MINI-ME SWAP! y4 swapped with y8

This is to be used only as a guide. I or Ozhonda will not be liable for any damages/faults etc that could potentially result from this DIY. Please be careful, make sure to have good quality tools and keep yourself safe at all times.

Hey guys, I have successfully conducted a mini-me swap on a d16y4 gli. I was having doubts about this, but I went through with the idea anyway. First off, would like to thank my friends for helping me. There are 7 of them! you know who you are!
For all of you who want to feel vtec on a non-vtec car.. yes, you are able to experience it!

Item's that you'll need:
- y8 vtec head (mine didn't come with the camshaft oil seal, vtec solenoid)
- y8 head gasket, y8 exhaust gasket, y8 intake gasket, valve cover gasket, camshaft oil seal, spark plug gaskets
- VAFC2 controller/ any vtec rpm switch - much preferable if you have the VAFC controller
- d16y8 spark plugs
- new y8 timing belt (may consider getting one if it has been a long time since your change)
- vtec solenoid
- copper spray
- gasket sealant
- wide array of tools ranging from breaker bars, torque wrench, socket wrench, screw drivers, etc etc. Make sure you have the appropriate tools and the work space for it. It can get really messy.


Original parts that will work with the new head: y4 distributor, y4 spark plug leads, intake manifold, exhaust manifold, y4 cam gear, valve cover.

Do as much research as you can before starting! I never needed to ask for help on this topic except on wiring the vafc2 controller to the car's "black sheep ecu".

Attachment 20263

Step 1: loosen left tire bolts. Jack up car and put it on jack stands.

Step 2: Remove left tire.

Step 3: remove splash guard underneath car (this is to stop coolant/oil from spilling everywhere).

step 4: drain coolant/engine oil. Wait for the fluids to drain out completely. (You have to keep in mind that when you take your y4 head off, it will still have some collection of oil that didn't get drained. As you take it out, it will mix with the collection of coolant that didn't get drained too in the cylinder sleeves).

Step 5: remove your intake pipe, spark plug leads from the valve cover and distributor, and place them to a side. Do not remove the leads from the distributor!

Attachment 20275

Step 6: Unbolt your valve cover screws and take the valve cover off. Some may be hard to come off, so just knock it a few times. (it is very important that nothing gets dropped into the cylinder head before or after the swap!) Remove the necessary covers just beside the cam gear needed for removing the head.


Attachment 20259

step 7: You should be able to see your cam gear and the valves. Now, you need to place your cam gear in top dead centre before removing the head. VERY IMPORTANT. Turn the crank bolt located in the left wheel well until the up on the cam gear is facing 12 o'clock.

Attachment 20266

Step 8: Unbolt the screws that are attached to your fuel rail. They are the ones that are mounting your fuel rail on the the intake manifold. Be sure to gently remove the fuel rail as the fuel injectors that are attached to it are fragile.

Attachment 20260

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Step 9: Now unbolt your exhaust heat shield and exhaust manifold. There is a sequence to follow. Get your Honda manual or a helms manual. I used a Honda manual

Attachment 20262

Step 10: Do the same with the intake manifold. There is a sequence to follow too.

NOTE: We were only able to remove the exhaust manifold by removing the bolts that join the manifold to the down pipe so that we had some leverage to it slide out.


Step 11: We had to unbolt the power steering mount bracket so that the old head was completely free for removal.

Step 12: Remove the radiator hose connecting to the cylinder head. We had to unbolt the coolant funnel and reuse it on the new head as it didn't come with one.

Step 13: unbolt your headstuds. There is a sequence to follow.

Step 14: Remove your cylinder head. There are 2 small hollow cylinder shaped pins that will be removed as well. Be sure to keep track of them in case they fall out just as you are pulling the head off. (at this point, a whole heap of oil may spill and mix with the left over coolant. So just be mindful of this and be sure to flush your coolant after the swap). Take the gasket off and put it somewhere.

Step 15: clean your pistons and make sure to clean the surface to where your new head will be mounted on.

Attachment 20273

Step 16: Replace the gaskets on all the parts listed and just put them all back. Be mindful of the torque specs and sequence needed when bolting the bolts back up.

Attachment 20259

(if applicable) Step 17: Bolt the vtec solenoid to the back of the cylinder head. There is a port specifically suited for it. It uses 6 x 45 flange bolts. Torque it up!

Complete! you successfully have just completed an engine head swap! but wait!! now you need to wire your VAFC2 controller to your ecu.

Attachment 20276

Attachment 20281

Here are a few guides on how to wire them up:
1. ecu pinout: http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthr...P2K-ecu-pinout

2. VAFC wiring: http://www.civicforums.com/forums/17...tructions.html

3. VAFC VTEC wiring: http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1628016

keep researching if you haven't a clue, or pay someone to do it! This goes for the engine head swap too!


All information on P2K ECU pinouts has been provided by ECU-MAN!
The RPM wire (Green) is important as it will signal your VAFC to activate VTEC! So be sure to wire it to Connector A pin 21 YEL/GRN or do it my way and wire it to your tachometer.

VTEC JUST KICKED IN YO! BWWWAAAAAHHHH!!


Attachment 20274

Any vids of it going hard?
No recommendation to surface grind the head ?

the head I bought was already machined and good to go. I'll put up a video of it. My car is still on stock fuel mapping. Need to get it properly tuned for maximum performance. But when it crosses over, I do feel some pull.

How good is the fuel consumption also?

well currently it's just the same. Unless I vtec it all the time. But it's pretty good. However I may need to change the fuel mapping, but i'm pretty sure it won't be bad. d16 motors are meant to be really fuel efficient.

Vid of vtec kic plzzzzzzzz

Great guide man. Very helpful. Been thinking about doing this for a while and this will be very helpful if I get around to it haha

Cheers man, my friends were the big helpers in it all. I'll post a vid as soon as I can. need to find my camera mount :S need to take a vid of the vafc engaging and dashboard when it crosses over

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mksgPpeCiNU

Finally got it done! sorry for the delay! not properly tuned yet.. don't have time atm coz of exams n shit

not too bad imo how big was the difference?

Definitely feeling a big difference! Better pick up too!

Great effort mate,sounds nice as!!

bro was your spark leads the same ? d16y8 same as d16y4 ?

Yes they are mate.

haha yeah thanks Beeza. Everything you need to know is in the write up. I went through a lot of research. A good word of advice is to get it tuned because my car is running rich. Smells like burnt grime and all of that after I floor it. Anyone know the cons of running rich? is it bad for the engine in the long run? I don't think it is running too rich, although I can't be sure.

It would be worth swapping the oxygen sensor if it hasn't been done for a while.

They last max 100k's and they help a lot to get the air/fuel mix right.Meaning if its faulty it can make the car run rich.

Best to calibrate the tps too - http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthr...age-on-the-TPS

Attack things one at a time and U will soon get it right/eliminate the rich-ness.

It's worth spending time on the tappets and getting them as best U can.It takes 3-4 goes,but U will learn the tolerances/gaps.The smaller the gap without any fuel coming out the better.The fuel will come out the top of the head,where the valve seals and U will smell it.So U then just open it up a touch,so it seals.

A small tappet gap gives a quicker pfft or opening and closing of the valve which means the engine will fire quicker.

Stock my gaps are .009 and .0010,with the stage 1 cam and playing with it,now it's a tight .007 and .008

Run some upper engine cleaner through her :)

Yeah i was thinking of doing the oxygen sensors. Also, I think I would solve a problem on my vafc if I calibrate the TPS because when I floor my throttle all the way down fully to the ground, the VAFC only goes up to around 86% showing how much throttle I am giving. I love engine degreasers! I use them on everything. If you say suburu upper engine cleaners are the best.. I'm gonna buy a whole stock of them! But yeah thanks for the advice man! will keep all of what you said in mind and will start attacking things one at a time. Cheers big bro!

No worries mate,great to hear ya got the stoke on working on ya engine and getting the most out of it!

Where about's are U anyways?

haha working on my car really takes up most of my time. I'm in Adelaide.. Where about's are you?

Behind Byron Bay..

Ah wells..

:)

Usually with the TPS, 86% at full load is within standard range. I'm running an ETC setup with only 60% throttle at an apparent WOT and that's a problem. In regards to getting your tps to get to 100, your 95-00 civic still uses a standard pedal to cable to tb connection, so, you could check the cable itself at the tb linkage to see if it's loose or not. If not, check your tps and possibly give it a good clean + new gasket if needed

Yeah? Well, if it is good for now, maybe I will leave it. I'm trying not to fix things that I shouldn't need to fix. Scared it will lead to more problems. Car seems to be running fine for the moment... only thing left is to get it tuned and then it will be a perfectly working vtec engine. I'll check the cable as you said to see if anything is loose. Thanks for the heads up and the advice!
With your car, could it be the wiring? I was concerned about my wiring because I did it myself. But I checked it over and over, it seems to stay at 86. What car do you drive mate?

One of my rides is a k24 crv. Don't think it's bad wiring since it's stock and low k's. I might pull out the tps and give a good clean. With your car, it'd be pretty hard to get the tps off safely so leave that till last. I'm betting you're not running good afr with vtec engaged. Ignition timing is key here too and you better get that checked too: anything more than +/- 2 deg from stock timing is BADDDDDDDDDD

This seems very complicated :/
whats the equivalent price for this project? or is it worth it to convert a new engine

I've done this swap on a d series before and it should roughly cost $700 +/- 100. This mod is cheap in comparison to an engine swap. Provided you're going for a street car you'd need to have it done by a pro if you want any chance of getting it rego'd. For a b series swap which is most common in gli ek civics, it should cost you in the order of $2000 if not more. This mod is fairly straightforward and requires no extra paperwork. In exchange, you get vtec and if paired with some good mods such I/H/E and a tune, you're much better off

Don't give someone false hopes lol an economy single cam Vtec head swap in no way does it compare to a proper dohc b series engine swap. Your not better off at all your probably going to be getting maybe 5-8hp max by doing this , only reason I can see someone doing this if they have a spare head and need to do the headgasket or someother head removing related job .

Yeah it is nothing compared to a B-series engine. I have a mate who has a b16 and we usually drag now and then even though I know his car will crush mine. But I have good pick up and usually will keep up with him at the start for a bit before he switches gear and trashes me. But don't get me wrong, this vtec swap is probably the best thing I have done. It is definitely more powerful than before and I can feel more pull too. There is nothing like hearing the vtec crossover and roar.
And yeah it is a cheaper option but you won't be getting as much power if you were to compare it to the B's but it is definitely a step up from the stock :D

UPDATE!
Car before tuning was on 71 KW's. It is pulling 85 KW's after tuning. Stock Vti civics apparently pull 93 KW's according to redbook. It definitely has way more torque and quite scary at very high RPM's. But nevertheless, it is only an SOHC. It just left me a little shocked after the tune.
http://www.nissansilvia.com/forums/u...1334810970.jpg

what ecu do you have ?

quite scary at high rpms?... with 85kw ?............


http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/fo...16729-vtec.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GSi_PSi

quite scary at high rpms?... with 85kw ?............


http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/fo...16729-vtec.jpg

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14 kw increase is HUGE BRAH
20% more powah! never under estimate the d series...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GSi_PSi

quite scary at high rpms?... with 85kw ?............

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Come on bro give the kid a break,its probably his first car.
He's actually put some effort in here and although he's not making leaps in kw's cant knock him for having a go :)

It's not the end result that matters, as long as you learn along the way and had fun...

when it's all done, make bigger & better goals.

Yeah it is my first car. Come on man, for a 16 year old car, it is pulling close to its stock power output. That is quite an accomplishment even for me when I had no experience what so ever with engine mods.
Anyway, I will be moving on to an xr5 or a liberty gt in a few months time.
And Viiinh: I am still using the stock honda ECU. Wired the VAFC controller to it

im curious is this 71 kw ATW to 85kw ATW ?

cos im sure 93 KW for the stock engine ISNT ATW

Ya at the wheels. I always assumed that the 93 kw's was measured based on what the car was meant to be on stock settings. Seems like the measurements on redbook is at the fly's, then it is likely that my car has more than stock power.
But nonetheless, it is definitely within the desired range.

Props for your first car man and doing it all yourself



I just jookin . I am kunt

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GSi_PSi

I am kunt

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quoted for truth

Interesting as! Anyone in vic Melbourne keen on giving this a go? I've got a d16y4 that i don't care much for for a donor. Just need a y8 head and rest of the stuff vfac etc and someone with more hands on mechanical experience. This isnt for self gain, the engine is being taken out of my ek1 k24 swap project car. I'm at the stage where I want to get my hands dirty and just learn. I didn't have any plans for the d16y4 so I'm just putting it out there.

Cheers,

Matt.


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Matchettey - got a y8 head, loom, ecu, IM, throttle body and injectors for sale if you are interested. Plug and play in Y4