96 and 97 V-tec into 94 and 95 V-tec Accord
 

Ok i want to make sure i understand this because i bought a engine from a salvage yard for a 95 honda accord ex(v-tec) and didnt no there was a differance with the 96 and 97 honda accord v-tec had the engine put in and they couldnt get it to run so i have been looking over things and saw this plug which reading some of the other posting found it to be the cranksensor unpluged so what im trying to see if i use the distributor from the 95 i dont have to worry about the cranksensor plug? are do i have to change something else? also i seem to be getting fuel and fire but no start?

It's not clear.
What year is your car?
What year is the engine you just got?
Which ECU are you using? (94 or 96?)

If you didn't get the ECU to match the junkyard engine, then I'd turn the engine into whatever year to match your car. Use the distributor from your old engine.

The car is a 1995 accord ex im using the same computer from the 95 the engine must be a 96 or 97 because it has that crank sensor plug,so you saying if i use the distributor and ecu from the 1995 engine i dont have to worry about the crank sensor plug?

That is correct

That's right.

I was just confused which way the swap was going.

Anyone else wanting to put a '95 engine into a '97 car would want to install that crankshaft sensor onto the '95 engine. You can simply ignore it on yours. Tie up the wiring harness so it doesn't get caught in the belts? Remove the sensor & sell it?

I'm not sure about this next bit... When you need to change your timing belts, you might want to ask for a '97 belt. It might be different to accomodate the extra pulser ring for that sensor.

thanks guys wish me luck!

I have just the opposite scenario, a 97 ex car and found a complete 95 ex donor car cheap. To use the 95 engine all I have to do is take the sensor from the 97 and bolt it on and plug it up under the timing cover? Are there any other differences? I've looked elsewhere but this is the first info I've found on this subject, everything else says don't do it that it won't work!!!

I think you have to swap oil pumps. The oil pump covers a large part of the front of the engine, and the 95 oil pump doesn't have the tabs & holes for physically mounting that sensor.

Then to make that sensor work, you need to use the 97 sprockets & stuff on the crankshaft. They're different because of the sensor.

You'll also want to use your 97 distributor.

Take a look at any & all other sensors, check for differences. But I think the others are OK.

Where are you located? If you're in California, I think there's problems with that & you aren't allowed to use the engine from an older model-year.

I'm in Missouri. I guess the oil pans have to come off, is it pretty straight forward after that? I have a 97 lx parts car but I guess it's probably a lot work to make that engine work? I don't care about performance, I just need a running car.

I don't know whether the 97 LX vs. 97 EX have the same engine?? If they do, then that might be a better choice. Of course it really depends on which engine is in better shape.

I don't know about the oil pan. The bottom of the oil pump seals against the pan, so removing the oil pan might make it easier to swap the oil pumps.

Or do you wire the OBD-I dist to the OBD-II ECU?

Other than the lx not being vtec i've read that they are the same but can I change ecu with out changing engine harness?

Now I'm getting confused......you started with a 97 EX and a 95 EX engine. Now it looks like you have a 97 EX and a 97 LX engine. Me the EX to EX would have been the easy one.

I'll have to see if I can find the pinouts for the ecu on the ex to lx and see if it is just a matter of changing the ECU or if wires have to be moved.....a good place for things like this: pgmfi.org • Index page

I don't know whether the 97 LX was the same engine (VTEC) as the 97 EX. If it's not, then I'd do EX to EX. But you'll have to be concerned about OBD1 vs. OBD2.

Sorry for the confusion. I have the opportunity to buy a 95 ex parts car, I have a 97 lx parts car already thats wrecked. I hear of people adding vtec (especially on civics) but not usually the other way around. That's why I thought buying the 95 ex would be a better way to go. I don't care about the hp or performance difference between vtec or non vtec I just need a car that gets me where I need to go.

So I take it the 97 LX is non-VTEC? That was my confusion. In later years the LX was VTEC, so I figured if your 97 LX was VTEC then it would have been a direct swap.

SO...
Now it's between 95 EX or 97 LX as the donor. I would've thought the simplest way is to use the 97 LX but you should use the 97 LX ECM to match the engine.

If you want to keep VTEC, then use the 95 EX but swap over all the engine sensors from your 97 EX. That way you don't have to change your car's wiring harness over to OBD-1.

Yes, the lx is non vtec. Can I keep the original harness in my car and just leave the plug for vtec unhooked? I know I would need to change ECM from the lx but was concerned the harness wouldn't work. Thanks for the replies.

Yes, I'm pretty sure you can do that. In fact, you might be able to sell the engine harness from the EX engine to someone who wants to swap a VTEC into their LX.