h22a4 for $500?

[dockinrez]

Was offered the motor but its missing valve cover, can holders, intake manifold, and header. Worth it? Or should I just go through with my f23 block and f22a head

[wildBill83]

Chances are if it is missing those then it may be missing more and also has the internals exposed to the environment. Do you know why it was removed? Do you know if it has ever been rebuilt?

P/S pump, OBD1 alternator, OBD1 dizzy, a/c compressor included? H22A4 is OBD2 so you will need conversion parts.

What does the timing belt look like? Does it have the tensioner conversion?

Can you rebuild it? Chances are it will need it.

[Jarrett]

Would anyone care to explain what is so valuable about H22A cam holders? I swear, every head for sale never has them, junkyard H22A4s always seem to have them removed and the only H22A1 I've ever seen in a yard had them missing also. What gives?

OP, if everything else is fine, it may be a good deal, but like Bill is implying there is a substantial risk. The F23A/F22A will still be a fun runner. The only downside to it is that there will not be an OEM ECU option. You will have to get an tuneable ECU and chip it and have the car tuned.

[wildBill83]

Would anyone care to explain what is so valuable about H22A cam holders? I swear, every head for sale never has them, junkyard H22A4s always seem to have them removed and the only H22A1 I've ever seen in a yard had them missing also. What gives?

I'm guessing they are ran with low oil and scar the cam holders and use JY ones and polish the ones in the head rather than replace the whole head. I had to replace the dizzy mount cam holder on my H22A4 because the one that matched the motor had an ear broken off. I polished it excessively and it may leak (fixable), but that is better than binding in my opinion.

Also using cam holders from a different head runs the risk of them not having enough oil clearance.

A good look at the cams themselves will answer that question.

[deevergote]

I've been told that the cam caps are bored to match the head... and swapping caps can cause the cams to bind. I've never experienced this personally, but I've had friends I trusted tell me this.

[wildBill83]

I've been told that the cam caps are bored to match the head... and swapping caps can cause the cams to bind. I've never experienced this personally, but I've had friends I trusted tell me this.

Your friends are 100% correct on this. I only replaced one cap on the end of the cam (dizzy end). But I polished the cam bearing surfaces to a shine in the head and the caps then excessively polished the dizzy cam cap. I then test fitted them with no valves or springs in the head and rotated the cams to feel for play or binding. I was happy to not have any binding.

It took me forever this weekend to get it where I was happy with it, I would not recommend it for someone without propper tools. The head looks brand new now and hopefully functions as well as it looks.

Oooo shiny!

[cb7_with_snail]

Dude stick with the bbh. (Big block Honda) lol f2.3

[Jarrett]

The big-block term is colloquial and refers to both the F-series and H-series engines.

[wildBill83]

If you do buy the motor, after haggling the price WAY down first, buy a gasket kit first thing, including head gasket.

Take the head off and check the cylinder walls also remove the bottom end and look for oil stains or other signs of low oil conditions such as gunk buildup. I would also check the main/rod bearings to see if they are worn.

I would not expect it to just drop in after adding the missing items without a once over.

[da9b16]

I've been told that the cam caps are bored to match the head... and swapping caps can cause the cams to bind. I've never experienced this personally, but I've had friends I trusted tell me this.

This is ABSOLUTELY TRUE.... and if you try swapping them in between heads the chances are EXTREMELY HIGH that you will scar and mark (more than likely damage) EVERYTHING... head bearing surfaces, cam caps and cams. Having a set line bored to match is usually more expensive than buying another head and in some cases another longblock.