Last night I was driving on the freeway with 5 people in my 95 Integra LS 5spd, and it felt really sluggish, but I figured it was because I had so much weight in the car, and when I got into the high RPMs it would make a loud knocking noise. I didnt know if it was the tires scraping on the fenders, the exhaust was loose, or if something was fucked up in the motor. Well down the freeway I go and I go to downshift to go up a slight uphill and my car dies. I pull over and try to start it again and that knocking noise was really loud and there was a little bit of oil on my hood. Im thinking its a rod or bearing or something, plus my car was already not running too hot and I think it was the piston rings. So my questions are :
1. Any ideas on whats wrong?
2. Is it worth fixing?
3. How hard is either a b18c gsr or a h22 swap?vtec?
4. Are JDM motors smog legal in CA?

 

1. timing belt? spark loss? throwing any codes?
2.wont know till you find out what it is
3. b18c = direct swap h22 = overrated .. and vtec isn't a question
4. they can be made to be

 

Timing belt is good, good spark, still starts, no codes. Why is the h22 overrated? And I dont really understand vtec and what it is and how it works, all I know is when I drive my freinds prelude it feels like a turbo or something when it kicks in.

 

I have a h23 block Ill sell you, I have the whole swap but its not vtech and its an auto. you could buy the 5speed and and h22 head for vtech. the h23 is a 2.3. just puting it out there!

 

If I get a motor like this... http://www.hmotorsonline.com/shop/sc...age&item=30009 is there anything else at all I need to swap? Or what about this one? Its $450 cheaper than hmotors.
http://www.osakajdmmotors.com/codes/hondaB18C1.htm

 

Sounds like what happened to me, and it was the timing belt. Make sure the cams spin when you try and crank it. There was a metal on metal knocking sound of pistons hitting valves when I would try and start it. So either your timing belt went, or it jumped enough teeth on the cam gears to cause piston/valve contact and not start.

 

It still starts and runs though.

 

Where is the sound coming from...block or head? It's hard to diagnose sounds over the internet. How does it run besides the sound...does it run rough?

 

It has a rough idle and will idle at 250 until I rev it up a little then it will idle between 500-800 and kinda surge. I cant really tell, but Id say its coming from the block.

 

Yeah this is hard to diagnose over the internet, especially with no check engine light.

Irregular idleling can be from a bad ECT, Map sensor or ECU. Hearing a knocking sound from around the block, that's some scary sh!t. Tick, tick, tick boom.