97_Built

I've come to a conclusion on this build. After giving myself ample time to think over my options, I've decided to take the prelude in a new direction. Several factors are in play here, some of which I've not mentioned in this thread. One I have with this car is it's reliability. I know that I could only need $400 to get this prelude build back on track, but this is now the third major issue I've had with it since I bought it 3 years ago. It's become one hell of a stressful situation keeping this car on the road, and every issue that arises, especially one that involves machine work, gets the whole family worked up. All I really needed was to have the prelude running for at least a year just to cool things down and feel better about the car. But this is the third major malfunction, three engines later, and I've relied on luck for far too long. After three huge unfortunate and unlucky engine problems, I think it's time to let this go.
Another big factor is if I keep this major build going, I'll end up spending at least another 5k on upgrades, including one hell of a suspension and turbo system. That means that I'll have spent over 15k in just upgrades alone. This is far too much $$$ than I had intended on dumping into the car.
I'm also in a position in my family, as a father and husband, where the more important thing is to have reliable means of transportation to and from work. And if my luck with this car is preventing that, than I have to put a stop to it.
However, the main reason why I'm decided to go this route is because we're trying to qualify for a home loan. We've located a house that we fell in love with and it would be amazing if we had the 3.5% down payment needed to purchase it. And $400 that the prelude needs, sounds much more useful when going towards a new home. My wife's family has agreed to lend us the money to use as the down payment, but they will need to get paid back as soon as possible. There's only one way that we could come up with that kind of cash, that quickly.
I know it sounds crazy, after all the work we've done. But I've had the worst run of luck with this car, and it's costing me a fortune. I've decided to remove this built engine from the prelude, and replace it with a stock H22. In the next few days, I'll be taking apart the block, and selling it in pieces, unless someone is interested in picking up where I left off. Here is the list...

H22A4 Block
Sleeved and machined by Race Engine Development.
Cryo-treated Darton MID race sleeves, bored to 89.5mm (2.3 liter).
All paperwork included. Only about 1200 miles of use.
Very clean, and has lots of potential for high boost applications.
If you have any questions or concerns about the block, and I cannot be of assistance, contact Steve at Race Engine Development. Check out his website at http://www.raceenginedevelopment.com...4927/index.htm. Tell him that Mike Bloodgood sent you. He's extremely knowledgeable and very willing to help.

Wiseco 9:1 pistons
89.5mm bore. Only 4000 miles on these babies. Steve at R.E.D. checked these out and they have proper clearances with the wrist pins. Great condition, and would also be great for turbo applications.

Crower Billet I-beam rods.
These are serious rods that can withstand very high levels of stress under boost. These run for about $220/rod new. They too have about 4000 miles. Three are in perfect condition and one suffered scorching from the spun bearings. The cap seems to be in really good condition, but the rod itself will need to be worked back to a smooth surface, at the least. Best thing to do would be to send the scorched rod to Crower and have them evaluate the damage. Most likely, they should be able to machine the rod to be used once again.

H22A4 Crank
Has the larger 55mm mains (1998-2001)
Great condition other than the #4 rod journal that needs to be micro-polished.

OBX custom made aluminum oil pan
Has a sump that enables the engine to have a larger oil capacity of 6.5 quarts. The sump is also towards the back side of the block, which allows for better ground clearance. Also has built in oil fittings for turbo applications.

ARP fittings
Includes all head and main studs, nuts and washers. I think I have an extra complete set of head nuts and washers as well.

There may be more, but these parts are what I'm selling so far. I'll clean up the parts and take some really nice pictures to post up on a for sale thread, but if anyone want's to shoot me an offer, go ahead on here. The quicker I can sell these parts, the sooner we can finally have a house of our own. I hope that I didn't disappoint too many members on here, but hopefully you guys can understand the situation I'm in now. Family should always come first, and this has become far too much of a money pit.

97_Built

This past weekend I decided to take advantage of the free time I had and spent all Saturday evening removing parts from the engine bay and cleaning them up for the sale. I removed the block, transmission, header, battery, and many other parts. I then separated the block from the transmission and concentrated on completely stripping down the block. Off came the pump, rear plate, crank, and the three remaining pistons. When I began cleaning the block, I got a chance to inspect the cylinders much closer. There was a fine layer of surface rust on the #4 sleeve that covered the "compression" area and extended about an inch deep, past where the piston rings would sit at top dead center. So the head gasket leak has been confirmed, however, the oil did not have a milky look or consistency to it when I drained it out.
In conclusion, it appears at first that the head gasket would have been the reason why the #4 cylinder rod bearings spun. But the lack of any evidence of coolant in the oil, and the scorched lobes on the exhaust cam lead me to believe that the oil pressure is the ultimate reason. It's possible that the head gasket may have helped contribute to the bearing failure, but it's hard to say.
So, after a little bit of brake cleaner and some elbow grease, I cleaned up the light surface rust on the block and applied a thin layer of oil to the sleeves to prevent them from rusting anymore. Next, I cleaned the carbon off of the piston tops and continued with what parts were remaining. Here are the pictures I took, right after all the work that night...






























All of the above parts are for sale. The OBX oil pan and ARP fittings are not listed because they have been spoken for already. The link to the for sale thread is here: http://hondamarketplace.com/showthread.php?t=2956308.
I'm really leaning toward selling the Endyn head with the valve train. It would be hard to see it go though. I've contemplated using the Endyn head on the new engine but I'm thinking that I should keep internal mods to a minimum just to ensure that the car remains as a reliable daily driver. If anyone is interested in the head, shoot me a pm. I haven't made a final decision, but like I said, I may just keep the next engine stock.
Man, it sure is hard to see this car stripped down again. Especially after it running for less than a month.

01sh22

Hi, I just read this thread from beginning to end and just wanted to say thanks for the work you put in documenting the process, I'm sorry to hear the way things turned out. I hope to start building my H22 soon. You should get a TL they're sexy as hell in my opinion.

01sh22

Oh, I read your keeping the prelude, just swapping to a stock motor. cool, hope it works out

97_Built

No problem on the documenting part. I figured that there would be other H22 builders that would appreciate any knowledge that I might be able to offer throughout my build. And with the way things turned out, I think it was God's way of telling me to put a halt to all of the extensive modifications and stick with whats important, which is having reliable transpotation.

I hope it works too. Because if it doesn't I'll turn the prelude into a pretty little bon fire.

97_Built

The build continues!!!

I just ordered my H23 VTEC from hmotorsonline. It should arrive by next Thurs. or Fri.
Then it's time for the Prelude to run once more. But this time, with 10.8:1 compression while retaining VTEC and the 2.3 displacement.

Hidenplanvew

did you have the balancers installed (or hat ever there called to keep vibration down) Sometimes not having them will actually rob oil pressure and cause Num 4 piston to spin the rod bearing.

Sorry to hear about it tho, Im getting ready to kick off my h22 build and hope you enjoy you H23

97_Built

Well, I never installed them because the block came with the balancer shaft removal kit already finished. All of the oil ports for the shafts have been sealed.

What kind of build are you starting?

I'll have fun with the new engine. It'll only have a hair more horsepower and torque over the USDM but peak torque will kick in a lil earlier. And with the new fuel system, intake and exhaust, I hope to see a few more horsies show up on the dyno.

Blue94Accord

Damn man. I have followed this build from the beginning and just got caught up from the last few months. Sorry to hear about everything going on. Ive been at the exact cross road about 3 weeks ago. Was planning on selling my built motor and turbo setup and buying a stock H and having a reliable car for at least a year.
But after thinking about it for a few days I decided to go all out for the final run. Im young, im only gunna be able to do this once in my life. I plan on hitting 500hp within a month or 2. and after that, im done. I need a reliable car too

xToxicCypher

Very nice..

mot3020

I propose a similar setup, good work. ;-)

preludeworld323

want to know if it was hard and if it coast alot of $and can u be spacific on what u did to it thanks

Ludelife615

I have a 01 prelude automatic with an h22a4 what would I need to turbo it just wondering