Oh K! - Step by Step K Swap Acura Integra

The engine bay is pretty big in this car so you can go in from the top or from the bottom. We usually go in from form the bottom, so a lift is needed as well as some sort of support for the engine. The crossmember will also need to be removed.

The K-series water temp sensor is not compatible with the Integra temp gauge. To fix this, a temp sensor from the original B18A was installed into this port using a 3/8 NPT to 1/8 NPT adapter. This port is normally used for an air assist valve which draws air from around the fuel injector seals. We decided knowing the engine temperature was more important. A wire also needs to be added to the wiring harness to feed the dash from the water temp sensor.

The passenger-side mount and driver-side transmission bracket are installed leaving the hardware slightly loose to ease installation of the opposite side. Once both mounts are in place they can be torqued down to spec.

The passenger-side mount and driver-side transmission bracket are installed leaving the hardware slightly loose to ease installation of the opposite side. Once both mounts are in place they can be torqued down to spec.

Now simply drop in the rear mount and bolt it down.

At the same time you're installing the engine harness you can install the adapter harness. Most of the harness will be in the cabin, the two plugs in Gillespie's left hand will go out into the engine bay and be connected to the Integra's chassis harness by the right-hand shock tower. The large grey plug connects to the K-series engine harness, the small white plug is the E connector for the K-Pro ECU and the other wires will splice into the Integra's stock ECU harness. The relay is for the Air/Fuel Ratio Sensor.

Next, the heater hoses go in. Some bulk heater hose of 5/8-inch diameter will work. It will have to loop around since the heater outlets are now on the opposite side with the new engine. Make nice gentle bends so you don't kink the hose.

Bolt the intermediate shaft on the block and you're ready for axles. Hasport axles were used since they are made to the exact specs to fit this swap.

While you're back behind the engine, take the engine harness and feed it through the firewall. Hasport just stuffed it through the A/C hose opening since they won't be running A/C. If you're going to have A/C you'll need to use the existing wire harness opening. It will be a tight fit. You will also need to pull the A/C evaporator to get to the opening. Run the wires along the firewall just below where the heater hoses go.

The stock front crossmember will not fit with this swap. Several companies have aftermarket crossmembers avaialble for the DA Integra. This one is a prototype from Hasport and will have mounts included for using the RSX or '03 Civic Si radiator.

There is no stock exhaust manifold that works with this swap so, a swap header is needed. The DC sports header that is designed for the EG Civic with K-series swaps happens to work just fine. A quick trip to the muffler shop is needed to finish the hook up after the rest of the installation is done.

Fuel lines for this swap are custom. Here is one way to do the setup. Fuel comes from the filter to the AEM fuel pressure regulator. The fuel then is routed to the AEM fuel rail while the excess fuel is bled of from the bottom of the regulator to the Integra return line. The larger black hose that is zip tied to the fuel line going to the fuel rail is the brake booster vacuum line. It runs from the intake manifold to the one-way valve on the brake booster.

Since we have a 5-speed, we got hold of a shifter and cables from a Base model RSX from salvage yard. There are a couple of ways to install them. Carcepts makes an awesome mount plate that allows you to mount them from the bottom to retain the stock look of the center console, but we opted to get down and dirty with a simple adapter plate that covers the stock opening and mounts the shifter on top. A hole then needs to be cut in the floor half way between the shifter and firewall to let the cables out.

As we said before, a '03 Civic Si radiator is used. Becuase of the proximity of the intake manifold to the radiator stock fans won't clear. Here you can see the pusher fan that has been attached to the radiator. The Hasport crossmember has the bottom mounts for the radiator. A couple of metal brackets we made to hold the top. Modified '03 Civic Si radiator hoses were used too.

Last, throttle cable, purge canister vacuum lines and speedometer cable are connected to the engine and we're almost ready. The cold-air intake is a prototype AEM unit for the EF with K-series swap. It fits rather nicely. Inside the cabin, the adapter harness is spliced into the Integra's ECU connectors so all the dash lights and gauges work correctly. Plug in the Hondata ECU, fill the transmission, engine, and radiator with the appropriate fluids and we are ready to rock.