Click here to read Monopoly Man’s post on swapping a H22 engine into a 90 – 93 Accord.

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The first thing you have to do is check your vacuum routing. On the underside of your hood there should be a vacuum diagram. If there isn’t a diagram under there, there is one in a Helms, Chilton’s, or Haynes manual for your car (If you don’t have one already, it is suggested that you buy one before beginning). Remember, ANY extra air will confuse the ECU. Check for cracked or bad vacuum hoses. If in doubt, just replace the damage hose; they aren’t very expensive. The PCV valve could also be the culprit. Take it out and examine it. If it is cracked it could be causing a vacuum leak. Replace the piece if you aren’t completely sure that it’s okay (the Helms / Chilton’s / Haynes manuals tell you how to check it).

Next, check to see that your throttle plate is closed all the way. Take your intake off at the TB and check to see that nothing is blocking the plate. If nothing is in the way and it isn’t closed all the way, loosen your throttle cable. Check to see if the nuts holding the TB and the IM on are tight, this was the source of my idle problem. If they are loose, tighten them. After that, check the idle screw. It’s on the top of the TB right next to the red vacuum line in the first picture. It’s a flat-tip screw and most TB’s have it epoxied over. If your screw is not epoxied over try adjusting it. Some air bubbles may throw the FITV off and keep the valve open, so bleed your coolant by draining small amounts and pouring more in

Take the 3 10mm bolts out of the FITV (you don’t have to take off the coolant lines). Then take off the two 8mm bolts from the plate on the back of the FITV. Once the plate is off you will see a white plastic thing, screw that all the way in. This causes a lot of people’s hunting idle problems (it’s a source of a vacuum leak). Put the FITV back on and start the car up. If it still idles badly continue onto the next step.

Here is a write-up on the FITV. Clean the IACV screen(s). See Oz’s write up on G2IC. Make sure your car is completely warmed up. With it running, take the intake off the TB. There are 2 holes right in front of the throttle plate; these are the holes that feed the IACV (top hole) and the FITV (bottom hole). With your finger, cover up the bottom hole (there should not be any suction if your car is at operating temperature). If the idle goes down, the FITV is to blame; either get a new one or take it apart and screw the valve completely closed (I have only read of people doing this, so I don’t know exactly how). Also, you will have to keep the engine speed up yourself when the car is cold.

Next cover both holes up with your fingers. The car should sputter and die (or almost die). If it does then the source of your faulty idle is the IACV. Replace it. If you want you can test the IACV. Shut the car off and put Positive battery voltage to the black/yellow terminal (on the valve) and momentarily touch ground to the blue/yellow side. When doing this the valve should click, if it doesn’t, replace it. If when covering both holes the car still has a high idle, you have a vacuum leak somewhere. Again check the IM and TB nuts. You can spray carburetor ******* around those areas and if any gets sucked in (the engine will rev) you have found your leak. Another source of vacuum leaks are where the FITV and IACV connect to the IM. Either replace the gaskets or use silicone gasket sealant. If nothing has worked you should test your TPS. Probe the middle wire on the TPS plug (with the key on but not running, and the plug still connected to the sensor) with the positive probe on the voltmeter, and the negative probe to ground. You should have .5v with a fully closed throttle plate and 4.8v with it wide open. If the TPS is off, replace it. If, still, nothing has worked you might want to try a new ECU. This also is very unlikely, but worth a try. So now, if it still idles badly, go through the steps again.

It is very unlikely that you will end up needing to do all of these steps, you will usually have your problem fixed within the first few steps, but these are all of the possible causes to your problem. Remember, if you have problems with all of these abbreviations then search online, the best place to look is www.honda-tech.com, I’ve found most of the abbreviations in Helms and Chilton manuals before, so you can look there also.

What You Need (4th Gen. Accord):
1. Stock Mounts
2. 93-95 Prelude Header (If using stock exhaust)
3. Stock Harness (Modified)
4. Accord Axles (5-speed or auto axles, whatever transmission you’re using)
5. Oil Pressure Sensor from F22 (Plug is different on H22 version)

Wiring (4th Gen. Accord):
1. VTEC Solenoid: Pin A4
2. VTEC Pressure Switch: Pin D6
3. Knock Sensor: Pin D3
4. Secondary Intake Solenoid: Pin A17

What You Need (5th Gen. Accord):
Same as above plus:
1. 92-95 Prelude Driver Side Mount. (Ground down to fit)

Wiring (5th Gen. Accord):
Same as above plus:
1. Swap Pin A6 with Pin A11.

If you’re using a 97+ H22 and are putting it into an OBD1 Accord (90-95), you are going to need:
1. OBD1 Injectors
2. OBD1 ECU
3. OBD1 Distributor

Instructions:
First, evacuate the AC system prior to starting this swap. Have an experienced shop do this to prevent any freon from escaping into the environment. Freon is used in your air conditioning system and is very bad for the atmosphere being that every one cvc (Freon) destroys 100 million O3 (atmosphere). Now that your environmentally safe, remove the battery, disconnect the power steering lines, radiator hoses, and front AC line. Remove the radiator, the power steering pump, alternator, and the AC compressor. Disconnect all the wiring plugs and label them if necessary. Remove the front wheels and disconnect the axles. Disconnect all the mounts; make sure you have the engine crane on the motor before removing the motor mounts. Now, remove the engine from the engine bay.

Next, prepare the Prelude engine by replacing any worn parts such as the timing belt and water pump. This is easier now that the engine is out of the car. Transfer the Accord wiring harness to the Prelude engine. Make sure you plug the same plugs into the same sensors on both engines. You will probably need to extend some wires like those for the alternator part of the harness. If the Prelude engine came with a harness, snip the plugs off of it for the VTEC solenoid, VTEC pressure switch and knock sensor. These are the wires you will be adding. Attach the Accord half shaft at this point. If the engine has a Prelude half shaft remove it and use the Accord one. The Prelude one will not work. Remove the front, rear, and driver side mounts from the Prelude engine. Place the front, rear, and drivers mount from the Accord engine onto the Prelude engine. For the transmission, use the mount that corresponds to the transmission you are using.

Now you are almost ready to drop the engine in, but first you must prepare the engine bay. Begin by swapping out the power steering line from the Prelude one, then run three wires through the firewall to correspond to the wires that you are adding for the VTEC system. Run four wires through the firewall if your car is an LX or DX because you will be missing one in the distributor. I am not sure which wire it is exactly, but I know the LX and DX are missing the one wire. Add two more wires if you are converting from Automatic to Manual for the reverse sensor in the transmission.

If you are doing an automatic to manual swap, this will be the point where you will do this. Unplug and remove the shifter and all of its components from the inside of the car. Replace it with the Manual shifter assembly. It should bolt right in using the same bolt holes. Now remove the brake pedal assembly and replace it with the manual brake pedal. Next remove the two bolts holding the cover plate that covers the holes for the clutch master cylinder and pedal assembly. Put the clutch master cylinder and pedal assembly together through the holes in the firewall. Next run the clutch hydraulic line from the clutch master cylinder along the firewall and the passenger side frame rail to the clutch dampener assembly. You will have to drill and tap holes to mount the dampener assembly.

At this point, you can drop the motor right into the car using the four mounts. Install the appropriate axles to the transmission and hub. Connect the wires that you added as well as the other harness plugs. Attach the new AC line, power steering lines, clutch line from the dampener to the transmission, and radiator lines. Attach the shifter cables at this point, but run them over the power steering rack or else they will be too short and won’t reach the shifter inside the car. Plug the ECU into the factory harness and wire up the VTEC wire to the appropriate pin outs. This is where the Chilton’s or Hayes manual comes in handy.

Finally, if you have converted from automatic to manual, you will have to wire up a starter relay, jump the shifter lock wire, and jump the key lock wire. You will also need to attach the reverse sensor leads to the reverse lights in the shifter wiring harness. These are all in the plugs that you removed from the Automatic shifter assembly. You will also need to switch a few wires around if you plan to use your cruise control. It’s all in the wiring diagrams in the repair manuals. Don’t worry about the automatic control unit that is next to the ECU. You can just unplug it and remove it. You don’t need it for the manual transmission.

Now that you’ve finished, you’ll be able to tell the differences in power from old to new. The Prelude’s engine will suit you a lot better with its higher performance, and its very good economy. Depending on how many miles were on your stock Accord’s engine, you might see an increase in fuel economy with the new more powerful engine. This is due to most of the engine swaps that come from Japan only having 40,000 miles or less on them, which means your engine should be in good working order and good condition.

First the facts on the springs:

TEIN High.Tech springs utilize the latest spring and material technology to optimize comfort, performance, and quality. Designed and tested in North America to be used in conjunction with OEM or similar shocks for excellent ride comfort and slightly increased handling. The line is produced with Vanadium (SAE9254V), which is durable, lightweight, and has properties to retain more spring stroke. High.Tech springs are designed for those seeking a slightly lowered stance while maintaining high ride quality at a reasonable price. Most vehicles will attain a 1.2 inch drop for a more attractive appearance, added performance, and excellent comfort. Includes a one year limited warranty.

• Chrome Vanadium SAE9254V Construction
• Progressive Spring Rate Design
• Includes Silencer Rubber on certain applications
• Gold Powder Coat Finish
• Developed to be used in conjunction with OEM or OEM replacement dampers
• 1-year Manufacturers Defect and Sag Warranty
Covers over 5mm sag, breakage, deformity, and noise.
Does not cover powder coat finish and rusting.

Spring Rate (F/R, kgf/mm): 5.7/3.4, Lowering F/R: -1.1/-0.7 Inches.
*sourced from Tein’s Web Page

The springs do provide the specified drop, 1.1″ in the front and .7″ in the back, or approximately those numbers. In laymans terms your stock CL9 (TSX) has an average of about 3 – 3.75 finger widths of wheel gap, the H-Techs will reduce that gap to 1.75 – 2 finger widths of gap. With the A-Spec lip kit, or Euro-R lip kit this drop may visually appear to be a bit lower. I do get comments from other CL9 owners with H-Tech’s that mine looks lower with the A-Spec kit, which is somewhat true but mainly due to an optical illusion.

I have the H-Tech’s mounted on my OEM dampers and the springs provide a very soft ride comparable to OEM ride quality. Not much bounce if any, they will stiffen up around the corners being a progressive type spring. My 2 year old and my wife never noticed much of a difference with the H-Techs over OEM springs for comfort. However; they are not intended and do not provide the handling results of a more advanced spring/damper combo. There are times if I lay into a corner to hard I can feel the spring get to a point where it no longer compresses and it feels like a bit of snap over steer may occur which can lead to a lack of confidence in the twisties.

Now that about 3 months have passed I can feel my OEM dampers getting a bit strained with the drop. Tein does not endorse the use of any aftermarket spring with OEM dampers, however; a 1″ drop is usually the maximum you can get away with on OEM dampers. I am beginning to notice some knocking in the front and I am not sure if it’s the damper going bad or something else, but the amount of bouncing has increased which is leading me to believe the dampers are on the way out. You’ll have to acknowledge I put the springs on dampers that were already 32,000 miles in to their lifetime which is not suggested.

I would reccomend that if you are in the market to be lower and are looking for the same drop as the H-Tech’s provide then you should also consider a set of aftermarket dampers like Koni Yellow’s to go with the springs. This way you can get adjustable dampening and longer life out of your set up. The koni’s also provide an additional 20mm of drop (~.8 inches) with their adjustable spring perches. You will get a better handling car and still be able to retain close to OEM comfort.

Also consider the Tein CS coilovers. OEM comfort, up to 2.1″ drop, and EDFC compatible, that would be the ultimate set up for seeking a comfortable ride, moderate drop, and an overall good suspension set up.

Overall I’d rate the H-Techs a 8 – 10 which is by no means bad, and would probably be a 10 – 10 if I had ordered aftermarket dampers at the same time.

Drop with H-Techs on my car:

CL9 (accord, TSX, Euro R) on Tein H-Techs

CL9 (Accord, TSX, Euro R) on Tein H-Techs