"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
05/25/2015 at 12:53 • Filed to: None
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"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
05/25/2015 at 12:53 • Filed to: None | 16
| 19 |
It’s no secret that the D16Y7 in my Canadian Honda Civic was getting a bit tired. A rev above 5k resulted in a plume of blue smoke, and it burnt through oil at a rate of one quart per 300 miles. I topped out at only 30mpg and was probably only making 75hp. The transmission’s input shaft was screaming for mercy and the 250k mile clutch was tempermental, to say the least.
In short, this guy needed Jesus.
Fortunately, aside from my CDM ‘98 Civic LX I also have a USDM ‘97 Civic LX parts car with a far lower mileage engine which features: original headers, perfectly clean oil, good compression, and it was far, far dirtier. Over the course of a week I learned how to pull a D16Y7 by yanking the motor out of the green 97 donor car. After much frustration from trying to disconnect the wiring harness from the engine unsuccessfully, I learned I could remove the battery tray and unplug the entire harness from the car and it would go with the engine. After that it was just a matter of pulling the axles and unbolting the five mounts.
Yesterday at around 1:00pm this was where my ‘98 was. Up on a lift awaiting its new engine. But first, out with the old.
Pulling the engine went pretty smoothly. The most time-consuming part was keeping track of all of the bolts, brackets, and other various parts as I pulled them off of the engine, and I still managed to lose an exhaust spacer, catalytic converter bolt, and a bracket for the wiring harness.
My battery tray, which I wasn’t using anyway due to a larger aftermarket battery, was completely seized to the car and covered in dirt (???), so an angle grinder and creative use of metal fatigue (aka grinding down parts of it then bending them back and forth until they broke) was used. So much for doing this by the books.
Pictured is my favorite tool: the cheater bar. This one is about five feet long and I used every foot of it to get some bolts broken free where the rattle gun simply could not fit. Other tools used for this swap were a harbor freight angle grinder, craftsman 3/4 drive and 1/2 drive socket sets, pneumatic 1/2 drive rattle gun, pneumatic 3/4 drive angle driver, and a Spatter-O-Matic wire-feed flux welder.
Probably the most difficult part of the swap was getting things aligned with the new engine in place. Some bolt holes were randomly different sizes, leading to creative modifications to get things to fit.
The engine is pretty much perfect. The only problems I had once it was in the car were forgetting to push one of the axles all the way into the transmission, and some water somehow found its way into the distributor. Spark plugs were changed, distributor caps were swapped, and this new engine is fantastic. Far more powerful than what I had before, with a clutch that feels 100000000x better and I can drive far smoother, and it is SILENT. No whining input shaft bearings to be found, though my exhaust is noisy as hell since I haven’t yet attached everything. As it is I have to put the hood back on, fix the exhaust, fix a bent shifter linkage, and straighten my steering wheel, but then I will be done with this swap and have a clean, well-running 98 hybrid CDM/USDM Civic.
Speaking of USDM, here are differences between the two cars:
CDM had no factory A/C, thus is missing some sensors relating to AC.
CDM has no armrest, JDM style
CDM doesn’t have a voltage load reader thingie that adjusts idle in response to electrical load
CDM has totally different passenger motor mounts
CDM has kph instrument cluster
That’s about it. Very interesting what variations there are.
Jedidiah
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2015 at 13:03 |
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So much space in this garage
Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2015 at 13:03 |
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“A rev above 5k resulted in a plume of blue smoke,”
You know... if you left it the way it was, you could hang out with those “cool” guys who like rolling coal... LOL
dogisbadob
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2015 at 13:03 |
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Lucky to have lift access! Why not a swap like the D16Y8 or Y5? Sorry, I had to :p
How long did it take total?
Raymundo
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2015 at 13:07 |
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Super cool man! Glad to see things were successful and that you’re enjoying a completely stock but functioning engine. CDM tyt yo.
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> dogisbadob
05/25/2015 at 13:19 |
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14 hours total. I did a Y7 because.. that’s what I had. I would like to have an extra 20hp from a VTEC-equipped engine but money is, as ever, an issue.
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> Jedidiah
05/25/2015 at 13:19 |
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That’s not even half of it :P
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Jedidiah
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2015 at 13:21 |
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Is it yours?
I want a big garage so badly. It makes things so much easier.
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> Jedidiah
05/25/2015 at 13:23 |
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My workplace. Large shop with presses, welders, grinders, tons of tools, fully plumbed for air tools, and a pair of two-post lifts.
PS9
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2015 at 13:34 |
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but-
Birddog
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2015 at 13:45 |
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“Spatter-O-Matic wire-feed flux welder”
I laughed way too hard at this.
BaconSandwich is tasty.
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2015 at 14:11 |
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That’s totally awesome. As someone who owns a 2001 Civic, I can appreciate this.
It’s crossed my mind, that when the Civic eventually gives up the ghost, I should swap in a small block Chevy. Probably not worth the effort, but it’d be hilarious to be able to smoke the rear wheels on a Civic. I bet it’d get some interesting looks, especially if I could keep the interior as stock as possible.
mazda616
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2015 at 14:18 |
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Very cool. I fear my truck may someday need this treatment as well.
Clown-Shoe-Pilot
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2015 at 18:38 |
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If you’re going to put a 5 foot extension on a socket driver, get yourself a flex handle. Ratchets aren’t designed for that kind of torque and you’ll break one. It’ll happen when the store’s closed too.
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> PS9
05/25/2015 at 21:42 |
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hnnnnnnnng
Tohru
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/28/2015 at 18:48 |
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*VIN DIESEL POSE*
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Tohru
> BaconSandwich is tasty.
05/28/2015 at 18:49 |
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Make it mid-engined with a Pontiac G6 six-speed.
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BaconSandwich is tasty.
> Tohru
05/28/2015 at 18:51 |
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The six-speed from the G6 was decent, was it?
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Tohru
> BaconSandwich is tasty.
05/28/2015 at 18:59 |
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It’s the go-to manual trans for V8 Fiero conversions.
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> Tohru
05/28/2015 at 19:07 |
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I didn’t realize GM made a high-performance FWD manual trans. Shit. A manual supercharged 3800 Fiero is pretty much my dream car.