H22 Prelude 98 to Accord 98

tknightt

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I have a 98 Accord 4cyl, 4dr, manual, which I got dirt cheap. I reasearched alot about engine mods I could do and I opted for a swap to a H22 engine. I can get a complete automatic 98 Prelude once again very inexpensive (not even the price of a jdm engine only. From al the research I done, previously done swaps detailed on various forums and what not, have all been with 97 and earlier H22's. Can this be applied to a 98 H22, has anybody sucessfully done so ? do you recommend it. I know the 5 speed from the F23 would fit a 97H22 but what about a 98 ? I might even attemp the swap myself since the accord will be stored for the winter anyways.

Thanks in advance for the input, your comments will help me make a decision if I buy the Prelude or not (woudn't want to end up with 2 non-working cars)
 

2002CG3coupe

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I dont see why not... a buddy of mine has the 00 h22 in his cb7

If its a 92-93 EX cb it almost a direct swap since they already have iab and external wire in the harness

OP I have a 98 h22a4 in a 99 coupe the only thing is the wiring for the external coils, the idle air control (iac), the iab (that if you chose to keep; I did) and last some of the tab will be from 5 to 3 or 3 to 2 wire tabs (ie. egr)
Oh yeah for the driver side mount you'll need to have it fab for the bay or buy innovative mounts
 

tknightt

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What about a header, do I need to use a Prelude header or an Accord header (or are they the same ?)

and the ECU will I need to rewire the whole thing or since both are ODB2 it'll plug right in ?
 
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tknightt

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turns out I can have it swapped by a local shop for 500$. at that price I'm not going to bother and try and do it myself. I'll stick with modifing the suspension and exhaust one it's done.
 

ActNow

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Wow thats crazy cheap are you sure you can trust this shop, quality work?
 

tknightt

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actually I was surprise myself too, but a standard engine replacement is around 250$ this is a custom job so it's considerably more expensive. The garage is actually a mandated uhaul repair shop, it's a small shop. he has all the required electronic to reprogram the keys if needed. all and all I'm driving 3 hrs to go get a 98 Prelude tomorow (complete car) for 900$ will have the swap done and resell the remaining stuff from the prelude for parts.
 

tknightt

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a little update, I opted to get the swap done, it's in the works. The mechanic offered me the possiblity of doing some of the work myself. So I pulled out both engine (the H22A from the Prelude and the F23A4 from the Accord) myself. While the engine was on the table we're rebuilding it (rings, bearings, head gasket, valves seals and couple more seals). We're now only waiting for the wiring harness. I'm still hoping the wiring won't be too much of a nightmare, I mean both engines are VTEC so it should be easier, plus I have the whole Prelude at my disposal if I wanted to change the complete harness en ECU the Prelude if need be. Mechanic says he can use the ECU from the Accord the run de H22 with some creative programming ?!. I'll keep you guys informed, can't wait to try it altough it will be short lived as I want to store it for the winter (end of October at the latest) so each day it takes is a day less to have fun with.
 

Ocho

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You should just find an h22 wiring harness to skip all the blah of wiring issues. and DIY dont have mechanics do your swapss... oh and about them both being vtec, you have to wire your resistors diff....its really dumb but owell. im doing the h22a4 swap in my 4d 00.
 
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tknightt

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I already have a complete wiring harness from an H22 (ie I have a complete 98 Prelude from which I pulled the engine). I do agree that DIY don't have mecanics do their swap. That why I went with this guy, he gaves me access to his garage, I can do some of the work myself and I can use all his tools too. So far the only he's done is rebuilt the engine as I didn't want to screw anything up and I have never done this before. In hindsight I would of been equiped to do it by myself, but looking at the mess I made on his shop floor... I'm glad It's not on MY brand new (3years) contrete floor : )
 
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