Motor fo 88 dx sedan?

[88dx]

I'm New to the whole Honda world and looking for suggestions::thinking:

ok guys, as it says in the title, I have an 88 dx sedan 5 speed that I picked up and started working on with intentions on making it a dd. Well when I got the car it was blowing white smoke out of the tail pipe so I pulled the head to replace the head gasket and found that the motor had not been taken care of very well. The cam bearings were completely gone and the cam was ground down so much it was almost broke in half. As a result of that, thae cam ate into the head as well. Then I discovered that it had jumped time by two teeth on the timing belt and I have no idea how long it was drivin like that. That being said, would you guys reccomend rebuilding this motor or just swapping in another?:???: I know that I will at least have to have another head and cam and as I said this motor doesnt look like it was taken care of.

I'm not looking for a race car or anything, just a reliable car to commute to and from work. And as with most, I am looking for the most cost effective route. Thanks for any and all help.

[Vteckidd]

Give NADAUTO.com a call, you can pick up a COMPLETE D series engine for $600 with a 6 month warranty.

They are located in Norcross

Most likely youll want to swap the motor out completely , if the head is that bad, id hate to see the bottom end.

If you need any other help let me know

[88dx]

If I were to get a new motor, which would you suggest? I would just be looking for the easiest option that would also get around 30 mpg.

[Vteckidd]

Well are you going to be doing the work yourself?

You can go with the OBD1 motors D15B VTEC -e theres a little wiring differences.

Or you can just go back with the same engine you have.

also depends onyour budget.

[88dx]

Yeah, Ill be doing all the work. I'm no stranger to mechanic work, but I have never swapped an engine. I know I can do it, Ill just have to take my time.

And as far as budget, I want to keep it reasonable. I'd say low enough where it would make sense to do a swap rather then just buy one of the $1000-1500 cars that I always find for sale.

[88dx]

Oh, and as long as the wiring differences arent all that bad, I dont mind. I just dont want to purchase something that will require extensive modifications. I'm looking for something that will be fairly easy.

[suprapower]

right now you can do whatever you want. you can either fix that one, or just get a new one. personally i woueld get a new one so that way you can make sure the work is done right

[suprapower]

as far as motors go, for gas mileage you could go b or d series

[Vteckidd]

Ok well you have a few options.

Probably the cheapest will be the SOHC or DOHC OBD0 ZC Engine. YOu can get one from NADAUTO.com or HMOTORSONLINE.COM

http://www.hmotorsonline.com/shop/sc2000search.cgi?what=page&item=30020

http://www.hmotorsonline.com/shop/sc2000search.cgi?what=page&item=30022

JUST MAKE SURE ITS OBD0

you can reuse everything you have, and if you are already MPFI then its a simple swap.

[suprapower]

that would be badass

[88dx]

the car is currently TBI. I know I have read that the switch to MPFI isnt all that bad. Matter of fact, I would rather have MPFI.

If I were to order one of those motors, what would be the primary differences in the d-series and b-series? How much does the shipping usually run? Also, how difficult is the MPFI swap?

[Vteckidd]

both the motors i listed are D series. for the budget you are talking about you cannot do a B series. The B16 swap alone is $1500 , an thats not including shipping, motor mounts, shift linkage, axles, etc.

MPFI swap is not hard at all, check out this for help:
http://technet.ff-squad.com/

honda-tech.com

http://www.vadriven.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-139788.html

4G DX to ZC wiring conversion
by Kenji Plennert


In order to convert your dual point injection DX to multi-point injection you will need 4 injector plugs, an injector resistor box, extra wire, a wire stripper/cutter, heatshrink and/or electrical tape, and some patience. Also, when doing this conversion I would highly recommend soldering all connections and heatshrinking them. If you do not have access to heatshrink neatly wrapped electrical tape will do just fine. It is also extremely helpful to have an extra multi-point injection engine harness laying around to take plugs from (i.e. injector plugs, injector resistor box plug, and distributor plug). Listed below is a straightforward and easy to follow set of instructions to help you complete your DX to ZC swap:
DX to ZC

Inside car at the ECU plug:

- Pins B10 and B12 are empty. Unused pins can be taken from B2 or B11. Some models have a wire located at B12.

- Cut orange and white wires off at C1 and C2 and connect them to wires added at B10 and B12. Orange-B10. White-B12. Leave enough wire for next step.

- Run wires from C1 and C2 (direct ECU connection) into the engine compartment. Label these wires for later use.

- Cut wires at A3 and A7 leaving plenty of wire. Run these wires into the engine compartment and label them for later use.

Outside car

- Transfer DX wiring harness over to ZC engine.

- TPS and EACV plugs are too short and must be extended.

- Be sure to switch green/white and yellow/white wires on TPS

Injectors and injector resistor box

- Connect the yellow/black wires from the two DX injector harnesses and run it to the yellow/black wire on the injector resistor box.

- Connect the yellow wire from the DX injector to the #1 injector (brown wire).

- Connect the red wire from the DX injector and run it to the #3 injector (blue wire).

- Connect the A3 wire to the #2 injector (red wire).

- Connect the A7 wire to the #4 injector (yellow wire).

- Connect the 4 red/black wires from injector resistor box to each injector.

Cylinder position sensor

- Connect C1 to blue/green wire on cylinder position sensor plug.
- Connect C2 to blue/yellow wire on cylinder position sensor plug.

Thats it. Double check everything and start it up. Good luck!



The SOHC ZC is basically a JDM version of our CRX/CIVIC SI engine. Pretty much the same hp an everything. The DOHC ZC is a decent motor, but since it was never in the US there is no US counterpart so it uses a lot of weird parts like a timing belt from an accord/prelude, water pump from a civic, etc etc.

I personally would do the SOHC ZC engine, it shares almost ever part in common with the SI engine, and for your budget you can get a new timing belt, water pump, clutch etc

[88dx]

would the SOHC ZC be a pretty straight forward swap?

And you mentioned that I would need a new timing belt, water pump, and clutch... are those the only additional parts needed? The clutch that is in the car now, I was told, is fairly new... would it work?

[bigdare23]

would the SOHC ZC be a pretty straight forward swap?

And you mentioned that I would need a new timing belt, water pump, and clutch... are those the only additional parts needed? The clutch that is in the car now, I was told, is fairly new... would it work?


Basically, any d-series (except the d17) swap is a bolt-on swap. If you're going mpfi, you are going to have to wire in 2 extra injector plugs and a resister box (unless you use new injectors).

Research mpfi swap and see what would be needed to convert over from dpfi

[Vteckidd]

Id stay away from the OBD1 motors because the distributors dont bolt the same way, the distirbutor wiring is different, the o2 sensors are different, motor mounts are different (youll have to swap brackets an such). Its not hard, just not a direct swap.

THe SOHC ZC will be a direct replacement, since it came in the EFs it will work. Everything will be plug and play.

What i meant about the timing belt and clutch and stuff is that you said you had a budget of $1000-1500. WIth that kind of money i would


1) Buy a SOHC ZC engine
2) Replace the TIming belt and WP
3) Replace the clutch (if its not new)
4) Pick up a CRX SI Transmission (better gearing
5) Buy a PM6 SI ECU $20

an you would have a fun peppy gas mileage king for under $1500.

[jadakid88]

i mean it would have been funny about three-five years ago and if he came in here acting like a total noob but seeing as he didnt why...?
get a 2jz

[Vteckidd]

cause they are being dumbasses

[88dx]

MR. KIDD, Thanks for all the help.

I know I ask alot of questions, but I'm just trying to get my mind wrapped around all this.

Does the SI tranny offer better economy or performance?

And the PM6 ECU... would mine work or would I absolutely have to have one?


I tried searching these topics but had little luck.

And again... Preciate any all the help.

[AnTi-PooN]

for a dd dont do all the bs... there is a d15 b2 on here for 150 with the tranny.. straight drop in use the same ecu... should be able to hook up the ac and powersteering if you have it.


my work here is done