crankshaft removal

[jbartholomew]

so hears the deal.

i have an 89 lxi and the number 2 piston connecting rod bearing is shot. The crankshaft is worn from it and it needs to come out to be machined or replaced. so my question is: what is the easiest way to remove a crankshaft from the car. I would assume just removing the tranny and then the crank from under the car, but there may be an easier way.

any help would be appreciated.

[jbartholomew]

Also wondering if the crank from an A20A1 (87 lx) will fit in the A20A3 (89 lxi)

[Xulfiqar]

if your conrod bearing is shot - you may also want to check the rod - for heat damage and straightness, - and you cant pull a piston from under the cylinders with the crank out, remove the engine - is my best advice - or if you want to slap it back in a jiff - remove tranny unmount flywheel, remove front pulley systems disengage timing belt, undo crank and lower with jack.

[ArokASE88LXi]

yes you can remove the crank by only removing the transmission, flywheel, and timing belt. but then once you've gone that far you only need disconnect three motormounts, the wiring harness and anything else connected to the engine (not a whole lot) and pull it out and that way you can put it on a stand, see it a lot better and have full confidence your not gonna accidentally drop the thing. Also not sure if your interested but i saw a crank kit on ebay an hour ago might be worth checkin out. good luck keep us updated on what you decide!

[jbartholomew]

any info on the crankshafts? i have a good a20a1 engine, would it be worth wile just to swap the block with the pistons and crank already installed? the only problem then would be making sure the transmission would bolt up to the a20a1 block.

[cygnus x-1]

any info on the crankshafts? i have a good a20a1 engine, would it be worth wile just to swap the block with the pistons and crank already installed? the only problem then would be making sure the transmission would bolt up to the a20a1 block.

Swapping the bottom ends would probably be the most straightforward way to go. It's not that hard to pull the engine as long as you can keep track of where everything goes. The A20A1 and A20A3 bottom ends are nearly identical. The only difference is the A20A1 has slightly lower compression (0.2 points I think, slightly different dish on the pistons) and the bolt for the crank pulley may be different depending on what year the A20A3 is. But they are definitely interchangeable. You could probably even get away with not swapping the heads. You would need to swap thermostat housings (different sensors I think) and the #5 camshaft mounting cap (different distributor mounting). And the intake manifolds of course.

C|

[Demon1024]

Swapping the heads would be easier imo
plus the cam in the 88-89's a bit more agressive

[Civic Accord Honda]

Swapping the heads would be easier imo
plus the cam in the 88-89's a bit more agressive

swaping a cam is alot easier then the a head...

[jbartholomew]

I think im just going to swap the bottom ends. im going to leave the A3 head and jsut take the A1 block (after checking the main and CR bearings). Both engines have to come out so the head wouldn't be that hard to swap.

[ecogabriel]

I would not swap the pistons from one engine into the other; piston rings have been worn to seal appropriately in the original engine; if they are put in the other block with the same piston rings they would probably not seal well and burn oil.
Swapping the whole engine would be the safest and fastest route; in the end you may swap camshafts or heads once the engine is in the car if you feel like it.
you may want to replace shaft seals (crank front & rear; camshaft front) since you'll be disassembling everything; they would not add that much and it'll ensure you'll not have oil leaks later. In my experience, any good seal would do; I used Timken on mine and they have held fine (installation is more important than brand especially for the large rear crank seal)

Just my 0.02. Good luck