I have just about finished a JDM H22 swap into a 1992 S Model Prelude for a friend. I wanted to share a few notes with you guys concerning the swap.
The write up by red92s is very good, and it's a very good guide to follow. Let me add a few points, though.
The S model Prelude A/C and alternator pulleys use a 5 rib belt. The H22 A/C and alternator pulleys use a 6 rib belt. I read a few posts on this board that many are just running a 5 rib belt on the H22 pulley. I think that's probably okay, but I did some research and the S crank pulley is the same as the H23 crank pulley, which some others have used in their JDM swap without problems. I decided to use his S pulley on the H22 engine. One reason is the 6 rib vs. 5 rib thing, the other reason is that his crank pulley was damaged either in shipping or when he ordered it (more on that later).
I used a 5Gen coil mount for his coil, and I followed the instructions written by red92s to convert the distributor to an external coil. It worked like a charm. The only thing you have to do is tap an empty hole in the thermostat housing to accept a bolt. Since it's aluminum, it's very easy to do. Everything lines up perfectly. This causes one tiny problem, however. The water outlet on the top of the thermostat housing is straight, not bent 90 degrees like they are on the USDM H22 engines. This makes using the USDM coolant hose impossible. What I ended up using is 5/16" high pressure hose routed around the coil. It's not pretty, but it gets the job done.
I sourced a 4Gen VTEC engine harness so that we didn't to mess with the stock harness. It fits like a glove, and works very well. This way the VTEC wiring was included in the harness, and it all looks stock. I took some connectors and pins off of the JDM harness and off of an Accord harness I had laying around to modify the ECU harness for the additional pins in the 4Gen VTEC engine harness. This way, I didn't have to make a sub-harness, I just plugged the pins into the ECU harness (all of the corresponding pins in the ECU harness were blank, obviously). The VTEC wire has it's own plug, so I had to source a matching plug, which was easy. So, there are no non-Honda connectors in the engine bay, and all the wiring was integrated with the stock wiring.
For the ECU connectors, the pins ARE different between the 5Gen and 4Gen connectors. I have a ton of 5Gen type pins here, and I tried them in the 4Gen connectors. No go. I went to a local salvage yard and picked up a few sets of OBD1 connectors and some engine harness connectors. Well worth the trip. Pulling the pins out of the connectors is a bit tricky. I have an AMP tool that is made to do this, but it's make for the 5Gen type connectors. I did get it to work on the 4Gen connectors, though. You have to unfold the wire locks on the rear of the connector. Then insert the tool right above the pin. You should feel the clip. Don't press too hard, just hard enough to engage the clip, then use the tool as a level to push the clip up. When you do this, pull on the wire, and it will come out. I then soldered in the wiring I needed and inserted the pins into the ECU harness. Worked like a charm.
He ordered the motor from HMotorsOnline. Not a bad place to shop, but I was very surprised at the condition of the engine and tranny when it arrived. It was quite dirty, it had been sprayed down with some type of cleaner that was quite greasy. Obviously to make the engine look better. Too bad they didn't finish the cleaning job.
First thing we noticed is that the TPS was toast. The crank pulley also had a nice chip in it, as did the PS pump pulley. The PS pulley was also wacked out of alignment. The alternator had some serious corrosion on it, so we ditched the idea of using it. We also tossed the PS pump. I'd really prefer that they not send those with the engine, as the PS pump was still full of fluid.
After getting the engine and transmission separated, I put the engine up on a stand. First thing I noticed is that the clutch was history. It had been worn down to the rivets! So we tossed that and the pressure plate. They were replaced by an Exedy organic clutch kit. The flywheel was usable, but it needed a serious cleaning, as did the clutch housing and the back of the engine. The axle seals were in very poor shape. In fact most of the exterior seals on the engine showed some signs of dry rot. I recommended that we replace all the seals, and that's what I did. Some of the water fittings also showed some signs of corrosion, so I cleaned them up.
In the process of doing all of this, I found out that the engine was completely FULL of fluids. The transmission was full of tranny fluid and the engine was full of oil! I couldn't believe that they shipped it like that.
The top end looked pretty good, and I didn't pull the head so I couldn't check that part out. I did pull the oil pan, and from what I could tell everything looked okay.
Since the exterior seals were in such poor shape, here's what I ended up replacing:
timing belt
balancer belt
autotensioner
spark plugs
plug wires
distibutor cap and rotor
thermostat
thermostat housing o-ring
distributor o-ring
rear cylinder head seal
both cam seals
valve cover seal
spark plug valve cover seals
valve cover stud seals
front and rear main seals
both balancer shaft seals
exhaust gasket
intake manifold gasket
injector o-rings
VTEC screen and gasket
water pump
water pump and thermostat housing o-rings (the ones that go in the metal tube between the water pump and thermostat housing)
oil cooler hoses
heater hoses
all top end coolant lines
all top end vacuum lines
PCV valve
PCV valve grommet
driveshaft seals
accessory belts
And I'm sure there's more!
Anyway, HMO is okay in my opinion, but the engine was NOT in "just drop it in" shape, that's for sure. Many of the seals would have surely leaked, and the rear main was even damaged some.
HMO also cut the exhaust manifold right in front of the O2 sensor, so I used his S model O2 sensor, and I spliced on the correct connector.
He replaced the header with an EBay $90 header. It fits just fine, and looks nice. Performance wise, I have no idea. It was missing the groove for the o-ring gasket between the header and the cat. I ended up having to use high temp copper liquid gasket. That works just fine, but it would have been nice to use the stock gasket.
Since the exterior seals were in such poor shape, here's what I ended up replacing:
timing belt
balancer belt
autotensioner
spark plugs
plug wires
distibutor cap and rotor
thermostat
thermostat housing o-ring
distributor o-ring
rear cylinder head seal
both cam seals
valve cover seal
spark plug valve cover seals
valve cover stud seals
front and rear main seals
both balancer shaft seals
exhaust gasket
intake manifold gasket
injector o-rings
VTEC screen and gasket
water pump
water pump and thermostat housing o-rings (the ones that go in the metal tube between the water pump and thermostat housing)
oil cooler hoses
heater hoses
all top end coolant lines
all top end vacuum lines
PCV valve
PCV valve grommet
driveshaft seals
accessory belts
And I'm sure there's more!
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haha, i didnt replace any of that stuff. I did the plugs later on, and wires. Ohh i did do the cap and rotor, but that was kinda neccessary.
As for the wiring, i just ripped apart the jdm Harness and took the wires and connectors i needed for it.
Hmm, i didnt have to tap any holes, and mine was drop in, seriously, even my tps and secondary box was good. If i remember correctly, i had it in in one day the second time, all by myself.
__________________
AIM:ISUBIEXI
S/SI/Vtec Hybrid. RS*R Header, JDM downpipe, Custom Downpipe back 2.25 Exhaust, Intake, ""Mugen"" Programmed p13, No balancer belt, no AC, Fidanza Flywheel, ACT clutch, SI trans, Power Slot rotors, SkunkII Coilovers, Enki Rims.
Originally posted by [SUB[EX] haha, i didnt replace any of that stuff. I did the plugs later on, and wires. Ohh i did do the cap and rotor, but that was kinda neccessary.
As for the wiring, i just ripped apart the jdm Harness and took the wires and connectors i needed for it.
Hmm, i didnt have to tap any holes, and mine was drop in, seriously, even my tps and secondary box was good. If i remember correctly, i had it in in one day the second time, all by myself.
Well, maybe it should have occured to you that perhaps your engine was in better shape. This engine was in pretty rough shape. There was obvious dry rot on the seals, and the timing belt was very worn.
I'm not a "just toss the parts on and hope for the best" kind of guy, I actually looked over everything on the engine, as I didn't want to make repairs to fix a minor problem once the engine was installed.
As for tapping holes, perhaps you used a different mount, or you just used two bolts instead of three for the coil mount.
I'm happy for you since you got the swap done in one day, I'm sure I could do it as well in one day now that I know exactly what needs to be done (assuming the engine and tranny are in very good shape). It always takes longer the first time, especially if you want to do it right, and you wait for the right parts or tools to come in instead of half-a$$ing something to get it to work. Since I took my time and made sure it was done right (I cross checked everything with a 4Gen helm's manual), the engine started right when I cranked it over. I did get a check engine light, but it was because I didn't plug in the TPS after I had disconnected it to install some of the coolant lines. Once I reconnected the TPS, the check engine light went away. I drove it for a few miles right after it warmed up and I checked everything else. It worked beautifully.
I used a separate harness because we found one very cheap, and it was easier to wire that way. The entire harness looks completely stock, even the distributor re-wire that I had to do to convert the JDM distributor to an external coil looks like stock.
nice
Yea my engine was in nice shape, It was originally an auto. It was a 92 but all the seals were looking good, and the timing belt was also looking really good. I went from an S also, and didnt have a decent place to mount the coil, so its mounted off the starter bolts.
My first swap took me one day to pull then i worked on it on and off for about 3 days putting it in, but unfortunately it had bad bearings and had to redo it. what a pain. But since then its been running good, and i drive it hard.
__________________
AIM:ISUBIEXI
S/SI/Vtec Hybrid. RS*R Header, JDM downpipe, Custom Downpipe back 2.25 Exhaust, Intake, ""Mugen"" Programmed p13, No balancer belt, no AC, Fidanza Flywheel, ACT clutch, SI trans, Power Slot rotors, SkunkII Coilovers, Enki Rims.
I have a question for you[71dsp]. How did you remove the old front main seal. I tried taking mine out but seemed like it was fused to its metal cavity. Did you cut it out then pick out the pieces, or what...
I used a combination of straight, angled, hooked picks to get it out. It came out relatively easy. The rear main seal was much, much harder in comparison.
i got my motor from hmotors and the had the tps of and to the side so it wouldnt brake and all my belts and seals looked brand new i also thought it was kinda wierd how it was completly full of fluids but my was in pretty much drop in shape.
Same here. However, I did pick go to their warehouse and pick out the engine I wanted. It got cleaned on the day between I picked it out and picked it up. The TPS came in a separate envelope so it was fine. Although it was a great looking engine, I did have some parts replaced just because the engine was out and I wasn't being charged labor over the price my mechanic agreed to do the swap for me, which was nice.
Things I had done/replaced:
- OEM Clutch and Resurfaced Flywheel
- Cam Seals
- Oil Pan Gasket
- Valve Cover Gaskets
- Oil Cooler Gasket
- Rear Main Seal
- Front Engine Mount (old one was bad, rest were fine)
- H23 Manual Tensioner Conversion
- New Belts (Timing and Balancer included), Fluids, and Spark Plugs
- PCV Valve
- PCV -> IM hose
- IM + TB Coolant Hoses
I used the internal coil distributor that came with the engine as it was in good shape and works just fine.
Overall, was very pleased with my HMotorsOnline experience, but as I said, I didn't have shipping involved. My engine came with no oil, but there was a film of oil in the head so I assume they drained it. I didn't get the transmission, so I can't say whether or not it had fluid inside.
I'm not a "just toss the parts on and hope for the best" kind of guy, I actually looked over everything on the engine, as I didn't want to make repairs to fix a minor problem once the engine was installed.
Me too. I just got my H22 from Hmotors about 10 days ago and I had transmission and engine oil in my motor. Not much tranny oil, but the engine had a full serving of oil. Honestly, even though I wouldn't, I could have dropped it in and started it (of course I only discovered this once I took everything apart). The only real things that were bad that absolutely needed replacement were the alternator & power steering belts. The o-rings everywhere in the engine still had their 'roundness' and weren't flattened with heat/age yet.
The only things I didn't change were the piston rings, main/rod bearings and thrust washer. Every other gasket/seal I replaced. All I have to do is adjust the valve lash & put in a new clutch. Hoping to drop it in within the next couple of weeks...
But before I do I have a couple questions for you and/or any other JDM H22 swappers before I do that though... On my USDM H22 intake manifold, I have this black vacuum box connected on the bottom side of my intake manifold, this black box is not present on my JDM intake manifold. Did yours come with this? (Part #12 below)
Also, Part #11 or #10 seems to be on the JDM intake manifold, but it is located on the fuel rail instead of the bottom of the manifold (I don't know which it is). I believe the connector that goes to this will not be long enough to reach it. If it is the same part, did you guys just relocated it or extend the wires?
And third, Part #24 (starter air valve) is not on the JDM manifold as well. Did you guys swap this from your USDM manifolds? Any insight to these would be greatly appreciated.
I did not swap the Starting Air Valve. Just left the oem blockoff plate as it is on the JDM manifold and capped the unused vacuum nipple on the intake pipe and everything's been fine. As for the #12 box and related parts, I cannot recall at the moment. Will take a look tomorrow.
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after I had disconnected it to install some of the coolant lines. Once I reconnected the TPS, the check engine light went away. I drove it for a few miles right after it warmed up and I checked everything else. It worked beautifully.
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