hello, ive got a 92 accord ex and my current engine (original from factory with 400k on it) is more or less done for. so ive decided to swap out for an h22 due to parts for that being much easier to get locally where i live and that engine costing me the same to buy as an f22. heres the situation. my accord is a daily beater im sure most wouldnt bother with the effort for. but its been good to me for a long long time and i just cant afford to buy anything that would be any better. so i find myself in need of some advice. with my super tight budget i can get the h22 from a 2000 prelude (obd2 if im correct, and my car is obd1). that in mind id have access to the entire donor car i can pull any and all wiring i may need, ecu, just anything if i need it its mine. i can also try to track down a specific ecu if needed. so basicly if anyone can help me out with info or point me to some stuff that may help that would be great, i keep finding different info throughout forums and searches and nothing specific to what im trying to do. ive got a few days to figure it all out, also if it makes any difference im keeping the factory auto trans for now atleast ill have to see how it does and might change it later on, but for now the priority isnt performance its getting my car going again and being reliable.

 

If you're on a super tight budget then don't get the H22. Swap in another identical F22. There are a lot of hidden costs involved in an H22 swap. Even if you got the H22 for free you would still have at least $500-1000 into it if you did it right.

 

yea, i kno a direct replacement would be cheapest/easiest, but last time i checked there was only obd2 f engines locally, and ive put an add out looking for a direct replacement but not had luck getting one. so wouldnt that be the same troubles anyway? like to get the obd2 engine working in my car i mean? when i go to get my engine in a couple days i will look again at what there is, i just figured if i can only find and obd2 engine with my time frame and budget why not go for the better option.. like i mentioned i can get all the wiring if things are different and if i have to do some spliceing and stuff thats all fine. its kind of a bind i know

 

Pick up another F22Ax from an importer. It'll be a lot cheaper and simpler in the long run. If the car has 400k on it it's not worth putting an H series into it or adding any sorts of power because that is just going to bring out all kinds of gremlins with worn out suspension components, etc. With the extremely long geared automatic transmission you will not really be able to take advantage of the extra power anyway. Additionally in my years of experience with these engines, any USDM H22 is usually in need of a rebuild before being worth swapping. They like to eat up rings and burn a fair bit of oil at fairly low mileage compared to other Honda engines of the era due to the cylinder sleeve material.

If you are strictly limited to whatever is local to you for whatever reason, the original OBD compliance of the engine does not matter. The long block does not care if it's run on OBD1 or OBD2. You would simply use your original alternator, harness, distributor, ecu(if swapping a non-vtec engine, if F22B1 or F23 is used, a 94-95 Accord EX ecu is a good fit) and fuel injectors to make the engine compatible with your vehicle relatively easily. However there were no OBD2 options for your vehicle so you would be looking at an F22Bx series or F23 engine. Either of those would require some small changes to fit because the intake and exhaust manifolds are slightly different from your original F22A series engine but it would still be significantly easier than doing a full H swap.

 

ok that helps, theres lots of obd2 f engines, so if its just those few parts that makes it much easier and with any luck ill find a good one. i am also redoing the entire brakes and front end with parts ive picked up over time so ive finally run out of resons to procrastinate that haha thanks again for the simple explanation

 

allright I can lay it all out so it makes a bit more sense what I’m up against. First off I’m quite broke and not by most ppls definition, I mean I’m very limited as to what I can do. That being said I’ll get the car anything it needs cuz it’s been a great car and it would cost around 2k to get another car that will both pass local safety stuff and maybe be as reliable, I do have quite a stockpile of brand new parts I’ve been buying over the 2 years I’ve had the car and it was very very well maintained till 2 years before I got it so it really doesn’t have much in the way of worn stuff besides the engine (I suspect it was run with little to no oil for some time by the young kid I bought it from) it’s 1000% worth any work it needs to me atleast. I’m limited to what’s local for 2 reasons, first I’m in Canada and we don’t have great importers here. To buy a direct replacement from one of the good ones would be around 2k and any engines from a cheaper importer are second hand from the us and just as much of a gamble as anything from a scrapyard. Beyond that any of the importers are a 3 hour drive from me and even to have an engine shipped that distance would be another few hundred. Second reason for local is that all I have for a vehicle at the moment is an 02 ford that leaks everything and isn’t mine. I can afford a junkyard engine but my local yard is atleast good for letting u take anything needed for a replacement or swap for a fixed price (any engine and what ever I may need for 300, could be an h or an f or a b or a d or a diesel v8 or a 454 it’s just on me to assess the parts for myself) I’ve been monitoring their inventory since my motor bit the dust and just a quick rundown of my options is: one direct replacement a 93 accord but I’ve already checked and that engine is no good, several obd2 accords that should be fairly simple to convert to work theirs atleast 2 I’ve already looked at that seem okay and haven’t been torn apart. And another 10 or so I didn’t have time to check out at all but according to inventory 4 of those are v6. (Still gonna look cuz the inventory has been wrong before) And there’s about 7 or 8 preludes I haven’t checked either. I’m going to look up other models and years and Acura’s and stuff to make sure I’m looking at every engine that can bolt into the car and what it boils down to is that I’m going to grab the best condition engine that will bolt in and go from there. I’ll be pulling spark plugs and valve covers so I can atleast see condition of the cams/valves and pistons/cylinders and I’ll be checking oil for foreign fluids and metal shavings and the like and I’ll be getting the extended warranty so if the engine turns out to be bad for any reason I can just get another. With my limitations that’s absolutely my best way to go (not for lack of research, I’ve called all the importers in the province I’ve looked into shipping options I’ve called the make specific yards I’ve put ads up looking for parts. I’ve got 1 friend I’m my area who’s into Honda’s and knows the local market and my limitations and has volunteered some time and his knowledge to help me get what ever engine I end up with into the car and working but he’s admittedly not an expert) with any luck I’ll find an engine I’m happy with, it could be an f or an h or what ever like I said best condition engine that will bolt in will come home with me, keeping an f being the easiest option the most likely thing will be an obd2 f engine but regardless of what engine I do get it will get a thorough going over in my garage and probly a good freshen up (timing belt water pump some gaskets. That sort of thing) so to sum up I appreciate the info on converting an obd2 engine for an obd1 car it’s 99% chance I’ll need to do that. And if I can stay with an f engine I will. Basically if changing stuff out ends up costing 1000 like mentioned that’s fine cuz my car will pass safety stuff and any thing I can buy for less than that won’t it just might mean I’m using a crappy borrowed truck for another paycheck ( just a random tidbit but the safety inspection is a pain and makes having a vehicle on the cheap hard to do. Idk I what it’s like in any particular us state but in Alberta Canada u can’t insure and register a vehicle over a few years old without a safety and if Uve got less than brand new brakes suspension windshield if there’s rust wear on the seatbelts just anything u won’t pass, my car just passed one and that’s without me putting on the pile of new stuff I have so that should say enough of it’s condition)