Removing a Honda engine is much easier than putting it back in, especially if you do not have to remember how you took it out. Generally, if you are going to junk the car, but want to save the engine and transmission for another car, you do no need to be careful when removing the wiring harness and can simply cut through the harness to make life easier. If the engine is just coming out for a rebuild or you are going to put another engine in, you will need to be careful of the wiring harness and make sure all plugins are unplugged before removing the engine.
Drain the fluids out of the engine. Remove the bottom and top radiator hoses and allow the anti-freeze to drain into a catch bucket. Dispose of the anti-freeze properly. Do not allow it to run into the gutter.
Drain the oil into a separate catch bucket. Dispose of the oil at a local auto parts store or other recycling venue.
Remove the air cleaner and set it aside. Remove the top and bottom radiator hoses and the heater hoses. Once the hoses are off, tighten the clamps on the ends of the hoses just enough so they don't fall off and get lost. Unplug the fans from the wiring harness and remove the fans and the radiator. If the radiator is still good, stand it up against the wall so as not to damage the fins.
Remove the positive wire from the battery first, so that you do not accidentally ground the system. Remove the negative wire and remove the battery. Unplug all of the electrical connectors and move the wiring harness out of the way. Remove the plug wire from the coil, if applicable.
Raise the car up on a lift or jack it up and support it with jack stands. Remove the CV axles. In front wheel drives, it is generally easier to remove the engine and transmission as one complete unit. Remove any plug-ins and cables from the transmission. Lower the vehicle back down and support the bottom of the engine and transmission with floor jacks. Remove the engine mount bolts on all of the engine and transmission mounts.
Remove the alternator, air compressor, power steering pump and the starter. Double check to be sure you did not miss any hoses or wiring connectors. Attach the engine hoist to the engine. Slowly jack the engine up out of the cradle. Have a helper watch each side as you raise the engine to be sure it does not get caught on anything and to be sure that you did not miss anything holding the engine to the frame of the car (such as hoses and parts of the wiring harness). Set the engine down on a used tire and remove the hoist.
