DIY: DX/LX Head Swap to EX vtec on 2001-2005 Civic

[Mikey]

dang.. took us about 4 hours but we finally got it done... dont trust what everyone else says u need.. u dont need the ECU from an EX to convert over.. heres what u will need if you want to avoid getting an ECU from an EX and reflashing ur key

EX vtec head with solenoid
ex head gasket
and a vafc2

basically if you never have done a head swap before i highly suggest u take it to a shop to do it. we ran into i hiccup after completion cause i had some air bubbles in the coolant but we took care of that in about 10 minutes.. make sure u disconnect the battery before doing the the vafc install


and heres a picture of the cover taken off




so here is what the dx head looks like when its off




heres a picture of the ex head.. notice the hanging blue wire.. thats the vtec wire and solenoid...



heres the vafc2 controller.. this is the only way to bypass getting an ECU from an EX and getting your key reflashed




now heres the trick to wiring your ecu.. solder everything and no crimping.. i got a gas powered one so i dont have to worry about running extension cords



(EDITED 8/21/04)
now while wiring the vafc2...


first tape off or cap the blue VTM wire cause u will not be using that... also tape off or cap the purple VTEC wire cause u will not be using that either (the DX/LX does not come with a VTEC solenoid signal from the ECU).... also tape the orange wire cause there is no VTC cam signal.. and for other people that are also running the VAFC2 on there EX's we do have a TDC wire on our cars... it would be on pin 26 on the first harness to the left... then follow the installation instructions according to the vafc2 manual using diagram H7-a and dont worry about the other DIY mentioned in another topic thats says to buy a diode.. dont need it... now all u gotta do is finish up ur head install.. as soon as thats done.. remember that blue wire hanging from the EX head.. well cut off the clip..

if you need the diagram or need more info on wiring the vafc2 the go here
http://www.xproductionz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=536




and hard wire it (see the light green wire) from the engine bay into the car next to the ECU... then solder that wire to the pink wire from the vafc... almost there


clean up all ur wires and finish up anything under the hood... fill back ur oil.... add more antifreeze..and now ur car looks pretty much the same when u first started..



haha with the exception of the vtec solenoid and wire.. PLEASE NOTE that if u have had a DX intake then the place where it mounts has to be moved cause that bracket where it used to mount is now replaced with the vtec solenoid..

do the start up proceedures according to what the manual says for the vafc before starting the car... now as for me when i was done.. it took a few minutes before the car actually started... once it finally ran it idled pretty bad and fluctuated... then after a good 2 or 3 minutes the car ran perfectly fine.. my friend says the ecu is just adjusting to the new things we put on there... drove it around for an hour and set my vafc to kick the vtec from

Lo-->Hi at 4700
Hi-->Lo at 4000

just basic settings to get me started but its not even tuned yet and can feel the car pulling alot more when the vtec kicks in



hope this helps

[sleepee]

nice write up...

[Anotherslo1]

Great write up!

[sleepee]

it's a mini me for teh 01 - 05 civics = )

[Sir Charles]

Good write up with great pictures to show.

[igskeen]

Any tips on where to look for the vtec heads, Im not having very good luck finding one already milled as well.

[Mikey]

find whatever head you can find.. milled or not.. because you can take the head to a machine shop and most shops usually cahrge about $40 to milll it

[bigmax1665]

i want to do the ex head swap, but i want to use the ecu, mostly because i already have one. what else do i need? i heard i needed the engine harness, and i read on this right up that i would need to get my key reflashed. what is that and how do i do that?

[Mikey]

2 ways to do it... the first and cheapest way is to use a vafc2 and just wire the vtec. Thats all you need to do simple and short..

The more expensive way is to buy the EX ecu.. EX harness.. After you do the head swap and harness swap and ecu... you need to tow the car down to a honda dealer and have them reflash the key to match the ecu's immobolizer

[itslulunigga]

i seriously need help i have a d17 non vtec im willing to do go vtec what is it that i need is it worth it and will i pump out more hp after i put bolt ons.? let me know what i can do or what would be my best choice


=]