JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
#251
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
Ok guys, I see that using a h22a wire harness is going to work but i am swapping it into my prelued s model with the f22. Is that wire harness going to work? How hard is this swap? anything different then swapping in an h22a4? I know I have to use the IM from an h22 or just go euro r or skunk2 but what else? crank sensor and knock sensors not needed? ill be running p28/s100
#252
Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
I am glad that there is this much information on the Blue Top available for people contemplating or stuck on installing this motor. Maybe this will help someone do alittle bit more homework before they purchase or install the motor.
I am in the process of installing my Blue Top it is bolted to a JDM H series trans. It has been a learning experience to say the least. I chose the blue top because i wanted to do something different i did my research on the power numbers and not all that went into the swap(really dumb). I am no expert nor am i claiming to be i just understand the basic's that go into the motor.
I swapped the crank pulley added the a/c and ps. I was not aware that the dizzy from the h23 had to be rewired to connect to the h22 harness. I opted to go with swapping the dizzy to OBD 2 adding a USDM oil pump with sensors. USDM balancer shafts. I have a chipped p28 from phearable.net, skunk 2 jumper harness, VAFC II and hopefully the right engine harness. I tried to connect the harness before swapping the oil pumps but i had to many that didnt connect to anything. I will be purchasing a IM from a 2000 base model. But even with all of this it still seems like when i start this motor its just going to have issues. It doesnt help the fact that when i removed the valve cover there was a **** load of sludge build up underneath. If there is anything i am missing please let me know.
I am in the process of installing my Blue Top it is bolted to a JDM H series trans. It has been a learning experience to say the least. I chose the blue top because i wanted to do something different i did my research on the power numbers and not all that went into the swap(really dumb). I am no expert nor am i claiming to be i just understand the basic's that go into the motor.
I swapped the crank pulley added the a/c and ps. I was not aware that the dizzy from the h23 had to be rewired to connect to the h22 harness. I opted to go with swapping the dizzy to OBD 2 adding a USDM oil pump with sensors. USDM balancer shafts. I have a chipped p28 from phearable.net, skunk 2 jumper harness, VAFC II and hopefully the right engine harness. I tried to connect the harness before swapping the oil pumps but i had to many that didnt connect to anything. I will be purchasing a IM from a 2000 base model. But even with all of this it still seems like when i start this motor its just going to have issues. It doesnt help the fact that when i removed the valve cover there was a **** load of sludge build up underneath. If there is anything i am missing please let me know.
#254
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
I just finished putting my motor in about 3 weeks ago but im having problems. I got the p28 chipped by handcommand but I still can't shift passed 3500 rpm's do I need to take it to a shop to be tuned? Im not sure...also im using a auto tensioner is it safe or do I need to convert it to manual tensioner?....I have the swap in a 5th gen sh, I used every part I had on my h22a4 block and switched them but its still not running right
#256
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
I just dyno'd my bolt on H23a today. 196hp, 159tq. Not bad for just bolt ons and a basemap lol.
#258
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
i wish i had time to tune it. They only let us get 3 runs @ school just to see what the car puts down, not to tune it. So no tune, but still made good power.
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
dynooooo, but thats after i get my stage 2 cammed head back from my cousin who is doing the valvejob and porting for me. i can rock 196 for now, no biggie lol.
#262
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
#263
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
im swapping in H23A Vtec Blue Top tomorrow in a 96 prelude and its obd2 but its has obd1 style injectors. can i use the h23a vtec injectors and just splice the wiring or get obd1 usdm h22 injectors?
#266
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
Hey all,
Just thought I'd share my experiences with ths engine so far ...
Head stamped with P13 (identical to H22A4)
Fitted Darton Racing International MID sleeves for H22A4 (bores kept @ 87mm)
Pauter 141.5mm rods, same specs as H23A1 but good for 1000hp!
Mahle PowerPak pistons (H22A4 spec, machined to sit flush with the deck)
Cometic H22A4 0.065" gasket on the way, will drop CR to 8.5:1
Skunk2 Pro 1+ Cams and Pro series valvetrain for H22A4
Will end up with distributorless ignition and coil on plug pencils
The engine didn't come with an ECU which is fine as I will be running standalone anyway.
Just thought I'd share my experiences with ths engine so far ...
Head stamped with P13 (identical to H22A4)
Fitted Darton Racing International MID sleeves for H22A4 (bores kept @ 87mm)
Pauter 141.5mm rods, same specs as H23A1 but good for 1000hp!
Mahle PowerPak pistons (H22A4 spec, machined to sit flush with the deck)
Cometic H22A4 0.065" gasket on the way, will drop CR to 8.5:1
Skunk2 Pro 1+ Cams and Pro series valvetrain for H22A4
Will end up with distributorless ignition and coil on plug pencils
The engine didn't come with an ECU which is fine as I will be running standalone anyway.
#268
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
What is the code stamped on your Bluetop's head? P13 or PDE? What engine are you swapping from? Check the code on that too ...
#270
Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
I don't know but what I do know is that I had a 2.3 4cy.and I put a h23a v tek and tha same tranny and it fit. I used the same wire harness stock from the old motor with the h and everything fits but the distributer had a pug that's 8 prono pug and the stock wire harness is 4 prono. Do I change the distributer or what ?
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
Sounds like you have an OBD2 distributor on the H23A VTEC with an internal coil. You can either buy an OBD2 to OBD1 distributor conversion harness (MSD make them), rewire it yourself, or change the distributor to an OBD1 with an external coil. You should be able to grab this off your old engine.
Have you given any thought to wiring in the VTEC pressure switch, IAB solenoid and knock sensor? What ECU are you going to run this with? You'll need a P13 at the very least and your current one is probably a P14. If you have access to the PDE from the H23A VTEC's donor car then you can use an ECU conversion harness there.
You'll also need to change your injectors over.
Have you given any thought to wiring in the VTEC pressure switch, IAB solenoid and knock sensor? What ECU are you going to run this with? You'll need a P13 at the very least and your current one is probably a P14. If you have access to the PDE from the H23A VTEC's donor car then you can use an ECU conversion harness there.
You'll also need to change your injectors over.
#272
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
Been trying to read as much as I can over this motor and the swap.
I supposedly have an h23a in my 94 prelude si. It was swapped in recently with roughly 30k miles on it. My stepdad dealt with the mechanic while i was out of the country, I came back to the car with some problems.
The block is stamped H23A however, below the stamp doesn't start with 200*** I think there was a 1 in there, it's hard to remember off the top of my head.
Also he used my old valve cover as he said the new one had a problem or something, so it's not the blue one but he said the mechanic "said" it was
I was scared to rev it high because of all the old problems however around 4.5k rpms it acted like it was about to redline.
There are tons of other problems with the car when I got it back, but those are small things compared to this. I can't see all the stamps that everybody is talking about, probably because it's in my car already.
I've never done a swap so I'm not 100% sure what to look for. Also I've searched extensively and there's not much out there about this motor.
I see that everybody is using the p28 or p72 and having it tuned? What else do I need to do to get it to run right?
The car was originally a h23a1 5 speed, as it still is.
Please give me any advice, I'm hating this situation and in a huge pitfall of money. I almost wanting to trash the car but I don't.
Also, I reside in Boise, I don't know of anywhere to get my car tuned and I'm currently deployed in Iraq so I don't have access to the car at the moment.
Thanks in advance
I supposedly have an h23a in my 94 prelude si. It was swapped in recently with roughly 30k miles on it. My stepdad dealt with the mechanic while i was out of the country, I came back to the car with some problems.
The block is stamped H23A however, below the stamp doesn't start with 200*** I think there was a 1 in there, it's hard to remember off the top of my head.
Also he used my old valve cover as he said the new one had a problem or something, so it's not the blue one but he said the mechanic "said" it was
I was scared to rev it high because of all the old problems however around 4.5k rpms it acted like it was about to redline.
There are tons of other problems with the car when I got it back, but those are small things compared to this. I can't see all the stamps that everybody is talking about, probably because it's in my car already.
I've never done a swap so I'm not 100% sure what to look for. Also I've searched extensively and there's not much out there about this motor.
I see that everybody is using the p28 or p72 and having it tuned? What else do I need to do to get it to run right?
The car was originally a h23a1 5 speed, as it still is.
Please give me any advice, I'm hating this situation and in a huge pitfall of money. I almost wanting to trash the car but I don't.
Also, I reside in Boise, I don't know of anywhere to get my car tuned and I'm currently deployed in Iraq so I don't have access to the car at the moment.
Thanks in advance
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
When you're unsure of what you have, have you tried taking pictures of the entire engine bay in detail to let us (more experienced) folk take a gander for ourselves? Or perhaps since you're deployed, have your father take a few pictures for us? (or to email to a friend to post up) ?
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Re: JDM H23A Vtec Blue Top Mystery Motor, True Facts, Questions?
anyone have any definitive info on gremlins? I'm looking at a 5th gen with an H23VTEC blue top in it, haven't seen it in person yet but the seller says the car's not running. To add to the mess it has a JRSC and the mechanic who worked on it hacked up the harness a bit to try to fix the plug'n'play JRSC management.
I have an extra Hondata S300 in a P72 to load a basemap on, was wondering if there's anything I should be wary of ahead of time. So far for the swap I will be looking at injectors, dizzy wiring/re-wiring, engine stamps/headstamps, and the harness. I don't want to fry my hondata or blow up his motor on accident.
I'm thinking after loading the basemap I would warm it up then run it to 6k to try to hear VTEC cross over. I know the basemap I have will rev to 8k, but with the 95mm stroke on what I presume to be old oil, it'd be a bit much for a car that is not mine yet.
I have an extra Hondata S300 in a P72 to load a basemap on, was wondering if there's anything I should be wary of ahead of time. So far for the swap I will be looking at injectors, dizzy wiring/re-wiring, engine stamps/headstamps, and the harness. I don't want to fry my hondata or blow up his motor on accident.
I'm thinking after loading the basemap I would warm it up then run it to 6k to try to hear VTEC cross over. I know the basemap I have will rev to 8k, but with the 95mm stroke on what I presume to be old oil, it'd be a bit much for a car that is not mine yet.