alright so my friend bought a 87 crx si from some kid for 200 dollars......decent body and a zc swap....well the problem is that the bottom end of the zc knocks like a cop with a warrant....the kid he got it from says it has a spun bearing.....if that is the case how can he check to see if it is the bearing...which bearing it is.....and what other stuff could be trashed down there....what other damage should he look for.....

 

If it knocks that bad then it's either a rod bearing or a main bearing. He would need to remove the engine and, at the very least, have the crank machined as well as the rod or main bearing cap that had the bad bearing. Since the oil pump has likely pumped tiny bearing metal flakes throughout the engine, he should probably do a complete tear down and rebuild to clean it all out. While he's doing that he may as well replace all bearings, install new rings, etc.

Now for some good news. Since it is an 87, he probably has a 1g ZC, either browntop or blacktop, unless it's really a USDM D16A1 from a 86-89 integra and you're just calling it a ZC because it has two cams. Unfortunately many people call the D16A1 a ZC, which it isn't. Read the engine ID to make sure which one you have. Either way it can be replaced with an equivalent 86-87 D16A1 (browntop, vacuum advance) or 88-89 D16A1 (blacktop, electronic advance) from an integra. He can use just the bottom end or the entire engine.

Read the FAQ at http://www.redpepperracing.com for more about this. It's the best site for 1g CRX's. Also browse http://www.g1teg.org for info and used parts and engines.