Need advice on new motor for my "91 RT4WD Wagon
Spike
Band Wagon
Yo wagon heads,
I need some advice; the “What up?” from people who know Honda Civic wagons.
I have a 91 RT4WD, with the 1.6L and 171,000 miles. My car has a decent low rust body but a very sick motor.
The motor has run OK until recently; decent power, do 100mph, but burns/leaks oil big-time, especially on the highway. Driving home from a friend’s house on Thanksgiving night the motor started overheating, and pegging the temp. guage (seems like a bad water pump?).
I limped the car home; drive a couple of miles- stop and cool the motor, drive a little more-stop and cool, etc. Had to deal with the cops stopping by periodically (always a joy talking to them after I’ve had a few drinks). Anyway, I got the car home and it sits in my driveway. I didn’t get arrested.
Car is now undriveable however, but not dead as it will start and move.
Here’s my question: I need a new motor, duh?!?. What is the best/cheapest way to get this wagon up and running again. Work is slow right now and I don’t have a lot of money or a decent place to work on the wagon for that matter. It’s winter here in Massachusetts, so this project will likely have to wait until spring if it’s me pulling the engine. Yeah, I’m all fucked up with this Honda right now.
My options would seem to be:
Get a bone yard motor (hard to find the right motor, low miles, etc.)
Rebuild my motor (then I know what I got).
Buy a rebuilt motor from an engine rebuilder.
Get a JDM motor (another gamble, hassle, but the potential for more performance).
I really like my wagon; I think this is one of the very best cars Honda has ever made. My wagon is a little banged up but solid. Presently I have about twice the money into this wagon than it’s worth (if it ran that is). This is the point where a lot of 18 yo cars end up going to the boneyard. From a money standpoint this might be the smart move, but no way with my wagon.
What should I do? I figure the Homies on HCW.com will know!
Thanks in advance for your informed opinion and advice.
Jim
I need some advice; the “What up?” from people who know Honda Civic wagons.
I have a 91 RT4WD, with the 1.6L and 171,000 miles. My car has a decent low rust body but a very sick motor.
The motor has run OK until recently; decent power, do 100mph, but burns/leaks oil big-time, especially on the highway. Driving home from a friend’s house on Thanksgiving night the motor started overheating, and pegging the temp. guage (seems like a bad water pump?).
I limped the car home; drive a couple of miles- stop and cool the motor, drive a little more-stop and cool, etc. Had to deal with the cops stopping by periodically (always a joy talking to them after I’ve had a few drinks). Anyway, I got the car home and it sits in my driveway. I didn’t get arrested.
Car is now undriveable however, but not dead as it will start and move.
Here’s my question: I need a new motor, duh?!?. What is the best/cheapest way to get this wagon up and running again. Work is slow right now and I don’t have a lot of money or a decent place to work on the wagon for that matter. It’s winter here in Massachusetts, so this project will likely have to wait until spring if it’s me pulling the engine. Yeah, I’m all fucked up with this Honda right now.
My options would seem to be:
Get a bone yard motor (hard to find the right motor, low miles, etc.)
Rebuild my motor (then I know what I got).
Buy a rebuilt motor from an engine rebuilder.
Get a JDM motor (another gamble, hassle, but the potential for more performance).
I really like my wagon; I think this is one of the very best cars Honda has ever made. My wagon is a little banged up but solid. Presently I have about twice the money into this wagon than it’s worth (if it ran that is). This is the point where a lot of 18 yo cars end up going to the boneyard. From a money standpoint this might be the smart move, but no way with my wagon.
What should I do? I figure the Homies on HCW.com will know!
Thanks in advance for your informed opinion and advice.
Jim
Comments
other than that clogged radiator ?
i vote rebuild from this point of view (europe that is)
: )
http://www.hmotorsonline.com/shop/sc200 ... item=30020
i decided to go with the sohc zc because it was $200 cheaper then the dohc zc http://www.hmotorsonline.com/shop/sc200 ... item=30022. the dohc has only about 12 hp more then the sohc zc. so I decided to use the extra money to try and finish my turbo kit. You could probably rebuild your stock motor for less but who knows whats damaged. my a6 had a really bad rod knock so that is why i did what i did.
I knew you’d have the answers, you Dudes are the best! Thanks for taking the time to respond.
The hmotorsonline link is particularly helpful, thanks curt!
A ZC drop sounds like the way to go. Couple of questions:
*A ZC motor will bolt right up? Same motor mounts, OEM exhaust, air cleaner, clutch, etc.
*The required engine management, wiring, etc. comes with the motor?
*I will likely do a new clutch at the same time, should I upgrade to a different clutch?
What year model Honda does the ZC motor come from, and what mileage is cool? I should do a timing belt, oil pan gasket, and/or any other maintenance while I have the new motor out?
I have a bad front right outer CV joint; should I go with an OEM replacement or a cheapo aftermarket? What are you guys using? Should I do a whole axle, or just the outer?
Thanks again for the info.
I found this for you instead of having to type it up. I don't remember having to switch the whole plug on the distributor but I haven't done this swap in some time.
SI TO DOHC ZC WIRING CHANGES
1. You will need to swap your SI engine wiring harness onto the DOHC ZC engine.
2. Before you remove the harness from the Si engine, label both sides of all connectors so that you will know what goes where on the ZC engine. Use a small piece of masking tape on each side of the connector and using a felt tip pen, write a different number on each connector with the same number occurring on each half of each connector. Where connectors just plug onto a sensor, wrap one piece of the tape around the sensor itself and number it. Unless indicated below, all connectors and sensors are in the same location on both engines. By marking where the connectors are located, you eliminate any chance of plugging the wrong connector into a sensor when you install the harness on the ZC engine.
3. Distributor wiring – The SI engine harness has a round 7-wire connector at the distributor. The DOHC ZC distributor has a square 5-wire connector. You will need to swap a 5-wire square connector onto the SI harness. Usually the harness that comes with the DOHC ZC engine will have the connector you need plugged into the distributor. If it is not there, you can get one from any 88-91 CRX DX, 88-91 Civic STD, DX or LX or 88-89 Acura Integra from a salvage yard.
4. When replacing the connector, match the wire colors on the harness side with the wires in the connector on the DOHC ZC distributor. You will have (5) matching wires. The wire colors are White – Orange – White – White with Blue stripe and Orange with Blue stripe. You will have (2) wires left over on the engine harness. There will be a Blue with Green stripe and a Blue with Yellow stripe.
5. You may have noticed that there are 2 white wires in the connectors. To make sure you don’t mix them up, take a marker (Sharpie, felt-tip, etc.) and mark the ones for the igniter. The white wires for the igniter are located as shown in this picture:
6. Connect a short length of wire to each of the leftover wires and extend them to the Green connector on the CYLinder Position Sensor, which is on the end of the exhaust camshaft, again matching the wires color for color.
7. For the 89-91 Si (not 88) your engine harness will have one connector left over which isn’t used on the ZC. It is the connector for the Fast Idle Control Valve on the back of the Si intake manifold on the driver’s side.
Copyright 2005 – Zcspeed.com
Im going throught he same exact thing, only I bought a jdm D15B that I cant use now and have to sell it. I nee the cash to rebuild the A6 motor.
Most have the holes but are not tapped. I just went through this with my z6 for my rt4wd wagon.