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Ok, I have a 2003 Civic EX sedan. Just got it and never worked on a 7th gen before. Its a 5-speed and is probably going to need a engine... or it will cost me about the same to buy a used engine as the parts to fix the other one. I am married with two little kids and am still in college and am not interested in HP gains and racing and that stuff. Actually, I am, I just can't afford it at this point in life. To the point. What would swapping a D17A2 to a D17A6 entail. I have read they have different wire harnesses due to the different O2 sensors, but that is all I know. Thanks for any replies.

 
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If you have an EX the engine should already be a D17A2. Where did you get A6 from? I believe that's for the hybrids.

 
Rep Power: 513

The -A6 is the HX engine. You already have an -A2, like Shift-E mentioned.

What's wrong with your current engine that it "probably needs a new one"?

 
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Thanks for the replies. Sorry for having the engine designations backwards. I have one of the cheap Haynes manuals and it lists the D17A2 as the 117 HP lean burn VTEC, and the A6 as the 127 HP VTEC engine. The guy I got the car from said he was driving down the interstate and it started acting funny so he pulled over and the temp gage shot up into the red. It will not start. When I turn the engine over air comes out of the coolant overflow reservoir and coolant comes out behind the exhaust manifold where the cylinder head and block meet. It MAY only need a head gasket, but the price for the parts from South Bay Honda plus the cheap shipping is $400. I think it cracked the head, which would be at least $300 if I can find one local. I can get a 50-80K mile engine for about $600, for the A2 or A6. partshotlines.com is awesome.

 
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Guess I am asking a question nobody knows the answer to.

 
Rep Power: 513

Actually, if you get the cylinder head gasket kit from South Bay, it'll only run you $180 overnighted. I don't see where you're getting $400, unless you're adding everything to your cart separately. Check the link in my sig for a parts list.

If you can go without your civic for a while, I'd take the head off and bring it to a machine shop to see if there's any damage done to it.

 
Rep Power: 236

^^ The block also needs to be checked for trueness.

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The A2 is the "good" engine.

D17A2

* VTEC
* Found in:
o 2001-2005 Honda Civic EX (US only)
o 2001-2005 Honda Civic LX (Europe)
o 2001-2005 Honda Civic Si (Canada only)
o 2001-2005 Acura 1.7 EL (Canada only)
o 2000-2007 Honda Stream 1.7 (Japan)
+ Displacement : 1,668 cc (101.8 cu in)
+ Bore and Stroke : 74.98 × 94.4 mm (2.952 × 3.72 in)
+ Rod Length : 137 mm
+ Rod/Stroke : 1.48
+ Compression : 9.9:1
+ Power : 127 hp (94.7 kW, 132 ps) @ 6300 rpm
+ Torque : 114 ft·lbf (114 ft·lbf USDM[2]) (15.8 kg/m, 155 Nm) @ 4800 rpm
+ RPM redline: 6800 rpm
+ Rev-limiter : 7200 rpm
+ Valvetrain : SOHC VTEC (4 valves per cylinder)
+ VTEC Switchover : 4500 rpm
+ Fuel Control : OBD-2 MPFI

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The A6 is the "economy" engine, hence the HX for high mileage.

D17A6

* VTEC-E
* Found in:
o 2001-2005 Honda Civic HX
+ Displacement : 1,668 cc (101.8 cu in)
+ Bore and Stroke : 75 × 94.4 mm (3.0 × 3.72 in)
+ Compression : 9.9:1
+ Power : 117 hp (93.2 kW, 127 ps) @ 6100 rpm[3]
+ Torque : 111 ft·lbf (15.3 kg/m, 150 Nm) @ 4500 rpm
+ Valvetrain : SOHC VTEC-E Lean Burn (4 valves per cylinder)
+ VTEC Switchover : 2300
+ Fuel Control : OBD-2 MPFI

-------------------------------------------
Laz's Tip 'O the Week: Don't eat the yellow snow.

 
Rep Power: 314

The D17A2 is also VTEC-E not VTEC... This should be a direct swap into your civic, make sure you get the ECU however, just to make sure everything jives. I like how you put quotations around good... because in reality they belong there lol

 
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^^ "good" is all in the eye of the beholder.

 
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Im guessing your looking into a JDM engine? You dont want to just pull the head you have and send it to a machine shop to be checked? If you want to spend the time and money to swap the whole motor go for it. But after you pull that old one out still have it checked because you can probably re-sell it. That is my opinion.

 
Rep Power: 314

Hmm... its a crapshoot honestly.. because if you don't buy a JDM engine from a reputable dealer you can have massive issues right off the get go or you can get a quality engine that runs fine. Or, you can tear into your current engine and find out the head is cracked/warped beyond repair and now youve spent all the time and money. If you do the work yourself it's far cheaper to send the head out to get checked, if not its probably cheaper to swap the engine. It's up to you just know what your getting yourself into.

 
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i have a d17a2, but wait vtec kicks in at 4500 rpm? why do i feel a rush of power at 2700 rpm (yeah yeah i called it a rush of power front a 127hp powerplant lol) guess i'm going to have to go step on it and see if i notice a difference, wait i can't my front knuckles don't have ball joints in them FUUUUUU autozone

 
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The $400 figure for parts includes: gasket kit $131.60; belt, timing $16.60; tensioner set, timing belt $71.83; water pump $55.01; pulley, crankshaft $92.13. Those are the recommended items to replace when doing a head gasket, though I will probably omit the crankshaft pulley unless it looks bad, leaving the total at $309.93 ($412.43 if I also got the crankshaft pulley) from South Bay Honda (hondapartscheap.com) after their cheapest shipping. Then the charges from the machine shop, and probably a rebuilt cylinder head, another $300.
I have pretty much decided against swapping the engine with a D17A6, just for lack of information. I will probably try to replace the engine with a low milage used engine from a junk yard. Only problem: do I have to get the car 4 feet off the ground to drop the engine out the bottom? This is an EX with A/C and a manual transmission. I have read that you "should" or "could" be able to lift the engine out the top, but I want to know before I tear a car down in my sister-in-laws driveway. Thanks again.

 
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you want to drop the engine with subframe out the bottom? i'm sure it could be done without a lift, but i'm pretty sure you can use a cherry picker from the top you just have to remove a lot of stuff

 
Rep Power: 236

You need a lift to take it out the bottom. Either way you have to take everything off the engine to get it out. Usually people leave the starter and alternator on the engine then pull the whole engine/trans assembly.

 
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Thats exactly what I want to avoid. I want to pull it out the top. I'm just not sure how. I've ready conflicting posts about it.

 
Rep Power: 236

Watch this video: [autostream]http://autostream.com/ibcivicforums/?page_type=firebirdplayerthumbnail&framepage=145&t ransactionid=1308430633-7190173246&posted_by=lazlong_www.civicforums.com&y outube_video_id=Me9w6aIqJ48[/autostream]

It's for a 1998 but, everything is basically the same. Also, this guy has a ton of good videos on youtube.

 
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Its very simple to pull it out of the top with the transmission still attached. I just did mine. If you have any questions feel free to pm me.

 
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Just updating a very, very old thread. I did replace the engine with one from a junkyard. The car currently has 240,000 and it is still my daily driver. In the years of ownership I have done the following: new windshield, head gasket, water pump, crankshaft position sensor, Top Dead Center (TDC) sensor, all new belts, thermostat, radiator cap, coolant refilled with Honda coolant, clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing, pilot bearing, transmission fluid changed with Honda transmission fluid (2 or 3 times), brakes (several times), fuel injector O-rings, catalytic converter, the middle exhaust pipe, 3-4 sets of tires, control arm bushings, and maybe a few other things. It is time to do another timing belt/water pump job but I really don't want to. I think it is time to get something else.