h22a4

[EuroSpec]

should an h22a4 cost more or less than an h22a?

im keeping the story behind this question confidential for good reasons so dont ask cause i wont tell.

[nuc79]

honda started installing the H22A4 in the 97 prelude, and it's a US model motor.

So the benefits of an H22A4:
-usually less miles than an older H22A (jdm) counterpart. but not always. the H22A4 will have the VIN on the block, so if the motor is coming from a salvaged car, you can run a carfax report on the VIN and find out how many miles the car had when it was issued the salvage title.

-Will allways be U.S. smoggable (emissions friendly) if you're installing it in a CB7, since the motor is newer than the car. Not usually a concern unless you live in Cali and have to deal with the CARB (CA Air Resource Board) Nazis, and their strict emissions laws.

For the H22A: It's a JDM motor, hence the ommission of the trailing numeral in the block code. You'll have to tell us whether you're talking about an OBD1 H22A (95 and older), or an OBD2 H22A (96 and newer). Or possibly, it's the jdm prelude Type-S H22A, with the red valve cover IF YOU'RE LUCKY. Anyway, there's really no way to tell how many miles these jdm motors have, but typically, less than 50k when shipped to the US.

In regards to price, I think the following is typically what you'll find:
H22A1 < OBD1 H22A < H22A4 < OBD2 H22A < TypeS H22A

let us know if this answered your question. And by the way, if you don't mind me asking, why do you need to know?

[rawkus]

honda started installing the H22A4 in the 97 prelude, and it's a US model motor.

So the benefits of an H22A4:
-usually less miles than an older H22A (jdm) counterpart. but not always. the H22A4 will have the VIN on the block, so if the motor is coming from a salvaged car, you can run a carfax report on the VIN and find out how many miles the car had when it was issued the salvage title.

-Will allways be U.S. smoggable (emissions friendly) if you're installing it in a CB7, since the motor is newer than the car. Not usually a concern unless you live in Cali and have to deal with the CARB (CA Air Resource Board) Nazis, and their strict emissions laws.

For the H22A: It's a JDM motor, hence the ommission of the trailing numeral in the block code. You'll have to tell us whether you're talking about an OBD1 H22A (95 and older), or an OBD2 H22A (96 and newer). Or possibly, it's the jdm prelude Type-S H22A, with the red valve cover IF YOU'RE LUCKY. Anyway, there's really no way to tell how many miles these jdm motors have, but typically, less than 50k when shipped to the US.

In regards to price, I think the following is typically what you'll find:
H22A1 < OBD1 H22A < H22A4 < OBD2 H22A < TypeS H22A

let us know if this answered your question. And by the way, if you don't mind me asking, why do you need to know?

Just a side note, 96 and newer are closed deck. Open deck blocks have a different crank and fully floating wrist pins on the connecting rods. Connecting rods are swapable from one version to the next. Type S pistons can also be installed in older motors, but with the need of a floating wrist pin.
Dan

[deevergote]

Actually, 96+ is open deck, I believe. 92-95 is closed.

The biggest issue with the H22A4 is OBD2. If you don't mind converting, it's no big deal. pwrusr has an H22A4 in his car.

[EuroSpec]

thanks for the input guys

[EuroSpec]

let us know if this answered your question. And by the way, if you don't mind me asking, why do you need to know?

sorry man i cant tell im trying to keep names and business's (hint hint) confidential because i dont want them getting bad rep's because i havent got my car back from them yet to see their work, what i will say is that i ordered a JDM h22a and i got a call from him saying "i hope its ok you got an h22a4 it's only 5 less HP nothing else is different"...

[DjSpeedy]

Yo the car in the sig above this post looks pretty sick. Just wanted to say.

[nuc79]

what i will say is that i ordered a JDM h22a and i got a call from him saying "i hope its ok you got an h22a4 it's only 5 less HP nothing else is different"...

make them give you THEIR purchase invoice from the place they got the motor from (likely an auto salvage yard) to see if they paid the same for the H22A4 as what they charged you for a jdm H22A. But if you're paying for an H22 swap into a CB7, then the H22A4 might actually be a better (newer) motor for you. It has larger diameter crank journals (from what I've heard), making it harder to spin bearings.

Just check the VIN that is riveted to the front of the block just above the oil pan. Do a carfax check to see how many miles the car had when the salvage title was issued. If the VIN tag has been removed, might want to quiz the installer on it's whereabouts. Could always be a stolen motor.

Bottom line, they're putting a USDM motor in your car, so it came from a USDM 97-up prelude. Ask them what happened to that particular prelude, and why the motor is not still in it. Why would they use the H22A4 instead of the H22A? Two possible reasons: 1. They're saving money by doing it, because they already had the motor in stock or got it cheaper than a JDM one would have cost. OR 2. It's the same price as a JDM one, they could get it to the shop quicker, it's newer with less miles, and they're trying to do best for the customer.

[EuroSpec]

well thats the thing that confuses me... is that the owner said he ordered the h22a off of hmotorsonline.com and hmotors doesnt carry h22a4's. he told me that the tranny and ecu came n he was waiting on the motor then a week later he said he got a motor (h22a4) and it had 28xxx miles on it and was only 5 hp less that the h22a and that it was USDM not JDM. i've been hearing rumors that he picked it up damn cheep from another shop (900$) but he told me he got it for the same price.


i also heard that h22a4's didnt have the option of LSD and i ordered LSD (extra 300$). is that true?

[nuc79]

well thats the thing that confuses me... is that the owner said he ordered the h22a off of hmotorsonline.com and hmotors doesnt carry h22a4's. he told me that the tranny and ecu came n he was waiting on the motor then a week later he said he got a motor (h22a4) and it had 28xxx miles on it and was only 5 hp less that the h22a and that it was USDM not JDM. i've been hearing rumors that he picked it up damn cheep from another shop (900$) but he told me he got it for the same price.


i also heard that h22a4's didnt have the option of LSD and i ordered LSD (extra 300$). is that true?

that's true, none of the H22A4s ever came with LSD in the US. Tell him not to install the axles until you go in to look through the axle hole in the tranny to verify it's a straight-thru hole. The non-LSD, open diffs have a bar through the middle to hold the spider gears.

Also, I don't think Steve from Hmotorsonline would EVER ship just the Tranny and the ECU, and then ship the engine later. Sounds fishy to me. If Hmotors shipped him the tranny and the ecu, then they certainly would have shipped him the Block as well. What happened to that block?

And if it has 28k miles, ask the VIN number of the block so you can run a carfax and verify.

And someone else help me out... did the LSD only come in the Type-S in Japan?

Eurospec, how much did they charge you for the cost of the swap itself?

Call Steve at HMO and tell him the name of the shop that's installing it, and ask him if he can fax you the invoice directly, for warranty purposes. If he doesn't have any history of a purchase order for that shop, then threaten the shop with legal action for misleading you. And DON'T pay them a dime until you get solid proof, or contact a lawyer. An H22A w/LSD in a CB7 shouldn't cost more than 3500 installed.

[EuroSpec]

3300 for the swap... h22a LSD and i've payed it all already. im going to ask him bout it though. he's a legit guy (i think). i went there cause im good friends with one of the mechanics (who just quit because he wasnt getting paid enough) but im going to ask him about some of it. if he fucks with me i have some powerfull friends around here that can take make no one go there and he goes outa business i was confused why they would be shipped different too but im going to ask him and i dont want to accuse anyone of anything untill i get this straightened out because i like the owner of the shop.

[deevergote]

LSD was availible on all JDM H22s. Not sure if it was ever an option in the US.

The H22A4, being a USDM engine, most likely has more miles on it than the JDM engines are supposed to have. People often put 15k miles or more per year on their cars here in the US. In Japan, it's often less. I'd much rather have a JDM engine than a USDM engine. Plus, the A4 is OBD2... I hope your shady shop knows how to install that properly!

[nuc79]

3300 for the swap... h22a LSD and i've payed it all already.

Are you saying 3300 up front, just for the cost of the parts, and then you still have to pay more when you pick the car up!!??

Well, you can buy the H22 eng+LSDtranny+ecu for $2300 from Hmotorsonline. Shipping should be about 300-400 to KC. That's 2700 at most if you were to buy it yourself. And being a shop, he might even have gotten a discount, not sure if HMO does that.

So it looks like you paid him about 600 too much already just for the swap, IMO. Unless that 3300 includes EVERYTHING for the whole swap (labor, fluids, etc).

Oh yeah, and check the Throttle body on that H22A4 and see if there's an extra cable groove next to the throttle cable for an auto tranny kickdown cable. The H22A4 might have come out of a wrecked automatic lude. Though that's not always a bad thing, because the engine itself still has the same torque/hp, and AT cars haven't usually been beat on as bad as 5spds.

[deevergote]

I paid close to $4000 for everything 3 years ago... with labor. And even then I got shafted, IMO!!!

[EuroSpec]

no i paid 2300 upfront for the engine and then it got installed and i paid the other 1000 for labor. i had to order a header for it and it hasnt come in yet so i dont have the car (ordered the header through the store) but the shop isnt shady, and the guy knows hondas.. trust me. i dont doubt his skillage of swaps im just wondering about the a4 and the a (JDM, USDM) and if im getting shafted on the price and whatnot.