Previously swapped 92 honda ex wagon has H22a now

[Liypheria]

I bought my rocket and it already had a H22a in it. I fell in love with car and the responsiveness of the engine. I am not nearly as technically inclined as most of you fine folk on these forums and tried to read as much of all of your great info as I could.
There are some great posts about the initial swap that helped connect some dots for me, however I do have a question. I am replacing the engine anything special I should know about that process?
I am assuming should be fairly simple since was already installed with the H22a rather than stock engine.
Also, have received some conflicting information on what else I should replace?
Found a pretty great deal on engine, transmission (5sp), and ecu,
I have been told 2 totally different things about this, 1 guy told me easier to just do engine, and the other said easier and smarter to do all.
What is your opinon or advise?
Please forgive my ignorance or newness to mechanics. Any help is greatly appreciated, I do have a couple friends that are experienced mechanics, however their Honda knowledge is limited.

[oni_cb7]

With a manual trans, you have to put the motor and trans in the car at the same time. Same thing with pulling it out.

So, since you will be pulling both the motor and trans, might as well replace both of them.

I would also go through the new motor/trans and redo the seals and replace any worn parts.

[92LxCoupe92]

Is the swap obd1 or obd2?? If its a good enough deal and id good condition I'd purchase the entire swap, you wouldn't NEED it but its always good to have spare parts. Id also recommend reading through the swap guide to better understand it. Other than that since its already swapped it should basically drop in plug and play.

[deevergote]

With a manual trans, you have to put the motor and trans in the car at the same time. Same thing with pulling it out.

So, since you will be pulling both the motor and trans, might as well replace both of them.

I would also go through the new motor/trans and redo the seals and replace any worn parts.

That is absolutely, 100% false. The transmission can be removed without removing the engine, and the engine can be installed without the transmission (and then the transmission installed after the fact.) It's often easier to remove and install the two together, but it is not mandatory to do so.

I agree about the seals and worn parts, however. That's something that many people regard as optional that honestly SHOULD be considered mandatory!



Liypheria, be careful where your "good deal" comes from. If it's from some Canadian company, such as Tiger or Osaka, forget about it. Those places are famous for sending total junk to their customers... and if you're from the US, there's very little you can do about it. If you have been reading on here, you've probably come across numerous mentions of hmotorsonline.com. That is quite possibly the most reputable, trustworthy JDM engine supplier around (for Honda engines, anyway.) You will pay more, but you will get what you pay for. An $1800 engine that will run for years is WAY better than a $900 paperweight!

You do not need the "full swap". I made that mistake, and I have a pile of parts in my basement that I can't use... and I really can't even sell.
If your current transmission is good, and you like the gearing, there's no need to get a new one. If your transmission is grinding, or you have an Accord transmission with longer gears (and you would prefer the shorter gearing of a Prelude transmission), then get the transmission. Otherwise, why spend the money?

Assuming your swap was done correctly (always a risk with someone else's project), installing another H22 should basically be an easy affair. Your current setup should already be OBD1 (either a conversion of a 96+ engine, or a 92-95 engine.) You will be able to simply swap over all the OBD1 parts to the new engine... distributor, intake manifold, etc... and all will be good. The ECU, if it was running the old engine properly, should run the new one just fine. Of course, you definitely want to take a look at what ECU you have. Most likely, you will either have a stock P13 (proper H22A Prelude ECU), or a P28/P06/P72 (which should have been modified to run the H22A properly... they are Civic/Integra ECUs.) If you have one of the Civic/Integra ECUs, my advice would be to track down a proper P13... as you really don't know what has been done to the Civic/Integra ECU (and a bad tune can cause engine damage.)

Whatever you get, definitely change the timing belt, as well as all major gaskets and seals. This will be required to maintain whatever warranty the engine seller gives you anyway.

Why are you swapping one H22A for another, anyway?

[oni_cb7]

That is absolutely, 100% false. The transmission can be removed without removing the engine, and the engine can be installed without the transmission (and then the transmission installed after the fact.) It's often easier to remove and install the two together, but it is not mandatory to do so.

I agree about the seals and worn parts, however. That's something that many people regard as optional that honestly SHOULD be considered mandatory!

Deev.

Please see below:

Ive also done it, but only on an automatic. Reason is that you can fully unbolt the torque converter by accessing it through the little plate underneath, separating the trans+guts from the motor, allowing it to slide up and out. With a manual, the clutch and pressure plate stay atttached to the motor, and interfere with the bellhousing of the trans.

I would only recommnnd doing this if you have an automatic, and if you know what youre doing. While technically you get to remove less, with less working room it isnt as easy to maneuver or bolt them back together straight.

This is from a thread where we were discussing if the OP could remove the motor by itself and leave the manual trans in the car.

This is where I got the info.
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthre...93#post3250793

Thanks.

[deevergote]

I have removed the transmission from the engine while the engine remained in the car. I did it with cp[mike], in fact.
Perhaps with an automatic, what you say is correct... but since you specified manual, and I have actually done otherwise, I beg to differ.
You cannot remove the engine while leaving the manual transmission in place, but you do not have to take the two out together.

[cp[mike]]

i think the miscommunication is that the OP wants to remove the engine, and leave the transmission in place. That's not really possible on a manual. If you want to switch out the motor, the trans needs to come out, too. Whether you pull them out as one piece or pull them out piece by piece isn't the point - the point is that the motor can't easily be pulled by itself while leaving the trans (like is possible with many RWD / other cars)

[Sleeper93accord]

i think the miscommunication is that the OP wants to remove the engine, and leave the transmission in place. That's not really possible on a manual. If you want to switch out the motor, the trans needs to come out, too. Whether you pull them out as one piece or pull them out piece by piece isn't the point - the point is that the motor can't easily be pulled by itself while leaving the trans (like is possible with many RWD / other cars)

Pull both at the same time much easier

[deevergote]

He's not asking about removal, he's asking about what he should replace. Just because it's easier to pull the engine and transmission together doesn't mean he has to replace both.