Need Guidence with build - Honda Prelude Forum

lude203 · 07-19-2011, 07:57 PM

ok this post is gonna be a little long but stay with me please...

so long story made as short as possible:

i have a 93' lude. had a JDM NONVTEC H23a in it..same thing as a H23a1 Supposedly. Spun a bearing in it due to no oil. so i took it apart and i have a H23a block, crank, rods, and pistons downstairs.

i swapped in a jdm h22. (not the type s just a regular jdm h22a) ... did something really dumb and basically got a little bit of sand in my oil (maybe like a teaspoons worth, if that much...)because of painting my valve cover... its a long story and i dont feel like explaining it.... anyway..

idk if this h22 is ruined but there was metal shavings all in the oil pan and stuck in the oil pickup and all that... i cleaned every oil passage i could and cleaned everything out and i plan on taking apart the motor tomorrow.. im assuming the metal shavings were bits and pieces of bearings perhaps and maybe even my cylinderwalls..

..... because it looks just like the shavings i found in my h23 when i spun a bearing...it never knocked... either when i found out there was sand in the oil. it was driven for about a total of 20 minutes when the oil light started blinking here and there so i could make it home.....

so....after talking to many many many people, they have all told me pretty much the same thing.. the motors pretty much scrap metal. so i was planning to take it apart tomorrow and over time get whichever block honed or whatever it is required to make it a useable block again. and use the h23a1 crank and rods with my jdm h22 pistons.
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now heres where i get confused.. theres a lot of misinformation all over the forums and the rest of the internet about how this will work and how this wont and 1000 other things about what it will do and what it wont do and ive been reading for days and im just left confused.

1.) what i understand about this combo is that using the h23 crank and rods with the jdm h22 pistons will make the pistons "stick out of the hole" 2mm BUT supposedly thats ok and there will be enough clearence and plenty of people have done them.... idk any insight on this one people? anyone done this?

2.) another concern is, even though i did a complete motor flush and cleaned the **** out of everything i could get my hands on... am i going to need a new oil pump or should i be ok? like there was some metal flakes in the strainer thing that goes to the oil pump but not much.... does a spun bearing usually mean new oil pump to?

3.) Aside from all of this.... if i were to actually go threw with doing this build, to my understanding i would have to:
get the block honed and cleaned. get the crank rebalanced(?), and get new piston rings and all new bearings and just reassemble everything along with the h22 head (and remove the oil control orifice if i use the h23a block.) is this correct or is there more to it in my situation?

thanks to anyone that can help me.. i need it lol

lude203 · 07-20-2011, 07:41 AM

anyone?? plz i need help with this lol

minilogoguy18 · 07-20-2011, 04:35 PM

There's a faq thread on honda-tech.com on the H23a1 vtec since I'm unsure of the piston being out of the hole.

Oil pump, you're gonna have to inspect it and see if it is within service limits, there's a section in the service manual on this.

Crank, yes, get it turned and have the bottom end balanced if you want it to be reliable, most everyone that has had a problem with this hybrid engine didn't balance the bottom end and spun bearings.

Hone, there's a section in the manual on this too, a hone isn't always necessary on FRM, if there aren't scratches deep enough to catch your finger nail or don't run the length of the bore then you're ok.

Rings, of course, you're pulling it apart anyway.

Every part you take off that has either a pressed in seal or rubber gasket needs to be replaced, you'll regret it otherwise especially if it's a seal behind the timing belt. Don't wanna ruin a t-belt by soaking it with oil. I'm sure I also don't have to tell you that you should of course change the t-belt, balance belt, water pump and the 5 oil seals in that area while you have it apart.

bouckarooo · 07-21-2011, 09:51 AM

Ok first off if there is scorign on your crank and it is in depth equal to the thickness of your finger nail, then that crank is messed. As for using the h23 cranlk and rods and then using the jdm h22 pistons, the pistons tops are different in compression.

As for the FRM cylinders, unless there is scoring or pitting, you can re use them. Now, some people say that a hoen is a must but that is not true. The frm sleeve compostion is far more aggresive that the pistons rings. If your rings are smooth and appear in good regard, then just re ring the pistona nd put them in. The sleeves will wear the rings to the point to where they will seal on the cylinder wall. A hone is only necessary if the cylinder walls are scratched, scored; in many cases all you neeed to do is rering and continue.

As for the sand in your block, well, that sand will do much damage, not just to the block but also the head. You will need to remove the vtec solenoid and the cams and all the ehad ocmponents and clean the piss out of the engine. Remove the oiling orifice in the center of the ehad and put new oring on t, clean the oiling jackets int he head out really well. The you will have to clean the block really good also, as if that sand gets caught int he balance shaft mains then you will again be up **** creek with low oil pressure. Something like this is devastating to an engine as the gouging and pitting form the sand can lead to unrepairable damage.

good luck

lude203 · 07-26-2011, 06:44 PM

ok so i took the block apart to find that 3 main bearings were bad and no rod bearings were damaged at all.

i was expecting to find my cylinders looking like #2 here in my old h23a

but i was VERY suprised to see the condition of the cylinders though.. i think they are good and dont need a hone but would like the opinion of someone else because ive never worked on a bottom end before... theres barely any scratches or scores an i cant fit my finger nail to catch any of them. heres some pics:

then i looked at the main journals and i was told by bouckarooo, i could not catch any scores with my fingernail....all seemed pretty smooth

i got a little scared how this one looked but then i wiped off the little bearing shreds and it looked like next picture.

so idk what do you guys think about this? think its ok to clean EVERYTHING , replace all rings/bearings/seals/gaskets and reassemble?

im also checking the condition of the oil pump according to the specs in the manual so hopefully thats ok... but please give me some insight on this please!... thanks.

**oil pump checked and meets specs according to manual.. just needs to be cleaned out as i did find a little bit of sand particles here and there**