RSX engine swap how to pull engine with minimal tools
 

Hello, i am planning to do a swap sometime with a 4 door civic and a k20a2, i'm a newbie to swaps..i've seen k20's in mini coopers on the web but looks like a lotta custom work.. and prolly too front heavy for that little car.

1. How do you lower the engine out of the car with a minimal amount of tools.., i have ratchets and a sliding floor jack.. that does not raise the car up very high.. :confused: ?

2. Basically I wanted to know what kind of options there are for taking the engine out if i don't have a car lift..

I was thinking about making something with cynder blocks and driving the vehicle up on to it.. since u can leave the wheels on when the engine goes down right??? just an idea.. :_doh:

i'm trying to do this as fast as i can because i don't have a garage right now and i don't want to leave stuff out in the weather..

i believe the wheels must come off.. beucase its connected to the axels which are connected to the tranny which is connected to the engine.. lol

basically everything must come out.. not easly accomplished without and engine hoist.. or a lift..
u could just use multiple jacks.. but i dunno u will need someway to lift the car. i dont think driving it up on some home built comtraption is safe.

anyone that can do it with just the tools u named.. i haill to them..

u from philly? wut part? maybe i can come help u wif the swap..

sounds like a quick 211

not that i am of any help. but if i were you, i wouldnt try to do it "as fast as possible", because it doesnt seem like your too sure there.

what kind of lift can u get to do it outside.. i think i've seen portable units before that cost at least a 1000,

i live in the suburbs not in philly, i guess i will need a lot or something that is level and paved , i might invest in some portable lifts if they can get the job done.. if anyone has any info or recommendations on the m that would be cool

lol.. i'm not trying to take longer than a week to pull it at least.. , once its out i can store it in when i can make time to finish the installation.. i'm work full time and i'm on a limited budget and i would need to take into account rent, b/c i don't have the space right now.. so the faster i work the less my expenses will potentially be

i have time restrictions on rental of a property.. b/c i'm not sure i can what i'm going to be able to afford

uhhh...you sure you can afford to do this swap then...

Think 48-53" of lift will do it? i know 26" sure won't

you're saying you don't know much about swaps at all and you want to do this whole thing yourself? or just taking the engine out? i'm not sure how hard the k20 swap is, but are you sure you know how to do it yourself?

its not brain surgury.. if i had the space and resources i would probably figure the mechanical stuff out with minimal help.. i just need to dig into it a little bit.. i figure i could save a lot of money doing it myself.. it would be my first time pulling an eng and taking stuff apart.. but if i research it all upfront.. i'll know what tools that i need to borrow and try to plan out the project as resources become available..budgeting is one of my favorite things to do anyway..

Plan on a lift of some sort - you have to put the K20 in from the bottom of the car. Plus, once you do that there are the other things to consider, like wiring harness and ECU. Its not a cake walk.....Do a search and see the others which have attempted this. Most of them had mechanic friends, and it still took them about 2 weeks or so...

engine in and engine out is not the hard part. The harness is the hard part. Its not something you can just go do in a weekend and pull it off. You need to piece the harness and ECU wiring back together once the new engine is in, get it hooked up to cooling, electric, PS, A/C, etc...
You're gonna need some help, its not a beginners DIY. Take it someplace and get it done right unless you actually know what you're doing.
And you're gonna need some tools. A set of jackstands and a socket set doesn't swap an engine. You'll need a lift for the car and something to move the engine with... it weighs a couple hundred pounds.

you can drpo the motor from the top...its not the best way to do it by any means, but it can be done. In fact, there are even instructions on the HASport website on how to do it.
The wire harness took my buddy, once he figured out what to do, all of maybe 3 hours. I will be posting exactly how to modify the harness as well soon.
You can have the axles off and still have the wheels on...thats how i got my car home from the shop that i started my swap at. Its not having the subframe on that will not allow you to have your wheels on. Because the strut/braking system which is attached to your wheel is conected to the lower control arm, which bolts into the subframe.
This project for someone who hasnt ever done a motor swap should take about a month of hard work. Its not that its very hard, but its very time consuming, and there are gonna be problems, and there are gonna be parts that you are missing.
Plan to have about 3 grand in the bank after you buy everything that you need for the swap. Because that will more than likely not be everything that you need, and you will need that 3 grand to get the stuff that you do need. Trust me on that one.
Good Luck

About how much did you spend overall, NoBottle?

NoBottleJustThrottle: you say it took your buddy 3 hours...did he modify the harness and attach it to your civic's ECU?

If you get the RSX ecu, I think it's supposed to be a bit easier, non?

Just curious on that one, cuz I might be attempting the swap myself in the future.

Tools I'll be using:
REALLY tall jackstands (4feet, to act as a hoist)
Engine hoist
rafters of the garage + chains + pulleys to act as a lift for the engine, and to get the car up onto the tall jackstands at first
lots of tools
lots of beer
lots of friends :)

any tips would be great, man! and i totally agree on that 3 grand idea...you never know what you're going to need!

If you've never swapped a engine before, and one that isn't a direct bolt in, you're in for a lot of work and flustration. I believe you have to modify the engine mounts in the car and on the engine, plus doesn't the K20 crank shaft rotate the opposite direction of a d17? From what I've read I don't think I would do it without having a fully equiped shop and some manuals.

If you were willing to buy the lift for a grand, you should probably just pay the grand and have it done. It is next to impossible with the tools you have and almost inevitable that someone is going to get hurt....come on now 4ft jack stands? You need to drop the civic onto the k20 and support frame. and lowering it from support beams in your garage isn't going to cut it. You will need a REAL garage or some cake to pay someone with one to do it.

the entire swap cost me between 5 and 6 grand. We did all of it our selves, saved a lot of cash that way im sure. I had a lift at a shop for a week with air tools for no charge...that was the biggest help.
You have to use the RSX-S ECU...modifying the harness isnt that tough though. Just have to have steady hands and be prepared to do a lot of splicing. For fitment issues, we used the Civic ECU box. We took the guts out of the RSX-S ECU and stuck it in the Civic ECU box so that the ECU would bolt right back into place. The mounting points on the RSX-S box are different. Dont be scared, its a matter of about 8 screws...if i can do it, anyone can.

hey smokinwhoo, this isn't just something that u can short change... it costs money... and there are many variables that may cost you more, especially if u're somewhat of a novice...