blues99man

Hi All, hoping to learn lots in this forum. Wondering if anyone can tell me what the stock engine would be in this particular canadian vehicle and if it possible to swap the engine and tranny out of this model and put in an engine and tranny that was make in Japan, and if so, what engine would be the best. Thanks in advance for any comments.

paulymcd7

what car is it? if its a 7th gen its a d17 and to swap you could put a k20 in it or if its 6th gen its still a d series i believe and the performance engine would be b16 or b18

blues99man

Not sure if that was enough info, I only know thats its a 2003 civic sport, was wondering if a japanese engine would fit.

mikey1

what exactly do you mean by "japanese engine"?

paulymcd7

can you give us a picture? or actually look at the driver side of the windshield at the very bottom there is the VIN the 4th 5th and 6th digits are your chasis code, if you could tell us those we can help

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

D17A1 guys, non vtec. Yes, a JDM engine will work. As long as it's a direct replacement, JDM D17A1. Check your valve cover, if it says "Vtec" on it then its a D17A2, if it says HONDA its a D17A1. If you want to be 100% sure, there is also an engine code imprinted on the block, below the water hose, ish.

blues99man

I just got the vin# 1HGFM229331802595, this surprises me here in canada, does that first number mean it was built in america. Thanks for the comments.

mikey1

chances are if it was built in america your speedo would be in MPH not KPH

blues99man

I've never seen the vehicle, its something a family member just wants to send to the scrap yard, I guess they blew the head gasket and the dealership said it would be $2k for sure to fix. I just wondered what kind of options I might have for engines and their availability, before I towed it anywhere. It may simply be a head gasket problem, but I was told it was overheating for quite some time so there could be much more damage. Again thanks for the comments.

ezone

SOLD, not built.

Cars are built to be sold in a certain market.
Cars can be built to be exported.
We have plenty of cars sold in the USA that were built in Canada (all VINs that start with #2), yet they have MPH speedometers if designed to be sold here.
Also look on the emissions label under the hood. Does it say Federal or Canadian emissions? Is the label in French?

There are more differences (DRL, SRS etc.), but that's what the average person will see.

Yeah, they blow head gaskets. Common.

If it has been overheated many times, it may just be safer to drop in an engine than to fix the head gasket, as you are already planning. You really should do all you can to freshen up a used engine before it goes in though (maybe including a head gasket). Little more expense, but it's a whole lot easier while out of the car, and good peace of mind.
You can get a used engine for $500 or so, and drop it in DIY dirt cheap.
www.car-part.com
Probably have it running and driving for $7-800 total if you DIY everything right.

Shine it, flip it, make a grand?

blues99man

Thank you for the comments everybody, I wonder if there is somewhere on the net I can find a decoder for that 2003 vin number. Certainly is lots of info on this site regarding repairs for this vehicle.

jedema

http://www.vindecoder.net/?vin=+1hgf...&submit=Decode

should be what you need. Looks like you have the VTECH so it is probably the D17A2. Watch those JDM motors however. they are frequently listed as A2's but if you look at the number it is just the D17A which is different. Make sure you get the A2

I'm just starting a similar process. Picked up an 02 EX with a large hole in the engine (rod) for $800. Picked up an 05 motor with 75K on it and am working on refurbing the critical parts (timing, WP, tensioner, random gaskets etc..).

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

You sure it doesn't say 1hgem2? Especially for a 2003, em2 would denote that it's a 01-05 coupe. Also, yes, a VIN starting with "1" means it was built (i.e. assembled) in the US. 1,4,5 means assembled in the US, 2 - canada, 3 - mexico, J - japan.. That's all that really means. Doesn't really have any effect on if a [enter country name here] engine will work, so long as it's a D17xx (-a1, according to Tom [BlueEM2]). It also won't denote that the speedometer will be in KPH or MPH, since, like ezone said, cars are built to be sold in certain markets.

If it is, indeed, a d17a1, trying to swap in a D17A2 will require a bit more effort, pretty much to control the VTEC aspect of the engine.

edit:
Running that VIN with the "corrected" EM2 in the "chassis code" position, it shows that it's an automatic USDM EX coupe (CDM Si coupe), so your engine would be a D17A2, not the aforementioned D17A1

ezone

1HGFM229331802595 VIN is invalid.

1hgem229331802595 VIN is still invalid.


OP: try again.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

The 2003 honda civic "LX" Sport in Canada has a D17A1 engine, I told him how to check to make sure.

ezone

I don't remember that we ever got a "sport" version of the car in the US.
Must be Canadian market?

A valid VIN should tell that part of the story.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

It's definitely a Canadian market car I don't think much is different from a standard LX except the rims and a spoiler, maybe a couple other things.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...em229331802595

ezone

Is that even accurate? Majestic calls it a 2dr EX, the discussion above says it is a Canadian (LX) Sport. Not the same?


Majestics' site isn't actually checking the VIN as a complete number (I've run into that before).
It's only telling what the car is based on the first section. It's not actually checking for a valid US market VIN.
Here's an invalid VIN, all zeros for a serial number: http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...l=&inputstate=



The car is a Canadian market car, if the above conversation is accurate.

The VIN does not work at http://torontohondaparts.com/
The VIN does not work in my VIN report through Honda USA.



If you want to check a US VIN, try it on this site estore.honda.com/


Still need OP to give the correct VIN!
LOL

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Touché

I'm just working with what we're given. Extrapolating data that isn't there. haha

blues99man

Ok, I was being fed bad info, I picked up the vehicle this morn, its an si with a 1.7 vtec engine in it, underneath the hood their is canadian markings, but inside the driver door panel it says made in america. He told me it would not run for more than 5-10 minutes without overheating. After I got it home I took the rad cap off and put in about a litre of fluid over 5-10 minutes of burping, filled the overflow reservoir and ran it for an hour with the two fans kicking off and on and no overheating. Looks like abit of engine oil leaking somewhere on the engine. No antifreeze in the oil. (220K) Perhaps I still have a slight leak at the head gasket, compression test tomorrow. Tough world out there for peeps with no clue about cars. Thanks everybody, will check out some of those links.

ezone

French hood sticker says it was built for the Canadian market.

Enter the VIN into the Toronto Honda parts site. If it accepts the VIN, it is a Canadian market car, no matter where it was built.
I'd expect a head gasket leaking, and probably a warped head since it overheated.

If you drive it for a while, it will push enough fluid out of the radiator to overheat again.

This test will not show a head gasket leak on this engine.


EDIT: Found the video here: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...ml#post4629441
Read a few posts back in that thread so you see how we got to this point.