Hi guys,

I am looking for recommendations on places you like for doing an engine swap on EK Civics in the Chicago land area. I want to do a B18 swap in it. I have ALL the parts ready to go, only dont have the wiring figured out.

 

What year is your “ek”
what sub model is your “ek” ex or NON EX

use your current harness off the chassis whether it’s 99-00 or 96-98
now prefer to be ex harness as it’ll be more simple
but any NON EX works too u just have to wire vtec
and convert iacv to 2 wire

also make it simple
get a obd2a (if 96-98) or obd2b(if 99-00) to obd1 ecu jumper harness

get any obd1 ecu
get it chipped and correct basemap for your engine
*** this route is not emissions friendly on ecu part***

 

Thanks for the helpful reply. So here, I should add some details.

It's a 4dr 1999 Civic LX (auto trans).

I have a working donor car (1998 Civic DX coupe) with a B1 8motor, manual trans, with A/C, power steering etc. My plan is to swap all this into my 99 (convert to M/T). So I believe I can keep the tune the same, but need to look into this jumper harness. the 1998 donor car probably has this obd2a you're talking about and i need a *2b. I'll try to find some search some forums that talk about this.

I have some basic mechanical skills and have done individual part replacements (hubs, brakes, oil pan, radiator, thermostat,etc), but nothing to this scale. Ideally I could do it with someone, but at this point, dont know anyone here and so am looking for shops.

 

So base 99 lx
donor 98

everything will completely swap over
only thing u need to change is:
convert your 99 harness to 2 wire iacv
wire knock sensor
and maybe extend / reloom some wires to accommodate b series sensor locations

figure out secondary o2 may need to extend them as ex shell one has one engine harness second is on chassis harness by center console on bottom

the lx engine harness has both o2 sensor iirc

convert your obd2b dizzy engine harness side plug to obd2a

buy the obd2b engine side harness to obd2a ecu jumper harness
this is the more expensive one jumper usually $80-150

idk if the obd2 code reader still works when using obd2b to obd2a ecu jumper harness or not you’ll have to test that physically


if you can change brakes and change axles
you really can do a swap
but that’s if you have time on your hands and the tools/ pref garage

I can give you step by step instructions it’s very simple on how to remove

then how to install

its best to have a buddy if you don’t have a cherry picker

if not. A legit shop where I am charges about $1000-1500 for removal and reinstall and u supply all fluids
or a side dude will charge 400-750 (a legit side mechanic at his house usually charges $600-1000)

 

this is great. thank you very much. i've been reading on the b swap guides and such, but it's these specifics that i really need to know. the b series swap has already been done..it's "just" transferring it over.

If I could pay a grand to do this, which is what i was hoping for, I'd be happy, but right now people are asking 2000-2500. and 2500-3000 when i ask for suspension swap too. the car has BC racing coils, camber kits, and fresher suspension vs. my original 210k miles stuff so it makes sense to swap it all and maybe do some rust protection at the same time. i'm more comfortable with being able to do the suspension swap myself but i'm being told i'm guaranteed to break bolts and damage things to a point where i wont have a rolling shell left. so they are basically saying things will have to be cut out. since both cars run, and run well, spending 3k for this swap project with the donor car being scrap for peanuts is hard to swallow.

If you can give step by step instructions, i'd be much indebted. I would love to do this. it would be a very memorable learning experience and accomplishment but i dont have much time to screw up and waste. ideally with step by step instructions and/or a lending hand I have time for that. I just know if i i'm doing it myself, it'll be at least 10x longer, if i'm lucky, and then because it's taking so long, i'll get side tracked and forget things and waste even more time

there's not rush on my part. it's to my benefit that it gets done soon, but i also want to be a little smart about it and take the time to plan and get any inputs or suggestions along the way. i own both the cars, which both run very well, and i have another daily driver.

 

If you attempt this have a garage. More than likely. You’ll take a few days to remove the donor swap

suspension wise the shops is somewhat right
you “could” snap some bolts off as it’s old seized we don’t know until you kinda get into it
i suggest pb blaster every suspension bolt into frame and let it soak before you attempt it

the most common ones off top of my head is
rear bottom shock fork 14mm bolt. The rear stock camber kit bolts. The rear lca bolts.


first and foremost I suggest take both donor and crown cars to a shop that can professionally remove the ac frion out of the system.

essentially youll unplug everything chassis side to remove the swap
Basic rundown off top my head other members feel free to chime if I miss a step


remove ecu
disconnect 2 wires going to fuse box one battery one starter
remove battery
Disconnect driver side shock tower harness to frame

remove axles
remove shift linkage
remove header


remove radiator hoses
drain transmission fluid


remove torque mounts
remove t bracket bolt
remove tranny bracket tmount
remove driver side mount


Once u jump in it I will be more than happy to help specifics once you get stuck

 

Thanks for the list. This is kind of how my mind works for me to be able to feel comfortable doing thisI appreciate the future help becasue I'm sure I'll get stuck. but this is a good breakdown. couple questions. for "disconnect 2 wires going to fuse box one battery one starter"--are these wires to be swapped? otherwise, why disconnect it if the battery comes off?

only the driver side shock tower needs to come off for the axle removal? I'm wondering why we just take the driver side only off.

I should mention that my '99 car has a steering fluid leak and the A/C doesn't work. Conveniently, both these are working well on the donor car, so I'd like to swap these systems in its entirety because it's newer and i dont know where my leak(s) are. Then, Id also want to swap the cooling system too because of upgraded/new hoses and radiator, while some of mine are OE at best and maybe even some original hoses.

After the driver side mount is removed, is this where you lift the engine/trans assembly out together?

So, there's the cooling system, power steering and A/C. Where does this fit into the removal process?

Thanks for the list. This is kind of how my mind works for me to be able to feel comfortable doing this--even though you get a better picture when you get your hands dirty, I prefer to see/read and then start to watch videos. I'm still hoping I could get some help, but the more I know what I'm doing the better. This is going to be an exciting moment for me. I paid a decent price for the donor car. And it's not at all justifiable if I have to spend 2500-3500 to do the swap. The only way this will make financial sense is to do it myself, and possibly pay someone a bit for help too. It also makes it more special because the purpose of the project in the first place is to preserve the sentimental value of the 99 Civic--it was a gift from my dad and my first car in 99. The rest of the donor car and whats pulled from the 99 Civic, will either be sold or scrapped, or maybe even given in exchange for help.

 

you’ll see when u go to battery there’s 2 Phillip screw you need to unbolt
one goes engine harness
one goes alternator charge harness
you have to remove both axles

there’s a driver side shock tower harness you need to unplug it connects engine harness to chassis

to lift engine out
remove shift linkage conpletely
remove axles conpletely

disconnect all ac and ps stuff to engine

swap over

 

So are you still looking for a place to do the swap or are you now doing it yourself?

 

Right now all options are still on the table since nothing has been done yet.

Some of the quotes I've gotten I'm sure are reasonable for the amount of work, but it's a lot of money because of the labor from taking out of two cars and installing. In addition I NEED to swap the PS, AC, and brakes/suspension. (my PS is leaking, AC had some sort of leak issue, and suspension is all original @217k miles so might as well put the upgrades in).

Ideally, I could do this at home AND pay someone to help me. That's my first choice by far. This would give me the experience, satisfaction and saving, while reducing the anxiety that I'm in over my head or I'll screw up.

So until it's finalized, I'm trying to research as much as I can, which includes talking to shops, getting quotes, etc. Even if I do pay a shop, it is nice to have a rough idea on how to convert to manual, change the engine, suspension, etc etc. I'm not too worried about suspension since I've worked on it before, but not to the extent where everything is coming off.

 

$2000 in labor for this swap? I’d do it for half that. Too bad you live in Chicago.

 

Maybe try sending a PM to this cat: https://honda-tech.com/forums/member...ent-999730923/

He is up in the northern suburbs, may be able to help. May not, but the worst that happens is he tells you "No, sorry." I met him a couple times, good guy.

 

Thanks. If I could have done this for a grand it would have had it done asap. The problem is when the shops want close to $3000 for the labor, on top of what i paid for the donor car, it puts the project cost into K swap territory and it just doesn't make sense to do. It's already kind of debatable as it is.

I'd hoped to recoup some of the expenses by selling of what i can from the donor car. One of the shops was $2500 + they keep the donor car. So total cost ends up being quite a bit.

 

thanks for the tip. I'm in the northern suburbs as well. i just read one of his build threads and it's pretty impressive. I'll reach out to him.