Hello everyone! So I just purchased a 1995 civic coupe Ex 5 speed for my 14 year old daughter that is in need of some major work. The plan is that I have 2 years to get this car working properly and looking good for her when she is 16.

I bought it as a running car everything working for $300 except the engine was Knocking horribly. I pulled the engine out to find the number one rod bearing spun and the rod and the crank journal in pretty bad shape.

I'm not sure if the crank can be machined all the way out, however, if it can won't that destroy the factory hardened treatment on the journal and leave me with a non usable crankshaft?

Before anyone suggests swapping engines, or going aftermarket, or using other things like ZC pistons to bump compression....here is the thing. I want this to be a factory, RELIABLE car intended for a young lady to get to school and work and back home safely.

Just wanting some opinions and advice and what you guys would do in this situation. Would you try to have the crank machined? Buy a remanufactured crank from somewhere like AutoZone that has been machined and not re-hardened? Or would you try to find a crank from a car in a junkyard?

I talked to the local machine shop and they told me to let them try to turn it, and see if it takes off too much or not to get past the hardened material.

I am also considering buying a d15b from Hmotors but I'd rather build this thing because my daughter is helping me do all of the work and wants to learn

My main concern is the crank and what to do with it. Ive already sourced the rods and pistons and the rest of it

Thanks everyone in advance for your thoughts

 

Go on craigslist or facebook marketplace and buy a used d16z6 from $100-$500 is my guess. No matter what you do to that engine it will not be factory reliable without putting a lot of $ into it.

If you really want to do a build, I would recommend a used crank and used rod. You will then need new main bearings, rod bearings. The rod will need the piston installed on it. Depending on the bore condition, you might even need to bore and hone therefore need new larger diameter pistons and new piston rings. Lots of other things will need replacing. I would guess all of this would cost $500 - $1,000. Not worth it in my opinion.

From a safety aspect I would get a different car for her. That car is 24 years old. I'd recommend something with ABS, Side/Curtain Airbags, Stability control. I would recommend a CUV size vehicle.

 

Thanks for the reply!

She wanted a 92-95 civic coupe so I'm staying with that. It sounds like the best bet would be to swap in a d15b from Hmotors, and to keep this block for my own eg hatch turbo build lol.

The cylinder walls look great! Still has the cross hatches in it. No scratches at all.

I might just do that though for real. Swap in a d15b, and get a Brian Crower or eagle crank for this block and do a Vitara build for my own car.

I dunno though. Anyone have any experience with machined cranks and how they held up for longevity?

 

I don't have any input for you on the machined crank (I'd just find a junkyard crank or buy one on FB), but if you have as much time as you're saying, DO the rebuild with her, even if it's for your car. It sounds like time isn't an issue, and you can spread the costs out over that 2 years. I just rebuilt the Z6 in my Civic with my daughter this past year and it was great fun!

 

seeing that 90% of engines that are rebuilt have the crank shaft turned down. I don't see why it would be a big deal on a 150hp engine. I do this on 22re Toyotas all day and they run for ever. had one of my first customer hit 240k nothing but oil changes and spark plugs. redoing the timing chain and valve seals and guides. btw this is in a lifted 37" tire truck that's driven everyday. have many sbc 350's race dirt track engines with cranks that have been turned stock aftermarket turn 8200rpm run on methanol make 500-700 hp never had a issue cause the crank was turned .010 under or .020 under now id never go .030 on a race crank but daily it be ok. so don't let it deture you. yes a rebuild will cost a bit more but have the block bore inspected to see is needs bored. if so not cost effective.

 

It IS a big deal because a Honda crankshaft is flash hardened and the hardness is typically only three to six thousandths deep !!! Just because something works on a Chevy small block or an old tech iron block Toyota engine does NOT mean that it works in a Honda. You CAN turn down a Honda crankshaft... but you have to treat the crankshaft again to properly harden it. This process is likely more costly than finding a clean used crankshaft... so unless you are emotionally attached to the damaged crank, a quality replacement should be considered. Also remember that OE bearings are not available in .010" over-sized variations... so a "one size fits all" bearing solution would have to be used and this is not ideal.