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Hey guys. New to the forums. Read lots of good material here. I'm currently doing a full part out swap taking my 03 engine which I just redid head gasket and WP back in Janurary. Auto trans crapped the bed being 330k and oil was blacker then the plague. Got a 04 manual. Almost nearly identical motors apart from some cylindrical looking thing on top of the coolant manifold on 04 motor.

motor on the 04 had rod bearings blow. Bad knocks so RIP. Took auto trans of my 03 motor and taking manual transmission from 04 and plan is to drop it into 04 sedan body.

Replacing axle seals and pilot bearing. Gonna ride out the rest of the clutches life until I learn proper standard.

Neither motor is a vtec

But the job should be as simple as that right?

 
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Yes. It is an easy swap as you listed. The re-wiring of the loom / harness is the most challenging part of the process. I assume you know how to punch out the hole for the master cylinder for the clutch, and install the shifter with linkages.

 
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Not sure if I follow what you mean by punching a hole for master cylinder and clutch linkages. If the car is already set up to be a manual as I'm only just replacing the motor, I should be clear of doing any of that?

However the part that irks me is the old motor has an EGR valve over the coolant mani where the good motor doesn't have it present. Will I be present with a wiring issue or just have to use it?

Edit: Did some extra research. A quick skim but it appears the difference is between D17a1/a2. So suggested action is to swap out the coolant manifold with the one that has the EGR and also something else that has to do with the air intake just to satisfy the computer and engine light. Is this something I should take seriously or could the overall health of the vehicle allow disregarding this?

 
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So I'm in the middle of a motor swap right now

Cars both non vtec
2003 automatic non egr motor
2004 manual egr motor

salvaged
2003 d17a motor
2004 manual transmission
2004 car

I'm still yet uneducated in the ECU biz what am I up against?

 
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Hey, you're new here? Welcome.
What exactly is your goal with your swap? You just listed a pile of parts but we have no clue what you're trying to install into what, or convert what to what..

 
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Thanks for the welcome. My apologies I'll elaborate. My 03s auto trans bit the dust. I've completed a headgasket job on that engine earlier this year. I have the parts 04 with a manual transmission blown motor for a case of beer from a buddy sorta thing. Ultimately I'm putting one and one together to end up with a functional vehicle taking all of my brand new parts from the 03 into the 04.

At a eye glance the block and head are identical. The one main concern I have is the lack of an EGR valve on the 03 motor which is going into the 04 car. I just got the manual transmission of the block just getting prepped up for the drop which is the next step.
Right now I'm in need of some consulting.

 
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what trim are the cars? EX? LX?

 
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Buy a correct automatic transmission and replace it? It's a lot simpler. Straightforward. Up and running again in one day.
Or not.


True.

Swap the coolant housing on the end of the head that holds the EGR valve, and pull the intake manifold off and swap the manifold gasket from the old engine (gasket for EGR has several more holes) or replace with new (I reuse it sometimes without a problem)

That cast aluminum injector housing should be pretty clean if it's never had EGR enabled (this is now the EGR distribution chamber). The one on the old engine may be pretty cruddy with soot buildup.

 
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Recycling exhaust gas back through the intake for re-combustion or bust. Sounds like a dirty process for an engine to go through just to keep emissions down. Guess tomorrow Ill do just that, get the trans on the block and huck'r on the mounts, re-wire and top up fluids and see how it goes I guess! Thanks!


Both DX

 
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I misinterpreted your post. Since this thread is for doing DIY automatic to manual swaps, I thought that was what you were doing

 
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The D17A1 is non-VTEC while the the D17A2 is VTEC-E (for fuel economy).
From what I recall, the EGR was really a specific port in the head itself from cylinder #4 that allows some of the inert exhaust gases to go to intake (for anti-knock and emissions purposes).
Personally, I'd not do the EGR as it robs a little power

 
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that will make the ECU issue way better. You can keep the ECU in the car as they are (if EX was involved, you might have had issues, but since there is no EX in the mix, no issues)

 
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Carbon buildup is expected. Clean what you can while it's off, just make sure you don't leave any loose chunks.
DO NOT DELETE IT. Your ECM needs it.

EGR is used to
A) lower NOx emissions, and
B) reduce pumping losses, thereby increasing efficiency

You'll want a new gasket for that housing, or if I reuse that one I would apply a coat of high-tack to both sides of the original gasket

 
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new thread created from posts in two different threads.
So, some of the posts and replies might be off-sync, but it is better to understand if they are consolidated in one.

 
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I must be in luck called the parts guy who sold me the HG kit in Janurary matched up the part no.'s and the intake gasket is EGR milled along with the coolant housing gasket. If I'm unconvinced; will disturbing the intake gasket for a peak also require a permatex reseal, or just huck it back in? Remembering how much of a pain it is to get those things off chances are its not at its desired torque spec anyways.

As far as issues go this feels super reasonable.

 
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I reuse that gasket as-is.

 
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From another current thread: Intake gasket difference

 
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Okay guys, I have the engine mated with the tranny back into the car now all wired up.

I cleaned and used the EGR coolant manifold from the 04, except i didnt use the product suggested, an old school mechanic friend of mine said i can use the silicone gasket maker I have ( permatex rtv ultra black).

So as of now it's had about 2 days of drying and i made sure to have miniscule amount so the pressure wouldnt force so much extra product in. Right now its still dry ATM.
I havent put any fluid in it yet, still waiting on an ODB2 to see how my computers looking when I put a battery in.


But I really wanna know, if i wanna just subtly test run it can I use 10w30 oil in my transmission temporarily just to see if it runs properly just to avoid financial sacrifices. I never cracked open this engine at all aside from the coolant manifold.

But I just wanna make sure all my ducks are in a row before i crank this thing, Do you guys have a check list of items to consider?

Is it still dot 3/4 brake fluid I use for the clutch pedal, I havent looked that far into the process. As you might have guessed Im completely self taught via Youtube (Credit Chrisfix&1AAuto) Ill bring up some pictures later. Im basking in how easy it was to put back together. But again whats a good secondary best gear oil, is it synchomech friction by GMC or can I use normal 10w30 or will whatever work. Im leaving town for a few days for my car has that much time to get an opinion set for it. Thank you!

 
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Sure.
But Hondas manual trans fluid is probably better. It only takes a couple quarts.

Should have considered replacing the head gasket and timing belt while it was out of the car and easy to do LOL (we expect them all to blow the head gasket sooner or later)
Everything bolted on? All wires connected? Got fluids in it?


Yes. Clutch may play hell to get all the air out though.

 
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Thanks for the reply. I've done a head gasket job on this engine earlier this year that's why I'm going in with the swap. Everything is pretty well in place for fluids. ***** deep time I guess lol

 
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Well the engine starts up no lights aside from the Maint Req, and the DRL. I'm assuming its from the oil change it needed and didnt delete the code for it yet.

Clutch plays hell, well actually it hits the floor with no self driving force to return upward.

So over the last day during my bleeding (1 man show here)

Open bleeder on slave - throw down clutch - close bleeder - slowly repress clutch - repeat

After so many times doing it, draining the master rezzy a few times, I finally get a buddy to work the pedal for me

The slave is in its retracted state all the time, I could push it in but it naturally wants to stay pushed out.

Masters in a dank dark recess of the engine bay hard to say what its deal is.

So close to driving this bad boy, no good if i cant get it into gear

 
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That's just a mileage counter, it has no idea what's going in inside the engine.

Reset it.


Separate issue. Must be Canadiana?
Plenty of air is still trapped in the system.

THIS is correct action. The slave has a small spring inside it.
Plenty of air is still trapped in the system.

Alternate methods might include
Power bleed
Vacuum bleed
Speed bleed
Reverse bleed