AkaDeathstar

So i wana do this Mini-me Swap of the D17A2 EX head because it sounds like decent gains for not too much money plus VTEC. With this new head on and some bolt-ons like CAI, Catback exhaust and header, would i see some nice gains as opposed to my shitty stock D17A1 (Automatic) with an AEM V2 SRI? Also do you think the honda dealership would install this ex head so i won't void the warranty of the car?

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

sorry to break it to you....all thats not gonna give you any real gains.....

you drive an eco box bro...and it'll stay that way unless you blow or sneeze it....

speedfoos

iTrader: (17)

The auto is going to be holding you back, but don't be discouraged from doing the swap. You will gain power and torque over your current setup and also be better poised if you want to do a mild turbo kit later on in your modding. It won't be a, "Holy ****! There is so much more power!" kind of gain, but I think you'll be happy with it.

AkaDeathstar

Yeah man thanks, i know, because my cousin had a 5 speed 7th gen honda civic and tht **** was quick even for a 1.7 engine. The gears shifted so smoothly, but yeah i still think it would be a nice little gain over stock. Damn i wish i has a freeakin 5 speed got dammit haha

G617

Like Foos said, it's gonna a difference but not a "throw you back in your seat" difference. As far as the dealer doing it, it's gonna void your warranty most likely because it's OEM equipment, but not for that specific car so they won't do it (maybe). It's gonna cost a **** load from the dealer so that's not a good look anyway. Take a look at the DIY for the head swap. It has all the info you need and have a performance shop do the work. The auto is what's kicking your *** right now. Good Luck with your modding... it's gonna be a tough road.

AkaDeathstar

Oh ok cool, yeah whats DIY? sorry i dont know all these acronyms, but yeah i know this automatic is wack. I was considering jus doing a full engine swap with a B16 and getting the manual tranny with it, but i think its gona be too much money and alot of labor. It would proabably be a pain in the *** to swap out the tranny for even a 2004 Civic EX manual tranny. Damn worst comes to worst ill be with this automatic, the EX head and a few bolt-ons. The automatic isnt horrible , it just laggs alot on takeoffs and you can tell its struggles really bad when u have a few ppl in the car haha

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

DIY = Do it yourself, basically an article or write-up someone has done that walks you though something- basically instructions.

You can also swap the tranny to a MT

AkaDeathstar

oh thanks, yeah would it be expensive to swap it to a MT?

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

less than a grand

AkaDeathstar

Thats not bad, how bout for installation?

briand17a2

ive looked at the AT2MT swap...

$350-500 for a used / rebuilt EX MT
$200 ish? for the MT ecu...

you need a to install a slave cylinder for the clutch,
an actual clutch pedal / linkage assembly
clutch+pressure plate
need a flywheel...the AT version is called a flexplate, but this is the perfect opportunity to install a lightweight aftermarket flywheel

Ok, this is how I see it in my head...so, DISCLAIMER: if I'm making up parts or leave stuff out, check all of this against the PROPER procedure in the Honda service manual / haynes manual. They dont really write procedures for this sort of thing, so use common sense, be careful, and ask lots of questions. Theres no such thing as a dumb question, especially if it keeps you or someone else from getting hurt.

Write down factory radio code (if applicable)...disconnect battery, remove battery from vehicle, place on a wood block, not the concrete floor.

Then you have to disconnect everything connected to the motor, sensors, lines, etc...

Place a big (5qt+ pan) under your radiator drain valve, open radiator drain petcock, drain as much coolant as possible, close petcock.
Remove upper and lower radiator hoses from engine block, be prepared for more fluid to pour out. Promptly wipe off and clean whatever gets covered in coolant, cause antifreeze stains everything, and it makes your car smell broken.

disconnect intake air temperature sensor from air cleaner box
remove intake piping, resonator box, and air cleaner box from engine bay
disconnect throttle/cruise control cables from their respective mounts (loosten adjuster nuts to remove from mounts) and remove throttle/cc cables from the throttle body, set aside on the left side of the engine bay

place a clean rag or papertowel into your throttle body opening

remove exhaust manifold heat shield
disconnect exhaust header from down/midpipe
remove exhaust manifold/header (depending on if your LX/DX or EX)

disconnect and remove coil packs
disconnect ignition wiring & associated sensors, set carefully aside
loosen power steering fasteners, take tension off of the PS pulley, remove PS pulley belt.
remove power steering pump without disconnecting the lines, set PS pump and reservoir off to the right side of the engine bay, probably atop the car's left side strut tower
remove power steering pump mounting bracket
place block of wood on a jack, place wood+jack under engine oil pan, support engine weight in prep for right side motor mount removal...
disconnect alternator wiring, unbolt alternator top and bottom bolts,
take tension off of alternator belt, remove said belt
remove alternator
loosen alternator top mount fasteners (see STICKY: Timing Belt DIY 2 in the forums for most of what ive already written, all credit goes to reddawnman)
make sure jack is safely supporting the engine with a wood block b/w jack and engine oil pan.
remove top motor mount (car's left side, right side of engine bay if looking in from the front).

remove alternator mount

thread rigging/hoisting fasteners into lift points on engine block
attach cherry picker rigging to hoisting fasteners

support weight of engine with cherry picker
disconnect powertrain half-shafts

disconnect remaining motor and transmission mounts very very carefully

check to make sure everything that could be attached to the engine/transmission from the engine compartment is disconnected, stowed out of the way, and plugged with clean rags as necessary.

with utmost care, hoist engine/transmission assembly from vehicle, swing out of the way, lower to engine support stand, bolt the engine/transmission assembly to support stand, ensure its balanced, take a break, smoke/have a beer (if thats your thing).

Support transmission with a transmission stand (or appropriate homebrew alternative)

with a drain pan under the transmission, loosen transmission fluid drain bolt, remove bolt and drain fluid, reinstall drain bolt hand tight.

With the transmission secure on its stand / mount, loosen transmission/bellhousing bolts, and carefully remove transmission from the motor. Make sure you label each bolt somehow to ensure they go back where they came from.

remove and drain torque converter into drain pan, plug torque converter splines/port with clean rag, set aside.

loosen flexplate mounting bolts, remove bolts and flexplate.

Install a properly surfaced flywheel onto crankshaft using NEW (if possible) flywheel-2-crankshaft fasteners, and using anti-seize on the threads, install bolts, torque to spec.

Ensure flywheel surface is clean, free from debris and oil (acetone works great)

You will need to install a (bronze?) pilot bearing into the crankshaft input side to accept the MT input shaft. Dont forget about this.

Using a clutch disc/pressure plate alignment tool, line up the pressure plate/clutch assy with the flywheel fastener holes.

With a super thin coat of anti-seize on the pressure plate to flywheel fasteners, thread the fasteners into their appropriate locations, torque to spec in a star pattern (hand tight all fasteners, then torque in a star pattern in 1/4 turn increments per fastener until all fasteners are to rated torque spec)

with the pressure plate torqued down to the flywheel, install your new throwout bearing onto your used/rebuild MT clutch fork.

With some moly-based/graphite grease, apply a small amount to the contact point on the rear of the clutch fork, where the slave cylinder piston arm makes contact with the fork

remove clutch-disc/pressure plate alignment tool, align MT input shaft splines with clutch disc splines and very carefully mate the MT input shaft to the clutch disc splines, and again carefully slide the MT bellhousing up to the engine until the fastener points are aligned.

Using anti-seize on the fastener threads, install MT to engine fasteners and hand tighten. Then, in a star pattern, tighten the fasteners in 1/4 turn increments to torque spec.

Locate where the clutch pedal assy will go through firewall, tap firewall for actuating linkage.

Remove AT shifter, shift linkage, etc...all the way down to bare metal. install MT shifter linkage, boot, mounting hardware etc...route shifter linkage/cables to engine bay.

Reinstall engine/MT, attach motor mounts.

Install MT slave cylinder, attach actuating assy.
Install shifter assy to MT shift actuator.

Install powertrain halfshafts into differential, reinstall drive hubs, brake hardware etc...

run wires from MT sensor(s) to ECU bay through firewall.

Install MT ECU...coded to your VIN at the dealership, otherwise the immobilizer turns your AT to MT civic into a giant paperweight.

Install clutch master cylinder.

Install clutch pedal assembly/linkage, mount to clutch master cylinder, fill master cylinder with honda MT clutch fluid.

Connect clutch master cyl line to slave cylinder line, open purge port, pump clutch pedal to the floor, close purge port, repeat until clutch fluid issues from purge port, refilling clutch master cylinder intermittently. Once fluid issues from the line, close the purge port. Carefully depress clutch pedal and listen for any metallic sounds of doom. Smooth operation of the clutch pedal is paramount.

Hook up all the sensors, install MT sensor wires into MT ecu harness locations, attach to ECU.

Hook everything back up, pulleys, sensors, cables, wires, refill with coolant, fill MT with honda MT fluid, hook up battery, go ahead and change your engine oil at this point, what the hell.

With everything hooked back up (no extra parts laying around, well except for your old automatic transmission), start the engine and verify proper operation.

Not sure if there is a break in procedure for new clutches or whatnot. This is just my idea of how it would go down, check it against the Honda factory service manual and haynes manual for the AT removal procedure / MT installation procedure. Again, if I made up parts or left out something that had to be removed, this is just how I saw it in my head, so triple check it against the factory procedure for AT removal / MT installation. Please point out my mistakes so nothing gets broken. Ive never swapped an AT for an MT, but im planning on it one of these days.

If all goes well, you'll be driving an MT converted civic, and should be feeling pretty badass with your mechanic self. At least I would. I hope you know how to drive a stick :-)

AkaDeathstar

haha damn tht sounds like a **** load of work, maybe ill just trade up, but thanks for the info

briand17a2

lol, its no sweat man, i just like to type :-) Plus, experience is the ****.

AkaDeathstar

yeah the price is decent for the parts but i wouldnt be able to do tht myself. Would it be expensive to have it installed somehwere?

brokendeck

If you get a shop to do a conversion from auto to manual + engine swap, they will charge you up the wazoo for it. In the neighborhood of 10k to 15k seriously. If you can do it yourself, then the actual parts are decent priced, but if you can't then it's not worth keeping the auto tranny. If I were you, sell/ditch the auto tranny, buy a 6th gen or 5th gen civic, and drop a b series engine in it, most likely the b22... Otherwise, if you want a 7th gen still, buy a manual tranny civic and do a k-series swap, which is what I'm doing! lol Trust me it's not worth messing around with automatic transmission civics! I've learned the hard way that auto tranny Hondas will always suck and converting them to manual is NOT worth it. bottom line, sell the auto, buy a manual. I've asked a similiar question here before, and this is the advice I was given.

AkaDeathstar

yeah man i know what u mean. I really wana trade it up for a 99 or 00 civic si, but those things take fkin premium gas and theres no way im payin for those prices as much as gas is right now haha.

dmartin1087

hey whats up
regarding the head swap for the d17.... do i need to change my headers. frome the lx (current headers) to the ex headers..??

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

1. its header not headers(there is only 1)

2. no, bolt pattern is the same on both heads

02Sicivic

iTrader: (1)

Ummmm, what shops do you get work done at? 10-15k for a trans swap???? What is their labour rate? $800/hr? And BTW what year and model was the 2.2L B series available? If you are going to try to give advise at least know some of the basic facts you are trying to use to prove your point.

To the OP, like was already mentioned the head swap will help a bit, but the trans is really holding you back. The easiest way to fix your predicament would be to try and sell your current car and buy a manual one.

hypnotic20

Hmmm.... Isn't the whole intake, exhaust, header and a2 head only going to give about 130 hp? I mean, it's not much for that much money.

Why not save your money for something useful, like a house? Keep the car stock.