FYI | Gen 1 Pilot engines are fully compatible with Gen 1 Ridgelines
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FYI | Gen 1 Pilot engines are fully compatible with Gen 1 Ridgelines
Hey all!
First post here but I wanted to share an experience I had recently engine swapping my 2007 Ridgeline EX-L (Canada).
My boring story
I couldn't find much information on the compatibility between the J35A9 in the pilot vs. the one in the Ridgeline. Most just said that the intake manifold was different but that it should work.
After swapping the pilot engine into this vehicle, I realized that I had used the Pilot's engine harness and the Ridgeline's intake manifold which has an actuator for controlling the butterfly valves. Since I'm lazy I decided to swap the manifolds so the engine is 100% pilot. I figured I'd rather have it running for now and I'll deal with the CEL later when it's warmer outside.
To my surprise there was no CEL or codes when scanned. A few weeks later I had repaired the Ridgeline engine harness and swapped it into a friends pilot along with the Ridgeline intake manifold. Not only did it work, but the butterfly valves were actuating!
Summary
What I would like to know is why does the code for actuating those butterfly valves exist in the Pilot ECU? Those vehicles never came with that IM. The only thing I can think of is that the Pilot and Ridgelines share the same ECU and just have separately listed part numbers for logistical reasons?
Hope this helps someone like me who is limited in what they're able to source locally understand the inter-compatibility!
First post here but I wanted to share an experience I had recently engine swapping my 2007 Ridgeline EX-L (Canada).
My boring story
I couldn't find much information on the compatibility between the J35A9 in the pilot vs. the one in the Ridgeline. Most just said that the intake manifold was different but that it should work.
After swapping the pilot engine into this vehicle, I realized that I had used the Pilot's engine harness and the Ridgeline's intake manifold which has an actuator for controlling the butterfly valves. Since I'm lazy I decided to swap the manifolds so the engine is 100% pilot. I figured I'd rather have it running for now and I'll deal with the CEL later when it's warmer outside.
To my surprise there was no CEL or codes when scanned. A few weeks later I had repaired the Ridgeline engine harness and swapped it into a friends pilot along with the Ridgeline intake manifold. Not only did it work, but the butterfly valves were actuating!
Summary
- If you have a Gen 1 Ridgeline
- AWD Pilot engines are 100% compatible if you have the wiring harness
- If you don't swap harnesses you get a CEL
- You probably lose a few HP and some low end torque
- If you have an AWD Gen 1 Pilot
- Ridgeline engines are 100% compatible if you have the wiring harness
- If you don't swap the harnesses, the butterfly valves will not actuate and you will probably get a CEL
- All you really need is the harness and the IM and you probably gain a few HP and some low end torque
What I would like to know is why does the code for actuating those butterfly valves exist in the Pilot ECU? Those vehicles never came with that IM. The only thing I can think of is that the Pilot and Ridgelines share the same ECU and just have separately listed part numbers for logistical reasons?
Hope this helps someone like me who is limited in what they're able to source locally understand the inter-compatibility!
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