[wyy183]

I have an '89 DX with 250K miles on it. A while back the timing belt broke, so it is sitting (I have a '90 Si and an '07 Fit, so it's not a major concern.)

Anyway, I'm looking at selling my Si soon, and would prefer to use the DX for winter activities.

I don't know the condition of the internals on the engine. There has to be valves that are shot, and possibly a cracked head. The timing belt was only on for 17K miles and it was a Honda belt.

I had just put a new head gasket, water pump, distributor, exhaust, and clutch in. The car is getting rust, but I don't want to just chuck it yet.

From checking around, here are the options that I'm considering:
1. Get and put a new head on it.
2. Rebuild the existing head, assuming that it is not cracked.
3. Replace with a D15B2 like it has.
4. Replace with a D16 and do the wiring conversion.
5. Just put a ZC in.

I want to keep the total price down - the cheaper the better, but it is not worth putting over $800 in it. I will use my existing DX tranny - I'm more interested in the gas mileage than the performance. I will do the work myself.

How much can I expect each of the items above to cost??

Thanks, in advance.

David
'89 CRX DX, white, 250K miles - puked a timing belt
'90 CRX Si, yellow, 65K miles
'07 Fit Sport, red, 12K miles

 

[Baker]

WOW, i would not sell my Crx Si, especially since it is such low milage. Is it original miles??

But if you wanna keep the Dx around for winter, since you will be doing the work yourself, i would either find another head or complete d15b2.
Since you're not cencerned with performance, no point in spending the money for a Zc or doing the wiring for a d16.
I would just keep it simple and replace either the head or the cpmplete motor, whichever you find first and/or whatever is cheaper.

 

[wyy183]

Yeah, those are original miles on the Si! It's never seen salt, and runs great!! Aside from a couple of minor door dings, it's in nearly new condition.

On the DX, it'll be my winter beater car that I'll put 1000-1500 miles on a month. I have some winter tires for it, and it's been through many a winter in the past. As I have in the past, I may run it in some rally-cross events, but its days of running autocrosses are in the past.

I want something that runs well (it did when I purchased it new,) but over the years the performance has gone down just because of the miles and age. Compared to my Si it is a bit of a dog, but it will (would?) still run all day long at 100 mph on the interstate, if required.

Where is the best place to look for a head or engine that I can be comfortable with not be defective?

I'm about an hour north of Nashville.

Thanks.

David

 

[Angry]

A few of the guys on honda-tech with sedans have been picking up d16y7s and using the d15b DX intakes on them with good results.
Im only suggesting that as I dont know how hard finding another good dx motor would be. This way you get a bit of a newer motor, but you can stick to the dpfi.