| When I purchased my EG4 Civic hatchback in 1998, I | | | | Now the Automatic Specific facts. Remove the |
| loved everything about it, the body interior and | | | | Automatic Gear Lever and toss it! There is a plastic |
| engine were all in excellent condition. However, there | | | | slider underneath which is connected to the car's |
| was one thing that I would not have chosen: the | | | | harness. This slider should be set to the PARK |
| automatic transmission. The original engine was a JDM | | | | position and locked there by some means. The guys |
| D15B SOHC VTEC, rated at a respectable 130 p.s. | | | | at the shop put a big blob of silicone sealant over |
| especially for a 1500 cc!So I started my research on | | | | mine. This is necessary if you plan to take your key |
| the net to find out my options with respect to | | | | out of the ignition after you drive!! Also on the plastic |
| getting the car converted to manual transmission. In | | | | slider, there are two wires soldered near the center |
| my search, I discovered Eric's B16A site and the | | | | of the device (yel, blk/grn). When these wires are |
| Hybrid site among others. So I began to think, why | | | | shorted they activate the reverse lights and chime. |
| go through the trouble of changing the transmission | | | | (At least my car has a reverse chime). My advice is |
| on the 1500, might as well go for it an put in a DOHC | | | | to find the reverse sensor on the transmission, trace |
| 1600cc VTEC and gain 40 hp in the process! I | | | | them to the connection junction on the right side of |
| considered a B18C but those engines are rare and | | | | the engine bay, then run a pair of wires from the |
| expensive in Trinidad. In any case the JDM second | | | | reverse sensor leads to the plastic slider. Voila! Your |
| generation B16A puts out the same horsepower, | | | | reverse lights will work fine.I had to add a knock |
| with a bit less torque. From what I had learned on | | | | sensor wire and an O2 sensor wire as detailed on the |
| the Internet I knew the engine would fit fine. Also | | | | Hybrid Site. However, I still got a code 23 after |
| because my car originally came with a VTEC engine, I | | | | driving the car for a few minutes. Then it occurred to |
| knew that the wiring would not be very difficult.I | | | | me, that the computer still thought the car was |
| read as much as I could find on swaps, and tried to | | | | automatic. Now, I really tried to find the Transmission |
| plan the operation to the best of my ability. Let me | | | | Control Module but for the life of me I couldn't. |
| point out, that there is no substitute for good | | | | Maybe you have to remove the dash of something |
| information, so if you are planning any sort of hybrid, | | | | extreme. Anyway, with the help of a B16A2 wiring |
| read as much as you can BEFORE you start; web | | | | diagram from my friend Christian in Austria, I was |
| sites, FAQs, articles, magazines, whatever. I chose to | | | | able to identify the ECU leads that were no longer |
| have a local shop with considerable Honda experience | | | | needed. Just cut the leads and tape'em up! The first |
| do the work and I was able to locate the engine | | | | four are the TCM leads; the other two go to AT |
| from a local importer.MY MISTAKE | | | | sensors for which I don't have the German |
| I knew that it would be best to purchase the engine | | | | translation :-)ECU leads |
| and accessories as a package, and that's just what I | | | | B3-grn/bluB4-grn/blkB7-grnB13-grn/ornB17-grn |
| did. But I focussed on the big items, Engine, Y21 LSD | | | | blkB19-yelMechanical |
| trany, ECU, Complete engine wire harness, axles, and | | | | Of course when you remove the automatic gear |
| in so doing, I did not even realize that the engine did | | | | shifter, there will be a gaping hole under there. I |
| not have the mounts! (No AC unit either!) Now | | | | found that my car did not have any mounting holes |
| although In my country we have quite a brisk trake | | | | for the shift linkage. This is good in a way, as you |
| in JDM parts, some things are almost impossible to | | | | get to choose where the shifter will lie. I used a CRX |
| get, like mounts!The solution? Alter the original D15B | | | | shifter in my application and just bolted it on through |
| mounts to fit. That mistake made a project that | | | | the sheet metal in the floor arch. Depending on the |
| would have taken a little less than two weeks, last | | | | linkage you use, and the plastic moldings that you |
| five weeks. You could imagine how my wife loved | | | | choose to put over the shifter, some adjustment of |
| me for this!STARTING UP | | | | the linkage length may be necessary.You will see a |
| The mounts took a really long time to complete, | | | | picture of the pedal box from a CRX on the left. If |
| plus as you would expect, my car wasn't the only | | | | you are really observant you will notice that this |
| one in the shop! Anyway, it turns out that the rear | | | | pedal box is made for a cable clutch system. The |
| (center) engine mount could be used on the B16A. I | | | | verdict: scrap the idea of changing the pedal box. The |
| was able to get a front transmission mount, leaving | | | | guys cut off the clutch pedal, and welded on a hinge |
| three mounts to be custom adjusted. By the way | | | | so it could be used to actuate the plunger on the |
| the lower front engine mount / ac bracket on the B | | | | clutch master cylinder. We used a soft line to |
| series motor is totally different to the D series | | | | connect the slave cylinder (on the trany) to the hard |
| mounts so I fabricated an adapter flange to accept | | | | line, which connects to the clutch master cylinder. |
| my old AC unit. (No way did I have intentions of | | | | Very simple. In the interior picture you can see the |
| buying an AC).After the mounts were adjusted and | | | | large (AT) brake pedal next to the clutch.THE |
| the engine was in the proper place, the axle | | | | RESULT |
| hardware was mounted in a jiffy, and necessary | | | | The car works beautifully and is a joy to drive. |
| fluids and hoses were connected. All the electricals | | | | Every feature and sensor is operational. Since I kept |
| plugged right in, including the new computer. The only | | | | the original AT housing around the shifter I did not |
| difference was the D series motor had the MAP | | | | loose one of my favorite features of the car; the |
| sensor fixed on the Throttle Body, so a remote unit | | | | fold in cup holder! The shifter boot is custom made |
| was added for the new engine. The engine fired up, | | | | from Italian leather. I also got the white faced |
| no problems. By the way, you guys should hear what | | | | gauges with the deal!I would really advise against |
| the beast sounds like with only the tri-y headers! | | | | swapping in the other direction though since all the |
| Since the headers were longer than the original, I had | | | | car's wiring behind the firewall would have to be |
| to adjust the length of the exhaust pipe so that it | | | | changed in order to get a fully functional (all features |
| could bolt to the headersDETAILSElectrical | | | | working) automatic. |