

 

Thanks Guys, I'm just now seeing these replies but I did take action and I have a JDM ZC dual carb motor being delivered to my house. I got it from JDMallianceusa.com in Texas for $700 shipped. It seemed like the best deal since the time and energy involved in going to get one semi locally was not an option. I plan to do a timing belt kit and replace all the coolant hoses while I'm at it. This will be first my ever engine swap and I'm sure I'll be asking for lots of advice. I just bought a 1989 Civic wagon factory repair manual and started clearing a nice big work space in my barn for the project. I also need to replace my radiator and was wondering if anyone has a part# for direct fit replacement for a RT wagon automatic. From what I've read the cheapest ones don't fit too well with the fan shroud. I'm all about OEM parts but from what I can tell they are NLA.

 

I believe you would need to get a RT transmission to bolt up your drive train or delet the RT all together