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K20A2 EK Swap Parts List, Pictures, Manual Conversion and Writeup in Progress

572K views 236 replies 121 participants last post by  Silviodagreat 
#1 ·
I know this may be common knowledge to alot of you, but for the people just getting into it (like myself) hopefully this will all help.

Hey whats up everyone. Well about a month ago me and a some friends decided to take on a K20A2 swap into a 98' EK (automatic). Unfamiliar to this a couple of us were pretty nervous. So far so good.

I am listing all the parts I have purchased, where i puchased them, Honda parts diagrams, and pictures of the work in progress.

Parts List:

www.jhpusa.com
: SARD Fuel Pressure Regulator $139.00
: HaSport 96-00 EKK1 Motor Mounts $576.00 (HaSport sells
direct as well for $639.00)

www.hasport.com
: K-Series Header for 88-00 Civic $399.00
: PNP Conversion Harness $350
: Radiator Hose Adapter w/ Fan Switch and Temp
Sender Port $35.00

www.goldeneaglemfg.com
: K20 Fuel Rail $125.99

www.karcepts.com
: Shifter Mounting Kit $150.00

www.hybrid-racing.com
: OEM Pulley Replacement w/belt for Power Steering $150.47
: OEM Thermo Unit $22.00
: OEM Switch Coolant $26.00

www.hondaautomotiveparts.com
: Pedal Assy Brake $38.36
: Pedal Assy Clutch $40.72
: Clutch Pedal Bracket $17.20
: OEM Master Cylinder $98.07
: Clutch Fluid Tank $5.17
: (I will highlight all parts needed for pedals and master cylinder)

www.delrayacura.com
: Exhaust Manifold Gasket $9.46
: Exhaust Manifold Studs (2) $1.52
: Exhaust Manifold Stud Nuts (2) $00.28
: Exhaust Manifold Bolt Flange (3) $00.74

www.ebay.com
: Type R (PRC) ECU $400.00

Jegs High Performance
: Steel Braided Line 6ft no. 4 for Clutch Line $25.99

www.sunnysideacura.com
: RSX Type S Titanium Shift Knob $39.20

Race Parts Wholesale:
: 10mm x 1 to 4 AN adapters for slave and master cylinder

www.racepartsolutions.com
: 2- 6 AN x 8 AN direct fit 45degree hose end (for fuel rail, one on each side) $ 25.15 each
: 1- 6 AN x 8 90 degree low profile hose end $ 14.39

*** I highly reccomend this place. Their fuel fitting quality has been unmatched to what I have seen. If at all possible buy the low profile fittings. Very well built and very strong. This company offers the best fittings hands down.***




Tools (these are all of what I have used not necessarily required)
: 8-19mm Sockets both Deep Well, Regular, and Impact
: Breaker Bar
: Air Socket (saves time)
: Impact Gun
: Screw Drivers
: Pry Bars
: Needle Nose Plyers and Regular Plyers
: Sledge Hammer
: Rubber Mallet
: Flat Chissels
: Short Meteric Wrenches
: Saw Zaw
: Drimmel (with metal cutting blades)
: Stone Grinder
: Fluid Pans
: Lift (if available)
: Welding Machine (if available)

Well first things first. Here is the engine bay with the motor pulled. Not that you have to, but I took the time to Simple Green the engine bay, steel wool the paint, and put a glossy primer coat over it.



Since there was going to be time to spare while waiting for parts I started on the manual conversion.
Here is 2 part diagrams with the parts you will need (if buying new) to complete the conversion
I am still not sure if the "inhibitor sensor" is needed but will post an update

Pedal Diagram (www.hondaautomotiveparts.com)



Master Cylinder Diagram (www.hondaautomotiveparts.com)
* NOTE: It is very important to buy the Master Cylinder new for it is a wearable part, the rest "can" be found at junk yards.




Pedal Instalation:
Overall the instalation was not difficult just time consuming

With the manual conversion you cannot get your key out unless the plug that goes to the automatic shifter is plugged in and is in park.

First start by disconecting the brake master cylinder from the pedal (not fire wall), then pull the pedal spring off and unbolt the 1 bolt from the pedal






Now that the brake pedal is out, replace it with the manual brake pedal. First bolt it up, then reatach the spring (hardest part for me atlest), and finally reconect the brake mater cylinder bar with the bolt and cotter pin

Old Brake Pedal



New Brake Pedal Installed
NOTE: You dont have to buy a new brake pedal but the automatic one is way too close and may cause problems with hitting your feet when engaging the clutch.



Onto the clutch.
I found it best to install the clutch pedal and spring and all other plastic inserts and stoppers while it was all out of the car. Once the pedal and spring are put together in the bracket you then want to get the master cylinder through the firewall ready to be connected to the bracket.
I did this all by myself but it would have been much easier to have somone holding the master clyinder outside the car.

Clutch Pedal and Bracket Assy



Clutch Pedal Spring Position



Spot in firewall where master cylinder and bracket connect



After the master cylinder is in place alligne the clutch pedal backet up with it and spin the two nuts over the bolts. Do not tighten all the way (just enough to hold in place). Now the the nut flange bolt and allign it with the top hole. Once again do not tighten. Once in place tighten down the nuts on the master cylinder bolts and then tighten the top bolt up.

You will then connect the master cylinder piston to the back of the clutch pedal with the bolt and cotter pin similarly to the brake pedal.

Im not sure if you need the inhibitor sensor yet, but the parts diagram shower where to install it

Master Cylinder and Clutch Pedal Bracket Installed



Finished Interior Job



Now on the outside you must hook up the clutch tank resivor ( easiest job)

When Assy it should look like this




Now the major parts of the conversion are complete. A clutch line will have to be run from master to slave cylinder when the motor is installed. Both inlets are 1/8", I am going to use AN adapters and fittings with no.4 steel braided line as listed in parts above.


The next step that I took was to mount up the engine mount plates to the chassis of the car. This is a very simple procedure. I know that HaSport offers an online pdf. version of their instruction manual. I got shorted a spacer for the rear tranny mount, but just replaced it with a few washers.

Here is the rear transmission mount. If you look you will see that I added 3 washers to fill in the gap. Do not tighten this bolt down unless you have either a spacer or washers to fill the gap. It will bend the mount plate and probably ruin it.



Here is the driver's side mount. Nothing to it, I utilized oem bolts for this plate, I believe the HaSport mounts instruct you to do this as well. 2 bolts on the top and 1 bolt on the under side.



This is the passenger side mount. Once again very simple and you use oem bolts. Make sure when taking the factory mounts off you do not take the plate with the bolt threads that is mounted straight up.



HaSport states the the torque settings are measured to these specs
Passenger Side Mount Plate: 43lbs/ft
Driver Side Mount Plate: 33lbs/ft
Rear Transmission Plate: Not Listed (I did 43 lbs/ft)


The next step has been the most fun so far. If you want your RSX shifter to fit like oem then you need to check out www.karcepts.com. Here they offer a shifter plate kit to solve the problem. Without this kit you will have to drill a hole in your fire wall to run the shifter cables, and the shifter box will not fit as good in place of the civic one. Karcepts instructions for this install are the most complete directions I have ever worked with.

For your reference you are going to need a drimmel tool, drill, 9/32" drill bit and if you had an automatic tranny like I did then you will also need an 11/32" drill bit. These bits should be made to drill through metal. You will also be able to utilize these bits for drilling out spot welds on the radiator and A/C brackets.

Here is how the shifter sits with the newly installed kit.



This is the bottom view. Like the directions say apply the silicone liberally. The more you put in areas that could let heat through the better. I went to the extent of putting the silicone around the bolts, shifter cables and all other gaps or holes.





Note how you can even attach the bracket from the shifter lines to an oem hole. The great thing about this kit, especially utilizing the EKK1 mounts and HaSport header is that you will have good exhaust clearance, and there will be no need for custom bends of any sort.



Note: You will not want to reinstall all the interior plastics around the shifter until the motor is dropped in and you are sure the car shifts properly.

Thanks for the interest and support everyone. This has just gotten started for me, and I will post new pics and updates after each step I take is completed.

Max
 
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#52 ·
Its time for some updates, its been a while since I have posted any writeups, well I was trying to get the car running so I was that much closer to being done. Well it is finally running, and running weel.


For the clutch line, my method has seemed to be simple... for the slave and master cylinder fittings (if you choose to go my route) you will need 2 10mm x 1 to 4 AN adapters... these can be found at www.racepartswholesale.com from there I used 2 90degre 4AN fittings, and of course #4 steel braided hose. When connecting the fittings into the hose as previously stated it is easiest to lube up the ends before hand, I broke 2 fittings because I did not do thist.

Here is what it looks like when connected.









Once the lines are connected you will then have to bleed all of the air out. This is easiest done with 2 people. You will have to have one person pump the clutch pedal in and out, and hold it in, what you loosen the nipple to let the air out then close it again, and the other will continue to pump the pedal and so on until the air is out. The person pumping the pedal will have to fill the resivor several times as well.

For my radiator here is my setup

Stock radiator core, RSX Type S upper hose, 99-00 Cvic SI Hose ( I used the upper one from the civic), and a perma-cool fan from jegs.

It will be easiest to put the fan on while the radiator is out of the car. This is very simple 4 zip ties come with the fan that all you to connect it to the radiator.. Make sure you use the sticky cusion pads they give you to help reduce vibration wear.

The fan I bought was a Perma-Cool fan that I picked up from Jeg's. It was $69.99 so pretty good price. Here are the dimensions and specs directly quoted from Jeg's website: 10'' Fan:
11''x10'', Thickness: 2-1/4'', Motor RPM: 3000, Amp Draw: 7.0, CFM: 900, Fuse 30 amp.

You will then have to cut the plug off the old fan and wire accordingly. There should be 2 wires, and one is black and the other I think is blue. The black should be connected with the black wire from the fan, and the blue should be connected with the red wire from the fan. Since the fan is setup to pull you will want to make sure you mount it on the engine side, otherwise you will have to unscrew the fan and flip it.
Here is what it looks like mounted.



When I started the motor and the fan kicked on, the fan proved to be very strong and cooled things down quickly. There isnt a ton of space left but, it works out pretty good I think.

The top hose of course will utilize the RSX Type S hose (unless you find one that works better. You will want to hose clamp it good to the radiator as shown to prevent leaks.



For the bottom hose you will use the 99-00 CIvic SI hose. You will have to do a little cutting for best fitment, but with the pre bent angles in the hose it worked out very nicely. I used a hose clamp on both ends with this hose to ensure no leaks.

This is how I mounted the overfill tank. I dont think there should be any issues with heat. If anyone thinks different let me know.



THis is the block adapter for the fan switch and the temp sensor. The adapter of course came from HaSport. I got the sensors from Hybrid.... but you could get these at www.hondaautomotiveparts.com as well, and they would probably be cheaper. HaSport Harness came with the needed plugs so it was very easy to install.



Hope this helps, not much more to post, but I will get up to the garage and take the rest of the pics to finish the write up off.

Thanks for all the help from everybody.

Max
 
#53 ·
Looks great man! Don't feel embarrassed about the manifold. SHit happens like that to me all the time. Oh and I really meant buying another IACV as the last resort. Don't know what I was thinking....brainfart. Looks great and I will be refering to your pictures if I have problems.
 
#54 ·
rsxdude said:
Looks great man! Don't feel embarrassed about the manifold. SHit happens like that to me all the time. Oh and I really meant buying another IACV as the last resort. Don't know what I was thinking....brainfart. Looks great and I will be refering to your pictures if I have problems.

Yeah I was hoping it wasnt the IACV, before I figured out what was going on, I took the intake and throttle body off, spryed some WD40 down the valves and put the throttle body back on. I left the intake off, and put a bolt in the vaccum line that was running off the bottom of the intake manifold. I started the car up and it was perfect. So I was like sweet the WD40 worked, I then put the intake back on and reconnected the vacum line from the bottom of the intake manifold to the intake and connected everything back up again, then started it, and it was revving back and forth again. I was like what the fuck is going on here, so for some reason I took the vaccum line off the intake and put the bold back in it, started it up, then it worked again...... and then it hit me what the heck was going on. Im glad I figured out what it was, and the bottom intake manifold plate was only 12 bux so a cheap fix.

I hope all of what I put in the thread helps ya out and everyone else as well.

Thanks
 
#55 ·
I got the new plate for the IM, ran through the idle learn procedure, and got my idle down to 800-900. The car officially is purring very nicely. I just have to run a vaccum line for the evap, figure out what to do with the A/C condensor and and get my axel back and the car will be ready to go.

If anyone has requests of pics to upload or writeups of some sort let me know. Ill try and think of whatever else I can to post up that would be helpful.
 
#56 ·
My passenger side axel problem has been solved. I took my axel to a company called Drive-Line 1 and told them I wanted it extended... well they went above and beyond and found a shaft that was an inch longer. It fit perfectly with RSX Type S inner and 94 Integra (B-series) outter. The shaft is good for over 500hp is what they told me. The part # that is listed on my receipt is 87-8539-0 so if someone is to order from them, make sure you confirm this with them so to say it is the same thing. Their ph# is (614)-279-7734. If you live in Ohio they are located on the south side of columbus. THe shaft cost me 42.27.
They took my inner hub since it was with the original shaft I dropped off and dropped in the acid tub so it looks brand new, they put a new boot and new grease in it. So the complete cost was 90$. I kinda wish they woulda given me the shaft and let me put it all together so id save some $$ but they did a good job and made it look like brand new so I wont complain.






I will also put this in the post with the axels.
 
#57 ·
Here are some pics of the interior finished. I had to mess with the ecu wires for a while to get them to tuck up nicely and be able to fit the ECU in there, but it worked out nicely.

There is also a OEM RSX Type S shift knob to complete the look.



 
#58 ·
I also put the A/C condensor in. Since the fan had to come off with the EKK1 mounts, I kind of had to take my own route to install it since there were no longer bottom brackets. Some may say this is a bad way, I dont feel it is. Its in very securly, and I am just putting it in to protect the motor from the road elements. I may or may not run the lines next year.

Basically what I did was zip tied a heat cloth on the bottom to help with metal to metal vibrations. From there I used peices of radiator hose to rest it up against on the front of the car and just zip tied it in.









This is about how you will have to cut the metal so you can get a fitting to the top part. And yes my cuts look like hell lol.



If you have EKK2 mounts you may not have to worry about doing this.
 
#59 ·
With the axel I was able to get the rest of the shit back together and take it out for a quick spin. I am still waiting on the new fenders to be painted and the grille as well. Other than that we have to put the bumper back on and its done.

Well besides driving around with open header and I think becoming legally defff the car drove amazingly. Id run it up to 5500 1st 2nd and 3rd and be at almost 80 before I knew it. I like not having power steering, gives the car a better feel imo. Overall I am extremely impressed and satisfied with how the car drives and how everything turned out well. What I thought would be a 2 week project turned into over a 2 month project with work and school all mixed in.

Thanks Brian from Karcepts and to all the board members that helped, My friends Zach, Mike, Ryan, Derek... My paps and especially my girlfriend who spent almost as much time on the car as I did.

Here are some pics of the 98% finished car. Hope you enjoy... If anyone has anyrequests of write ups let me know, and ill post the best that I can.













sorry about the pics being so big, but they are as small as the camera will go :silly: . If anyone is feeling unmotivated about the project.... dont stop, cuz the end of the tunnel will be there before you know it.
 
#61 ·
^^^^^^ Nice... Yeah I kept all the old A/C lines so hopefully I will be able to utilize as much of them as possible. With the cutting, I just didnt see any other way... I am glad to hear of another route to take. Unfortunately I dont have the RSX fans for that, but the 10" fan is fairly cheap so it wont hurt the wallet too much..... Thanks for postin up another route/method to go about for the A/C. The shared info is greatly appreciated. FOr now the A/C condensor will serve the purpose of protecting the motor from winter salt and what not, and when we go to install the A/C I can just cut a few zip ties and start over.

Thanks
 
#63 ·
RedCoupe said:
I seriously hate you. :p

I like the headlights, thats one thing me and you have done.... :up:

I hope they hold up. They were just some cheapies to replace the broken ones. I know the cheaper headlights main problems is beam allignment, and leaky seals. So for the seals I went around and put some silicone on the seals to help increase better chances of no leaks, and we got the lights lined up pretty good.
 
#64 ·
thumbs up for all the work.
and detailed info on the swap. been thinking of installing a k20 R into my ctr but was skeptical about it because parts alone will cost me 8000 dollars canadian easily then the install local shops wanted atleast 5000 dollars. I wanted to do it myself but wasnt able to find complete swap details since most of the k20 swaps are on the eg's from what I have been reading. I will definately use this as my guide to a upcomming k20 install.
However I believe i will be changing a couple of things around to compensate for the RHD like lines.

Quick question...is there any way to have power steering with a k20 in an ek?
I really need power steering because I am really picky when it comes to comfort and ease of driving on a daily basis.
 
#65 ·
Team Rukus said:
Quick question...is there any way to have power steering with a k20 in an ek?
I really need power steering because I am really picky when it comes to comfort and ease of driving on a daily basis.
As far as the power steering goes, I think I read that the only issue was hood clearance. So if you can find a way to get around that then its just a matter of running the lines.

I was really surprised in driving the car w/o ps how nice it was. The only time it is difficult to steer is when the car is not moving, other than that, I really think its hard to tell the difference when you are driving.

If I was able to completely do the swap you def should have no problems. Read my thread closely, and if you ever come up on any questions pm me or post up here.

Thanks
 
#67 ·
Team Rukus said:
thanks alot once again for all the info on the swap.
looks like i might be doing this swap afterall:D.

so what did the total come up to in terms of parts for the swap? the motor? etc...
The motor w/ tranny 3k and the parts to do the swap came out to be about 3.5k roughly. Id say plan on spending about 7k to do a good job. It all depends on the parts you have from the EK and the parts you get w/ the motor...

Let me know if you have any questions ever.
 
#69 ·
boost_me said:
With the axel I was able to get the rest of the shit back together and take it out for a quick spin. I am still waiting on the new fenders to be painted and the grille as well. Other than that we have to put the bumper back on and its done.

Well besides driving around with open header and I think becoming legally defff the car drove amazingly. Id run it up to 5500 1st 2nd and 3rd and be at almost 80 before I knew it. I like not having power steering, gives the car a better feel imo. Overall I am extremely impressed and satisfied with how the car drives and how everything turned out well. What I thought would be a 2 week project turned into over a 2 month project with work and school all mixed in.

Thanks Brian from Karcepts and to all the board members that helped, My friends Zach, Mike, Ryan, Derek... My paps and especially my girlfriend who spent almost as much time on the car as I did.

Here are some pics of the 98% finished car. Hope you enjoy... If anyone has anyrequests of write ups let me know, and ill post the best that I can.













sorry about the pics being so big, but they are as small as the camera will go :silly: . If anyone is feeling unmotivated about the project.... dont stop, cuz the end of the tunnel will be there before you know it.
I have the same fuel rail. I like how the wires are run. I was going to do the same thing and saw that some of them were short. I didn't have time to sort it out. Did you have to extend them? That gives it a much cleaner look then what I have now.
 
#70 ·
dtzvtec said:
Where did you source your motor from?
My buddies RSX Type S was involved in a hit and run... car was totaled from the rear end..... he bought it back parted it out... and I bought the motor from him. The whole swap was almost a spur of the moment thing. I had no parts or knowledge, just thought it would be cool to do. Luck of the draw I guess. The motor did have 50k on it, but for a honda thats not much life gone.
 
#71 ·
EKhybrid said:
I have the same fuel rail. I like how the wires are run. I was going to do the same thing and saw that some of them were short. I didn't have time to sort it out. Did you have to extend them? That gives it a much cleaner look then what I have now.

Yeah the wires are mostly too short. I just bought some 16 gauge wire and lengthened them and tucked them under the IM... I saw someone else do it and liked the look much better. I didnt want to have those wires covering up a 125$ fuel rail lol.
 
#72 ·
boost_me said:
My buddies RSX Type S was involved in a hit and run... car was totaled from the rear end..... he bought it back parted it out... and I bought the motor from him. The whole swap was almost a spur of the moment thing. I had no parts or knowledge, just thought it would be cool to do. Luck of the draw I guess. The motor did have 50k on it, but for a honda thats not much life gone.
Wish I had spur of the moment money.... hahaha..

Quit with the teasers...
 
#74 ·
well Jegs sold it in 3' 6' etc...... I bought 6' cuz I knew 3' wasnt going to cut it. Ill have to measure, but roughly guessing Id say about 3.5' (maybe more) it always seems like its longer than it really is. So as soon as I get a chance to measure I will, and pm you and post on here.
 
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