Hi there, I have read up on posts about the swap I do know how to get it done. But I have a question due to money and a tight budget and with the car being my daily would I be able to swap the Y8 head on the Y7 block without wiring up VTEC. My car needs a head gasket job and i want to do the VTEC swap but I want to see if the car would run with the y8 head on the y7 block with y7 ecu for the meantime or at least a y8 ecu but no VTEC, I would need to have the car up and running ASAP and then worry about the VTEC wiring later on. I would want to save up and due it right later on as well. And of course get it up and running since I need it for work. I also live in California so I know getting it snogged will be a pain in the ***. Which also makes me wonder if I can have the y7 ecu on when I get it smogged. I appreciate any advice and please no rude comments. Thank you!

 

If money is tight, spend your dollars most wisely by replacing the blown Y7 head gasket. Do the job carefully the right way if you need it to last.

Was the Y7 engine severely overheated?

 

Hey thanks for replying. The car was sold to me like this so I don't know how they treated it, my dad told me they tried to fix it but couldn't and sold it to him for dirt cheap. Funny thing is I can drive the thing to work or small commutes and it won't overheat. But if I go far or on the highway it overheats and it spits coolant out of the reservoir I understand it's the pressure that pushes the coolant out. My dad removed the thermostat for constant circulation which is why I can drive to work. It has new water pump, new radiator and the fan turns on when it needs to. So at this point it points to the head gasket.

 

Removing the thermostat is not a good solution.

You should assume that the engine has been severely overheated. This is bad because severe overheating has likely warped the engine and possibly cooked the bearings.

It may be wise to replace the engine.

If you are set on repairing the engine, be sure to have the head resurfaced flat and also check the flatness of the block mating surface using a precision straight edge. Otherwise, the new head gasket may not hold.

 

Definitely. I've thought about just selling the car and getting myself a hatch. Maybe going b series. But first wanted to try the mini me swap and go from there and keeping it D series.

 

Alternately, just drop another d-series engine in... cheap, easy... if you like this old car nothing is stopping you from keeping it. Just swap an abused burnt engine for one that has had better luck during its life.