OBD1 to OBD2 conversion!

I have owned my 99 civic ex coupe with a jdm gsr swap for about a year now. problem is i bought it without considering that it has a jdm OBD1 gsr motor in it and it can’t be inspected. as we all know ny inspects are gettin a lot tighter. So I’m tryin to convert it to obd2. I have a 96 usdm gsr ecu(obd2a), a moroso distributor for a 96-98 gsr, and fuel injectors from a 96 gsr. It looks that if i buy an obd2b shell to obd2a ecu conversion harness, then get the engine harness from a 96-98 gsr that everything will plug up. I have heard about problems with the cfk sensors in these conversions but i have not heard anything from people who live in NY with our laws. ANY advice/ help would be appreciated. thanks.

Well, I have already done what you are trying to do. You’ll definately have to replace the oil pump because the obd I pumps don’t even have the mount for the crank angle sensor. Other than that one sensor, I believe I had to swap out the plugs and switch up the wiring for the distributor and the alternator as well. Everything went smooth and it throws no codes with the obd II ecu.

id leave it obd1 and find yourself someone that can stick a sticker on

edit: andy stay out of my store…jk u shoulda waited till i got finished

yo thanks man. did u use the obd2a ecu and evrything? i’m just worried that i do all this work and still have problems. so your advice is definitely reassuring.

just go grease a grease monkey garage in the city

i was gonna try and pay someone to inspect it but im probably gonna sell it in a couple years so i want it to be legal. and troopers can scan your inspect now if u get pulled over and soon local cops will have the scanners too. i can just jump it back to obd1 if i want as long as this works.

if its a motor swap its not legal to begin with. you would need all paper work on motor and car, everything documented. and if its a jdm motor it has to have all the emissions on it. then you have to take it to be inspected to pass emmisions and you will get a new title and vin i think saying what motors in the car. thats how they have to do it in cali. everything has to be smog and carb legal. so in other words its illegal to begin with

na man i called the ny state dmv to make sure that it’s okay. they said the engine does not have to match the body of the car. long as it passes the inspection its fine. i’ve talked to a few people who have done this without problems i’m just tryin to troubleshoot before i get there.

ya and they probably answered what you asked. does the vins have to match up, the answer is no. but you do need the proper paper work for the motor to prove its not stolen on top of the emissions. sense its a jdm motor im willing to bet you dont have the paper work. im sure you didnt tell them what you were doing either so they probably assumed you had the paper work for the motor and that it was a usdm motor that would pass the emissions. i bet it would be a different story if u called the dmv and asked if it was ok to put a japanese domesitc market motor in you car that doesnt thae the same emissions as the usdm motors

case in point the car isnt legal. you can get around inspections. once they run your car and see its not the orginal motor and ecu for the car your goin to get shit for it. just switching back to obd 2 will not make it legal to pass

kevins right, legally you can not put an older engine in a newer car. atleast not without running it through emissions and shit. its a DOT thing, not a DMV thing.

kevin is right, but a normal shop will be able to inspect it because it won’t even be looked at.

As far as the ECU. I’m currently using my stock 99 SI computer which I believe is obd IIb if I remember correctly. I think I’m leaving something else out that I had to change but I can’t think of it off the top of my head, but if I do I’ll be sure to post about it.

If you need any help with anything gimme a call. I’m usually free later at night mainly after 7ish and I stay up super late typically. I’d be happy to lend a hand if you wanna throw me a little $$ providing I actually do something worthwhile. If you just have a small snag and you’re not to far away I could prolly swing by and check it out for free. 316-8454

I went through the same thing but I said to hell with OBDII. My motor is newer than the car, but JDM, and through 2000, their motors weren’t OBDII. Since I needed the tuneability of a chipped ecu, I figured I would just find a “work around” for the inspection.

I have a brand new Honda OEM OBDII B series old pump if you need it - pm me.

thanks man i’ll def get at you with some questions once i get all the parts together.

hey anyone else who has had to do this conversion please let me know how it went and if u hit any specific road blocks. i’m just tryin to get everything together before i do this so it goes smoothly. thanks.