Hello, I have a 98 Honda civic ex coupe that just spun a bearing or threw a rod or something. I would like to replace the engine and am wondering what the best option is. It has a d16y8 in it right now. I would love to do a b series swap but I have never engine swapped before. I have replaced heads and other things but nothing this advanced. Should I go ahead and swap it with a b series or keep it stock with a d series?

thanks
ps Id like to spend less then 1000 bucks
not much to work with.

 

With only a stack... you will be lucky to find a quality Y8 to put back into your car... and unless you steal one, a "B" swap will be TOTALLY out of reach.

 

You might be able to score a B20 for 500 and an LS trans for 500 but the nickel and dime extras like mounts and axels and stuff is what will get you.

You should be able to find a y8 longblock in good shape within the budget.

 

if it only spun a bearing you may be better off rebuilding- if you have the skill to do so.

The same happened to me 15 years ago when all this stuff was cheap and plentiful. Still couldn't find a replacement D-series local to me that looked good enough to spend $400-500 on. I got a complete rebuild kit for about $350, about $100 at the machine shop to repair the damage to the crankshaft, and $20 for a good used rod and piston from the self-serve yard. Add $30 more for incidentals and a bottle brush hone in the appropriate size for a total right at $500 to get the original engine back like new.

TRDL; if you have the space, tools and competence to assembly an engine, I'd suggest exploring that option first.

$1k is regularly scheduled maintenance budget these days.

 

I ended up finding a running d16y8 for 300 bucks on Facebook marketplace. It does have 200k miles but I figured it was worth the risk for 300 bucks

 

With your extra money, buy a gasket kit and refresh all the seals before you drop it in. Save you the hassle later. Like the main seal, oil pump seal, cam seal, valve seals, valve cover gasket, etc. If you have the time and space to do that.