Sorry for the "STORY"....
Okay guys, be nice to me, I am trying to learn I bought my car (a '92) about 3 years ago and havent had much time to do anything but add a few bolt ons and drive it. I purchased it with a "blown engine" and paid to have some shade tree hack put a "new Engine" in...(more n this in the 2nd half) I was traveling home and when I pulled out to get back on the interstate my car died.. a lil research and I discovered that the rotor had literally spun itself off and detached from the metal screwed on sheath that holds it to the shaft... $40 and problem fixed.. last weekend another road trip and I made it about 25 miles from home and it died cruising along with traffic --about 55MPH--5th gear... literally "idling" along. As soon as I felt the power loss I pushed in the clutch and coasted to the side of the road...I tried to restart it and it didnt sound like it had a spark...so I removed the dist cap and bumped it and noticed it didnt move, unscrewed the oil filler cap and nuttin turned in there either...SO ... with my limited Knowledge and experience with import engines.. I assume I broke a timing belt?

2nd part - I finally got it towed home and like a responsible little girl I dug through and found my receipt for the supposed re-build... According to the warranty and receipt it says that I own a H23A-A Engine block from a japanese engine importer in Seattle, Wa. My mechanic friend that has agreed to help me take it apart and fix it (I like to learn new things) is telling me that I have an H23 Block with an H22 Head??????????????????? :uhhwtf:

I DO NOT HAVE A SINGLE clue what the difference is between an H22 and H23 (sorry...Ima newb to Honda's) I want... scratch that.. I NEED to start ordering parts to get my baby running again.
I DID try searching "H23Block H22 Head" and all I got was THIS THREAD that linked me to another one... which is when my eyes started to glaze over-- all it talked about was parts lists for some kind of boosted engine???

PLEASE HELP ME! I this possible??? or even correct??? (I am talking about my engine configuration--LOL) IF this is what has truly happened -the mixing of parts- are timing belts universal to these little engines?? I understand through days and days of reading that I will be buying a Manual belt tensioner, water pump, the belt itself, etc. Is it possible that a bearing on the front cam (the one that turns the Distributor) is bad and has caused these progressive problems? WHy in the Hell would a shade tree scam artist pull all that crap off a car that had 99K miles on it and put the same damn belt BACK on it??? [/rant]

Any help or opinions is greatly appreciated...please help me learn-- I LOVE my Prelude! I'm Hooked for Life!

 

Glad you like your prelude.

Does your valve cover (on top of the engine) say "DOHC VTEC" anywhere? If so, you have a vtec head. There is a model of the h23a in japan that has vtec.

What I recommend you do to fix your car, however, is take the timing side all apart and figure out what actually happened down there.

If you broke a timing belt, chances are you bent some valves in the head, they will need to be replaced if that is what happened.

Check it out and get back to us.

 

I'm Sorry, I should have posted that.. It Does NOT say VTECH anywhere on it... I was looking through some pictures of other preludes and noticed that some had the timing gears exposed..is that indicitive of a certain type of engine? (Just curious--Mine is enclosed BTW)

and can someone help me decipher the difference between H22 and H23??? Me so Confused :S

 

You're going to catch **** for that. It is VTEC not VTECH.

Why don't you buy a helm's factory service manual for your car. That will help you immeasurably. We could sit here and answer all of your questions one by one, but that manual has all the answers.

 

will do... thank you for the advice...

 

Here's the problem. When I had the Japanese engine installed I had researched a few shops around the area that knew Honda's. I have found later that the one I chose, even with all his certificates, did not know Honda's. So I am in the dark as to what he actually did. He may have installed (if it's possible) the head from the H22 engine on my H23 without my knowledge. If he did, as a novice I am asking for understanding, how would I tell if this is what he did? Can the H22 head be installed on a H23 Block? What I need to know is am I going to have to order a head from Japan to get the engine I originally chose for my Honda. When it ran, it seemed to have a narrow power band in the 4-6k RPM range.

 

Look for pictures of engines in the 4th generation prelude pictures thread, figure out what you have.

You could also go pop your hood, take a look at the engine code (right under the upper radiator hose) and take a pic of the engine bay.

 

Hopefully I we will be back on the road soon..... YAY! the 'boys' started taking her apart today....

ummm... where do we start junior??? :scratchhead: -- the young 'un on the right is my roommate, Darren, and the guy on the left is his dad, Richard.


well... lets take the hood off so we can see what we are doing...





Yep--it IS an H23-A model engine (proof)


(immitating the voice of Jamie from Mythbusters WELL... THERE's Your Problem!


PArts List so far:
-One timing belt.. (purchased)
-P-13 Timing belt cover.. having a hard time finding this..
-water pump (purchased)
-belt tensioner (manual-Purchased)
-valve cover seal-- will go to autozone for this
-hi performance Spark Plugs (purchased)
-and I have thought about upgrading or replacing the alternator with a rebuilt or rewound alt since it will be accessible??? What do ya think?

 

i had the same h23a engine before, its the exact same engine as the H23a1 brought here to the US. it is NOT vtec (obviously)

 

hehehe.. I recognize that avatar.. I know where your from.. LOL.. I found this site before the other one and just remembered I had started a thread here a long time ago...


I DO have a starnge question... after weeks and weeks of reading and searching threads.. can someone Identify for me two things???

- What does the Idle Air Control Valve Look Like?

-Where and what does the Knock Sensor look like? --I ask this because I read, in a performance thread, that this guys gas mileage had gone from about 23mpg to 16---ALmost exactly the same problem I have noticed with my baby. I noticed a knocking sound in the mornings that would go away, or lessen eventully as It warmed up... some also told me that it MAY be the water pump bearingss too becasue of the odd sound. ????? I dunno... but I figured since we had things apart, now would be a good time to replce this stuff?

 

WOW that engine bay is NAAAAASTY! I thought my engine bay was nasty.<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95greenlude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> its the exact same engine as the H23a1 brought here to the US. it is NOT vtec (obviously)</TD></TR></TABLE> I would start by removing the head, because there is a 99% chance you bent valves, take it to a machine shop and have them replace the valves and check it out.

 

thank you for the advice... we are going to try it first and see if I need to invest in a new head or not.

As far as the dirt.. it has been sitting in a VERY wind-prone and dirty area for about 4months, do you really think I would drive my car around being that dirty? -- kinda hard to get it anywhere to clean it up -- and kind of pointless until it is running again because it is going to get filthy again in a matter of days...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lilmsprelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
- What does the Idle Air Control Valve Look Like?

-Where and what does the Knock Sensor look like? --I ask this because I read, in a performance thread, that this guys gas mileage had gone from about 23mpg to 16--</TD></TR></TABLE>

IACV is on the intake manifold near the fuel rail; it has a two wire electrical connector.

I'd suspect the O2 sensor before the knock sensor for bad mileage. Good luck on the repairs. A compression test would tell you if the valves are bent without removing the head.

 

thank you for the info... I was told to do a leak down test, that way we dont have to put the whole engine back together to find out it has to come apart again. I DO appreciate all the feed back tho.. I will be printing this stuff out for the guy working on my car.

 

I couldnt find any Helms MAnuals, but I did find THIS information on e-Bay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...0.lVI

I ordered something reminiscent of this that said it was a Chilton's guide, but it was the MOST worthless CD I have ever owned.. I just dont want to get taken again, even tho it is only a few dollars.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lilmsprelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I couldnt find any Helms MAnuals, but I did find THIS information on e-Bay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...0.lVI

I ordered something reminiscent of this that said it was a Chilton's guide, but it was the MOST worthless CD I have ever owned.. I just dont want to get taken again, even tho it is only a few dollars. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That looks like a Helms manual on CD, but it still makes it a lot harder to scroll through all those pages on a computer screen...you can get a Helms manual from Helminc.com.

 

i have the Helms on CD, i HATE IT! it works, but i'd rather have a copy

 

:FYI:

HelmInc was the first place I went and they have NOTHING for the 92 Prelude :sad:

SCRATCH THAT: another member is OBVIOUSLY Better than I at finding it..lol!

http://www.helminc.com/helm/pr...PATV8

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lilmsprelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thank you for the info... I was told to do a leak down test, that way we dont have to put the whole engine back together to find out it has to come apart again.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I guess it's not clear how far it's apart at this point, but you are right. If the timing belt is still off you can manually rotate the cams/crank into position to do the leakdown on each cylinder. Just be careful as you are rotating the crank and either cam independently that nothing binds or hits. I have extra timing covers if you still need them. If you're on a budget I would say that you probably don't need a new tensioner or alternator unless there are indications of problems with those components. The tensioner on the H22's are sometimes changed out for the variety that you already have. Good luck and keep us posted.

P.S. it looks pretty clean where it counts (under the valve cover).

 

thanks guys! I already ordered all the parts, after reading through as many threads as I could find about this .. and.. it seems that it's a good preventative measure to go ahead and do the water pump and the tensioner at the same time.. I DID get the manual tensioner too. (also recomended in the other threads)

p.s... I will let you know on the timing belt cover... thank you!

 

One more thing.... (lol.. I promise I am NOT postwhoring--heehee)

does anyone know where to find a VIN or serial # on an engine? It is still nagging me that the mechanic that originally did all of this just rebuilt the engine and charged me for a replacement.

and under the H23-A on the "plate" -- what do those other numbers represent? "1001802"

Thanks again for all the input! It is all GREATLY APPRECIATED.. More than you know!!!

 

*update*

Roomie got the engine back together and did a compression test on it....

let's just say I am in the market for a new H23-A DOHC head....

If I can gret my hands on a vtec head, what else would it take to install/use it? Wouldn't I have to put in a new computer to handle/regulate the vtec?

*sigh*

 

the Vin on the block is going to be on the back side of the engine. just above where the bracket for the intermediate shaft is. you may not be able to see it but its there. a little green plaque riveted in place. to the left of the oil filter if you are looking from underneath/

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lilmsprelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If I can gret my hands on a vtec head, what else would it take to install/use it? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry to hear about that. If you want to do the H23/VTEC hybrid, check out the thread covering it in the FAQ. Good luck.

 

I am going to go through with a repair for now....

So...... I have been saving some money to pay cash to a real Honda Mechanic.... He is going to pull the head and have the valves all replaced and have the head machined... maybe we can queeze a few more HP out of it... How? I dunno, that is just what I was told.... LOL! I am NOT a mechanic... sheesh! :loco:

Since the hood was off, I decided to go ahead and do the big three and run some new 1/0 to the trunk. Here is where the old 4AWG was run:


That ALL came out and we get this in it's place!


SEXY Aint it? B)

I THOUGHT I could run the 1/0 in the same path.. you know, wire and tape the ends together and pull it through?? Ya .. no...... I ended up taking the fender off and following another wire harness through the fender and up in front of where the old breather box was. Gotta Find a Grommet to fit that hole.

it comes into the cabin in the upper right hand passenger foot well in a perfect, pre existing grommet.

and runs right down the right side--- yep, need two more grommets before final run to the tunk--


So, now we have a path for juice to flow from the battery to the trunk, now lets do the big three: First thing I did was take off the + and -(ground) wire on the starter:


Can you believe this little car even started????? I cut new lengths of my big *** 1/0 and grab my crimp connectors and my crimper.... CRAP! :anger: I find out I dont have a crimper big enough... I ran all over town yesterday, ready to drop $100 for a very valuable tool. Guess what I can't find for sale or rent in Boise, Id.???? ya... That SUX! I ordered one and it is on its way here sometime mid week, As soon as I can get the wiring done it will go to the shop. I was really hoping to have it towed down today... Dammit!!! :argue:

Oh, I almost forgot...Don't you LOVE how accessible the starter is? But, do you see what's wrong with this picture?


for the Non-Honda guy, it is missing the PRIMARY bolt on the engine mount... that stupid *** never put it in when he re-installed the engine!!!! :wtf: