92 Si Swap

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Kyle_G

Junior Member
Whats up guys and gals.. im new to this site. It was recommended by some one i know on another board. Anyhow.. to my question... i searched the site and didnt see anything... so i gotta ask.

My buddy has a 92 Si prelude... with a DOHC H23.. and he recently blew it. What exactly he did im not sure... i didnt look at it... some shop did. Ok.. so he wants to get rid of his weak h23 and drop in a hefty jdm h22... I need to know everything he'll need for this swap. Ive already found him an engine and ecu. What other parts will he need to complete this? ANd how hard will it be? Thanks for all you help.
 
i'm not much of a prelude tech, but... assuming that you got an obd1 engine/ecu it should drop right in and require only some minor wiring for vtec. the usdm verion of the engine you found came in the same car as he has in the VTEC trim. so it should be a pretty easy swap.
 
Yep, that's about it.

The only other concern is the distributor. USDM Preludes came with external coils, while JDM H22's came with internal coils. So you just need to decide which way you want to go.

Aside from that, the normal swap changeovers....spark plugs, plug wires, timing belt, water pump, etc.
 
eh, keep the h23 bottom end and add the h22a head and have a killer frankenstein along with a turbo or cams, the car would own on the street

:)

Which tranny will you be using? is there any boost in the near future?
 
He could care less about obd1 or 2..... lol... hes just trying to get his car moving again... but with a little more power this time. And for "SiSteve".. there wont be any boost in the future... if HE does... ill be back on here asking how to rebuild an H series engine. lol. We're gonna keep it simple and cheap for him. Its in HIS best interests.

Ok.. so we gotta replace all the little stuff.. oil. clutch.. plugs. etc etc... But im not sure about the year of the motor.. i couldnt get ahold of hte guy thats selling... if it is a obd 2 ecu... will we be able to use it in his car? Or would it require more work to fit that in? And assuming it is obd 2.. with an internal coil... can we just swap the dist. out for his original coil(external) and run it with his USDM ecu, and wire it up for vtec?

Thanks again people.
 
Unless he's got a conversion harness or just the full OBD2 harness, you don't want to be messing with an OBD2 engine and ECU and an OBD1 harness. It's not as easy as swapping the distributors. The plastic plugs don't match up, not to mention you'd need OBD1-compatible injectors.
 
Also when I did my h23a1 to jdm h22 swap I put the h23 fuel rail on the jdm motor because jdm preludes have the fuel filter on the right side of the motor and usdm is on the left side. You could leave it alone and order a longer hose but thats just an extra cost and hard to find at least in washington :angry: , plus it only takes 10 minutes. I have done this swap 3 times this month alone so if you have any Q's just ask.
 
whered you find your jdm motor and how much you plannin on spending?
 
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