SCHNELLM3

First of all let me say hi to everyone, I joined here when I got my 97 accord beater, never really posted much just lurked. With that said I have a 97 accord ex 4dr manual that I got for free over 2 years ago. The car has had lots of problems which I have taken care of, new axles, ball joints, suspension, radiator, hoses, brakes, etc. The car needed lots of TLC. After replacing all these parts and driving the car for a while it developed a starting problem. The car would always start but it would take a while for it to finally fire up. After looking further into it with my friend who is a mechanic we found that the head gasket is bad. There is a little bit of antifreeze in the oil, not enough to show on the dip stick, but if you pull the cap on top of the motor you can see the nasty oil and water mix. My question is should I spend the time to replace the head gasket or just swap out the motor with the same motor or H22? The car has 205,000 miles on it. It's a daily driver I use to keep miles off my M3. Just looking for a little guidance as this is the first honda I have owned and I love the car when it's working. Thanks in advance.

vtec4clyfury

I'm doing the h22 swap myself. My motor has 247,900 miles on it and the rad cap has a thin film of oil on it. You can also see the bubbles with the radiator cap as soon as the thermostat opens. So rather than put a new timing belt, new had gasket, check for warpage on the head and do more than too much shit to an old slow engine why not opt up for little more power. If i do all teh work myself i'll already end up spending more than 300 to 400 for parts. 7-800 dollars i could probably find a used prelude engine and be more happy with the extra bit of power.

stereo

it's really a matter of time and money also the H22 need 91 octane fuel and doesn't get as good mileage as the F22 plus the trans ,ecu axles and other misc stuff to complete the swap, I was doing this swap in my 94 (99 h22a4) so I have a to do a OBD2 conversioon but haven't put the motor in as 91 goes for $4.79/gallon ...

SCHNELLM3

thanks for your input guys. I didn't know that the axles would have to be changed. From what I read it should be, for the most part it's a straight swap, I know the ECU would have to be replaced. The 91 gas doesn't bother me that much. That's what I have to run in my bike and other car anyway. The accord will still get better mileage than the M3. I just figured since I need a new head gasket I would rather swap and avoid having a warped head or block. And why not toss a few extra dollars in there and get a little more performance out of it. I guess I'm really looking to see the cost difference between just dropping in the same motor or going for a little more performance/fun.

Icon Of Sin

You need a transmission too if you put an h22 in. Might also have to replace some of the motor\tranny mounts.

vtec4clyfury

i read that the f series and the h series will bolt up to either engine. I'm sure the 'lude auto tranny is beefier but seems well worth it to me. Anybody running an h22 with a f22 auto?

It actually uses 91 octane stock?? Wtf is the compression ratio, like 10:1 or somethin nuts?

stereo

it's a straight swap because it doesn't need any mounts welded in...but hope you have a 5sp already if not it will make the swap harder if USDM as a 97+ SS trans is completely diffrent and also have to deal with the immobilizer system.. the mounts are going to be the left (t-belt side) mount from a 4th gen lude and has to be shaved down to fit and the rest are your stock mounts, as for a/c you have to use the accord bracket and tweek the oil dipstick tube and the P/S I haven't figured out yet as i'm guessing a 4th gen bracket but cannot get my hands on one to try or 5thgen bracket and pump and have the
hose fitting made also have to wire up vtec solonoid,vtec oil pressure and knock sensor.

(vtec4clyfury) yes all Honda DOHC Vtec motors B16a,b18c,h22a run on 91+ as they have high compression .

hondaman072

can anyone get at me if they know how hard it would be to do the h22 swap in a 99 accord? i've done one in my 92 cant imagine its much different?