Well it seems like its definitely the pump. If I rev up the engine to at least 1500 the noise goes away. I want to try out adding washers to the pump and see if that adds a little pressure and resolves the issue. That pump has at least 200,000 miles on it. Worst case ill just order a new pump when I have some cash. I think ill try to pull the power steering High pressure line from the Accord before I pull the prelude in the garage. Maybe ill start things today.

One problem I have at the moment is that I have pretty much run out of garage space.

 

I went ahead and ordered a rebuild kit for the power steering pump. Was watching some Eric the Car guy and was inspired to do a rebuild. I think ill still add an extra washer to the spring as well just for good measure. The rebuild kit it $10.

 

Ran out of Excuses today and I went ahead and got started. Took me about 3 hours to get the engine out. Things went really smooth. Only real issue is that I broke the plastic nipple off the power steering reservoir. Ill just grab the one from the accord and pick up another one later. No biggie I need to strip the Engine and move everything over to the H23. I think ill try to make some time to clean the engine bay, I have found a handful of misc parts around the engine bay, broken rotor, extra bolts, rubber bits. lol.

I did find something interesting, the transmission has a vacuum line on it... I think I accidentally pulled it off a few months back. I wonder what it does and I wonder if it has something to do with the shifting issue.







If anyone wants me to write up the removal process I can do it.

 

Made some progress.

First thing I decided to do was remove the automatic shifter cables. That was a mistake.. Starting the day under the car got me super dirty so the rest of the time I was working I was a mess. 2 nuts holding the shield and 3 bolting the cable and mount. I really wanted to get he shifter installed but I was too dirty to get inside the car, that will be on the top of my list tomorrow. Just seeing the manual shifter installed will make it all worth it.
Intake and wiring harness has been moved over. The harness is a bit brittle and I broke of the vtec plug. I was not sure which oil pan and oil pickup to use but after I got them both off they were identical.

Found a few oddities.
-Broken Gaskets with silicone filling the gaps on the balancer shaft seal.
-Front balance Shaft gear was off, the tab was broken and the belt was shredded and sitting inside. I have some pics ill post later
I thought the balance shaft was not working, near high RPM I would get this vibration that reminded me of not running a balance belt.
-Tons of silicone in the oil pickup, someone had put too much on and it was in the oil
-Rear motor mount only one bolt was still in.... Explains some of the vibration with the other mount broken.
-Everything was extremely dirty, I spend a good 30 minutes cleaning the AC mount. I still need to clean the oil pump

Nothing too exciting tho.

Hopefully ill have this back on the road by wed.

 

Spent 3 hours cleaning the Oil pump. Looks new now. One of the gaskets I had ordered is now missing and i needed an additional seal. Also the Crankshaft seal and front balancer seals. I ordered everything from Honda and It is supposed to be available tomorrow morning. So I didn't really make too much progress.

I did finally head back out and get the automatic shifter assembly and cables out. I installed the new shifter. I need to get the new cables routed and installed and that will be a messy project unfortunately.

One interesting thing.... The automatic shifter, still felt like it was filled with honey after removing it. Must really just be filled up with coffee and soda. That was one of the major worries I had and one of the reasons why I wanted to do the swap. That could have been fixed in like 20 minutes and no $$. Ohh well, I really wanted to swap it anyway. haha

I picked up oil and coolant. I just need some synchromesh and I will have everything I need.

I also picked up a second wooden dolly so I can set the second engine down, that way I can move things around.

I should have spent some time cleaning the engine bay but I just didn't get around to it.

 

Got the new Seals/gaskets installed on the oil pump. Also while I was picking up the bits from Honda the Honda MTF pretty much jumped off the shelf to me so I went ahead and got that instead of the syncromesh. Guess I should try to get some of this crap completed today.

 

Got the engine pretty much ready to drop in.
Oil pump took some time, just getting everything lined up. I put hondabond around the oil pump but when I went to put it on I realized that I needed to take the pan off first, so it was a rush to get the engine on the cherry picker and get the pan off before the silicone dried. I was a little worried about the small o-ring on the back of the oil pump, I did end up putting some silicone on it hoping it would stay in place. I don't really have any way to tell if it stayed, I think its good but I'm not sure how to really tell. I had planned to add a washer to the spring in the oil pump to increase the oil pressure a tad but I didn't realize that it was a hex bolt under the oil pan and not the one outside.... Darnit. My mistake, hopefully the pump works without any issue or I may have to drop the pan later on.

Timing is done as well as balancer belt. Manifold with thermal gasket and wiring harness is installed.

Spent quite a bit of time putting the H22a4 together as well so I could move it out of the way and not lose anything. Put on a Oil pan gasket, I was a little worried since there was discussion about not using a gasket on JDM motors but it went fine, it did not have those little bumps on the pan for keeping the gasket in place but I just took my time and made sure all of the pan bolts lines up with the gasket and it was good to go.

I did get a little distracted with the valve cover bolts/studs. I bought a "dress up" kit for the h22 that I had installed, when I pulled it off the upper O-rings looked a little beat. I had also ordered a b-series kit that made the hardware flush to the valve cover. I knew only a few were the same size but I decided to check it out. What I found was that the 3 short inner studs were a perfect fit. The (5)6 outer ones did not, as expected. But what I did find is that there are the short studs but there were also a second set of short studs with a small thread pitch that matched up with the other small studs. So if you connect those 2 together its a perfect for the other studs. I was pretty happy about that, so if I ordered a second b-series kit I could piece together a kit that works for the H22's. I did run into an issue... The caps don't fit on the smaller upper studs. Without those caps it wont seal properly. I am going to try a few things possibly just reaming out the caps. Ill take some pics once I get it figured out.

Well getting distracted on a side project is slowing me down. I wanted to have the car on the road today so I should just work on that later. We will see. I have some pics but have not had the energy to edit them and upload.

 

Engine is in with 3 mounts.

Got the valve cover on with the stock hardware, I ordered some reamer bits so I can work on adapting the b-series flush mount kit, ill change those out when my new billet cam seal comes in. I still need to order another b-series kit so I have enough bits to complete the install.
Mounted the shift cables... that was a PITA..... took me more than an hour just for those 2 bolts, working above the exhaust and heat shield under the can on jack stands was a nightmare... I just could not get them lined up. I tried to get the mid mount for the cables working but it just wasn't happening so I said f-it. Don't need it.

Cleaned the engine bay with some royal purple, its not perfect but much better. Removed the Automatic transmission oil cooler.

Lifted the engine and attempted to get in in but since I didn't set it up at an angle, transmission lower I couldn't clear the AC lines, had to take it out, adjust it and do it again. Second time things went pretty smoothly, I was not really sure how to route the shift cables, I was struggling with them a bit but they should be ok. Got the Transmission mount installed, then the driver side, I attempted to do the rear but it was nowhere close to lining up. Attempted to move the engine in a position that would work with no luck. I'm using the mount that on the Accord, I thought it would work. Ill have to research that one. I installed the front mount, I put in my energy suspension inserts since the front mount rubber is broken. It took a bit of work to get things lined up. Called it a day after that.

Need to research the rear mount, its going to be a huge pain to change out, I think ill try to get the car higher to get some working space.

 

Here are the pics I have been slacking at adding,
Front Balance Shaft pulley found off, I kinda expected it from the vibration I was getting at certain rpms
Crusty with destroyed belt.
3 hours of cleaning later, same pump from previous picture.
All buttoned up, ill install the covers sometime down the line. I like to leave them off in case I need double check the timing marks or change the tension on the belts.
Engine in the car with 3 mounts.

 

I guess I should have used the old rear engine mount... I don't know why I didn't swap it. dummy. I didn't notice anything in the 5 speed conversion threads but that because they didn't need to swap it. I'm a dummy.

Ill clean the pool or royal purple from under the car tomorrow and get things changed out. I think ill build a little harness to connect the reverse switch and bypass for the automatic park start cut circuit.

 

I love the way she's coming together! Mine is currently in pieces also haha


**EDIT** I haven't been following this since you started; I only started browsing this section again a couple of weeks ago. I meant to ask... is this still a flip project? Or are you fixing it to keep and enjoy?

 

Just a note, the car has only been the garage 5 days. I have wasted a few days not really working on things and wasted more time over cleaning things. I feel the swap is moving forward pretty quickly considering I am doing it alone in a cramped space while trying to not burn myself out. I would say.. with a little extra space and not doing something silly like swapping the oil pump this could have been completed in 2 days. I could have swapped things over as they were and rewired but its not the way I wanted to go on this one.

I guess the simple answer is YES. I do enjoy this car and have no problem keeping it. I will post it for sale again once I have ironed out the kinks of the swap/manual trans. This was originally going to be a quick flip but I never really got any serious buyers. I think anyone looking for a cheaper car would just get a cheap civic or accord and anyone that wants a "sports" car wants a manual. I think the manual transmission and low mileage engine should add value to the sale. If not... it adds value to my enjoyment driving it. haha

I have been daily driving this car pretty much since the day I got it so if nothing else it has already paid for itself. I already had the engine/transmission laying around, I'm thinking I put in an additional $400 in parts/gaskets/fluids to get the swap completed and I would say the engine/trans would have a good $1500 value. I still have the H22a4 which I would value at a minimum of $500.

After all is said and done I would say I have $2500-$3000 into the car, not counting labor of course. I think ill post it for around $4000 and see what happens, I'm in no rush to sell but if the right buyer comes along I will sell it.
I don't know what you would put as a value for Daily driving a car, I have had payments in the past of over $500 so I would say at least $150 a month in daily driving value. I feel like I should always take that into consideration when selling a car.

 

Ok.... that motor mount ended up being like a 5 hour project. I tried lifting the engine and wedging it out and it got stuck. Pulled the half shaft, lateral support intake manifold support and both side motor mounts. Finally got it in, then took some time to line up. After that I couldn't get the transmission mount bolts back in and had to remove the front mount. Finally got everything bolted back up. Spent some additional time completing most of the other connections. I still need to repair the vtec wire and build an adapter for the reverse switch and such. Got the transmission cables mounted with took a bit of effort but its good to go.

I finally got the Automatic transmission drain plug I ordered from china. haha. Maybe I can find another use for it.

The only dirty parts that are left is the header/downpipe then the axels. Almost there, definitely have it running this weekend. Hopefully the stock ECU will run it ok. I still need to sort out my ecu situation but I think it will work with a cel at least in the beginning. I have 3 ECUs that I can use, The stock AUtomatic, Stock Manual and a chipped p28 that can run whatever I want.

 

Pretty much completed. I just need to pick up some power steering fluid so I can prime the pump and connect the high pressure line.

I did run into a bit of an issue. I started to put on the crank pulley and was looking at the pulley key and I'm pretty sure I put it in backwards and upside down. I think the curved edge is supposed to line up with the crank. I tried to pull the sucker out but it wouldn't come out. I finally gave up, set the timing again on the balancer belt and buttoned it up. Hopefully is in there well enough to not have an issue. I put some lock tight on the pulley bolt just in case. Everything else came together pretty easily. Wheels are on and I just need to add fluids.

I also scrubbed the power steering pump and rebuilt it. I also added a washer to the spring in an attempt to add more pressure at idle. We will see how that does.

I built an adapter harness for the reverse lights and for the automatic transmission bypass. Ill try to fire it up tomorrow.

Adapter harness for the reverse lights and automatic bypass.
Cleaned up and rebuild the power steering pumo

Almost done.

 

I just found my power steering pump leaking at the front and rear seals. How has was it to rebuild? I'm debating whether I should buy the seal kit for ~$15 or pick up one from PickaPart for ~$30. It doesn't make any noise if I remember correctly, its just leaking all over my belts and causing a squeal on startup.

 

It was easy to rebuild. 4 12mm bolts, 1 snap ring. Just messy. I think power steering fluid made more of a mess on me and everything than the rest of the fluids combined. Also I think most of the crap stuck on the engine was power steering fluid. Ohh there is the 17(19) on the pulley, it came off easily with the impact.

One thing I forgot to note, the O-ring on the high pressure side I had replaced with one of the orange ones that I use on all of my other cars, looks like that one is thicker on the prelude pump. I don't think I was getting any air in the system but I suppose it is possible. I got the right o-ring with the kit so that's correct now, I really am hoping that the rebuild and such fixes my issue.

I'm going to head over to Honda to get some PS fluid, it completely slipped my mind that I needed it.

 

 

They were less than $7 each for the power steering fluid. Not too bad.

You may want to wait and see how mine turns out. Even Eric the car guy failed when he did his.

 

 

The only issue is the mess. they always make a big *** mess.

Ok all done.
I struggled with the Master Cyl, I could not get the sucker to bleed. I think that alone took 2 hours. I should have bench bled but I didn't since its been in the car forever half hooked up. Clutch Engagement point is super high. I may like it I may not, not sure yet. My legs are short so it the high engagement makes it so I don't have to sit super forward.

Car started super easy, surprisingly easy actually. Sounds good, no odd noises no leaks, the only noise I can hear now is the power steering I believe, its a little low on fluid, also the belt may be a bit tight, ill play with it tomorrow or sometime later. I do have a cel but it may be the auto ECU, that's most likely it. Ill check the codes and see what it says.
Ill most likely need to top off my coolant and check the rest of my fluids. I took the time to finally install my positive battery terminal, they were really bad when I got the car, you can see in some of the pics that they were crap.

I drove it around my complex a bit and everything seemed good. Will update as I always do.

 

Oops forgot the pics.

I think if I zip tie the inside of the boot I can get it to sit higher. I also have some short shift kits I want to test out before screwing the center console in.

 

Throwing a Code P1753(torque converter clutch solenoid valve) I'm going to assume this is the code that we can expect running an auto ECU without modding it. No big deal.

 

My last few posts didn't save for some reason.

Everything is running great. I had some whining due to the balancer belt being too tight, I loosened that one up and resolved the issue. I do hear a bit of a whine still, very subtle. I had a coolant leak, the top hose from the thermostat to the IACV had a pinhole in it. I didn't swap the thermostat housing, I didn't think it was a problem but since the external coil gets in the way it would have been a good idea.

Other than that... car is freaking awesome. It pulls soooo much harder than the A4 with the auto transmission.

As for the clutch, I was able to spin the tires in a 1-2 shift so I think the clutch pedal is good.

I think I need to drive the car normally for a bit and not blow it up in the first week. lol. the car is transformed.

 

So no noise from the PS pump? I think I'm going to pick one up ~$25 at PickAPart and rebuild the one I pull off my car, just to have an extra for the future.

 

The pump is.... ok. I'm still having the same issue as before, its definitely less than it used to be but still not quite right. I would consider adding a few more washers hoping the pressure would be higher at idle but I think ill just get a new pump when I have some cash. Its not whining or anything but at low rpm I get a noise after the wheel is turned right about 75% of the way. Same noise you get when you run the pump dry. if I rev the engine it does not do it.