Speed9117

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Well, I have been collecting parts for a K-swap for a few months now and I finally have enough stuff to start prepping for the swap itself. I figured now would be as good time as ever to start a build thread and document the swap process. I realize there are other DIY threads on this (DA9_GSR and Erik), but I wasn't able to find anything on the stock k24 swap so I figured I would document and consolidate what I learn during my swap.

So to start, here's the car in it's current-ish state. I flog the crap out of my car in autocross and manage to keep up with some much more expensive, much higher performance cars. It's always fun beating people with a $5000 turd.



So, on to the swap. A combination of finally having some free time, disposable income, and friends to push me into a swap finally got the ball rolling. I had never really considered a swap before because it was prohibitively expensive, but when researching, the k24a1 (or a4) swap looked like it could be done on the cheap. This Honda Tuning article does a good job of outlining the Accord k24a4 swap for a DC/EG chassis Honda.

http://www.hondatuningmagazine.com/t...p/viewall.html

I chose to go with the k24a1 swap instead because the CRV motor has a few advantages over the a4. For one, the TSX head is a direct swap if you want moar power later. There are a couple other things I may update later that I can't remember now.

With this motor in mind I set out to do the swap for under $3500 (with a realistic goal of $4000). After extensive searching I have most of the major parts on hand and I am easily on track to have my car running for around $3500 and if EVERYTHING goes wrong I will still be under $4000.

For now, I will outline my parts list with my prices so far and then hit the hay. I will continue to update this with specifics for the k24 swap.

Parts:

k24a1 2002 CRV motor - 96k $400
Came with: Alternator, P/S pump + lines, starter, charge harness, IM, EM

2004 RSX base 5 speed - 92k $500
Came with stock flywheel and clutch

RSX subframe
RSX shifter and cables
RSX throttle cable $80 (for all 4 items)

RSX throttle body $25
Must change TB because CRV engine has drive my wire, not cable driven
I still need a TPS sensor

PPA-A03 CRV ECU $115
ECU MUST BE MANUAL TRANSMISSION CRV ECU TO PROPERLY RUN THE K24 WITHOUT KPRO!!!!!!!!! THE PPA-A0X ECUS ARE THE ONLY ECUS TO MY KNOWLEDGE THAT WILL RUN THE ENGINE WITHOUT KPRO, BUT ARE STILL UPGRADABLE TO KPRO.

CRV manual trans engine harness $65
Must use CRV engine harness with CRV ECU to my knowledge. May work with other harnesses with some modification.

Axles + halfshaft $180
Must use EP3 axles if staying 4 lug. Any k20 MT half shaft should do

EP3 Radiator + EP3 rad hoses $140

Exedy OEM RSX 5 speed clutch kit $130

Hasport ESK3 motor mounts $495

Swap Header $350

Misc other exhaust $200

Immobilizer reflash $86

O2 sensors $

Misc Honda gaskets, fluids, etc. $200

There are a lot of details I will get into later, but I think this is about all I want to write for tonight. I'll leave you guys with some pics of the goods as they sit now. Let me know what you guys think!

EŽik

Looks like your off to a good start. You should look into getting the K series Rywire kit. This will save a lot of re-wiring, and potential problems (that we encountered) doing the re-wiring.

New O2 sensors will run you an additional $700 if you buy them new from Acura/Honda. And that EP3 rad fan won't fit properly unless you cut out the hood support. I recommend getting a K series slim rad fan to keep that support intact. It's a pain in the *** to close the hood now on my car because that support isn't there anymore.

Looking forward to seeing your progress on the build.

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Good luck with the build! Going to be great when it's done.

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

Yeah I was looking into the Rywire or other kit, but that's one of the biggest problems I have run into with the k24a1 swap. To run the swap without kpro you need the CRV engine harness and ECU, but unfortunately, it is unknown if the C101 connector is the same as the RSX harness. I've emailed Rywire, hybrid racing, and others and nobody can tell me if their harness conversions work.

So my friend and I are wiring it ourselves... I went and borrowed the Honda factory service manual from the dealer to get the pinout and we will sort it out from there. I will probably be asking you some wiring questions (O2 relay, etc) in the future as I get closer to installation.

I am planning on running slim fans to avoid this problem and reduce any clearance issues.

Thanks! I'm really excited to get it in and running. I've had to look at the engine for two months as I collect other parts so it'll be good to install it.

This weekend I cleaned the engine, installed a new thermostat, VTC filter, and idler pulley, and pulled the oil pan to weld in baffles. I will update with pictures (particularly the baffling) in the next couple days when we finish it up.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

That's fantastic. I can't wait to see it in the car.

Zed

Will you be retaining aircon and power steering? I'd really like to see a swap in an EM2 that does.

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

I will be retaining power steering from the start, but unfortunately the motor did not come with the A/C compressor so I will probably wait and do A/C in the spring before it gets too warm. I do plan on trying to make A/C work though.

Zed

One thing I was never clear about with these K swaps. Do we need the PS pump and AC compressor off the new K motor, or can we use ours off our D17s?

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

That's actually something we were just looking at yesterday. I was thinking that it might be possible to retrofit the D17 compressor to the k24, but unfortunately, the number of ribs on the belt/pulley is different so you need the k24 compressor (aside from the issue of mounting the D17 compressor on the k)

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

Well this weekend and the first few days of this week I had the chance to clean up the motor and start refreshing it a bit before it goes in. Took 4 hours
and a lot of degreaser, but it cleaned up nicely. I also installed a new VTC filter, thermostat, idler pulley.





My friend and I also pulled the oil pan to install some baffling. Since I autocross and hope to start doing track days I figured it would probably be a
good idea while we had the motor out. We mimicked some designs (Spoon, Mugen, Hytech) that we found online and added two baffles. One prevents
oil from sloshing up to the upper tray area, and the other one keeps oil from submerging the timing chain (the biggest oil pan related problem with these
motors.) We mocked it up with cardboard and then welded in 1/16" sheet metal peices. Gave it a coat of paint on the outside and it's good as new!

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

Wow it's been a while since I've updated this. I got kinda busy at work and there were a lot of small parts to collect to really get things moving. That and I have been working on applications for PhD programs which has taken precedence.

But I do have a few updates as I am finally starting to assemble the engine/tranny with my buddy. First though, I did finally get an answer about the C101 harness. After digging through harness pinouts I found out that the RSX and CRV C101 clips are the same so the RyWire harness adapter will work.

The biggest update to the build is the decision to go LSD. Since I autocross a lot I decided this is where I wanted to spend my money up front for an upgrade. I sourced a 2006 Civic Si LSD with 60k on it for $350 shipped then picked up new bearings and a speedo gear for another $75. My friend and I took apart the tranny and installed the LSD last week. Pretty easy install actually. I was a bit intimidated about tearing apart a transmission, but with the help of this article it was a piece of cake: http://www.modified.com/tech/modp-10...-installation/

Case off


Reverse gear and shaft out



Old diff out


New diff with bearings and speedo gear ready to go in. For the love of god put the speedo gear on before pressing the bearing on.



Also installed a new water pump, AC block off plate/pulley, and installed the clutch and mated the engine and tranny. We will begin assembling everything on the subframe to prepare to do the swap the week of New Years.

mac25

Nice work man, looks like a fun project =D

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

Thanks! Yeah it's been a fun project so far. Definitely learning a lot along the way too. The most technical car project I had done previous to this was my spring/strut install. Best way to learn is to just do it though right?

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Everything is looking great! I like the baffles in the oil pan.

Good luck with the instal if you get to it on New Years.

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

Well the swap is finally a go this weekend. Wanted to do it earlier, but ran into a few issues. I ordered the correct wiring harness, but did not receive the correct one Ordered a new one though and it clipped right up. So currently the engine and transmission are assembled on the subframe with the wiring harness waiting to go in.

Another note if you are doing this swap with the stock intake manifold and stock ECU make sure to get a CRV or base RSX throttle body. These had the plastic IMs and the throttle cable hookups are on the opposite side as the EP3 and Type S TBs. Made that mistake the hard way. Got a new TB on the way too though so it's all good.

Also, what do you guys think my stock engine, transmission, wiring harness, subframe, etc. is worth? I'm looking to sell everything that comes out of my car in the swap which is the complete drivetrain. My car has 140k and the transmission could use an input shaft bearing, but other than that everything is solid.

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

Well swap is in progress and the new motor is in the car. Just working on plumbing at the moment. Should be running by the end of the week.

A quick note that will save people some headache though is the 05-06 RSXs have a larger line/fitting on the power steering high pressure line than that 02-04 models and because of this it won't fit on the EM2 steering rack. After a two day goose chase for an adapter fitting I lucked out and traded my 06 line in for an 03 line at the junk yard. Fits perfect now. I didn't see anything about this in any documentation I read so just watch out.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

g'lucky!

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

Well after some time consuming issues and one dead ECU I know have a running K24 in my car! We had Honda reflash the immobilizer system and match the keys so I maintain immobilizer function and my keys work.

I'll post pictures and updates soon, but first we are running into a problem and I was wondering if anybody had any input.

We left the car to warm up with the plan of burping the radiator and finish filling the coolant. We let it idle and nothing ever turned on. The radiator was cold and there didn't seem to be any water circulating. It's a brand new water pump, brand new thermostat, and we switched to the D17 coolant temp sensor like they did in the xproductionz DIY. We waited a while and the temp sensor in the car crept almost to the HOT line and still nothing. No rad fan either.

Is there something I missed as far as the cooling system?

nsrhonda89

Check to make sure your fan and fan switch is working. Leave the rad cap off and crank the heat to max while the engine is running to get all the air out of the cooling system.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

try a different thermo?

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the replies guys. We ended up figuring it out. I did discover that we have some wiring to finish for the thermo switch, but the problem was the height of the radiator.

Since the K24 sits so high in the bay, the upper rad hose was above the radiator level so it wasn't filling. We removed the air idle assist on the upper rad hose housing and filled the block from there. As soon as the system was totally filled it cycled just fine.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Glad you found the cause!
Likely I would never guessed that from here...

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

Yeah that would have been tough to diagnose. I'm kinda surprised it hasn't been mentioned in any of the other EM2 swap DIYs though. Definitely threw us for a loop for a bit.

It's running well now though. I just have to sort out the exhaust and I'll be road worthy again. The OBX race header I got doesn't clear the sway bar so I might have to pick up a different header. I'll try to upload pics/videos of the finished product. I can't wait to break in the clutch and everything so I can get on it!

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

I have a quick update. The car is running, but there are still a few things that need to be sorted out. Still waiting on time and materials to weld the exhaust up (currently just an open header) so the car is parked for now. Also need to finish rad wiring and purge the PS system. Here are some pics from the process and other new mods though.


Prepped and ready to go


Stripped


Old motor out!



K24 in! Plumbing it up.


Almost done!


That bay looks much better with a 2.4.


And a new (to me) Recaro to boot!

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Lookin great! Engine fits in there nicely.

You should definitely get a video when it is road worthy.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

don't even go to his parts for sale thread unfortunately the one i eyed is for LX, so cannot fit... or better, will fit, but too many changes required

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

Here's a quick drive by from the open-header shakedown. I don't know how to embed the video so here's direct link.

http://s1208.photobucket.com/user/Sp...e3000.mp4.html

EŽik

I don't know if you sold your old stuff yet, but I had approx 180k on my old D17 and I sold that with the tranny for $150 lol I just wanted it out of my garage. It didn't even touch the ground, it was sold before it came out of the car.

The old subframe, I gave away, as well as a pile of other junk that came out of the car. Good progress on the swap! I can't wait for spring so I can take my car out again!

Speed9117

iTrader: (1)

lol dang, unloading stuff for cheap. I got $400 for the engine already, but the rest is still sitting around. I'm trying to sell what I have, but the longer it goes the more I'll just want the space.

Yeah I can't wait for spring and autocross season. My car has been buried under snow for the last 3 days. Just dug it out today and brought it in my friend's garage to do the exhaust.

EŽik

Thats something I still need to do. What setup are you running? I was planning on buying a Vibrant 2 stealth black muffler, and get a 2 1/4" piping done from the cat back.