ok this prolly makes me sound like a noob.. but here goes...

obd1 b18b --> 1993 5spd dx

ive never swapped an engine in, i am mechanically inclined and have a good idea. how easy is this swap for someone who hasnt done one before? any tips or things i should know about?

thanks guys

 

b18b of the same year obd is prob the easiest swap one could ever do....swap your dx harness over to the b18b if it doesnt already have a harness....drop the motor in....plug everything back in(plug in b18b ecu)....start car

 

ive got a b18 4 sale

 

ive got a b18 in my garage.. but thanx

 

do you still have the b18? what is it's condition and what year is it? please let me know. thanks a lot

 

If you've got a pretty good grasp on the idea of a lefty loosey right tighty and have a 10, 12 and 14mm sockets , your pretty much set for an engine swap. Ha ha, actually, that's a bit of a simplification and you'll also need a 17, 19 and 32mm sockets for some of the mounts and the 32 is for the axle nuts (which can be a real pain). First thing I'll recommend you do is get yourself a Helm's factory service manual.

http://www.helminc.com/helm/homepage.asp?r=

I would seriously recommend you buy one for both your engine and your car (they're about $60 a piece plus about $6 shipping, at least they were a few years ago). Kinda pricey but worth their weight in gold when your doing a swap. The location of all the bolts that need removed are listed with drawings, the torque values you need when you put it back together, plus step by step instructions on doing pretty much everything (removing/installing an engine, timing belt/water pump, changing a clutch, complete wiring diagrams ...). I got a '92 Civic Helm's I no longer need but I'd actually rather you got a '93 edition for your car (there are probably some wiring differences my book won't have).

Basically if you follow the directions in the helms, everything is pretty much laid out for you right there. Only real issues I've come across is getting the axle nuts loose. I just changed the clutch on my '98 EX and I just soaked them in knock'r loose penatrating oil and my 1/2" impact gun zipped them right off. With my '92 CX it took 5 people, my girlfriend laying on the brakes, one guy with his foot keeping the 3/4" (we bent 2 1/2" breaker bars) 1 1/4" socket (get a 32mm, we didn't have one) another guy jamming a screwdriver into the vent on the rotor to hold it in place and me and another guy hanging on a 12' skateboard rail I used to have to get those sucker loose. That was after they had been soaked in 3 different penatrating oils, torched them and cursed at them like crazy. Before you jack the car off the ground, pull the centercap/hub caps and break them loose first. If you can't get them off, drive the car to a garage and get them to hit it with an impact gun (most 3/4" and 1" guns have no problem but occasionally a 1/2" will do it). Just tighen them down real good with a 1/2" wrench and you should get home and get them back off just fine.

Another real pain is getting the shift linkage pin out. I ususally find a bolt that's the same size as the pin, clamp it in some vice grips and hammer away. Soaking the pin in penatrating oil seems to help. Gettng the ball joints loose can be a problem sometimes too. I remove the cotter pin, loosen the castle nut and then put a jack under the rotor to get pressure on that ball joint. Slam the LCA with a hammer a few times and the vibration will pop the ball joint loose. I got pictures to do a writeup on doing those tricks when I did my clutch, but I haven't had time to do the post yet (probably soon). If your pulling the engine out through the top, if you angle it slightly so the tranny is down, it makes it much easier to remove too.

Doing an engine swap isn't as easy as changing your oil or brake pads, but honestly, that's all I had done on my Honda's before I tried my first swap and it worked out pretty well for me. I definately recommend you get those Helm's manuals and ask any questions about any steps you don't understand. I also recommend people plan for the worst when starting a swap. Don't expect to have the car finished in a weekend, so if you need a car on Monday, make plans ahead of time if something goes wrong. It's a big project but definately a rewarding one, good luck with it.

 

thanks for the writeup man, i appreciate it. i got all the tools for the job, including the impact gun, and a 8ft pole as a backup plan for those axel nuts, ive changed a clutch on my old civic before to know what kind of a pain those shift linkage pins can be, but i got a small technique. i take a screw clamp, take a bolt of the relatively smaller size, and a nut, then i clamp all them together so the bolt can push teh pin into the nut. pretty ingenious and works great..

 

quick question... will the b18b's downpipe line up with the civic's stock exhaust?

 

Cool. I've heard of other ideas for shiftlinkage but tha'ts a pretty good one. As for the exhaust, I'm not sure about a B18B (by the way, just to confirm, this is a '94-'95 B18B right?) but with my B18C1, you had to have a B-series cat (the exhuast manfiold cat flange is opposite on B-series from the D, think / vs \) and mine was about 4ish inches too short. I just tied the cat up with some mechanics wire and drove it to a local muffler shop where they made an bridge piece to make it all fit. Here's a pic of my cat (your O2 sensor will be in the exhaust manifold, not in the beginning of the cat like mine, B18C1's are goofey like that). You sound like your set for this, but I'd still recommend those Helm's.