The short story..93Accord (F22A1), 223,000mi, water pump self destructed (only 55,000 on it ), bent at least one valve. Longer story...After much bad advice, I took the car to a Honda/Acura shop with a stellar reputation, had them do the whole TB, water pump,seals, etc thing. They "highly doubted" there would be any "internal issues". They were wrong, and I paid $700 to drive the car away running on approx 2.5 cylinders. Quotes were $2100 for top end repair and $3200 for total rebuild. The car has sentimental attachments for my wife (was her Mom's car, who recently passed), so cutting losses and walking away isn't an option. I have very good external engine skills (engine swaps, head gaskets, accessories, wiring) and a well equipped garage, but have done little with internals. So my question is should I go JDM straight swap, or maybe go to a F22B, or, having the luxury of time (never to be confused with money), do you guys who have done this before think I could handle a rebuild with a shop manual and patience? All advice/opinions/questions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance......

 

$3200 for a rebuild? You can swap an H for less than $2k. Assuming you already have a manual trans, you can pay even less.

Also, junkyard F22 VTEC's go for about $400.

 

I don't know what junkyards you've been going to, but I can grab one for $250 or so.

Swap in a JDM motor. F22A/or F22B non vtec will drop right in. About $500 for a motor and drop another couple hundred and do all the belts and gaskets while you have the motor out of the car to save some headache.

 

Blazin Si says it all.

Or you can always go H23A1 or JDM F22B DOHC Non VTEC which has more torque than the Single Cammer.

 

Swap in another engine would be your best solution!

 

If only I had come to this forum first! There's obviously a common thread here that a swap is the way to go. Given my skill set, that's probably a good thing! Having said that, I seem to read differing experiences regarding harness/ecu compatibility. Any thoughts?? Really guys, I thank you very much for the fast replies!

 

Stick with OBD1 engines when doing swaps since your Accord is an OBD1 which will make the wiring 10x easier. Your F22 harness will need to be use when doing any H-Series swap and extend a few wires that can't reach their sensors.

 

"About $400"

I used that number as an average. You can pull an F22 from some backwoods redneck junkyard in Boone County West Virginia for less than a case of beer... or pay upwards of $600 for a low mileage late production motor from a place that includes a compression test and warranty.

 

Time to pull the bad motor. Why rebuild? When you can just replace. You have so many options and a replacement motor doesn't have to cost you a lot. And you can upgrade. No way would I rebuild there are just to many engines out there looking to sit under your hood. If you buy a junkyard motor make sure you pull the valve cover and have a look. Varnish is ok but sludge is a no go. Good luck to you and keep us posted as to your progress.
Joe

 

Depends on what motor you are swapping in. Another stock one is plug an play. Just transfer the wiring over (F22a)

If you want to swap in a non stock motor then you can get into wiring issues. F22B engines you will have to switch two ECU wires, if you drop in a Vtec you will have to add two wires to the ECU and a ground.

H series and other performance engine swaps you will have to potentially add things like knock sensor wire, IAB wiring, Vtec (depends on engine) and you will have to modify the harness (extend/shorten wires, mix and match connectors to certain components).

Also, with DOHC performance swaps you WILL have to modify the exhaust, mix and match (or purchase) new engine mounts, as well as accesory mounting brackets and get a power steering hose fabricated.


Oh. and blazin' SI I'm talking about pick a part places. I forget about dismantlers.

 

As much as I'd love to go VTEC, I'm keeping this one simple. I did a non-stock swap in my Supra in the summer of '09 that resulted in an amazing car, but I'm still recovering from the ordeal. I like the Supra, but I love the Accord. So, if a non-VTEC DOHC will fit in and all I have to do is change 2 wires, I'm good with that. If not, I'll find the best example of an F22A that I can, and have a fun weekend. And yes, I'll take pics and keep everyone updated. It's the least I could do for the help.

 

If you want a DOHC non VTEC and keep it cheap, the easiest engine to source would be an H23A1 from a 4th gen Prelude Si (160 hp, 156 ft/lb). There's also the DOHC F22B, but they're a bit more rare, wasn't an option in the US and would likely cost more than the H23 since it would be imported and you'd have to pay shipping charges. HP and torque is similar between engines.

 

The H23s and F22B DOHC are about the same price if you're getting one from a JDM Importer. Look around on Ebay and you'll quickly see that both these engines are just about the same price. These H23A1s here in my area are hard to find if you're talking about local junkyard; it's either beated to ****, or non-existent and same goes to the USDM H22A1.

You can re-use your Accord tranny on both these motors whichever one you pick. The gear ratio will be a little longer than it's factory transmission that comes with it but it'll give you a good gas mileage though since you sound like you're really not into making it fast or anything.

 

No, you're so right...no interest in making it other than what it was. A little better is fine so long as it's logical. I actually removed the valve cover, p/s bracket, alt bracket, timing belt covers (lower was destroyed by the w/p failure), and the left engine mount bracket, blasted, cleaned and painted them, in hopes of the engine being internally sound, which it wasn't. This was before I brought it to the shop, and the bill was still $700. But, it seems my time wasn't exactly wasted as I'll be able to eventually use these things.