H22 swap into 2.2CL/automatic

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CL 97

Junior Member
I'm a newbie to the site & had some questions regarding an H22 swap into a 1997 Acura 2.2 CL with an automatic tranny. I tried to search the site, but the search engine kept giving me errors because I had a word (CL) that was less than 4 letters. No matter how I spell it, I can't seem to make (CL) into four letters.

I just bought a '97 2.2 CL, but can't stand the automatic tranny. I kind of knew I wouldn't like it, but the price was right & the car is sweet, so I bought it. I thought of pulling the complete F22 non-vTEC/ 5 spd out of my Accord & swapping it into the CL, but I understand there are issues with the OBDI/OBDII systems & I want to sell the Accord as a complete running (albeit - wrecked) driveable car.

All that aside, I think I want to swap in an H22/5Spd into the CL. I've got a few questions regarding this swap:

1. Do I need to get an OBDII motor to do this swap correctly? If I understand correctly, I would have to use my original harness from my F22 to make the swap easier. If I am using my original harness, could I move it to an OBDI motor without any major hurdles? What about the ECM?

2. I understand that I need to modify the mounts in this car, since it is an automatic. Will I just purchase Prelude mounts from Honda? Is there some major fabbing to make them work?

3. Will the pedals & all associated clutch lines work from a Prelude in the CL? The CL is basically a '94-'97 style Accord with different cosmetics & some upscale features. Is the Prelude the same firewall/floorpan as an Accord?

4. If I need to get an OBDII style swap, then there is the issue of getting a type SH Prelude setup. Do I want this setup or is it better to steer clear of it. I think it would be a cool setup to have, since I remember reading road tests on it & most writers felt it was a useable feature. I am not looking to build a drag car , this is my "beater" and I would just like it to be fun to drive. When I do this swap, I would like to do it on a weekend, so I can have the car to drive on Monday. Reliability is also key - thats why I drive a Honda!

5. Air conditioning, power steering & emissions must remain in this car. If I get the
compressor/lines & power steering pump/lines with the motor, will they work in the CL?

The real question here is if I buy a complete, running Prelude, can I move everything into the CL with minimum downtime, or am I better off getting a Motor/tranny & purchasing the other needed parts for this swap.

I've done many motor swaps in the past (just finished a '99 Camaro LS1/auto into a '90 Chevy 454SS Truck) & I feel confident that I can do this, but I've never done a Honda swap. I have a friend who owns a shop that specializes in civic swaps, and he had a good bit of info for me, but he doesn't know the specifics for this exact swap. I know he can do GSR swaps into civics in a matter of a few hours.

Thanks in advance for any responses!
 
check out my site Fulfilling My Dreams!!! and click on CL swap, I did everything you are looking to do.

Do you plan on doing this yourself or paying someone? If your doing this yourself its going to take a lot of time and research so be ready. There are some major obsticles to hurdle, like re wiring the external Distributor to work for the JDM internal one. Wiring up the OB2 II harness on the OBD I motor etc.... so to answer your questions:

1. No you do not need to get an OBD II motor but it would probably make wiring a lot easier if you did (don't hold me to that though). I used my f22 (OBD II harness for my H22). Re-wiring the OBD II harness is not Too bad because most of the wires are the same, except for having to extend wires to reach sensors. You will also have to hard wire your knock sensor, ckp sensor and vtec pressure switch and stuff to the ecu harness. You will also have to run a OBD II to OBD I conversion harness. Recently I went for emissions and of course I failed because OBD II communication failed for obvious reasons. OBD I not meant for That type of diagnostics. Sucks cause the motor has been in running from 3 years and now I gotta figure out how I am going to do that. I am going to try and run a OBD II ecu probably.

2. All mounts line up except for the drivers side mount needs to be shaved a little to make it fit. The front mount will use your acura since your using your acura sub frame

3. For the most part everything will work, but you will have to modify/fabricate a brace to hold the clutch pedal in place from the force of your foot pushing in on it and you'll have to buy a hard line from honda for the hydrolic clutch (which is one from the 5spd acura).

4. If you think your going to swap this motor out on the weekend, and have it ready to drive on monday, you are way beyond a ASE master machanic or you can really twist some wrenches. This project will easily take up 1 week or more especially if your doing it yourself. There are many things to troubleshoot. After you take your time you can get reliabiltity out of the motor, but it's getting to that point. I have been driving mine for 3+ years now and haven't had any real issues other than egr (which is no biggie) and a cold start problem which was fixed by replacing the coolant temp sensor, and getting a new internal coil JDM Distributor.
As far as an OBD II style swap, I have no clue about that, at the time everyone ws doing OBD I so thats what I had to work with

5. Everything will work fine, My ac worked for like 1 month and then stopped for other reasons not relating to the acutal swap, the power steering line will have to be extended so hopefull you can braze or know someone who can braze so they can extend the line, to make it fit. As mentioned in a previous question, I am currently having emissions problems 3 years later because they plug into the OBD 2 plug and since I am using a Conversion harness to an OBD 1 ecu, that is giving communication errors. I am going to try running a OBD II ecu to see if that solves the communication issue, but It will most likely trip the CEL light and we'll see what has to be done from there.

I bought a front clip and moved everything over, so buying the car is definatly better than mix matching parts. Matching parts and shit will take you longer. Swaping american motors is easier than swaping imports. Definatly use your boys expertise, but remember, this swap is not something a lot of people have done so you will run into problems. For instance, after the motor was in and everything was ready to go, it took 3 days to figure out why the car wouldn't start because I went from an auto to a manual the ecu was for an auto (wrong ecu) swapped it with a manual ecu and the shit started right up, so it takes some research and rewiirng but it can work. Good luck.
 
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