F22 Removal Guide (with pics)

[cp[mike]]

Accord F22 Removal Instructions
Written by: Patrick Hayden (ACCLUDE91)
Updated by: Mike Maset (cpmike)



This was done on a 90/91 manual - the process differs a little bit for 92/93 and automatics, but it is a great guide to base your work off of. some of the steps arent quite completed and its missing a few photos, but I will try to get that updated as my schedule permits, but you should still have no problems with what is posted here. full credit goes to ACCLUDE91 for this guide! he sent me a preliminary guide he was working on many years ago, and it was so useful in guiding me with my first engine swap that I had to host & post it for him, since he never got to 'finish' it. Thanks again for this one, Pat.


Originally written by ACCLUDE91:

Needless to say, this where everything gets disconnected from the motor, but also seems to be the part that all other swap articles include no information on. A tricky part that may need to be done by a professional shop is removing the spindle nut on the axles. You can get it, but it's a pain to do. As you remove the plugs, bolts, and hoses, LABEL WHAT THEY GO TO! Even if you know what it goes to by memory, it makes it so much easier when puttin it all back together! Use as much detail as you can fit on that label. If you're not sure what the unit is called that they go to, then pick a description of that item that will make you remember what it goes to. Remember the more descriptive it is, the easier it is later. I used masking tape and a black permanent marker to label them and you can tape all the screws from one unit together so there's no question what they go to. Please follow this step cause it gets kinda confusing once everything's out of the car and scattered all over the place. The more labeling and organizing you do at this point in the project will make the rest go smoother and quicker. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE!!!

To give more room and for ease of picture taking, I removed the hood. There are two 10mm bolts on each side to disconnect it from the brackets. You need to disconnect the windsheild washer fluid hose on the drivers side. Set the hood off to the side in a safe place.

From this point on, starting with the radiator fluid removal listed below, the car will not be driveable. Make sure you have it set up in a spot that has plenty of working room available where nothings gonna get messed up.

The radiator fluid needs to be drained. Put a pan under the drain plug on the radiator to collect the fluid and remove the plug. Allow it to drain. Next, start the car and run it for about 10 to 20 seconds or so....just long enough for the water pump to flush the remaining amount out of the system. Turn the car off once the majority of it is out. Make sure you do not run the car too long cause once the metal gets hot, it needs the coolant to keep it from warping and causing damage. Make sure to dispose of the fluid properly.

[cp[mike]]

The clutch system needs to be drained of fluid. There is an 8mm bleeder valve on the front of the slave cylinder located on the tranny housing to the left of the front engine mount. Look at the picture below. The big circle is the slave cylinder and the smaller circle inside is the bleeder valve of the slave cylinder. Run a hose up to the bleeder valve that directs the flow of the fluid into a container that you can dispose of and then unscrew the bleeder valve with the hose connected. Do not unscrew it all the way, just enough for the fluid to come out into the hose you connected to it. Open the cap to the Clutch Master Cylinder to allow air to enter the system. Now, simply press the clutch pedal repeatedly until the fluid is pushed out of the system and the pedal loses stiffness. It may travel to the floor and not come back up any more, in which case, pump it with your hand. Just pump it until the fluid is gone.



The power steering fluid also needs to be removed.

Remove the battery. Just disconnect the terminals from it using a 13mm socket or wrench. Next, remove the battery tray. There are four 13mm bolts holding it in and two 10mm bolts used for attaching wire harness clips. Since I will be relocating the battery to the trunk and installing a cold-air intake, I will not be re-using the tray, but if you plan to re-use it, set it off to the side in a safe place.

Remove the stock air box. There are 10mm bolts holding it in on the inside of the engine bay and holding additional piping in the passenger side fenderwell.. You can use either a phillips head screw driver or an 8mm socket to loosen the clamps on the pipe from the throttle body and to the filter box. There are 2 hoses that need to be disconnected from the stock air box system. One that goes to the throttle body and one that goes to the valve cover. Use a screw driver to disconnect them. there's a little black box looking thing connect to the pipe that is mounted on the passenger side side-wall and has a plug going to it and two hoses. That's the air temp. sensor and is not going to be re-used with the cold-air intake being used. But again, if you are going to re-use it, keep track of the screws and set it off to the side. You should have plenty of room to work with once the battery, tray, and intake are out of the engine bay. It should start to look like this:

[cp[mike]]

Disconnect the three plugs that go to the main engine harness on the passenger side. They are located on the passenger side strut tower and just un-plug. Un-plug the wires that go to the main engine harness located on the drivers side strut tower. They also just un-plug. Here's the location of the harnesses:



Disconnect the battery cable that goes to the starter and also the ground wire that bolts to the block in that area, and remove the clips that hold the wires to the block There are two 10mm bolts for the clips and one 12mm bolt each for the starter wire and ground wire. Here's the location of the clips and the +12V starter wire:



The big black box on the passenger side firewall with all the hoses going to it is for the EGR system and will be moved out of the way to be able to get to the back engine mount, fuel lines, heater core hoses and other items. There are two 10mm bolts holding it in, and you simply take those out and the whole unit can be set on top of the motor to make room. You can leave all the hoses connected to it for now and that will make re-assembly much easier. The location is pictured here.



It's time to disconnect the fuel line, but you wanna relieve any pressure that's built up. Open the gas cap and let it sit for a few minutes. To disconnect the fuel line, simply leave the fuel filter bolted to the firewall and use a 17mm socket to disconnect the line on the left side that goes to the fuel rail. It may spray a little, so I suggest having a rag handy to wipe up any that does. I covered the fuel line in a plastic bag and taped it up to ensure that nothing got into the fuel system after the fuel filter. Here's the location of the fuel filter and the fuel line going to the fuel rail has already been removed:



Time to remove the radiator. The system should already be drained of fluid at this point. First disconnect the electrical plugs to the fans (one on each side) and remove the hoses (one on top, one on the bottom) from the radiator using an 8mm socket on each clamp. There are two brackets on top that hold it in place and just use a 10mm socket to remove them and then the radiator will pull straight up and out. You may need to jiggle it a little to get past the A/C lines.

[cp[mike]]

There is a hose that goes from the throttle body to the master cylinder that uses manifold pressure to boost the brake system. Remove that by moving the pressure clamp off of the throttle body and pulling the hose free. The location is pictured here.



You also need to disconnect the throttle cable from the throttle body that goes to the gas pedal. There is a 10mm bolt that you need to loosen enough for the threaded section to squeeze past the cable mount and then once the cable is lose, you just unwrap it from the throttle valve. Remove the fuel return line pictured here from the top right of the throttle body that just needs to be unclamped and pulled free.



There are two vacuum lines that go to the cruise control unit that need to be disconnected and are pictured here.



To move the cruise control unit, unscrew the two 10mm bolts that mount it to the front engine bay ledge. There are two hoses that need to be pulled free as well. For those who don't know, the C.C. unit is the funny lookin thing on the drivers side that looks like it belongs in a toilet. Move it out of the way to the area where the clutch cylinder and master cylinder are located.

Disconnect the power steering line that goes to the top of the P/S pump. There are two 10mm bolts for that. Move it off to the side so that it won't get in the way when pulling the motor out.

Disconnect the wire harness in the front that goes to the A/C compressor. It's just one single wire, but it will need to be disconnected.

There are two ground wires that connect to the drivers side of the engine. One goes to the valve cover, the other goes to the mount for the P/S pump. Remove both of them using a 10mm socket.

On the firewall, there are the two hoses that go to the heater core on the inside of the car as circled in the below pic.



The one on the drivers side needs to be disconnected at the firewall. The one closest to the passenger side needs to be disconnected at the selector switch as pictured below.



The drivers side one is a pain to get off, and since I'm replacing the hoses, I just went ahead and cut it right at the firewall. It's easy to get the clip and remaining section of the hose off when the motor is out of the car.

[cp[mike]]

There are two power steering lines on the lower passenger side that go from the vehicle speed sensor on the rear of the tranny to some hard lines on the rear crossmember. they are disconnected with a 1/4" socket and a clip. They only need to be disconnected to get them out of the way. the lines are circled in green in this picture:



Disconnect the clutch line that goes to the slave cylinder. The location is on the passenger side tranny housing slightly behind the distributor cap and the line comes off with a 15mm socket and a 10mm for the clip. Both bolt holes are circled in the pic.



There's a 10mm bolt that goes to a clip on the drivers side that holds the P/S line next to the engine block. Remove that. It's in the area pictured pictured blow and if you follow the P/S line from the pump back towards the firewall, you'll see the clip I'm talking about. It's slightly below the area pictured:



There are three 14mm bolts holding the exhaust manifold cover in place. Remove that to gain access to the header. There are nine 14mm bolts holding the top part of the header to the head You'll see those when the manifold cover comes off. There are three more 14mm bolts holding the header to the downpipe, and two more 14mm bolts used to hold the header in place with the block that can all be reached from underneath the car. You also need to disconnect the oxygen sensor (just unplug it) and then take off the two 14mm bolts that hold the bracket on the downpipe to the motor block.....note, there are two 14mm bolts that mount the bracket to the block, and two 12mm the bolt the bracket to the downpipe, and you want to disconnect the 14mm ones that bolt to the block Then you are able to take the header off and drop the downpipe to make room for pulling the motor.

Time to disconnect the shift linkage that goes to the tranny. They are located on the passenger side of the car, on top of the tranny housing. Disconnect the pins holding the circular mounts that connect to the tranny. Pull of the circular ends of the shift linkage cable. Re-install the pins so that you do not loose them. Next there are three 14mm bolts that connect the shift linkage mount to the motor block that need to be removed. Once that's done, you should be able to move the shift linkage out of the way, closer to the firewall. The location of the pins for the shift linkage are pointed out and pictured below. If you follow the shift linkage back from there, you will see the bracket with the 14mm bolts that needs to be removed.



Time to "remove" the A/C compressor. It is the lowest accessory on the front driver side of the motor, underneath the alternator. Loosen the alternator belt tensioner (check a manual to do this) and remove the alt/compressor belt. remove the four mounting bolts in each corner to separate the compressor from the engine block. DO NOT disconnect the a/c lines from anywhere! The point is to leave the compressor IN the engine bay, still connected, when you do the swap... when the new motor is in, the compressor will be re-bolted to the new one, without ever needing to be disconnected and the refrigerant lost.

[cp[mike]]

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editor's note: removing the axles from the hubs is not necessary to swap a motor. it gives you more room especially if the car is automatic, but if you do everything listed below minus removing the 36mm nut, having the knuckle loose from the lower control arm will give you enough room to pull outward so you can pop the axles out of the transmission, without actually pulling them out of the hubs. i use bungee cords or rope to hold them up and out of the way while i swap, then pop them back in and connect the suspension again. I am leaving this section on how to remove the 36mm nut just in case anybody ever needs the information.
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Time to remove the axles. I have new axles going in with the new motor, so I wasn't too concerned with salvaging the old axles but be careful and take it easy on them if you are re-using them. This is a total pain to do, but it needs to be done, so make it as easy as possible for yourself. The steps needed to remove them are as follows. Raise and support the vehicle. Remove the front wheels. Drain transaxle fluid with the 17mm drain plug on the passenger side of the car. Spread locking tab on spindle nut as pictured here and remove the 36mm nut.



This bolt is extremely stubborn. WD-40 or something similar definitely helps. I tried 3 different impact guns, 4 torque wrenches, and even heating it with a torch, and managed to do nothing but snap 4 different torque wrenches in half and become irritated. I ended up using a 36mm socket and using a monster sized pipe-wrench on it and a hollow steel pipe to put on the end as an extension as pictured below and I had to stand on it and bounce a few times before it came loose. The following Pictures are provided courtesy of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and should help clear up any questions you may have.


___

Remove damper fork bolt with two 17mm sockets and damper pinch bolt with a 14mm socket. Remove damper fork by pushing it down slightly until it's free from the strut assembly and then just simply jiggling it until it comes free. Remove lower ball joint cotter pin, and loosen castle nut most of the way without taking it completely off, using a 14mm socket. Next, you have two options: 1, using a ball joint puller, separate ball joint from front hub, or 2, give the side of the lower control arm a firm solid smack with a heavy hammer, the force will pop the ball joint loose. Make sure you hit the side of the lower control arm right where the ball joint is connected to it, so all of the force of the hit will break the stuck joint loose. ((editors note: I [cpmike] added this hammer method number two, as its a trick i learned from a friend and i found it to work every time... ive tried a ball joint puller, but both times i did it wrecked the threaded end of the ball joint. you do NOT want this to happen...)) You can then remove the ball joint castle nut the entire way and lift the knuckle up and out of the lower control arm. With it loose, pull steering knuckle outward while sliding axle shaft out of the hub assembly. If necessary, use a plastic hammer to drive axle shaft out of the hub. DO NOT pull on inner CV joint or disassembly of the CV joint may occur. Be careful not to damage seals. Using a large screwdriver or pry bar, carefully pry inner CV joint and shaft assembly about .5" (12.7 mm) out of transaxle, dislodging retaining ring from its groove at end of drive axle. Grip both sides of inner CV joint and remove axle shaft and CV joint from vehicle.

[cp[mike]]

Minus the engine mounts, that is everything that needs to be disconnected in order to pull the motor. Unless you have a specific reason, removing anything more is un-necessary and will make it harder going back together.

To remove the engine mounts, first loosen them slightly by just breaking them free without removing them yet. A torque wrench comes in handy for this because they're probably gonna be a little stiff from age. Once the bolts are no longer tight, position the engine lift in front of the vehicle. Time to connect the chain to the motor and then the to the engine lift. Here's the two spots I picked to mount the chain to the motor at because it will allow the angle needed to remove the motor and these are some of the strongest bolts/bolt holes that the motor has. I also unplugged the ECT sensor (Engine Coolant Temperature) pictured in front of the passenger side chain connection. That was just to make sure I didn't crush it or anything like that while pulling the motor.



Now that the chain is connected to the engine, connect the chain to the engine lift and raise the lift up enough to take all the slack out of the chain. Remove the four 17mm bolts holding the mounts together. The mounts are pictured here.



The weight of the motor should be supported by the engine lift at this point. Now that those are removed, the entire passenger side mount on the motor itself needs to be removed to make clearance for it to be pulled (the motor needs to be LOWERED a little bit to give you room. lower and tip the tranny side down, to pull the mount up over the studs). There are three 17mm bolts holding the mount in place also circled and pointed to on the above pic. For the front mount, the bottom bolt needs to be loosened to be able to push it out of the way to make room for pulling it. Once those are removed and loosened , you can slowly lift the engine out of the car, but remember, you need to lift it out at the angle lifting the drivers side up first as pictured here.



It won't fit otherwise. Lift the motor slowly and double check to make sure it's not hanging on anything, everything's disconnected, and make sure the throttle body doesn't get smashed up against the firewall cause I've heard of that being a common error in this part of the swap process. If its an automatic, MAKE SURE the shift cable that is underneath the tranny is removed! Its easy to forget and will hold the motor into the engine bay.

If you are using a load leveler for removal (which is highly recommended)- slowly angle the motor more and more as you lift. It also helps if you pull the driver side end of the motor towards the front of the car, to give the crank pulley room to clear the side of the engine bay. Reinstallation is reverse, have the engine tipped and lower it down, tranny side first, and slowly level it out as it gets fit into the bay. During the entire process, every few inches that the motor is lifted or lowered, scan around the whole engine bay to make sure everything is clearing and nothing is getting crushed. It can be tedious and take almost an hour to get it set back in straight, but take your time.

heres a step-by-step on how to use a load leveler for removing the engine:

]
put the leveler on top of the motor, with the crank handle on the driver side.

make sure the pivot piece on the leveler is almost all the way to the left.

chain the driver side end of the bar directly to the stud on the driver side mount.

the chain for hte tranny side should go from the tranny bolt, thruy the leveler, then back down to the little hook bracket on the back of the tranny

once the motors weight is on teh chains, pull all 3 cross bolts out of the mounts. (front mount should already be gone). remove the 3 stud nuts from the tranny mount.

use the leveler to bring the pivot to the right, making the left side of the motor drop.

once tipped , itll give u enough room to pull the tranny mount off and out of the engine bay.

then keeping it at an angle, lift the motor up and out.

then it goes back in exactly backwards.

One last hint, removing the crank pulley before you start lifting the engine helps. The crank pulley is what makes it such a tight squeeze while tipping it out of the engine bay, so if you can manage to pull it off (air tools or the special tool) I recommend it. Check this out, http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog its probably one of the best tools ive ever purchased. It holds the crank pulley from turning (a second breaker bar is needed) while you remove the 19mm bolt with another breaker bar. I hear you can get this tool for ~35 at autozone and other parts stores, and some will even let you "rent" it for free, but i havent found this yet so i ended up buying it.

Once the motor is outside of your car, set it off to the side in a safe place. Hold on to it for now until the swap is complete. You may need to borrow a few things from it to work with the new motor.

If you will be swapping any other motor other than a direct replacement F22, check out this thread by BustedLX: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthre...&threadid=5423 it covers all the aspects of preparing the H22 (most common swap, but it applies to other motors too) to fit in your car. When whatever motor you will be installing is prepared, you can follow this removal guide backwards to help with installation. Good luck!

[aero]

Very nicely done.. I got mine all done and the gear selector cables got hung up on the motor, ripped one a little bit, think it will be ok though. But just make sure that you keep checking that everything is clear from the engine and not going to snag. Having a second person would also help to watch.

[xScott]

Nice write up!

[92accordDx]

very very nice write up it will help alot of people out including me good job mike

[blamethepunx]

nice man! i just disconnected everything that was attatched to something.

[SoySauceCb7]

hahah Im going to take a sawzall to my bitch.

[WiKKeDV16]

w3rd

[alb_accord]

make it into a sticky

[cp[mike]]

Originally posted by alb_accord
make it into a sticky

no more stickies... it was added to the Popular Thread Index up top. you should really check those...