Parts help?

I guess this will be an introduction too...

I bought at 94 Prelude with an H22 motor. It has a few problems that I want to fix asap.

First issue I need help with is which valve cover gasket does it use? The burning oil smell is not fun. It is also missing the timing belt cover. Why someone would leave that off is beyond my thoughts and I hope it wasn't to "show off" the awesome stock cam sprockets...

Also, does anyone know of any wiring diagrams for the lights? The reverse lights stay on, so the bulbs had to be pulled. And when I hit the brake, that tail light filament goes out, the brake light filament goes on dim and the damn turn signal light goes on with the brakes lol. Obviously there is something screwy going on down there and I am having a hard time isolating it.

I need new front struts too. Constantly avoiding potholes is getting a little old haha. I don't need top of the line stuff since this is just my daily commuter, but I would like it to be comfortable and still be able to take turns at a decent speed.

Lastly, I have not worked on an OBD1 car aside from doing oil changes on my first car like 12 years ago, so I have no idea where the computer hook up is.

Now that that's outta the way, where is a good place for JDM parts? So far the only site I checked out is passwordjdm. Any feedback on them or better places to go?

Thanks for any help you guys.

 

Here are the Honda part numbers for the parts you are looking for:

Valve cover gasket set (includes new grommets and tube seals)
-12030-P13-000
Upper Timing belt cover
-11820-P13-010

As far as the light situation, Wiring woes are always tedious work!:banghead:

Maybe you can see what wires are at the fuse blocks (in cabin and underhood) and see what color wires are at the corresponding back up lights and see if they match what is actually at the back up light bulb sockets and so on and so forth for the other light problems. I couldnt find any diagram to help you as of now sorry.

For struts stock OEM honda shocks will serve you justice in your DD commute. Your local auto part store might also sell KYB GR2's which are also a great OEM like replacement.

IF and only if you have a Code reader that can connect to OBD hondas/acuras the service connector should be behind the driverside lower center console area. Right around where your right foot will be. It is a Blue 2-pin connector with a blue and a brown wire on it.

For JDM parts there are many places out there to look, passwordjdm, jhpusa, jdmunlimited, venus-auto, wek-sos, etc... check it out.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks man, that's helpful. What site did you get those part numbers from? Google found nothing and same with passwordjdm. Also if it helps, This looks exactly like the valve cover that is on the motor right now http://passwordjdm.com/JDM-H22-Valve-Cover-P1862C214.aspx

As far as the wiring is concerned, I am guessing the turn signal wiring got spliced into the brake lights somewhere. I dunno if it was from the stereo or the engine swap. The reverse lights could just be a stuck sensor (crossing fingers) I'll just try to back into spots or make sure I can pull right through.

When it comes to OBD, I have a couple OBD2 readers. I am betting it will be OBD1, but I am hoping it is OBD2 now since the motor was swapped. I am not too confident in my hopes there though haha.

And I would have responded to you earlier, but I forgot my password lol.

 

Sure here is the website with all the honda part numbers you will ever need. For Honda cars that is.

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com...e=4&catcgry1=CIVIC&catcgry2=1999&catcgry3=2DR SI&catcgry4=KA5MT

If you are certain that the motor is a H22A, then the above part number for the valve cover gasket set will work for you motor. They are all the same part from 93-2001 preludes.

Just a heads up, unless the previous owner went the trouble to wire in the OBD-2 A or B diagnostics port and necessary wiring (highly unlikely), if your prelude is 92-95 it is considered a OBD-1 equipped chassis regardless of what year motor is swapped into it.

If your code readers are only for OBD-2 cars (chances of this being true are high in most cases) then you can simply jump the service connector with a paper clip and count the amount of flashes you get from the check engine light as most EVERY OBD-1 honda/acura owner does anyway.

As far as the wires goes, you might want to start off with what I mentioned above, I know it will be some work but maybe you will find your answer. You can also ALWAYS trace each wire back to the fuse box to see where it might be messed up at. As far as a "stuck sensor" you can put that to rest by simply unplugging the reverse light switch that is located on top of the tranny. If it is unplugged then obviously no "power" will be going to the reverse lights. Then I would replace the sensor (P/N-35600-PK5-003) and go from there. If the lights stay on even after the switch has been unplugged then you need to trace the wires to see where the reverse lights end up at.


Lastly, Another way you can try and isolate the light problems is to go through the fuse boxes pulling each fuse 1 by 1 while checking to see if whatever lights your having problems with stay on or turn off with you pulling (and replacing) each fuse 1 by 1. This way you can maybe at least figure out which circuit the reverse lights or the signal lights (or whatever your dealing with) is on.

 

Alright, sounds good. I was actually thinking about toying with the fuses tomorrow.

I don't know much about Hondas, but have worked on quite a few different makes. That's why I was wondering about OBD. For all I know, if they swapped the engine, then they may have had to swap the engine computer. Then there may have been a reason to have to switch the interface. I don't yet know a whole lot about the computers since I haven't had to deal with them much.

Also, I am getting some faith here Legacy. The last time I asked for help on a forum for cars was a Mustang forum. I had an idle issue where it was revving on me.

First response "It's your cruise control"
Second response "Dude, it's a manual. It doesn't have cruise control"

lol

 

Lol that is funny, although not helpful for you. Anytime I can help please post up a question. As you can tell I havent been here long either. I can from another forum with a few friends and we are trying to get this site on the roll! I like this site so far, just wish there was more activity from the other users that have been around for awhile.

As far as what ECU goes to what motor when swapped, yes you can run a OBD-2 a or b ECU in an OBD-1 car with a ECU jumper harness so if your H is an OBD-2 motor then it could have a OBD-2 ECU running it. On the other hand, seeing as all the H22 motors are very similar (with the exception of a few sensors in later years) it is very easy to run a OBD-2 H with a OBD-1 H22 ECU(P13 computer)

If you look on the side of the ECU, there will be numbers that will tell you what ECU it is and what car it came from. Maybe you can snap a pic and I can tell you what it is? It should be on the passenger side floor panel. Where the passengers right foot would be at behind a plastic cover.

 

Sure I'll get a pic. Don't feel like dealing with it today. But I'll take a picture of it when I fix the oil leak. Found a full head gasket kit on Ebay for $45. Sure I only need the valve cover gasket, but it includes all the other ones too so it was a pretty great deal. It is supposed to show up on Thursday.

As for the computer hook up, as long as it is the trapazoid shaped connection(I have not looked at it yet...it's COLD outside!), I found an obd1-obd2 adapter for $10. So I will be able to use my scanners:woot:

But sure, if I run into something I can't solve then I'll hit you up. Otherwise if I figure something out, I'll post it up for others.

 

Do you have a check engine light on now?

 

No, it popped on once and turned off on the next start up. I heard that's pretty common though. My only concern for it is so I can use my obd2 scanners. One of them is for my phone so I can run torque. It is such an awesome app. It watches everything the computer is able to monitor. But it is also very useful too. My other scanner is pretty basic and has very limited live features.

Head gasket kit already showed up and I swapped out the valve cover gasket. Looks like someone knew nothing about proper torque specs for the valve cover and assumed "the tighter the better". I need to replace the nuts because they over tightened some of them and cross threaded a couple other ones. I mean seriously...how does someone crossthread a nut??! They even stripped out one hole for the plug wire cover so I can't tighten the bolt lol. Luckily that won't give me any issues. At least the cover doesn't "appear" to be leaking anymore.

Didn't get a chance to take a picture, woke up at 4 and it gets dark at 5(I work nights). It was dark by the time I was done replacing the gasket.

 

Thats good Im glad it all worked out for you. You can replace any of those studs if you want. They are cheap from honda and arent very hard to do IF you wanted to that is?

You dont want to go too tight or else you can end up with the same stripped nuts also.

 

The studs were fine. It's the tower nuts I am going to replace. They overtightened them down to where the stud would hit the top of the tower nut. So it stretched the threading and warped the nut. Basically I have to find out how much torque they require and the pattern for tightening them.
Where in California are you? I feel I owe you a beer or 12 for the info

 

i live near San frisco

Im glad I can help, that is what online boards are supposed to be about; Quality information with nice people!

Im sure you are speaking of acorn nuts that fasten the VC to the head correct?

If so, take a trip down to honda and pick them up. They are cheap, here is the P/N: 90213-PH3-000 (you need 8 total)

BTW im sure the H22A trq specs are the same as B-series, so the nut trq spec is 7.2ft-lbs (86 in/lbs) Tighten from the inside out. Good luck.

 

Dammit, I went outside-in. I figured it out too on how they stripped the nuts. They used standard nuts on metric studs. Luckily they were soft so the studs were not damaged. I just finished putting metric ones on. Unfortunately it is still leaking oil, but it doesn't appear to be leaking from the cover anymore. I also found some struts this morning and already got them on.

Now I am wondering...what if it's the oil filter???! The guy said he just used the oil filter for the SI and it seems to be leaking pretty heavily from there. It is also only leaking when it is running. I dunno, I think I am going to have to get some ramps so I can get under this thing. I also have to replace the passenger side front axle...the boot has a small crack and some grease is coming out. This day keeps getting better.

And hey if you ever find yourself coming down to SoCal in the LA area, beers on me buddy!

*Oh good, I can edit. I think it's the oil cooler. I was hoping it wouldn't be, but it seems to be the culprit.

 

Yea my bro in law lives down in LA. But a few of my "forum friends" live in LA maybe they will be happy to meet up with you too?

As far as an oil cooler, these cars dont have them. If it is leaking heavily from the oil filter, you need to replace it with the proper filter. It is important to find the leak so that it can be fixed and you wont have to keep filling the car with a quart of oil every so often.

An oil filter can be had for around $6-8 along with 4 fresh quarts of oil while your at it. Well there really isnt any getting around taking off the filter without having already drained the pan anyway. Also you might consider cleaning the motor as best you can where oil is so you can better pinpoint the leak. Im sure the VC should be leaking now, but maybe other common areas could be leaking but I think you should save those for after you replace the oil filter. good luck.

Oh just read the piece about the axle too, haha. That wont be hard to replace either. You will need more tranny fluid if you plan on replacing the entire axle. FYI your axle nut is a 36mm. you will need a 36mm socket to take it off.

 

No oil cooler? Then maybe it's the filter adapter and people are calling it the oil cooler. I went looking around for running oil leaks and it is the part the filter hooks on to. They say it is a 30-32mm socket to take it off and the seal is just an o-ring.
As for the oil filter, from looking around a lot of people are saying to use the filter for the s2000. And 4 quarts for sure? Or 5 with changing the filter? The previous owner told me 5, even though the two 4 cylinders I had before were only 4 quarts(Nissan 1.6 and Ford 2.0).

 

You know what, I stand corrected, it is listed as an engine oil cooler in hondas parts list. I have been taught something new. And yes it is just an o-ring right behind that piece. I just have never called them that myself so its new terminology to me. I cant be sure what size socket takes it off though but the 32mm sounds correct to me.

the part number for the o-ring is 91316-PE7-730

Honda has the oil capacity listed at 4.8L (5.07 qts)

Again sorry for the misinformation, i dont get into these things nearly as much as I used to i guess. Please dont let this detract from any credibility you have in me already.

 

lol Don't trip, we're only human. It's going to be called one thing or another. And as for oil, I would have figured it out. I always check the oil at the finish of the first run after an oil change.

I see you got your mod status :thumbup:

 

I did! Thanks very much for your good remarks for me. Maybe I owe you a few beers now lol!:cheers:

 

Haha, I'm not one to complain about some drinkin(unless I'm driving, screw that). I picked up the seal yesterday from the dealership. It was $4.50. I checked that site and they wanted 10 bucks shipping and handling...nah. I'll save them for other parts. So I think I'll be fixing that leak later on this morning after I wake up. HOPEFULLY that fixes it.