b20/vtec over my head

[johnnymd]

Originally i was going to swap out motors for somebody, but ended up switching vtec head off old engine on to the new (used) b20. The civic had run with the modified vtec head, so I figured switching the block should be no problem. After switching block and installing engine, I can not get the engine to start.

Two things I did not reinstall the knock sensor and the crank case breather box. I can not find a allen wrench big enough to remove the plug for the knock sensor.. but I'm under the understanding that, that would not cause the engine not to start.

I've gone over the timing marks several times... they seem to be right, I will say when the cams were lined up perfectly (both dots next to each other) the crank pulley seemed to be a half tooth off. After the engine wouldn't start I loosened the skunk2 adjustable cams and then moved the crank the half tooth to make it exactly tdc. Still won't start

The cylinders are reading around 180psi, and the spark plugs are wet with fuel. The issue seems to be the distributor... at TDC it seems to be pointing closer to the number 2 terminal than the number 1. (which doesn't make sense to me since the engine was supposivly running with the same head and distributor before) The only thing I can imagine is that the cam needs to be adjusted so that the distributor is in the right location... but I have no experience adjusting cams (except for the half tooth I already adjusted). I never moved the cams between engine blocks but possibly they were adusted while the machine shop had them.

The distributor is off of a SOHC engine... but I was told that they had made it work.

Would the B20 block change the timing from a B18 block... maybe thats my problem and the distributor being the wrong one just won't adjust far enough for the new block?

I did move the wires clockwise on the distributor one terminal and it did spit and sputter.

Can anyone offer some advice to what the problem might be? I'm a pretty good mechanic but as far as import tuning and vtec engines this is my first at bat. Please Help

[wiseguy01]

i will let my friend lnow of ur prob his screen name is greenblur

[Greenblurr93]

knock senor wont allow vtec to engage.. itll start though.. as for the timing... you adjusted it wrong.. put the cam gears back to o adjustment, pull of the timing belt when the engine is at TDC and then line the cams up.. make sure you tension the pulley EXACTLY to spec or it wont work and will skip teeth, hondas are picky about timing belt tensioners... then when everything is set, pull the distributor cap off and verify that the rotor points to number one... then verify the firing order...

then once the engine is set it should start (if that was in fact your problem..) what ecu are you running and what head did you swap as well? any other mods other than usless adjustable cam gears?

[johnnymd]

Originally Posted by Greenblurr93

knock senor wont allow vtec to engage.. itll start though.. as for the timing... you adjusted it wrong.. put the cam gears back to o adjustment, pull of the timing belt when the engine is at TDC and then line the cams up.. make sure you tension the pulley EXACTLY to spec or it wont work and will skip teeth, hondas are picky about timing belt tensioners... then when everything is set, pull the distributor cap off and verify that the rotor points to number one... then verify the firing order...

then once the engine is set it should start (if that was in fact your problem..) what ecu are you running and what head did you swap as well? any other mods other than usless adjustable cam gears?

I greatly appreciate your replies. I'm certain that the timing marks are lined up, yet the distributor is pointing almost at the number 2 cylinder. I think this is the problem, tell me if this sound right to you; The B20b block has a different stroke than the b18 block that was previously in there so the timing has to be adjusted accordingly? but the distributor being the wrong one, will not adjust far enough without hitting the sensors on the head. I believe changing out the distributor is the answer, but my guess is that will mean reprograming the ECU which is something I'm not familiar with. So as of tomorrow its on its way to the Import tuners. I don't know what ECU it is running now, as this is not my car I'm just doing the work for somebody else. Originally it was supposed to be a complete engine swap, so I had no fear, I'm certain I could change out a Ferrari engine or even a Helicopter if it just mean switching one unit with another (then again I don't think I'd be the first to fly in the helicopter )

[Greenblurr93]

if you lined up the timing marks by adjust the cam gear only... thats wrong... thats why your cam (which is directly connected to the distributor) is off. put the adjustment on the cam gear back to the original mark (as if it were stock) and i think youll notive the cam marks dont line up anymore... then pull the timing belt off and turn the cam itself to line up the marks. `doing this while the bottom end is at top dead center will set the timing. if the distributor worked on the previous motor, it should work with this one. before you spend a ton of money by sending it somewhere... this should be a real easy fix if you follow my advice. look at the ECU, find the white sticker in the side and it should have a combo of numbers and letter that sorta resemble a serial number... in the middle of this string starting with the letter "P" followed by 2 more characters (i.e. P72, P28, PM6..etc.) then a dash and more characters.. tell me what the Pxx is and ill tell you where that ecu came from and if its compatible... if it ran the previous moror it should at least be able to start this one

[lessthanwise]

the sohc dizzy (distributor) will not work
did you just bolt the vtec head onto the non vtec bottom end? it's not NEARLY that simple, you need to research a little more before you play dr frankenstein
you're supposed to use a gsr timing belt for the ls/vtec swap

also your compression is going to suck without changing out your pistons, the vtec head's combustion chamber is larger than the non vtec's even though the vtec is smaller

[Greenblurr93]

please dont bring up old threads.. thanks..