(This first post will have text only, second post will have various photos, and third post will serve as an update on my progress)

tl;dr just b swap your civic

Hey hi hello! I'm a long, long time lurker, first time member, and proud owner of a '94 shitbox. I had the usual D16Z6 until my dumb*** used too much Seafoam in my oil (protip; read the damn directions!). As you can imagine, the oil stopped doing its job, and spun a bearing. My pistons were knocking the next day... 241k miles ain't too shabby though!

I decided I was gonna swap the engine myself. How hard could it be? I estimated a whole 2 weeks to do it.

WRONG.

It took me 3.5 months. I started in June, finished in September.

I was desperate, not sure why. I was looking all over for a donor Integra with a B series, but eventually settled for another SOHC. I should've just done another Z6 or even a Y8, but nope! I found myself a jdm D15B 3 Stage VTEC (what a mouthful) for what I considered dirt cheap, and jumped on the chance. I figured I won't have to smog it until next year, (I live in Cali lol), and it'll get amazing mpg's! I mean, have you ever heard of it? Vtec-E AND regular vtec? Best of both worlds! 50+mpg!

That is, of course, if you have the correct ECU, and the right O2 sensor, and the injectors, and and and-

I didn't have jack SH*T, just what came with my chassis. Little did I know, I was in for a hell of a challenge. I've seen a couple other build threads, and some have done this swap with very few problems, but most were swapped into an OBD2, not OBD1 chassis. Can you guess what mine was? I had to swap, from the Z6;

Injectors (different connectors)
Alternator (different connector)
Intake Air Temperature sensor (goes inside Z6 Intake Manifold)
Purge Valve Solenoid (OBD1 exclusive, mounts on Z6 Intake Manifold)
Throttle Body (has a vacuum fitting for Charcoal Canister EVAP hose)

Additionally, I also needed to source;

Y8 Throttle Body cable bracket
D15B7 distributor (Z6 has different bolt locations, D15B has OBD2 connector)
VX Tensioner, and Water Pump (only USA parts that fit)
Z6 Timing Belt (103 teeth on belt, if I recall correctly)

At this point, those with a keen eye might be wondering why the Y8 parts. I hadn't realized, nor did I know at the time, that the intake manifold had been swapped! I was scratching my head at what P2P and P2J and P08 and P28 meant, these are found on the castings of the head, block, and intake manifold. They all correspond to specific years and engines. I eventually figured out that I had a different intake manifold. What I should have done, was replace it with my Z6 intake manifold. This would have solved the Purge Valve Solenoid mounting problem (none on Y8!), the Throttle Body fitting for the Charcoal Canister hose (none on Y8 again!), and the surging/ fluctuating/ roaming/whatever-you-wanna-call-it idle.

Ah yes, the infamous idle. I could not, for the life of me, figure out why this idle would NOT just... idle. I replaced the Throttle Body AND the gasket, the IACV (cleaned and replaced TWICE!), the PCV Valve and grommet AND hoses, and sprayed propane everywhere there could possibly be a vacuum leak (safer than spraying brake cleaner). I really could not figure out why it wouldn't idle properly. It ran just fine, however. I eventually narrowed it down to the PCV system, somehow. If I vent it to atmosphere, and capped the fitting on the intake manifold, it magically idled, perfectly! Of course, no way I could pass smog this way... I gave up. I did it my way instead, and won't give up this info easily. I'm sure the smart bunch of you can figure out how I fooled my smog tech!

Yes, that's right. It passed smog. WITH 12 valves open, instead of all 16, running a stock P28 ECU and only one vtec solenoid wired (the hi-cam of course). This is, of course, with stock Z6 headers, catalytic converter, and exhaust. Theoretically, wouldn't it be running a bit on the rich side, if only 4 intake valves are open? The smog tech even mentioned to me, "Hey, it burns pretty clean!" I was beyond stoked. I couldn't believe it, paid for the service, and left immediately before I said something stupid. It's now time for the fun mods!

My next plans are the usual stuff everyone does. Suspension (koni orange + eibach lowering springs), rims and tires (hot boi sh*t my buddy sold me like-new for too cheap), intake (AEM CAI, told ya it's the usual), headers (that's a secret!), and exhaust (Buddy Club Spec-2 hehe). I have all those parts ready, from before my Z6 gave out. I can't wait!

Oh, and I picked up a BNIB (brand new in box) Buddy Club VCON (vtec controller) to try and activate the other vtec solenoid, while I figure out chip tuning (no, not the music!) since NO ONE has any advice! I've searched far and wide, high and low, with no success. We'll see if I can figure it out.

All in all, I've learned way too much about hondas and I'm tired, I just wanna drive the darn thing now. There's various things I didn't mention I did, like the axles I replaced (torn boots), the shifter I installed (Energy Suspension bushings and K-Tuned short shifter), the engine mounts (1320 68a polyurethane, WAY too much noise and vibration haha), etc. To anyone contemplating this build; don't. This was a total PITA and took just as long as a B swap would have, for far less horsepower and more headaches and countless hours spent. Probably cost just as much too. I'm still proud of what I've accomplished, especially since I'm not a "real" mechanic or anything. Just a guy who likes to tinker for fun!

 

Image dump, I have plenty more but I limited it to 18 images, under 1920 or 1080 pixels, linked to Imgur.
If anyone's interested in specific photos, feel free to request and I'll do my best!



This is how I got her, 100% stock and full of oil leaks!



Engine bay before I detailed it (and painted the valve cover yellow)



It begins! ...after a year of ownership.



Labeling as much as I can before I rip it out



Knocking engine is out!



Empty abyss. Great chance to clean everything and wire tuck! Except, I didn't tuck anything haha



hehe



Back if I.M. notice the purge valve solenoid and intake air temp sensor locations/ mounting points



Buying the motor, and taking it home.



OBD2 Alternator plugs, no good to me



Throttle body differences



New beating heart, 75k miles allegedly



This is how I jerry rigged the throttle cable while I figured out how to mount it. Ended up bending a spare Z6 bracket



Intake manifold code, this means its from a Y8



P2J block



d15B, imported by HMO!



New home for the SOHC



First taste of gas in months. I wasn't sure if she'd make it!

 

Updates;

I've since lowered the car on Koni Orange + Eibach Lowering Springs + aftermarket drop forks. 4 inch drop on front, 2 inch in rear. Wheels definitely bumping into my fenders! I had some 16 inch rims with stretched tires, didn't end up liking them, so I swapped to some 15 inch rims with normal tires.

Axles are leaking Gotta investigate further, I think I didn't push them in all the way? I hope the seals are leaking, that would be a huge PITA given all the work done!

VTEC pulls hard AF, after ~4000 rpm. Definite power loss from 0-4000 rpm, no torque no power no nothing, gutless. I'm sure this is due to the first vtec solenoid not engaging, thus not feeding enough air in the cylinders. I do wonder, less air + same amount of fuel as if it WAS using all valves = running rich? Right?

I have a VTEC controller, planning on wiring this along with a 30 amp relay, directly to the VTEC solenoid. Still no way to control the fueling, I'm sure a chipped ECU is in the future for this motor. Or... I might just do a damn head swap after all. D15B + Z6 head, negating all my efforts...

There is a definite knocking feeling on cylinder 4 (closest to the distributor) when I rest my hand over the spark plug. Nothing on the other cylinders. This worries me a bit.

No (engine) oil leaks, yet. Still stock headers, still stock exhaust. I still have a surging/ fluctuating/ roaming/ erratic idle that I CANNOT figure out. I've swapped and cleaned IACV's 4 times now, bled the cooling system (oh btw there wasn't a thermostat installed, wtf), checked all my vacuum hoses, even removed my PCV valve completely (foolish, I know).

Also, apparently there ARE differences between IACV's, the one that came with my motor has the plug angled slightly towards the firewall. Using the other IACV's I have (for Z6's), the plug interferes with the intake manifold. VERY tight fit, thought I was gonna break the connector... At this point, I'm gonna swap the intake manifold and use my Z6 intake manifold. I can't figure this out. Until then, stock exhaust.

The ONLY thing I haven't done, is an idle relearn procedure. I haven't heard of this until just tonight, so I'll try that tomorrow after work. This is my last hope before I pull the intake manifold off.

If anyone has any advice, feel free to help out!

 

Here's a photo of what the rims I had looked like on the car. Specs are 16 x 9, 205/40/16
I am now using stock rims, 15 inch. Unsure of wheel specs tbh.

 

Been a while, but I finally found my idle problem. The spark plugs were loose, all of them! I had forgotten to tighten them down after checking all of them while I was doing the timing belt (checking for TDC). That also explains my loss of power, all the compression was leaking out through the spark plug holes. I was wondering why the spark plug wires kept popping off the top...

I ended up installing the Buddy Club exhaust after that, definitely a loud exhaust. It screams once vtec opens up.

I also redid my axles, thought the seals were leaking so I replaced those and repaired one of the boots at the same time. Turns out, the leak isn't coming from the seals... That's next on my list of repairs, gotta helicoil the bolt that holds the speed sensor on the transmission housing. I forgot I had stripped it when I was in a rush.

I also took off the drop forks thinking it was too low and bottoming out. Turns out, one of the forks was too loose and when I hit a bump or a dip, the shock traveled in and out of the fork, causing a very loud CLUNK. Oops! Moral of the story; torque everything dammit.

Car's running great overall. Still, no low end torque or power. I still recommend a B swap to anyone in a similar situation.

edit: 11/04/2023 - wow, forgot about my thread for a whole year haha. Yes, the spark plugs were loose, but what the idle problem REALLY was;

There is a set idle screw under the throttle body that I forgot I messed with. If you look closely, you'll notice there is a bit of goop/wax/sealant of some kind that prevents the screw from backing out due to engine vibrations. THIS IS IMPORTANT! Since I messed with it for whatever reason, I forgot to re-seal it. It would back out a little bit after driving it around the block, but I wouldn't notice until I came to a complete stop and it would rev up and down - argh! I eventually figured it out, but it took a couple months. I tried to ignore it but having the Buddy Club exhaust made it hard to ignore haha. Almost sounded like it was cammed!

Regardless, I used... teflon? Hondabond? I forgot what I ended up using to seal it, but it's not backing out anymore, and no more annoying idle! If you need to do this on your own throttle body, you have to make sure you set your idle at the correct rpm's. There are plenty of tutorials explaining how to do this, search!

I will add a tip I learned; once you find the correct rpm at idle, count the number of turns (or, half turns to be a little more accurate if you need to) it takes from that position, all the way to fully tightened/ fully closed. Remove the screw completely, add your teflon/ wax/ goop/ schmoo/ Hondabond/ threadlocker (NOT the red kind!) to the screw's threads, then screw it back in all the way. Loosen the screw the exact number of turns (or half turns) to get the screw exactly where it was at the correct rpm's at idle,and you're done! Double check the rpm's are correct at idle, let the goop (or whatever you used) fully cure/dry. No more weird idle

 

11/04/2023;

Wow, a whole year with no updates. Flew by really quickly, been busy with my personal life (I got engaged!)

Car's running 95% great! Still has little quirks but I still drive it everyday as my commuter. I'm averaging 29-35mpg's depending how I drive haha. Still running the stock P28 ECU, no issues. 87 octane. At one point, I had Kosei K1's with 205/50/15 tires and some Ray's lug nuts, but the rims were a different offset and I didn't feel like pulling the fenders to fit them. In hindsight, I should've just done it, I actually REALLY liked the look of those wheels. Eventually settled for the HX rims I currently have. I've done various maintenance jobs like brake rotors and pads, new rims and tires, spark plugs, changed the valve cover, changed exhaust back to stock (I sold the Buddy Club exhaust, and I regret it everyday), and added Integra seats (junkyard had a decent sale, both for $60!) I also somehow found an OEM Civic radio, I was beside myself when I saw it at the junkyard. The tape deck doesn't want to read cassettes, so I'll have to refurbish the unit.

I also found a B series OEM intake at the junkyard, and it happened to have a K&N filter in it. Got REAL excited about that, I left the filter inside the airbox and the cashiers were none the wiser. Paid $40 for the whole thing, I was super stoked. I haven't figured out how to install the airbox on my EG chassis, so I have the filter and intake tubing exposed in the engine bay - not exactly ideal but hey, it works just fine. Might be place---bo but it sure feels like it pulls slightly harder, and seems like vtec sounds louder. I'll eventually get the airbox fitted, and I plan on running some air ducting into the airbox from the bumper for an actual, useful mod haha.

Chassis recently hit 250k miles! Excited about that, still holding up. The paint, however, is not. I've since embraced the natural "patina" it has acquired.

Nothing else real exciting done to the car, although I have new plans for it that I'm still investigating/ researching. If I get it all working properly, I should achieve 40-50 mpg's Just need a couple other parts to make it all work!

--- Image dump follows ---


Kosei K1's 205/50/15


Kosei K1's w/ Ray's Lug Nuts, faded blue turned turquoise (actually really liked it that shade)


Really grooved and old, worn rotors.


Polished HX rims, ignore the rotors!


She looks good when she's clean!


Best angle, other side is pretty ugly.


The natural patina of 30 year old paint.


Quarter of a million miles!


OEM Integra muffler, all clean and polished.


Custom shift **** from Mr Grip, K Tuned short shifter (Version 1 I think), custom shift boot pattern to match the shift ****. Peep the stock OEM Civic radio!

That's all for now, I'll try to remember to update more often than once a year. If anyone is interested in anything, feel free to ask me questions! I'll try to help as much as I can.

update; 08/13/2024

man, sporadic updates, probably gonna be my norm going forward. I forget I have this thread to post my progress. At this point, it's mostly for me to keep track of what I've done to my car. I have recently discovered that geocities made a comeback, this time being called neocities. I will probably be making my own neocities website and continue posting progress over there, so in the near future I'll be moving everything over. My goal is to create an all-in-one website for anyone to reference, in regards to anything civic eg related. Kinda like a eg bible of sorts, we'll see how far I get

I FINALLY got around to installing some UEL headers, found another set for sale for around $300 so I HAD to buy them, since I sold my other set before I had the chance to install them. They were on the car for roughly 2 weeks. Combined with the Buddy Club Spec 2 catback, it was a little too rowdy, even with the silencer installed. I had to use a test pipe in order to make it all fit, so I'm sure that had an impact. I wonder if a resonated test pipe might've been better. Either way, I sold the headers. They made me miss the subie life, for sure. The civic definitely felt like it lost the honda spirit, so they had to go. At this current moment, I have the stock exhaust system on, because I need to smog my car for registration.

Unfortunately, it failed. High HC count, running rich. I did an oil change, air filter change, spark plug change, new distributor, new spark plug wires, double checked timing, and finally narrowed down the problem to a faulty PCV valve. It was letting too much air in (like a vacuum leak) and made the engine run rich. Last couple things would've been new oxygen sensor, refurbed injectors, new radiator cap, and a splash of e85 before smogging. I'm sure it'll pass without those last things, given that the PCV valve was the problem.

I DID do a compression test due to fearing I had burnt an exhaust valve, but was happy to find that I had dam near 200 psi compression on all 4 cylinders (on a hot engine). Damn. I guess the guy who sold me the egnine wasn't lying about having roughly 70k miles on it!

After smog, the current list of repairs is as follows;

New axles (both have torn boots)
Replace crankshaft seal
Replace rear main seal
Replace clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, pilot bearing
Replace trans fluid

Inspect struts and springs, engine mounts (weird jerky movement felt through chassis)
Replace all control arms
Replace rear trailing arm bushings
Replace inner and outer tie rods (cheap parts to get me by, but failed way too early)
Replace as any coolant and vacuum hoses (most are as old as the car itself, 250+k miles on them)
Replace radiator (same as above)

Find some 15 inch rims so I can finally run 205/50/15 tires (I really seem to like rota auto x wheels, probably gonna run that if I find a set)
Pressure wash carpet
Add complete stereo + speakers

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I'll add photos later. Until next time!