Hi guys,

I finally got all of the parts sitting here for my swap, now my problem is I cant find the time to do the swap and I dont have an extra vehicle to take me to and from the parts store (just in case). I usually get 3 days off from work, and I was planning on taking some vacation time so that I would have anywhere between 5-10 days off.

Now I want to go ahead and do this swap and get it up and running, so I was just wondering for those of you that did your own swaps: <u>How many days/hours did it take you to complete the swap?</u>

I figure it will take me 4-5 hours from the time I start jacking up the car to the time the motor is out. That leaves me 3-4 hours to start prepping the car for the install. Then I have 8 hours on the second day and another 8 hours on the third day to complete the swap. All my stuff is setup to be plugged right in (wire harness and conversion harness) so I dont have to mess with any wiring during the swap.

 

oh yah, the nooB part was kind of a joke...I've done a lot of my own work on the following cars. So it's not like I'm totally clueless.

-99 Civic Si
full shock and spring install
CAI install
DC 4-1

-01 Lude
coilover suspension
CAI and catback install

-93 RX-7
spark plug and wire change (not as easy as it sounds)
DP and ECU install (was a lot easier then my first time doing spark plugs)

 

I could easily do it in a day.
You seem to ave planned well ahead and left plenty of time so I wouldnt worry about it.
With 3 days you could go super slow and take your time.
Good luck and if you get stuck HT to the rescue.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kid-honda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I could easily do it in a day.
You seem to ave planned well ahead and left plenty of time so I wouldnt worry about it.
With 3 days you could go super slow and take your time.
Good luck and if you get stuck HT to the rescue.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for the reply,

You are right about the planning thing, I've been going over the GSR and CRX FSM for the last 5-6 months. The more I read about it the easier it sounds. The only thing I'm worried about is getting back and forth to the swap location and my home. I'll probably get a rental car or borrow a friends car for those 3 days.

 

Shouldnt be too bad, I did mine in 3 days with wiring. Well, 3 full days, and trying to move an engine around with the cherry picker on a gravel surface . Hit me up for q's.
Ryan

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by droppedcrxsi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Shouldnt be too bad, I did mine in 3 days with wiring. Well, 3 full days. Hit me up for q's.
Ryan</TD></TR></TABLE>

Cool, my wiring is already done, I just have to plug everything up. My work is about a 5 minutes walk from the hobby shop, so if I run into any major holdups I'll be posting from there. I'm tempted to just go to the hobby shop today and just doing it, but that might not be a good idea.

 

where in cali are you? im sure there ht members that will help you out.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ThatRicerDaniel &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">where in cali are you? im sure there ht members that will help you out.</TD></TR></TABLE>

There are plenty of people working at the hobby shop that can lend me a hand when I most need it. I'll probably need an extra set of hands for when I drop and raise the motor, and I can just pull one of the shop workers.

I might call up a few of my other friends too and see if they wanna help me work on my car. Thanks for the offer though, if I need you guys to help me with the actual install I'll let you guys know though. But I think I'll be ok.

 

I'd say yes, but then again there are always some curveballs to be thrown in doing said swap. Good planning and this site should be more than enough to get you through. Good luck and if ya need any help PM me with Q's.

 

Hello again guys,

So right now everything is ready to go. The shortblock and tranny is sitting in my bedroom, and everything else is layed out in my living room ready to go. Since I have to transport the motor/parts in my CRX, I will have to reassemble it at the hobby shop.

Now I just wanted to know what are your guys average times for assembling a motor? I estimate it will take me 3-4 hours to complete putting the motor together. Is that a good/bad/average time for putting together a B motor? I could probably do it in 2 hours, but lately my lower back has been hurting so it slows down my work.

anyways here are some pics of of my stuff, waiting to go.

 

please tell me you dont have a dx??? if you have a dx you probaly want a professional to do the wires...
if its an hf/si then you should be good to go, make sure you dont haveabs axles, get some solder and heatshringk, a obd0 vtec ecu and dist and you should be fine, you have the all the gaskets you need too right?

 

oh i just red you had a conversion harness so im assuming you have an si, this should be no problem then, good luck

 

Car parts in the bedroom...that's hardcore man

I'm also interested in how long it takes - you assembling on a stand somewhere?

Good luck with the assmbly/swap

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hammerdgolfer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">please tell me you dont have a dx??? if you have a dx you probaly want a professional to do the wires...
if its an hf/si then you should be good to go, make sure you dont haveabs axles, get some solder and heatshringk, a obd0 vtec ecu and dist and you should be fine, you have the all the gaskets you need too right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have a DX, but wiring is not gonna be a issue because I have a custom harness already made up for me (courtesy nikitad) ready to be plugged in. I've spent 6 months planning this swap, gathering all the needed parts, replacing items I could replace and all the stuff.

I pretty much have most of the swap steps memorized. The only thing that concerns me with my swap is running out of time. I only have 5 days to do it, but maybe 2 or 3 at the minimum to do this swap all by myself..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kwichang &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Car parts in the bedroom...that's hardcore man

I'm also interested in how long it takes - you assembling on a stand somewhere?

Good luck with the assmbly/swap</TD></TR></TABLE>

hehehe, yah I didn't have anywhere else to put the parts, so in the bedroom they went. I also wanted to assemble the engine for practice, and to make sure I have all the little parts. I'll be taking pictures of all the stuff when I stick in my CRX too. I took the passenger seat out, and that's where the shortblock is going to sit. All the other smaller parts are gonna sit in the back.

When I get the stuff to the hobby shop I'll probably be assembling it on a wooden skid/pallet. I'll probably start out by bolting on the flywheel, PP, crankpulley and then the head/IM followed by the tranny.

EDIT: I'll be bringing my digital camera and I'll try to take a lot of pics. And I'll definately be timing myself.

 

haha u changed the FD sparkplugs you have my respect.. damn rotorays(splchk?)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sinfultrends &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">haha u changed the FD sparkplugs you have my respect.. damn rotorays(splchk?)</TD></TR></TABLE>

hehehe thanks, changing plugs and wires on a rotary definately is a royal PITA. My first time doing it only took me 5 hours, and I was just doing plugs. It would have only taken me 4 hours but I forgot to hook up a vacuum line so I was getting a verhy high idle. The 2nd time though I did plugs and wires but I breezed right through it and knocked it out in an hour and a half

 

sounds like ur in the military workin at the hobby shop theres always someone there that can help like you said. Id say u can do it in 3 days but theres always that problem u run into that screws you over....when u do the extra wiring for the mpfi just make sure everything is tight and all no loose connections etc...burp the coolant or u could experience a messed up idle....and have fun

 

since everyone was doing their own "swap progress thread" I figured I'd post my own. If you guys have never seen a complete swap in a CRX, click the link. hehehe

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=956695

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JdMB16Ahatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sounds like ur in the military workin at the hobby shop theres always someone there that can help like you said. Id say u can do it in 3 days but theres always that problem u run into that screws you over....when u do the extra wiring for the mpfi just make sure everything is tight and all no loose connections etc...burp the coolant or u could experience a messed up idle....and have fun</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yup you are correct, I was gonna wait until the 25th to start my swap, but I'm just gonna try knocking it out on my current days off. Hopefully I can finish the engine assembly today, but if not I'll finish it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

 

my times with air tools, cherry picker, and a garage (for temp reasons):

1.5hrs - Remove engine from car
2hrs - Prep New engine (ie. remove harness from old engine, install on new engine. clean thermostat housing, replace timing belt, clutch/pp, oil change, check/replace hoses.)
2hrs - Install new engine (does not include rewiring, this just includes DROPPING the engine into the engine bay, and connecting all associated hoses, clutch, wiring, and filling gearbox with fluid).
2hrs - Wiring

This should only take a single day, but, mishaps happen...lunch...bathroom breaks, etc.
Give yourself a weekend.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Driven &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my times with air tools, cherry picker, and a garage (for temp reasons):

1.5hrs - Remove engine from car
2hrs - Prep New engine (ie. remove harness from old engine, install on new engine. clean thermostat housing, replace timing belt, clutch/pp, oil change, check/replace hoses.)
2hrs - Install new engine (does not include rewiring, this just includes DROPPING the engine into the engine bay, and connecting all associated hoses, clutch, wiring, and filling gearbox with fluid).
2hrs - Wiring

This should only take a single day, but, mishaps happen...lunch...bathroom breaks, etc.
Give yourself a weekend. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for those times...I'll probably be prepping the engine first, so it'll probably take me about 2-3 hours. Wiring is already done, I just have to plug it all up. Torqueing everything down during the assembly will probably take me a while, because I like to take it slowly and do it correctly.

There is a 7-11 type store right next to the hobby shop so I can get a quick bite to eat. The heat might slow me down if its hot today like it was yesterday. But with any luck I'll be able to do it all in one day. BTW did you do all that stuff by yourself? was it your first time, or are your estimates assuming you know exactly what you are doing?

Thanks

 

ohh crap, I almost forgot to ask this question. My custom engine harness has the VTEC subharness wnd the VTEC solenoid has a ground wire. I was just wondering, where do I ground that wire to? there's a bolt that holds the dizzy wire bracket in place, can I put the ground under that?

where did you guys run yours?

 

Just get a few friends to help you and run to the store if you need to. Should go pretty smooth.

Yager-

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueShadow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ohh crap, I almost forgot to ask this question. My custom engine harness has the VTEC subharness wnd the VTEC solenoid has a ground wire. I was just wondering, where do I ground that wire to? there's a bolt that holds the dizzy wire bracket in place, can I put the ground under that?

where did you guys run yours? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Do you mean that the VTEC wire is shielded?
Or does it have a seperate ground wire?

Shielded wire should already have a ground at ECU. Don't ground the other end or you may get ground loops resulting in electrical noise.

If it's a seperate ground wire it's probably for the VTEC oil pressure sensor. I don't think that one grounds at the ECU so ground it where you see fit.