pros advice, swap, waterleak & tach sticks

[HiddenNshadows]

Hey guys, Wanted some quick advice from the pros, I have dont alot of research but alot seemed to be people halfa$$n stuff & some had no straight answers. So please forgive me if its already been asked or I didnt find the thread.

First, I have an 98 dx hatch & I had a custom trunk system put in for shows & cruises. I had to take it our for a weekend for a scca & drag even(Its just got an air intake, headers & catback) just to see what I could do.
Now about a week & a half later, when I come out to my car I have water in my trunk(spare tire bay) & it seems to be coming from the tailight cover on the drivers side & below it where the plastic meets metal. Is that a tailight seal or hatch seal & is there any quick way to check. I was going to find what I thought was the leak & then plastidip the rest of the trunk & hope it would work but I wanted to ask first.

2nd. I just installed a tack, I tapped into the wire over the drive side tower. It sticks at random intervals when Im accelerating but never when the needle drops. Should I tap into the blue wire on the distributor or could it just be a loose connection or tacs broke.

3rd & final questions... I currently have a choice of 5 engines for cheap, alot of work will have to be done by me. Im not nessisarly trying to be the fastest around but theres alot of evos, subbys & mustangs here that I would atleast like to keep up with on a cruise, the rest of the interstate is just flat long roads so a straightliner isnt out of the question.
Engine choices are, b16a, Z6, b20 turbo, h22a but its taken apart but spotless & a stock k20, I would prefer the k & swap heads but I dont want to tackle to much at once. Im also looking for a shop for the tune maybe swap help but im in Wv & I cant find anything local. I dont care to travel for it I just cant truck the car to Cali.

Again sorry if some of these can be found in threats, I may not be searching the best but I did 3+days of searching sites & forums & still have yet to get any straight answers. Links, pics or any pro tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Armando C.]

#1 - so you're saying there's a leak? Well. My simplest suggestion would be to locate it? I've never heard of a common universal leak that's unique to Hondas or hatches, so I couldn't help ya much there. Sorry.

#2 - I'm surprised you haven't got ripped on for having an aftermarket tach (that's what it sounds like you've got). Honestly, I would consider it money lost and buy an oem cluster with a tach. Aftermarket tachs are just a pain, and another thing to worry about when considering wiring and what not (sorry, I don't have an answer to your problem, only a suggestion)

#3 - how will you be driving the car? Will this be a daily? AutoX? Track/drag? Are up I looking for some serious power or just a little more something at a red light. Will it be taken to the track a lot, or just a few times for fun.

 

[mymmeryloss]

Theres no pros here...

 

[young_]

Theres no pros here...

Yeah RonJ left again


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[CHILD]

Yeah RonJ left again


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

RonJ isn't a pro...he's just smart enough to approach a problem by using the manuals that are readily available.


1. The taillights have a thing "gasket" type of layer that breaks down over time and is a popular problem. Either buy a new taillight or make a new thicker gasket to keep water out from there.

2. I've never had a problem in the past when tapping that wire on the drivers side, so i'd check the aftermarket tach. I'm not too sure on this one.

3. I'd go for the one in the best condition (best bang for the buck theory). I like all of those options except for the z6, and only because if you already have a single slammer, why not just rebuild it.

 

[HiddenNshadows]

Thanks for the advice guys, Yeah ppl can rip on me all they want, Im still new to some honda things but Id rather have people read my real miles then go cheap on a clusterswap. Ive got less then 45k & kinda proud to show its not a total ragged out honda. Im going to check around the tailights as im almost possitive thats where its coming from, I herd there was a specific problem when ek's had a leak like that so I figured I would ask. If using plastidip around the lights & a few other areas doesnt work then Ill be back. As far as the tach, I maybe not be completly spliced into it otherwise its got to be the tacs bad. I wrote the maker & they said hook it to the distributor & another place, I did so & it only picked up signal on one of the 2 & it still did the same thing.

Motor wise, Id love to have a speed demon that spins till 80 like in some of the youtube videos(no i dont see the vids & go oh oh I want, I just use them as reference) It would be mainly a daily driver but I want it to have a good amount of power when I need it. There are alot of big hills here & everyone knows honda bog, mine is extremely bad. I really would love to have a k swap but I dont think I know enough to attempt it, Ive helped with a b16 & b20 but he did vtec on his, I want to turbo it if I go b20.

 

[CHILD]

for a cluster swap, you can simply swap over your speedo section so that it displays the correct mileage Problem solved, no "tacky" tach, and probably cheaper than the aftermarket tach was

 

[emerican]

^ this
the clusters will be plug and play you do what child said and the mileage will be correct and it will have a tach.
it will look alot cleaner than an aftermarket tach.
and you wouldnt be going cheap on a cluster swap, because what you would need to buy is an oem cluster so idk how thats going cheap.

 

[HiddenNshadows]

I guess I had to see it for myself, Im taking it out & geting a set of gauges off ebay & will swap it that way.
Plus on top of everything I took my car to get inspected & he said all was perfect except my CV's where busted, odd thing is the exact day last there is when I had my drivers side replaced. Now they both need replaced. The guy at autozone said if they keep going out I should check my motor mounts, any truth to that? If so then it pushes my swap forward. Im going to go with a k20a3 & have minor mods done before its droped in. I researched a bunch & found how alot of people were puting alot of time & $$$ in b20s & not geing great dyno results. Im going to do some more research before I buy.

As for the leak, Ive found, the seals on my windows were leaking causeing my speakers to die out & the trunk remains a mystery. I think its the tail light but its caused some rust so im taking it to a body shop to see what theyll charge to fix all the seals & respray it black. I do have replace the front & rear bumbers, they have slight damage & some cuts are deep.

 

[CHILD]

If the modded b20 isn't making the power you'd expect, a k20a3 won't either unless you swap type s cams into it but then the all motor potential is kinda capped. Id recommend a more powerful k to start with or a k24 which at least has the torque benefit

 

[cvcrcr99]

K series.

 

[HiddenNshadows]

Thanks CHILD, I started to research full potential of honda motors & im glad I didnt get the k20a3. a friend had it cheap & had put cams in it, which I didnt learn until I called to tell him nevermind.
Ive looked on some of the jdm engine sites & have been reading alot & if I didnt go k, I would go ls/vtec which was my orignal want but was outa price range. Now that ive got a few bucks im pretty much sayn WTH & going for gold. I was basicly handed a z6 engine that has his miles & a knock but Im still checkin junk yards for anything of interest. My main problem now is what I pay for engine & trans, determines what I can spend on the rest of the build. Ive put a time limit on the end of this coming week, so I can atleast have it done by the end of summer for vacation.

On a plus note, its been raining & my trunks not full of water. THere is a small mount coming from a noticable spot so once it stops I should be able to patch it shut with some plastidip or appoxy

 

[HiddenNshadows]

Found a cheap 2nd gen b16a locally, any thoughts? ??My only current worrys for it would be wiring. I could settle for a turbod b16

 

[HiddenNshadows]

Going first thing in the morning to pick up the b16a, its a second gen obd1 & he has a p28 ecu tuned for that exact motor by slowmotion racing. I would like to get a ls or b16 tran for it. Im not sure if ill leave it stock internals or go big yet. I do want to port & polish the head for sure. Send an email to hasport it get the motor mounts & the ecu linkage & etc. Any suggestions on how to go on this build or problems I should be careful of? The guy that im geting the motor off of is a honda drag builder but Id love to hear others opinions. Anything I should look for when checking the motor over? I feel im going to miss a minor detail somewhere & bone myself.

 

[CHILD]

get a b16 trans and just replace all of the minor maintenance things and you'll be pretty set. Timing belt, water pump, etc.

 

[HiddenNshadows]

Ok so I now have a b16a, 2nd gen(92 on the head) with a 93 integra trans & a tuned p28 ecu. First plans I have is to start to clean it up & check over small parts. Also it has a nasty paintjob on the valve cover thats gota change. Ive got a quick video & some pics but Im having trouble geting them to load.

The engine has, a 1 peice race header, some type of cams in it guess ill find out once I change the valve cover. Slow motion in ohio was who supposedly did the tune for the motor when it was in the del sol. & other then that all its missing is power steering pump & a clutch.
Not my first choice when swaping or building, definatly not my first trans choice but geting all things & only need 3 things before a swap, I guess im satisfied.
Unless im wrong I need, the ECU jumper, gsr axels & the T bracket from the si trans & then im good to go on the swap.
I would like to put lsd in the teg trans but it will do for now. I did have plans on part building for awhile but I have 2 broken motor mounts, no patients & i was thinking if I took the motor apart to far, or added to many parts the tune would be worthless so I think Im going to swap drive a bit for a reliability test & then part build. Ill probly sell my D eng & trans.
I also just ordered a SI cluster & new mats.
Ill get the pics of my car & new engine up asap.
Always open to thoughts or opinions guys.

 

[HiddenNshadows]

Hope this works, having trouble loading pix & my last post, I gave an update & for some reason it isnt on here..sorry for the troubles & delays

 

[HiddenNshadows]

If this worked heres a pic of the engine, Im puting a red valve cover on asap

 

[HiddenNshadows]

Well I didn't get the 93 teg trans...but Im looking online on ebay & a few othe rplaces for a GSR or LS trans...I did have a couple questions im confused on. I currently have a hydro trans in my car as is, but if I got a hydro trans would I still need shift linkage & the custom line ran. Maybe that's just how the guy I bought the motor from did his or something. My understanding is that if a swap the motor & then a hydro trans I wont need certain extra parts & it will all bolt up except for 1 bracket in the back. If Im wrong please correct me or guide me to the threads that may help me. Swaps, wiring & a lot makes sence but the trans parts always get me for some reason. I want a quick geared trans but don't want to do 4k cruiseing on the interstate.
Also, when I bought the motor, I paid extra for the p28 ecu because it was tuned to the engine & the motor has, a JDM vtec seleniod & he said I think scott cams or some type of after market cams. I wanted to put a intake manifold & throttle body on it but didn't want to throw the tune off to far. Any suggestions on what to do? I thought about just quickly swaping, checking the tune & dyno. Then add all the parts Ive collected. I know its better to build it outside of the car but I figured test it & go from there. Feel free to put yourself in my shoes or if you have been & share any advice.
Tomarrow Im going to get a new valve cover gasket & paint the VC & check to see if I can find anything out about the cams, hopefully so.
Again sorry if a lot is noob or"unresearched" but I do a lot of research & don't see to find much that matches up to what questions im asking.
Lastly im trying to figure why I cant unload my pics of the engine & other stuff, if I cant figure it Ill send a link to my facebook & you can view it there. Thanks a ton guys!