In the lingo of car buffs, “swapping” an engine means installing a larger, more powerful motor in place of the standard stock engine. The Honda D16 engine was a smaller, highly economical four-cylinder engine found in 1986 through 1989 vehicles. The Honda B18A1 was the second-generation B18 series engine that offered substantially more horsepower than the D16. Replacing a Honda Civic D16 engine with a B18A1 motor is a relatively simple procedure, but, depending on transmission model, the transmission may also require replacing.
Place the vehicle in neutral, set the parking brake and block the rear wheels.
Trace marks around the hood hinges with a felt-tipped marking pen. Unbolt the hinges with a wrench and remove the hood from the vehicle.
Open the drain petcock on the radiator with a pair of pliers and drain the coolant into a bucket. Remove the heater and radiator hoses from the motor with a flat-head screwdriver.
Unbolt the radiator fan with a wrench. Unplug the fan motor and pull the fan free with your hands.
Disconnect the wiring harness plug with the tip of a flat-head screwdriver. Remove the battery cables, starter motor wires and engine grounding wires with a wrench and Phillips screwdriver.
Unbolt the exhaust pipes from the exhaust manifold and then disconnect the first section of the exhaust system with a wrench.
Place a floor jack under the transmission casing. Disconnect the engine flywheel bolts from the transmission and the transmission bell housing bolts from the engine with the appropriate wrenches.
Connect the hooks of an engine hoist to the engine removal brackets. Unbolt the engine mounts from the motor with a wrench and lift the motor out of the vehicle with the engine hoist.
Consult a Honda dealership service department to determine if the current transmission is compatible with the larger B18A1 engine. If not, unbolt the transmission mount and driveshaft from the transmission, with a wrench, and lower the transmission from the vehicle with the jack.
Bolt a universal motor mount adapter to each of the motor mounts on the new engine. Lift the engine into the car, with the hoist, and bolt the engine motor mount adapters to the motor mounting brackets on the car with a torque wrench set to the 45-foot-pound setting.
Install a new exhaust manifold and gasket on the engine, tightening the manifold bolts with a torque wrench to the 38-foot-pound setting.
Bolt a new exhaust pipe, to fit the new engine, to the exhaust manifold and then bolt the back end of the exhaust pipe to the tailpipe with a wrench.
Plug in the engine wiring harness, from the new engine, into the vehicle with a wiring harness adapter.
Reattach the battery cables, starter motor wires and engine grounding wires with the appropriate wrenches.
Reinstall the radiator, fan and coolant hoses with the engine hose clamps, screwdriver and wrenches. Fill the radiator with antifreeze.
Bolt the hood to the vehicle with a wrench, aligning the marks on the hood with the hinges.
Install a new transmission, if necessary. Lift the transmission in place with the jack. Bolt the transmission to the transmission mount with the torque wrench to the 42-foot-pound setting and remove the jack. Connect the transmission to the driveshaft and engine flywheel with the wrenches.
