h22 swap down the drain

[daovangphotos]

Long story short:
Had a water pump going out on my A6, thought was main bearing, replaced with JDM H22A.
Threw Map sensor code on idle, and knock sensor at 7.5k or 30-35mph.

Got rid of map code, waited on power steering pump from h23... got cited for car being on jack stands (stoopid california) so i drove my car around the block, testing to see if knock sensor code appeared (it did)

Drove it to 45mph, no CEL, no codes, come up to a light, release brakes and light throttle, car sits there and revs like it was in neutral.

Towed the car home, removed drain plug, find all sorts of metal shavings in the oil.

Bought a used tranny with 6 month warranty (waiting to come in)

So before i ran into the tranny problem, i spent over $3,200 in parts (needed for the swap) I did all the labor myself. (did not include beer and food prices, which was costly)

Now with a tranny on top (costed me $440) im closing in to 4k.

I just want to give up and say, whoever can come up with the money i spent for all the parts, can take over the car and the rest of the work.

[cb7pr]

Ive heard so many stories about frikin JDM Honda Engines being defective, that Im sick of it. Being a victim myself, I DO NOT trust them. Yes, they say they have low mileage, but apparently no maintenance.

Shavings, rod knocks, oil pump failures...thats just a few to name on things that Ive heard going wrong, and have happened to me.

So my personal recommendation: If you purchase a JDM H/B/D/F, make sure to do your homework, and replace all crucial parts before install (HONDA OEM). Warranties are key, but make sure to read all the fine print, alot of sellers try to beat around the bush.

Dont loose faith, money is already spent, might as well finish it.

[deevergote]

Always buy from a reputable seller... they get their engines from reputable sources, and will often come with a warranty that will be honored. www.hmotorsonline.com is the one place I would ALWAYS trust.

Even so, every engine should be inspected, and all wear items replaced before it's installed (that's usually part of the warranty requirements of any seller.)

I'm sorry to hear that it crapped on you, man. That's harsh.

[excalibur02]

It happens man...

My first h22 was bought from a shady dude.. he kept saying it was a fine low mileage h22a1 with a h trans and stage 2 clutch....

I was 2004 and cb7t did not have alot of information it has now. Not many tech savy people posted.

I spent $800 on that swap.. Motor blew up once it had spark, cp[mike] was a witness on the phone when the loud pop happened lol.

I took the trans apart. Had a old oem clutch. Yes I got fucked royally... Even the trans wasnt what I bought... It was a f22 ex trans.

I got screwed big time.

2 weeks later I bought my 2nd h22 from a japanese importer.

Lesson here is always check the motor inside, compression, the works.

You will be sad and mad most the time but just get up and suck it up. If not leave the game...

[Ghetto_CB7]

H motors online

I remain convinced that if you want to get a motor and not have to rebuild it before putting it in your car, to go with hmo.

I have not seen or heard a bad story from them.

I got my h22a swap from them, and when I turned it on all was good. However when I went to put it in gear the clutch would not disengage. i ended up having to pull the trany. I took all parts out of the bell housing,and inspected all of them, I couldn't find anything that would cause the issue, but I sent hmo an email, and some pictures, and they sent me another clutch flywheel, and pressure plate.

I installed a new oem throw out bearing, and put it all back in. That time I could shift just fine.

They are good people there, and they stand behind their products.


Another story. One of the people I know from back home bought the same swap I did, however he was not smart enough to add transmission fluid. He drove it for 500 miles dry! before he had an issue. It turns out he welded a few gears together LOL.

Well He called HMO and they said that if he shipped the trany back they would sell him another for half price. He did, and they did.

[deevergote]

Yeah, I got my motor from them in 2003. I've beaten the piss out of it, and it hasn't failed me yet. Steve was a real upfront guy about everything.

I got dicked around by the shop that installed it for me (2003... no cb7tuner, and everyone on other forums said it was too hard for an amateur to do!) but I don't feel cheated by HMO in the least. I paid about $2500 for my H22 (complete swap) shipped. NOT cheap... but for what I got, well worth it! I'd rather pay a lot for something that works, than pay a little for something that breaks.

[daovangphotos]

Nothing was wrong with the motor really, did a tune up by replacing the parts that needed to be replaced: Timing belt, oil pump belt, water pump, flushed motor, reset timing, new DC header, new distributor, new plugs and wires, new oil and oil filter.... i was set.

I drove my stock F22 tranny, semi dry (which already slips from 1st to 2nd before the swap) and drove it hard (after a few hours of idle)
Did test runs to see if i get check engine lights, and it throws the knock sensor code, but nothing tranny related.

Kinda figured something could, and would go wrong, since i didnt drain the tranny fluid and fill it up again.

But it brings me to ask, is it ok to run the stock F22 auto tranny with the prelude auto tranny TCU?

Because i cant shift out of park when i step on the brakes.

[deevergote]

It SHOULD work just fine... all the TCU does is tell it where to shift in the RPM range. It really shouldn't even know what transmission it's shifting.

[daovangphotos]

It SHOULD work just fine... all the TCU does is tell it where to shift in the RPM range. It really shouldn't even know what transmission it's shifting.

Thats what i was told also.

But i hate that i have to stick in a key everytime i want to get the car out of park.



Now another issue i ran into is that i bought an H series power steering pump, but it doesnt bolt up to my bracket. Damn, its just one issue after another.

[deevergote]

You can use the F series pump.

[DJ metadelic]

I've heard horrible things about tigerjapanese. Great things about hmo. I think it really depends on where you get the engine. Unfortunately they're not gone over too well, and won't warn buyers of telltale signs like sludge, or bronzing which could mean the oil wasn't changed enough, nor at proper intervals. For obvious reasons too...they're just trying to sell a motor. What gets me is when they do it in a dishonest way. But we're all used to that at this point...

[daovangphotos]

You can use the F series pump.

I ordered a prelude high pressure line already because my F series had a leak.

I've heard horrible things about tigerjapanese. Great things about hmo. I think it really depends on where you get the engine. Unfortunately they're not gone over too well, and won't warn buyers of telltale signs like sludge, or bronzing which could mean the oil wasn't changed enough, nor at proper intervals. For obvious reasons too...they're just trying to sell a motor. What gets me is when they do it in a dishonest way. But we're all used to that at this point...

I didnt order my engine online, i picked it up local at a warehouse.


Next time though, for sure its hmo.

[kantkillkeenan]

Block teardown is crucial

[Raf99]

Man, hang in there! I agree with deev; I paid $2900 for my whole engine/tranny/ECU, and you pay for what you get.
I don't tell my story often but it took me 1 1/2 years to get my H working properly. I ordered it from offshore and the power steering was fooked from shipping (bent power steering pulley). The guys I had helping me to install it fooked me around for more than year (putting me off, delaying work, delaying ordering of parts) and they had no clue what they were doing. I was stuck in a serious position for a while. Almost 2 years later (the following summer) I hauled that car out of there!
It bearly ran, i had no transmission mount, no power steering, check engine lights and a wack of other problems! I was missing my A/C compressor, half my A/C lines, fan wires incorrectly hooked up, dents in the car, warped rotors, broken parts, wires dangling, whole muffler pipe was gone. After spending so much time and $ on this I wanted to give up!! (i was looking at $2900 for the engine, and $1000 for their crap). I also lived in the country at the time so I had no-one else to take this thing to (who knew what they were doing).
I took the car home and did a lot of fixing, as much as I could. Eventually I needed professional help! I took the car to the city where a local pro shop (specialize in turbo's and engine swaps) helped me get this thing back to par! I still run into problems from the BS the first mechanics did like distributor bolts coming lose, crank shaft pulley bolt came lose/out, and I still have a check engine light that comes on at high rpms. I still find wires that need fixing and bolts they dropped and never picked up. I'm still missing parts they never gave back to me. Yes, i reported them to the BBB, and for a while I was going to sue them / not anymore though.

Now my car is sweeet though! I have no issues with it (other than the check engine light due to the ECU that needs tuning), and it makes me smile all the time. I get so jealous when I read about others doing the swap in their backyard in 2 days and everything is fine for them! The only good thing I had going was my engine was solid. I was easily between $4k-$5k to get things working properly, it sucked.

So if this is what you want, hang in there man! Maybe take a break for a few weeks. Time heals all.

[cb7pr]

just forget the PS bro..its just another unnecessary headache. I dont have any of that stuff. And Im doing just fine