advice needed, should i get this engine?

wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
in Engine & Drivetrain
there is an LS motor (either a B18A or B, not sure yet) and B16A cable tranny for sale locally for $400. mileage is unknown, personally sounds sketchy to me. they said it has good compression and that the tranny is good (whatever that means lol.) i have heard all this just from a good friend of mine who knows these people, and he really wants me to get this setup.

i have not yet seen the engine, so dunno what to think yet but i was wondering what you guys say.

Comments

  • SikocivicSikocivic Wagonist
    I picked up my Wagon with a blown motor and have been looking for a D16 motor to swap in for 2 weeks. I have only found a few and they want more than $400 just for the motor. $400 for that B-series swap is a good price but you will need to spend more money to get the mounts, axles and other stuff. If I can't find a D16 pretty soon I think I am going to go with the LS swap in mine too.
  • ragenasianragenasian Moderator
    What happened to the DOHC ZC swap you were wanting to do? I think you really need to think about how much the swap is going to cost you in the end. Sure an LS sounds nice but in the end can you afford to get it in your car and running? There are also quick ways to raise compression numbers. So before you swap it in you are still going to want to have it checked out before you drop it in.

    If it sounds fishy keep looking.
  • doitdubdoitdub familEE
    I've seen lots of stuff going for crackhead prices recently. Could be legit. But then again, really any engine/tranny already out of the car is kind of a gamble. Your friend...does he know the condition, how they ran the motor/tranny, and why they are getting rid of it for cheap? Ask a few questions and that may help find out if it's junk or not.
  • 88hybrid88hybrid Wagonist
    be careful dizzle, i've been burned before, but just use good judgement and def. find out if its still in the car and why they are getting rid of it so cheap. hey if you do get this swap sell me your dx trans. been looking all over and can't seem to find one, just keep finding si's
  • draginmywagondraginmywagon Senior Wagonist
    damn.. thats alittle cheap... i dont know.. if it still in the car i would have him start it and make sure that thing does not smoke.. also check if that motor is leaking anything.. if its not in the car i would pull the valve cover and make sure everything looks clean.. if the rockers and everything looks clean and the oil does not look like shit i would pick it up.. because if you dont like it you can also sell that b16 trans for like $350-400 .. so you would make most of your money back... just make sure you lookover it good...
  • C-ratZC-ratZ New Wagonist
    sounds fishy to mee. but hey for $400 what there to lose? if you do end up getting it i would definitely rebuild it for better peace of mind
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    88hybrid wrote:
    hey if you do get this swap sell me your dx trans. been looking all over and can't seem to find one, just keep finding si's

    mineISB is toast, also wagons didnt come with the regular DX trans. check it viewtopic.php?f=7&t=103
    draginmywagon wrote:
    damn.. thats alittle cheap... i dont know.. if it still in the car i would have him start it and make sure that thing does not smoke.. also check if that motor is leaking anything.. if its not in the car i would pull the valve cover and make sure everything looks clean.. if the rockers and everything looks clean and the oil does not look like shit i would pick it up.. because if you dont like it you can also sell that b16 trans for like $350-400 .. so you would make most of your money back... just make sure you lookover it good...

    its not in the car.
    i will check under the VC though. good advice, thanks!
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    Dangit. I sold that one I had for 400...
  • nominousnominous familEE
    Seems that everything is really cheap in the US expect for engines !!
    If only there was a cheap way to ship them from here.
    ZC's go very little here, no one wants them. The car rusts away before the engine dies.
  • DarrenDarren Wagonist
    what comes with this "setup" cause it sounds like it only comes with the motor & a transmission. If that's the case, you would still need:

    - wiring: custom or "prefabbed" ie rywire
    - modified shift linkage: custom or prefabbed, ie hasport
    - motor mounts: hasport / innovative mounts
    - possibly a clutch depending on the condition
    - flywheel?
    - d-series input & output on radiator are smaller, so somekind of fix for that

    My point is, $400 doesn't sound like much, but it's not going to be the bulk of the "swap", and that's ignoring whether the motor itself is going to be ok to go straight in... that could be a huge expense in itself if you let it.

    I agree with the others, be cautions.

    Oh, and that's all assuming you are running a 2wd, not 4wd, in which case you would either have to just use 2wd, or use a CRV trans & rear end swap also :)
  • 91_wago91_wago Wagonist
    that is pretty cheap but if you say its your good friend i would trust it. as long as they dont want to meet you in a parking lot. and you can run b radiator hoses on a d radiator just cant use the stock hose clamps. or you can but a da radiator in there.
  • udubrx7udubrx7 Senior Wagonist
    wagodizzle wrote:
    mineISB is toast, also wagons didnt come with the regular DX trans. check it viewtopic.php?f=7&t=103

    But if you find a regular DX transmission I've still got my old wagon diff, if you want the inbetween FD ratio! I went Si.....

    As for the LS, I agree with some of the other people - check it out and see what you think of it and the transmission. If you think the engine is good, and are pretty damn sure the tranny is good, I'd say get it. Worst case you can just sell the trans to get your money back. Check the ring gears in the diff on the transmission by sticking your fingers in where the axles go in and wiggling them around to check for slop. Also clamp a set of vice grips on the shift lever and shift it around and make sure it goes into all gears. There probably wont be any fluid left in it if its off the car, so keep in mind its not gunna shift all smooth like it would when you're driving the car and there will be a little more of a loose feeling too because there is no fluid to absorb shock.

    best of luck!

    Tom
  • Eagle BeagleEagle Beagle familEE
    :shock:


    ehmm...I cant keep up


    can we get some pictures here...

    flease...



    :mrgreen:
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    pics? i checked out the thing and it was tragic.. and tranny was sold
    super sketch so i said PEACE.

    so no pics lol
  • 90s_fan90s_fan Wagonist
    dont know if you picked it up but about a week ago i sold my b18 swap. i had a full b18a swap with a b16 cable tranny, everything included minus the harness due to the kid i got it from had like 3 harnesses wired together. i wanted 1300 cuz you could drop it in a ef or a wagon and go if you could wire. i ended up getting 1000 for it. what im getting at is b16 cable trannys are hard to come by depending the area your in you might find just the b16 tranny for 400. so if i were you id jump on it but before you do tell him to pull the head and check the insides youself.
  • 90s_fan90s_fan Wagonist
    sorry i read the first couple posts then posted. then after i posted i scrolled up and read you saw it and it was sketchy.
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