Engine Swap Help!

[95 EJ Coupe]

I recently picked up a 1995 Honda Civic DX. The engine runs fine but burns oil. I have come to a decision to engine swap and rebuild this engine, but put another engine in for the time being. The engine coming out is suppose to be a D15B7 (but I am not sure cause it is already a swap) and the one going in is also a D15B7. The one going in, needs the distibutor and exhaust manifold from the other engine. My questions are, do I need to do timing (timing light, etc.) and what else do I need to know and/or get? Oh one more thing. Engine wiring harness. How does that work? Does it disconnect at the engine?
Thanks very much. I appreciate any and all advice.

 

[jason_guy_yeah]

what engine do you have or was swapped in there?

 

[Finding Nismo]

If you're swapping a b7 for a b7 just try to remove any connections from as close to the engine as possible and you'll do fine, a digital camera is a handy tool in this case to take a photo of each part right before you remove it,. timing is easy , set to tdc on cyl 1 and set the distrib to somewhere near contact on cyl 1 and then install the dist, it only goes in one way I would slow down on the motor swap though, and have a leakdown test done if i would have done that I could have saved myself a thousand dollars replacing the engine when all it needed was the head, but I did swap for vtec d15b so it wasn't a total loss
oh and pick up a service manual from a parts store and get to know it well, it makes it easier to ask questions here and might even answer some before you ask.

 

[95 EJ Coupe]

what engine do you have or was swapped in there?

I am swapping in a D15B7 and the one coming out I believe is also a D15B7 but I can confirm that after I pull it. Oh and is it easier pulling the tranny out with the engine or leaving the tranny in there and work around that?

 

[95 EJ Coupe]

If you're swapping a b7 for a b7 just try to remove any connections from as close to the engine as possible and you'll do fine, a digital camera is a handy tool in this case to take a photo of each part right before you remove it,. timing is easy , set to tdc on cyl 1 and set the distrib to somewhere near contact on cyl 1 and then install the dist, it only goes in one way I would slow down on the motor swap though, and have a leakdown test done if i would have done that I could have saved myself a thousand dollars replacing the engine when all it needed was the head, but I did swap for vtec d15b so it wasn't a total loss
oh and pick up a service manual from a parts store and get to know it well, it makes it easier to ask questions here and might even answer some before you ask.

Thanks for the advice. I picked up the engine for 120$ CDN and I am planning on swapping it myself to save money on labour cost. I just might get the leakdown test done to verify its the head. You did get VTEC outta yours so there is your upside to that swap. How do you get the distributor to "contact" cylinder one? Is there somewhat of a metal strip (like in the older cars) that can turn?

 

[DOHCCivic]

i found it easier to leave the tranny attached wen i pulled my motor but i had the head and all that stuff off too

 

[jason_guy_yeah]

I did the same swap in my civic. Just unbolt the intake manifold, exhuast manifold and tranny. I found it easier to leave the tranny in. It won't be hard to move the distributor over, if you happen to have it in wrong. Just rotate the dizzy 180 degrees and put back in. It's a good rule of thumb to change your timming belt, tensioner, of course the gaskets(intake and exhaust) and your oil(oil filter too).

 

[95 EJ Coupe]

I did the same swap in my civic. Just unbolt the intake manifold, exhuast manifold and tranny. I found it easier to leave the tranny in. It won't be hard to move the distributor over, if you happen to have it in wrong. Just rotate the dizzy 180 degrees and put back in. It's a good rule of thumb to change your timming belt, tensioner, of course the gaskets(intake and exhaust) and your oil(oil filter too).

So basically the entire dissy rotates then? That is a good rule of thumb, but would it work retaining the old gaskets without too much hassle or is that too big of a risk? Where is the tensioner on a D15B7?

 

[95 EJ Coupe]

i found it easier to leave the tranny attached wen i pulled my motor but i had the head and all that stuff off too

Thanks for the advice.

 

[jason_guy_yeah]

The center section of the dizzy rotates but, there's two notches so to speak. When you install it and if it doesn't run right then you would take the dizzy off and rotate the center section 180 degrees. But, I would at least use silicone gasket on the intake and a brand new gasket for the exhaust. And I meant the timing belt tensioner; on the opposite side of the engine (where all the belts are for the alternator, ect...). You would take all the belts off and the crank pulley (get the longest breaker bar you can get and find a way to hold the crank still while you unscrew the bolt, I used a giant pry bar to hold the flywheel in place; while my buddy worked...). Then you would take the plastic covers off where the timing belt is wrapped around the tensioner, water pump,...

 

[95 EJ Coupe]

Take the crank pulley off or just to rotate the piston in cylinder one to TDC for timing?