owequitit : 1990 Accord EX

[owequitit]

Accord LX rear mount and bracket
Prelude tranny mount


Just 2 questions. How come you got an LX rear mount and bracket, not an EX? Is an LX one needed for the swap? And you're getting the Prelude tranny mount so that you don't have to drill and tap your accord one to get it to bolt on right?

What's the weather looking out to be for the week you are off? Make sure you look into that, unless you have a huge indoor garage or something. Good luck.

I am doing a 5 speed swap at the same time I am doing the engine swap, so the mount requirements are a little different.

If you are doing the 5 speed swap, there are 2 ways to do it. You can remove the auto tranny bracket and weld a 5 speed bracket to the car, or you can use the "no weld" method.

The CB7 tranny bracket is located on the frame in the same place as the manual tranny bracket from a CD5 or a BB4/BB6. Honda changed it from the CB7, so the CD has the bracket located in the same spot whether it is Auto or manual. The through bolt hole is slightly different, but that is it.

Using the Prelude or 1994-1997 manual transmission mount allows you to keep the auto tranny bracket and still get everything to line up correctly.

I got a good deal on the Prelude mount from TYSCB7, and it is a little better suited for the H22's power, so I bought that.

It also saves me from having to tap the tranny like you said. Since I have an H22 LSD tranny, it will just bolt right up to the tranny, and then to the car.

That is why you use the Prelude/CD Accord mount on the tranny.

As for the LX rear mount bracket, you use those because the Prelude/CD Accord manual mount wants to put the tranny several MM lower in the engine bay (not even really enough to see).

The LX mount and bracket have a slightly shorter height than the EX or auto mount and bracket, and make the installation slightly easier. You CAN use the EX mount and bracket,but you have to force it more, and it is harder on the mount.

Since my rear mount is shot anyway, I just order a new LX mount and bracket. They were cheaper anyway.

The front dogbone will get reused, and the driver's side mount will require 2 small spacers in between the engine bracket and the actual mount so that the nose of the engine drops the few MM that the other mounts have. I bought a new one of these too because all of my mounts except the dogbone are original and in dire need of replacement.

One added benefit of the "no weld" method, is that the lower positioning of the engine actually improves the driveshaft angle, making them closer to parallel with the ground. This has a side benefit of reducing torque steer.

It also allows you to take advantage of the rear motor mount insert that Prothane makes for the LX/DX and the 1994-1997 Accord, but not for the 1990-1993 EX, as well as the stronger tranny mount for the Prelude.

With the way I drive, I am going to need beefier mounts especially with the LSD and the ACT HDSS clutch and Streetlite flywheel! It should grab rather well.

The benefits probably aren't significant enough to justify rewelding the bracket on a manual car, but since it all works in my favor now anyway, I may as well make the most of it.

The engine should also not sit lower enough to where clearance is an issue. It should still be tucked up above the cross bar, but I will be sure to be aware of that.

Thanks for the concern about the weather! In the location where I am doing it, the weather has actually be very mild so far this year. I am swapping it at my parents in my home town in the desert. They have a large garage that I will be using, so it shouldn't be a problem.

The biggest issue will be locating an engine hoist and stand that I can use down there. The ones I use up here are being used already, so I couldn't move them. A minor obstacle though.


Hopefully, that answered your question.

[owequitit]

your car is the tits good sir.

Thank you.

I really need to get some updated exterior pics of it.

[93_EXR.]

Wow! your car looks Amazeing, Keep it Up,

Good job

[owequitit]

The last pre christmas bump.

Got all the rest of the swap stuff from Majestic Honda yesterday.

All of the mortality stuff like clutch master and slave cylinders, belts hoses etc.

Using used stuff wouldn't have been conducive to reliability, so I did as much as I could new. One of the goals of this project is to get another few good years out of the car as a potential DD.

I also ordered my 2.5" collector header and my 2.5" carsound cat today.

Hopefully that will add some power. Hopefully, the H22 is in good health to begin with, because that would make life a whole lot easier.

It is only the DC Sports 2.5", but there was just no way something like SMSP was in the budget this Christmas. It should be worth a few HP over the regular DC header, which was actually good for a few HP over the stock manifold. I am hoping maybe 10WHP although I won't know, unless I find a stock manifold...

The exhaust system will be 2.5" right up to the catback which is not quite 2.5." It is 60MM which works out to 2.36". I am sure going with a 2.5" catback would serve some effect, because it would give me about 12% more cross sectional area. When you multiply that by the length of the pipe, it probably works out to quite a bit more volume, which is good for power.

2 problems though. The extra cost may not be worth the gain, because I would want something as high quality and quiet as what I have now, and I love my RS*R catback.

Perhaps one day in the future I will buy an 05+ RSX Type S muffler (2.5" I.D.) and have some custom piping with a resonator made.

I am not too worried, because overall, the flow should be a lot better than what it would be with a cheapo header and a 2" collector and cat.

In the meantime, I will just settle for what I have and see what happens.

The ACT Streetlite flywheel has been received.

I will have to have the cat modified with flanges to fit in the car, but that shouldn't be a big deal, and the muffler shop in my home town is reasonably priced and competent, so I am not too worried about that.

I have the stuff I need to clean and prep the engine bay, and I am going to try and clean up my wiring a little bit. I wasn't able to get the harness connectors, so that will probably get done when I do the interior. We will see.

Other than that, it isn't going to be a big deal, and I am very excited.

I have wanted a 5 speed H22 Accord for a long time, and now it will be a reality. It is hard to deal with the fact that my F22 has 1 real day worth of good service left.

I have really enjoyed that engine and learned a lot with it. I have done things in that engine that people thought were not possible. Had I not found the H for such a good deal, I probably would have kept it, because other than being an auto, I was very close to being happy with the performance. Maybe I will still keep it...

The auto tranny has also not given me any issues, although I am not sure I will miss that nearly as much.

Pre and post retirement videos to come.

[owequitit]

Wow! your car looks Amazeing, Keep it Up,

Good job

Thank you for the compliment. It was a rough year for the car (it got hit twice).

I am going to get that all taken care of in the new year though, and it will back better than ever.

[TysCb7]

your car is coming along great! I can't wait for more updates. BTW thanks for buying the tranny mount.

[ray ray]

believe me guys this accord will be one of the sickest rides on here very shortly.i havew worked with scott on this car and get the privilege of having photoshoots with it anytime.lol.i hope my next cb7 will become as clean as this one and i cant wait for a ride in her once he's done.

p.s. it still looks like granny's 4 door.lol. but it wont run like one.lol.
more like lil ole lady from pasadena.lol.

[lokuputha]

wow! I can't believe I've never seen ur member ride page b4....love this pic...

this one especially:



looks worthy of that new CB7tuner calendar comming up.

good job on the car man...can't wait to read ur next post

[Accord13&BA4]

I noticed your 88-89 Prelude steering wheel.


nice touch.
Clean car, very nice job man.

[ray ray]

ill be the first to vote for scott for the calendar, should be december with the frost white.lol.

[owequitit]

your car is coming along great! I can't wait for more updates. BTW thanks for buying the tranny mount.

LOL!

Thanks for selling it to me! I looked everywhere for one, and couldn't find it.

It saved my butt big time!

[owequitit]

believe me guys this accord will be one of the sickest rides on here very shortly.i havew worked with scott on this car and get the privilege of having photoshoots with it anytime.lol.i hope my next cb7 will become as clean as this one and i cant wait for a ride in her once he's done.

p.s. it still looks like granny's 4 door.lol. but it wont run like one.lol.
more like lil ole lady from pasadena.lol.

LOL!

Thanks for the compliments! LOL! You have helped me out a whole lot and you know it.

I kind of like the grannie effect. Besides, I think that little old lady from Pasadena song may have been written for my Grandmother.

LOL! I love the Beach Boys.

[owequitit]

wow! I can't believe I've never seen ur member ride page b4....love this pic...

this one especially:



looks worthy of that new CB7tuner calendar comming up.

good job on the car man...can't wait to read ur next post

Thank you sincerely for the compliment!

I would be flattered if my car ended up in the calendar. I would make me feel like the work has paid off.

I love the car anyway, and ultimately do it for my own gratification, but it is nice to know that others appreciate it sometimes too.

Oh yeah, a lot of it was the camera.

[owequitit]

ill be the first to vote for scott for the calendar, should be december with the frost white.lol.

LOL!

Thanks!

I was kind of hoping for June, but would be perfectly happy with any month.

[owequitit]

I updated the mods list on page one.

Be careful, there is a lot of red ink...

Due to some holiday adventure, it didn't go quite as quickly as I had planned.

I think on X-mas eve alone I took over 4 showers just because I would have a family thing, and then work on the car and then have a family thing, etc.

Everything came apart smoothly, and the only thing that was a little surprising, was the evidence of blow by in the intake runners on the F22.

It burned NO oil, so I am not sure if it was just something else, or if it had built up over the course of time. There was a slight gas smell to it, as though maybe the injector pattern wasn't optimal, but mostly, it was oil.

OH WELL. I guess it doesn't matter at this point anyway. I may keep it to rebuild just for the hell of it. Maybe I will build it for a lot of boost, so I can swap it into a hatchback or something...

The H went together well, and went in well.

Like I said before, it got a new T-belt, waterpump, and tensioner. It also got a complete new valve cover gasket kit, and the usual plugs, wires, cap and rotor.

There were no other oil leaks.

There were no alarming signs in the crankcase, although, I did not open the filter, but I did keep it, just in case.

There is no oil staining, and the degree of wear on the cam lobes would be consistent with the approximate mileage of a JDM engine. I also pulled a set of plugs, a cap and rotor, and a timing belt/water pump that were all OEM and appeared to be original. Nothing alarming there either.

The "no weld" mount trick worked fine, but since all 4 mounts were essentially new (the Prelude tranny mount was slightly used, all others were NIB) it required a fair degree of coersion to get it in and lined up correctly. The mount inserts didn't help either.

The flywheel, clutch and tranny all went on without a hitch, although I should have painted the TDC dimple on the flywheel, so that it would be easier to see. Not a problem to do it down the road though.

The Skunk2 Pro Series cam gears look really nice and seem like they will work great. The only issue I had was the fact that they are machined so tightly, that it was very difficult to get the key in and the cam gear on at the same time. The camgear really wanted to push the key out the back. Some resistance is normal, but this wasn't some. A finger holding the key in back to get it started wasn't too bad though.

The five speed swap went fine, but I ran into a little resistance with the gas/brake pedal assembly. I had forgotten what a pain they can be to get out. Luckily, my friend took that over while I did the master cylinder and finished the clutch line.

I also took the opportunity to install the XM receiver in place of where the TCU used to be. That will help keep it more space efficient and secure.

It was the perfect opportunity to replace the brakes with the Prelude VTEC/ rotor over hub stuff I have had in the garage for months now. Those aren't quite done yet, but they probably will be tomorrow.

I thought I had 40/40 proportioning valve to put in, but we pulled 3 or 4 that day, and apparently, I may have given it to someone else, because the one I have is a 30/30 just like the one that is already on the car. I will pick one of those up.

I will probably also replace the axles soon, because they are used, and I just don't really trust them, at least not long term.

And alas, the car won't be running for awhile because the header that I ordered did not show up in time. Hopefully, it will be here by next weekend, so I can get it wrapped up.

I was also going to use the external coil dizzy that came with the engine, but the Prelude harness that came with it was internal coil, so it was either a modified non-VTEC harness, or it wasn't a Prelude harness at all. I am just going to pick up an internal coil version and sell the external coil one. It will just be easier.

The PSPEC feels great. The throws are all even, smooth and quick. One of my complaints about a lot of short shifters is that they shorten the front to back throw, but not the side to side throw, so they end up having a small throw from 1/2 or 3/4, but a really long throw from 2/3. That is not the case with the PSPEC. He apparently did some good homework, because it is all symetrical like it should be. The one Forbidden I have tried was a little bit uneven. The knob and the boot are really cool, but I am sure the knob will burn my ass in the summer.

As for the future...

I want to get a strut tower bar fabricated to replace the Neuspeed that I can't use anymore.

Then I want to get all of the front and rear bushings replaced.

I may upgrade to slightly larger anti-roll bars as well, but haven't decided yet. We will see.

I want to get the leather interior seats recovered, and then that will be going in. I think that will transform the look and the feel of the car a lot because it will be white on black.

Unfortunately, the 1st order of business is to get the rear bumper fixed where the person hit the car.

I don't have a photo journal because the week has been so hectic, but I do have a few pics I will post up later. Don't expect anything too spectacular though.