JDM B16 - Sport Compact Racing, Engine swaps guide and more!

Taking The Old Engine Out! (Page 2)

11. You can start by removing the A/C stuff. Fans, compressor, A/C lines. I was out of Freon, so I could just undo it all, but you should really dispose of it the proper way if you have any left in the A/C system....

12. I also took the front bumper off, headlights, and radiator. It's not necessary, but it made things easier for me....Set that all aside, you'll be putting it back on later (duh) and remove the A/C condensor thing (or whatever the radiator lookin thing is called) Now you have removed your entire A/C system up to the firewall, unplugged most, if not ALL of the wiring harness, removed the intake manifold, and clamped up your fuel lines.

13. Next you'll want to remove the header. Same deal as the intake manifold, and it'll pop right off once you undo the bolts. Now you're looking at basically just a head, block, tranny, and distributor. I had some spare time so I took off the distributor and put it in the "Things I can Sell" pile for later...

14. Now all you have left really is the axles and motor mounts.

15. Break the lugnuts loose, jack it up. Take off the rims (if ya can't do this, do not try this swap) and unbolt the big ass hub bolt. I believe it's a 19mm or 21mm bolt. And it's on there good. You have to enable to bolt to move by pressing out the indented part. Just look at it, it's hard to explain, you'll see what I mean. Once that is done, unbolt the suspension pieces that keep the brake assembly and struts on. Use common sense to figure out exactly which bolts they are. Once the struts are unbolted from the bottom, you can unbolt them from the strut towers, and take them off for now. Now is also a really good time to swap in larger brakes. If you're gonna do that, unbolt the upper arm bolts in the engine bay (by the strut tower bolts) and the brakes will come out. Now that there is NOTHING holding back the axles, get a big ass screwdriver and pop them out of the transmission. You won't be needing them again (unless ya wanna trick your axle supplier inot thinking they are Integra cores). Not like I would do that or anything.......

16. Chain the engine up, get some tension on the chain.

17. All that is left are the motor mounts. Use either a breaker bar or impact gun to un-bolt the mounts. You can either take the bolt that runs through the mounts out, or unbolt the mounts from the frame. Whichever is easier for you to do....

18. After you unbolt all 4 (I think) you can raise the engine up. Get a dolly (or skateboard with a hunk of plywood on it) and set the engine on there, roll it away. Unless of course you like stuff in your way....

19. If you want, now is a good time to take off the front crossmemember. Once you do, get a grinder and cut off the front mount. Also, now would be the best time to notch it so the header will fit. Right in the center, for about a 3" span each way (just to make sure) cut out a section 1/4"-1/2" wide and then re-grind it to take off all the sharp edges. This way, the header has MORE than enough room and won't rattle at all.

20. Time to take a break and get some food. Grab a beer and relax for a little bit, the fun has just begun!

Page 1 | Page 2

Part 1: Swap shopping list
Part 2: Taking the old engine out
Part 3: New engine installation

You can also download a PDF version of this guide here