New member, Scott (old guy) from Virginia Beach, VA. Bought a 96 Civic DX automatic with blown engine and a replacement 97 Civic engine as a package. 97 has 60K on it. (I'm working on this for youngest two sons) I swapped engines, not something I had done before, but read books and in days past swapped enough SB Chevy's. Anyway. Everything lines up! I had a real mechanic look at the timing belt to make sure it was good to go, it had recently been replaced. Not everything turned out the same though. First I took the shift level far more apart than I needed to. and on the 96 engine there was a plug below the intake, just left of the oil sending unit that doesn't exist on the 97 engine. And, the 97 engine did have the intake / fuel injectors on it. I did NOT swap those. just kept them on. The 96 engine I know was running (ran out of oil) the 97 I believe was a junk yard engine. Both SOHC.
I put everything back in, connected all the wires, did the plumbing, replaced hoses and even the CV axles. Came time to start, the engine does crack, slowly, but cracks. I get a constant loud ticking/clicking from near glove box area. and the shift lever indicator keeps blinking between N and D. It doesn't see to be getting fuel. I can't tell because it's fuel injected though. I pulled plugs and no wet or even gas smell. (car is on jack stands)

should I work the shift lever issue first to make sure it's good, then T/S the no start/fuel? is there a way to tell if fuel makes it into the cylinders?

Thanks in advance,
Scott

 

Sounds like the battery is real low. Recharge it or try jump starting. The lights and relays should be on steady while cranking. Could also be bad connections at the battery or grounds. Also check the little ground wires at the thermostat housing, they ground the computer system.

The extra sensor is a knock sensor found on the VTEC engines. A DX car will not have a plug for it, you can just leave it unplugged. Sounds like the blown engine was not the original one from the car either.

 

Thanks MK378! I apologize for not keeping up. I did install new battery and swapped a ground from the block to the valve cover and it started (bad injector, but swapped that) I was amazed that grounds would do such things. Especially when the block is grounded elsewhere.

I've given the car to my son, Curt, Pittsburgh area and except for some shift linkage adjstments, it seems pretty solid. I'm sold on Civic's being reliable, user friendly transport.

Old guy