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Well, I'm going to be replacing the engine on my GFs 97' DX due to the damage caused by a mechanic ( Details in this thread ). We were debating over selling or putting in a used motor, and she decided she'd rather have this car for a couple more years than sell it.

I have several mechanic friends that are going to help me drop the new engine in, but I figured I would post here and get you guys opinion on a couple of things. The car is a 97 Civic DX, D16Y7 motor, automatic tranny, with 130k on it. Until the plug broke off the only issue that I had ever experienced with it was a radiator that cracked and I replaced. It's my GFs daily driver, and her only real concerns are reliability, MPG, and resale value.

- Since I'm going to have the engine out, is there anything else I should replace while I have easy access to it?

- I have had 3 mechanics tell me to get a Japanese (Wananabi?) engine, since they usually have ~30k on them and are really clean. The price I've been hearing is $800.

- Would there be any point to swapping out to a different engine (D16Y8 or a B series?), I'm assuming that it would be a lot more work, more costly (new tranny, ecu, ect...) The performance gain would be nice, a more fun car to drive, but I don't think it would be worth it if MPG was seriously reduced or if a higher performance engine didn't up the resale value.

- And tips/tricks to make the pulling/dropping in process go smoothly would be much appreciated. Hayes manual's and mechanic friends are great, but I know nothing beats experience.

- What do I do with the old motor? See if a junk yard will take it? I need to at least pull the head so that I can photograph any damage done by the metal/porcelain that was run through the engine. I'm almost certainly going to end up in small claims, and I want every bit of evidence that works in my favor to show that the motor was ruined by the debris left inside of it by the mechanic.

Thanks guys, any input is greatly appreciated.

 
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Personally I'd stick with the stock replacement. Yes a Japanese used engine would be a great deal. My suggestion is to change timing belt/water pump, drive belts, new plugs (keep the OEM wires unless they were physically damaged) and adjust the valves. Then just enjoy the MPG. The only thing with a JDM engine is that you may want to adjust the timing downward to prevent preignition as it will have a higher compression ratio. But that will depend on many other factors (elevation, minimum octane available in your area etc).