How hard is it to find ECU for F23A4 5speed

[luciusad2004]

I always hear people say that its really hard to find 5speed ECUs for the F23A4 engine. I was going to look for one because i was thinking about moving out to California and I would need to ditch my OBD 1 conversion in order to pass smog.
Are they actually that hard to find?

I actually bought the car BECAUSE my old car wouldn't be legal in California only to find out that my new one wont be legal either. It almost feels like it would have been easier to fix up the civic and get the swap Bar'd.

 

[Geewiz]

http://car-part.com/, search whatever year your accord, select "computer box engine", and whatever your zip code, next screen: doesn't matter 2dr or 4dr, just make sure it has "MT" and "Calif emis" to narrow it to F23A4. For 01-02, pick ones with part number 38720-PAA-L2x where little "x" means doesn't matter. I'm swapping to a manual on my F23A4 and I have an L20. 2000 models don't have an "L" in part number, they have a "3". And according to Majestic Honda's parts website, they don't have an ULEV trims that were MT.

GL!

 

[luciusad2004]

http://car-part.com/, search whatever year your accord, select "computer box engine", and whatever your zip code, next screen: doesn't matter 2dr or 4dr, just make sure it has "MT" and "Calif emis" to narrow it to F23A4. For 01-02, pick ones with part number 38720-PAA-L2x where little "x" means doesn't matter. I'm swapping to a manual on my F23A4 and I have an L20. 2000 models don't have an "L" in part number, they have a "3". And according to Majestic Honda's parts website, they don't have an ULEV trims that were MT.

GL!

That actually has be baffled. I saw that on Majestic Honda as well. My engine is definitely stamped f23a4 which should be the ULEV engine but it was 5speed from the factory whenever I bring up my VIN number on their website.

 

[redlinevtec]

http://car-part.com/, search whatever year your accord, select "computer box engine", and whatever your zip code, next screen: doesn't matter 2dr or 4dr, just make sure it has "MT" and "Calif emis" to narrow it to F23A4. For 01-02, pick ones with part number 38720-PAA-L2x where little "x" means doesn't matter. I'm swapping to a manual on my F23A4 and I have an L20. 2000 models don't have an "L" in part number, they have a "3". And according to Majestic Honda's parts website, they don't have an ULEV trims that were MT.

GL!

WRONG!!! Please don't post things that you are unsure of. My donor car for my 5spd swap was a 2000 Accord Sedan EX 5spd ULEV. i sold the ECU (yes they are rare) to kashmeister here on the forums. They do exist their just hard to find. Pshhh made me sign on to post this.

 

[luciusad2004]

WRONG!!! Please don't post things that you are unsure of. My donor car for my 5spd swap was a 2000 Accord Sedan EX 5spd ULEV. i sold the ECU (yes they are rare) to kashmeister here on the forums. They do exist their just hard to find. Pshhh made me sign on to post this.

Would it be possible to find out exactly what ECU matches up to my VIN from a dealer and then just start looking for that exact part number? I Imagine I'm going to want to have the EXACT ecu for my sub-model if I move out to Cali.

 

[redlinevtec]

Would it be possible to find out exactly what ECU matches up to my VIN from a dealer and then just start looking for that exact part number? I Imagine I'm going to want to have the EXACT ecu for my sub-model if I move out to Cali.

Yes, if your car came stock 5spd ULEV, the dealer should be able to pull up the information for the correct ECU.

As long as your car is not a 01-02, I believe here in Cali, you can run OBDI. Might want to double check on that.

 

[luciusad2004]

This may be a stupid question but did they make any F23A4 engines that WEREN'T ULEV?

I searched by my VIN number on Majestic Honda and it shows my car as using the Regular Exhaust manifold as well as the cheaper Non-LEV Catalytic converter. I suppose it's possible the webpage is wrong.

Is there any definitive way to know if my car is a ulev vehicle?

 

[Russianred]

Most of you all are full of sh*t.

luciusad2004, there is no F23a4 that is non-ulev.

F23A4 is the ULEV engine.

F23A (JDM) and F23A1 are VTEC non-ULEV. Please read the 6thgenaccord FAQ for more info... *STICKY*?????

- Nikita

 

[Geewiz]

WRONG!!! Please don't post things that you are unsure of. My donor car for my 5spd swap was a 2000 Accord Sedan EX 5spd ULEV. i sold the ECU (yes they are rare) to kashmeister here on the forums. They do exist their just hard to find. Pshhh made me sign on to post this.

I wasn't saying I was completely right. I was quoting Majestic's site. But yes, I'm not 100% on the L2x statement. I'll know soon enough because I bought your ECU from kashmeister when he sold his entire 5spd conversion to me. Small world.

Yes, if your car came stock 5spd ULEV, the dealer should be able to pull up the information for the correct ECU.

As long as your car is not a 01-02, I believe here in Cali, you can run OBDI. Might want to double check on that.

I'm going to call the dealer by me as well. But your assuming on the Cali thing here.

 

[redlinevtec]

Most of you all are full of sh*t.

luciusad2004, there is no F23a4 that is non-ulev.

F23A4 is the ULEV engine.

F23A (JDM) and F23A1 are VTEC non-ULEV. Please read the 6thgenaccord FAQ for more info... *STICKY*?????

- Nikita

How am I full of sh*t? I thought we were "friends" lol.

Also, F23A4 uses a different wiring harness for ULEV. The exhaust manifold and exhaust shield are different (obviously) and a wideband primary 02 sensor (more expensive than LEV). The catalytic converter on the A4 is the same as F23-F23A1, the EGR valve is the same as F23-F23A1 and the 2nd primary 02 sensor on the cat is also the same as the F23-F23A1. The internals on the A4 motor are the same as the A1, just a different valve cover. The ECU on the A4 is tuned for strict cali emissions. Everything above also applies for SULEV as well.

Here's the thing, you can't just "SWITCH" the exhaust manifold, O2 sensor, and ECU, because the wiring harness on the A4 motor is ULEV and not LEV which means the pins will be different wired to the ULEV ECU and it won't read LEV components correctly unless you modify the pins and find out which wire you need to go where to the ECU. Or you can go to a junkyard and do what I did, swap the engine bay wiring harness's X2 (driver side harness can stay the same), dash wiring harness's X2, ecu, ignition switch, ignition and multiplexers (depending if the harness is from an EX to an LX, you will need blue multiplexers). Believe me, I tried using the 00 ULEV ECU with my F23A motor, and it ran like caca. Lastly, remember that 98-99 use a temperature sensor on the side of the block that shows you the cars reading, where 00-02 use electronic ECU readings. 01-02 uses a bit newer technology within the ECU than the 00. I'm 99% sure you can't use components from a 00 in a 01-02. And lastly, yes I wasn't sure about the 01-02 not being able to use OBD1 in cali, I heard it from someone but It never concerned me since I'm 98.