My 98 cl 3.0 needs an engine, so I picked up a low mileage 3.0 out of a 99 accord. Everywhere I read, says they are identical. I know the transmissions are slightly different, so has anybody actually don't this swap? And can tell me if the engines are identical? I have the wiring harness out of the accord, and am just hoping to plug it right in. Thank guys!

 

As of right now, I have found that all three engine mounts/brackets are different. And it looks like the wiring harness is also different. Was hoping to just drop it in and plug in the hondas wiring harness, doesnt look like thats going ot happen.

 

Got the mount brackets swapped out. The front and rear mount bracket are way different, but the side mount is very similer, but slightly different. So I replaced all them, and removed the old wiring harness from the accord. Now it looks like it will drop in and the acura harness will fit. Got my fingers crossed. In fact the honda and acura harness are considerably different. Same plug endings, just routed differently. Just a play by play, so maybe one day somebody else will need this.

 

Well, trying to find the passenger side motor mount has become aggrivating. I checked every parts store. Figured rockauto would have it, as they say they are the best blah blah. Well, they sent the wrong mount. It was the mount off a 95ish accord. I called them back, and they argued with me that i didnt know what i needed, and that I ordered the wrong part blah blah. Eventually I took a picture of the old one, and the one they sent me. It was painfully obvious when they seen the picture. So they refunded my money, but I still had to pay return shipping. Plus, there shipping is high anyway. So, finished with them obviously.

I ended up ordering it from acura, along with the mount bolts, which are also different then every other honda, both accords, and acura TL's(Pulled every bolt I could see in the junkyard). $158 for both mount and bolts.

 

Good luck man. Been following your thread.

I suspect you might run into more delays with the harness/ecu set up, what kind, I dunno. They are similar but different, if you know what I mean.

 

So, am ALMOST realy to drop in motor. Haha, but the newest thing I found, was the AC compressor manifold adaptor, that bolts to the top of the compressor, is different. So, I have to get one off an Acura, so the ac hoses will bolt up. The compressor itself is the same, just the hoses route differently on each car, so the adaptor has a different orientation.

As far as the wiring and ECU, well, best i can see, all the sensors are identical and are in the same location on the motor. The coolant pipes and all tubing are orientated the same way and look identical. Its just the harness is routed differently on each, so theyre not interchangable.

Hopefully Friday afternoon, early Saturday, I will be finished gathering parts, and I can actually turn some wrenches(just in time for the heat, supposed to be 98 on friday and 99 on saturday). But, the motor looks almost brand new, as it only has 30,000 miles on it. We will see

 

Dropped the engine in today. Went pretty well, had to remove the oil filter/vtec solenoid bracket to get it to fit. I know most say to pull trans, bolt to engine, then drop in together. Or I heard some lift from bottom. But I managed to leave trans in, loosen the mounts, then fit the engine to the trans in the car.

Anyway, tomorrow will work on hoses, wiring and hopefully get to the ac. Is so dang hit though, sposed to be 104 tomorrow, with heat index of 118. Might be a abbreviated session

 

So the engine is in, but on the passenger side axle, there is a bracket that the axle goes through, and it bolts to the back of the engine. However, it was facing down, and there isnt enough room to spin it up, so I can bolt it to engine. So instead of pulling engine again, I decided to pull the passenger axle.

When I got the car, the guy who owned it said, the passenger side wheel bearing might be bad. So, with that in mind I started. First, i couldnt get the axle nut off no matter what, I tried a 3/4" drive breaker with a 4 foot pipe, and it still wouldnt budge. The other wheel would spin. I ended up breaking the cv joint on the half axle. Anyway, so yeah, the bearings had gotten REALLY hot and that rascal was on there. I took the whole knuckle out, including the half of the axle(That i had broke). I got a 3/4" drive impact, and put it in a vice, it came off in 10 seconds. So, now I am going to replace the hub, so I go to take it off, and you cant really get it into a press, due to the weird shape of the knuckle. SO I had to pound it out with a hammer and socket.

Anyway, when i bought the new hub, it didnt have splines in it, but I was in a hurry, and thought maybe the rotor had the splines in it, or so I hoped. Come to find out, there is a seperate hub, and a wheel bearing assembly. The hub, which has splines and has the studs for the rotor to slip on, actually presses into the wheel bearing. Much different that the accords I messed with before. Which had the weirdo rotor behind the hub. On this can get the rotor off easily, but the hub asembly is a PAIN. Plus, when it popped off, the outer race decided it didnt want to come off. Yeah it had gotten really hot. So, after using the bearing splitter, a torch and a BFH. it came apart.

Sorry this was so long, but I hope if anyone else out there with a CL reads this, it will help. Because parts are HARD to come by. The major auto parts stores computers, do NOT have the right stuff for a CL. Maybe this thread will help prefent some non-sense i have had to deal with.

 

Should be ready to fire tomorrow I hope. Wish i could spend more than an hour at it each time. But, got the front suspenion all put back together, new wheel bearing and ball joints and CV axle.

Installed the power steering pump, which by the way the accord and the CL are slightly different. They look identical, but the bolt holes on the pressure hose dont match up.

Tonight hopefully, radiator hoses coolant fans and burped. Then maybe test fire. Then assuming all goes ok, I will change out ac parts, vacuum and fill.

 

Installing last little things last night, installed new condenser, and radiator. I had ordered a condenser cooling fan off ebay, auction said it was for 3.0, well, it wasnt, and it dont fit. It almost does but not quite. Not sure if i will rig it to work, or wait, for the two weeks of shipping to get another one. So, installed intake, and throttle body(Which came out of an accord) Well, this particular throttle body looks like it was on a odyssey. Because i found out it is missing the small vacuum nipple on the topof the throttle body that the fuel air injection vacuum line pulls from. Poking around, every accord and CL I found, has this small 90 nipple. But the odyssey does not. So....

Guess I will making ANOTHER trip to the junkyard. So ready for this project to be over.

 

Well, happy to report the CL is running well. Thats one smooth engine for sure. I had a 2.5 Probe GT V6, and this thing is WAY smoother. But, last little thing I had to do was replace the idle air valve, as my idle was nuts. Got a junkyard throttle body that had been rained on one too many times. I was planning on selling it, but the wife likes it so much I may not get too. hehe

I am supposed to be doing brakes on it now, but shes out tooling around in it.