F20a...need To Swap...what Engine???

[r. masajo]

wat up guys,just came back from pi annual vacation....

now here the thing. i have '90 accord si.. F20a DOHC.. after a few months of buying it.. its burning oil and white smoke all over...now i've decided to do engine swap.. there's this place here in SA that sell JDM honda engines...

they told me the mechanic F23a SOHC Vtec is the best to choose coz its easy to find parts compared to DOHC engines.. which is quite true.. been tryin' to find a valve guide for my F20 but i cant find 1, even valve cover gasket.... that is why i decided to go down from DOHC to SOHC...

mechanic said he'd still they'll gonna use my F20 TB, tranny & exhaust & intake manifolds...

for the Vtec to work they said its up to them already... i'm a bit affraid coz i've read that i need to use P0a ecu for the Vtec to work on that F23.. anyways i'll leave it to them... got 2 months warranty on the engine though...

FYI here in SA it is more on JDM's than USDM's

question is:

1. due to parts unavailability for DOHC engine will anyone consider swapping for F23? if not which would you consider??
2. should i retain my f20 tranny or take the f23 tranny??
3. power gain???

im scheduled to do the swap on Saturday... so guys need your help... this is my DD and i don't want to regret this swap....

i'm open for suggestions and comments...

thanks in advance...

[Mishakol129]

1. I have a F23 in my wagon right now. What I did though is put the F22b dohc (same as F20 dohc) head on the F23 short block. You can do that without much modification. Its easier than trying to use the Vtec F23 head and which is why I did it. It will take a bit of modification though.

2. F20 trans should be more than good enough I think

3. You will gain much more power with an F23 whether its a long block or a short block hybrid (like what I did). The gas mileage gain also be much better.

[deevergote]

Honestly, the F23A swap is often more of a headache than anything else. It's a decent engine for moving the car around, but that's about it.
Your F20A DOHC makes 150hp. The best F23A also makes 150hp... but there are lower models that make as little as 135hp (so you could be downgrading, depending on which F23A you're getting!)
The F23A does make about 152lb·ft of torque, compared to the F20A DOHC's 137lb·ft. The larger displacement means that the low-end power is going to be more noticeable (though you won't be able to rev as high.)

Still, you're going to be running an ECU for the F22B1 (or equivalent... F22B1 is the USDM variant), which won't be correct. The F23A's aftermarket is probably smaller than the F22A/F20A aftermarket.

I'd say that if you don't NEED the swap right now, and you can afford a better engine, hold off until you find something more worthy of swapping. H22A is my favorite, as it's easy to install, reliable, and you just can't go wrong with 200hp! Since the H22A has an ECU that is compatible with your car, it's much easier to get it running properly.

Personally, if my options were F20A DOHC or F23A, I'd choose the F20A.

[r. masajo]

@mishakol129.i'm not into so much power though... i'm more concerned on the availability of the parts..anyways i'll go and try that in the future if i'm gonna swap with F23..

@deeve... got the F23 around $750 for Vtec engine,, so i guess H22 will be the same too... your right H22 is OBD1 that is why i won't have much of a problem running the Vtec... hopefully i can drop by to day at their shop and check if they have H22 they have plenty of rebuild engines from Japan... and hopefully parts are available for H22 here in SA.. i'll keep you posted guys..

thanks...

[deevergote]

The H22A is a much more worthwhile swap. If you're going to get the work done, you might as well get the best engine available!

Also, if you just keep the F20A, you can find any parts you need from the Asian market. www.autodynamics-honda.com is a site I found yesterday while helping someone with the same engine on Facebook.

[r. masajo]

for sure i can find f20a parts even in pi.. but it cost me more to ship it here in SA. how bout my tranny? is it ok to retain my f20 tranny? my TB will still be f20 right?

i sent you a pm bro...

[deevergote]

Transmission should be fine. Throttle body, I'm not sure. You might need the F23 one for the F23 manifold... H22 would most definitely be bigger. I'm not 100% certain.

Got your PM. I got distracted while replying. Shirt and decal will be sent later today, or first thing tomorrow morning

[r. masajo]

i hope my f20 tb will work..if not...but i hope it will. i think i can find one in the junk yard... keep you posted on the swap...

re: shirts n decals.. its nice to hear that bro.....

[r. masajo]

got some problem deeve. they dont have in stock h22. i cant wait anymore... they f22b sohc, b20b dohc and f23 sohc vtec... wat do you thnk?

[deevergote]

B20B won't work. F22B sohc kinda sucks, though you can get an ECU that will plug right in for it. f23A is the best of that group. The ecu is the only annoying part of it.

[r. masajo]

F.... got the f22b sohc already... ill check on swqp section on how i can upgrade the f22b sohc... kinda pissed coz i didnt get the engine want....

[deevergote]

The only real benefit is that you can at least use the correct ECU without crazy wiring, so you can get it running properly.

There are some performance options for the F22B, but not many. Bisimoto has some products for it, and you could always add a turbo if you're willing to install forged pistons (as long as a turbo is legal where you live... some places I know it's not.)

[r. masajo]

you mean i cant use my old ecu? which ecu i look into? btw there's an h22 lying n their shop which needs to be rebuilt.. it will just cost me a $100 im thinkin of takin that h22 then built it little by little till im done rebuilding it then sell the f22 then swap with h22.. i dont have time to wait for a new engine thats why ive decided to take that f22...my car needs to run asap

[Jarrett]

What about the H22A needs to be rebuilt. A blown headgasket is very different from a spun main bearing.

[deevergote]

The ECU for a 2.0L engine with a 9.5:1 compression ratio and 150hp is tuned quite differently from the ECU for a 2.2L engine with a 8.8:1 compression ratio and 135hp.
The F22B will run on the ECU for the F20A, but it won't be right. If you push the new engine to redline often, it may do damage. For conservative driving it should be safe for a while.
The correct ECU for the F22B (assuming it's non-VTEC) is the P0B. At least that's correct for the USDM F22B2. I'm assuming it would be the same worldwide.

If you can get the H22A for an additional $100 and have it rebuild, I'd say go for it. If you need your car running NOW, maybe you can work out a deal to have the F22B put in temporarily, and then swap out for the rebuild H22A when it's ready. The H22A really is a much better engine. 200hp in these cars makes them quite fun to drive!