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H22 Swap Part Deux: The Remountening

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23K views 111 replies 24 participants last post by  1funryd 
#1 · (Edited)
Update: Future updates will be posted here: http://www.prelude3g.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14




Although I completed my H22 swap back in 2012, I've never really been happy with how the engine fits in the bay. In fact I just don't enjoy driving the car the way it is, it's been months since I even started it.

However the H22 simply fits as good as it can, without cutting stuff... so lets do some cutting.

Too much overhang, I must fix this:



19 APR 15:

I pulled the engine today, but before I did I took some photos and measurements.

RH axle cup to subframe:



You may have read about my escapades with the tranny fill bolt in my last build thread, here you can see the current clearance. I will rectify this:



Tranny case end vs. chassis. I should be mostly ok on clearance, maybe a little grinding and cutting:



LH halfshaft:



Oil filter clearance, I will need to cut a bit out of the subframe to keep filter changes easy:



This one shows the clearance on the rear mount bracket, cutting required here as well:



Diff housing from above, I've already marked where I intend to do my initial cuts:




Under intake manifold, tons of room:



Valve cover will be fine too:



Ready to be picked:



Here I've marked where I will initially cut, there is going to be a large amount of work in the RH lower control arm area. I need to cut out a big section, but construct the new part so as to keep strength so the subframe doesn't flex. :




I won't know exactly how far back I can push the engine until I make my first cuts and see how much dead space there is inside the subframe. I can only go so far before I run into the steering rack.

Other good stuff is once I get the engine further back in the bay I will also be able to raise it up a little bit. I plan on trimming part of my hood support structure for more height still.

I also should be able to ditch the traction bar and switch back to the stock radius rod setup, which I like better.
 
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#92 · (Edited)
Next big project has begun: A/C

This system is going to use an OE compressor and evaporator but pretty much custom/universal everything else.



First problem; I went to mount a new compressor on the H22 but discovered that even with my custom engine location there wasn't enough clearance. So I did what I always do; cut up the stock part and modified it:






















I ordered a universal condenser that should fit and it even has a built in drier so I don't need to find a place to mount the massive OE one. It is also a parallel flow type condenser so it's more efficient than the crossflow type 3G's came with.

I also discovered that Honda used standard threads/fittings on the A/C components which saves me the trouble of welding new threads onto the evaporator. FYI the top port on the evaporator is a #10 and the bottom a #6.
 
#93 · (Edited)
makes sense because when I looked at the orings for hoses to stock compressor etcetera the stock o rings are standard and not metric. I had bought one of those universal green oring kits years ago but nothing was marked and instead of buying pricy individual replacements from honda I looked to amazon. At first all I was finding in the green hbnr or whatever was metric trays. I found one standard size one and saved it and then they sold out. So a month or two later they got more in and I bought a tray for like $8.50 prime free shipping.

I think the sizes where like 3/8" and 1/2" and 5/8"


I plan to pick up a bag of copper sealing washers on there too for the stock fuel filter. Those are metric but available on there from china. The ones for the banjo fitting are 12mm and I think the service port was 6mm. I had bought several stock fuel filters dirt cheap on there and elsewhere and no rhyme or reason one box to the next. One box would have them but most didn't.

I will be interested to see this condenser your talking about. I presume the included drier is separate and replaceable. I think it is recommended to replace it anytime you have the system open replacing stuff since it absorbs moisture. Hydroscopic like the oil.
 
#94 ·
The condenser and some other bits won't be in until next week but I was able to test fit the service ports and start looking at hose routing:



I also received a case of industrial envirosafe refrigerant, I'm interested to see how cold this stuff gets compared to the regular.



The rest of the day I spent redoing my P/S system. I moved the reservoir further away from the pump and routed the other hoses through the fender area.



 
#95 ·



Saw an Eric the Car Guy video on cleaning condensers with this stuff a while back and decided to try some on my evaporator. It did seem to work pretty good:






Evaporator box done and installed. If I'm lucky I won't need to touch this thing again for a long time:







I welded some #8 and #10 threads onto the compressor fittings so I can screw the lines on. The only other welding I should have to do is welding on the pressure switch port.







Here is how I am planning to route the hoses. They come out of the evaporator, down the shock tower, around the transmission, under my new battery tray, then run along the bottom of the radiator. This keeps them fairly tucked:







I also did the wiring modification for single wire compressors. Problem was when I went to test it the clutch wasn't engaging. After lots of troubleshooting it turns out I screwed it up years ago when I installed my Rywire harness. It wouldn't have been so hard to figure out except that the A/C wiring diagram in the manual has an error which was very inconvenient.
 
#96 ·
Small update, I got the weld in switch port and a universal binary switch:




Unlike the original port this one is male and uses a schrader valve. This way I can replace the switch without losing refrigerant. The universal switch opens at similar pressures as the stock one but unfortunately the stock connector doesn't fit on it so I will just have to use some female disconnect terminals.

The condenser is supposed to be here on Thursday. I also ordered some 10" fans that I am going to mount on it as pushers. My current 12" fans won't really fit on the front without a big rework of the hood latch. (The 10s will probably still require some modification.)
 
#97 ·
Here is the new condenser mounted. The mounts on each corner are just some spare end link bushings I had, they just happen to fit into the recessed portion on each corner:





I did a little more welding than I first planned. I joined 2 #6 90° fittings with some #8 tube and then welded the switch port onto the middle:






All the A/C lines after crimping:





Final install:











Right now I have a vacuum on the system. If it holds overnight I will charge it in the morning and see how it does tomorrow (going to be in the 80s).



Still working on the fan situation. I did a little mock up with cardboard and I think I will be able to do a shroud. One of my current 12" fans should fit on one side but I may need to step down to a 10" on the other:

 
#98 ·
How much was the universal condenser?
 
#99 ·
$53, I'm using this one: http://a.co/5f6H8Su

However I was unsure about sizing and as you can see it isn't full width. This shouldn't be a problem for me since the envirosafe is so efficient. However this condenser is 2" wider to fill the space better and would probably be better for those running R134a: http://a.co/goVJEF6
 
#100 · (Edited)
So update on this A/C stuff. Last weekend I got it finished, charged the system and... no worky. After spending most of the day rechecking everything I did I eventually determined the brand new GPD compressor was no good. It was turning on but the low side wasn't coming down enough, only to like 45-50psi when it should be ~30psi.

Problem is when I bought it I could only find GPD, UAC, and Four Seasons brands listed for 92-01 Preludes. Well after a ton of time on the Google I found the Denso 471-7052 compressor (made in Japan baby). It's listed for the 2001 Civic not the Prelude and there is a small and kind of silly reason for this.







Now here is why this Denso compressor isn't listed for the Prelude. On the back just under the top right mount bolt there isn't as much of a recess (Denso at top):





Because the H22 A/C brackets have small tabs on them to help when installing the compressor this means the Civic compressor won't sit flush:





The solution is as easy as you are thinking, a few seconds grinding down the top right A/C bracket tab and:





Aww yiss. The only other small differences I noticed between the GPD and Denso are that the Denso uses studs to hold on the fittings (which can be removed and replaced with bolts) and the wire is a few inches shorter on the Denso.

I put in 1 can (6 ounces) of industrial Envirosafe and it was blowing nice and cold. The sun was already down though so I put in a few more ounces from another can and will be testing it again tomorrow in the heat. I will be working on finishing the fan shroud tomorrow as well.
 
#101 ·
And it's done. The fan shroud got somewhat elaborate so it took me a bit longer to do but it is all together and I did a few mile test drive today - it was so cold I had to turn it down. I'm going to do a proper long test drive tomorrow.



Here is the fan shroud/air duct. I was able to fit one of my nice USA made 12" fans on the right and a cheap 10" on the left:





Clearances are quite tight on the car. I had to shave down the fan housings, hood latch + support, and P/S cooler fins to get everything in:







Also made a heat shield for the compressor:
 
#102 ·
That looks great! I looked once but didn't find it. Where did you get the gold heat shield film? What is it called and what does it cost? Does amazon have it? Are you crimping your hoses or having it done. I think orielly's can crimp hydraulic I don't know if they can do a/c hoses though. I had seen some crimpers and the stuff seemed expensive LIKE a $100 or more for the crimper.
 
#103 ·
The heat shield is this stuff from DEI: http://a.co/ceonHVi

Since I plan to do more custom A/C hoses on other cars in the future I just bought this complete crimper tool and die set: http://a.co/0vgCm8E
 
#104 ·



Oh yes my friends, I ran the AC, and it was good.

Did a long test drive in the heat (80s) today, black car black interior baking in the sun and I was totally comfortable. Even got stopped in construction for 10-20 minutes and everything was great. Car is far more enjoyable now.
 
#106 ·
Did some quality of life improvements to the interior.

Added a cig lighter port to the side of the console area:





My roll bar slightly blocks the view from the rear view mirror, so I made a spacer to lower the mirror:




I welded some material to the gas pedal to push it out a little and make it easier to heel-toe:





Also did a video on the custom AC setup in case anyone wants to do something similar: https://youtu.be/gXvup7p4S1E
 
#107 ·
Looks great!


I'm totally stealing the additional power port location idea.


Mugen pedal covers? How do you like them other than gas spacing, do the clutch and brake covers have any thickness to them? I've noticed a lot of stock bent pedals, some covers might add some strength.
 
#108 ·
Mugen pedal covers? How do you like them other than gas spacing, do the clutch and brake covers have any thickness to them? I've noticed a lot of stock bent pedals, some covers might add some strength.
They work fine but are mostly for the bling factor TBH. Grip tape on the pedals is just as functional. They do add some thickness but I don't know if they would actually make the pedal stronger since the lower half of them are just held in place with some double sided tape.

If you want to try them out cheap they sell fake ones on ebay for like $25 that are mostly the same as the real ones, just with lesser fit and finish.
 
#109 ·
Yes you are correct, the lude is much more enjoyable with having all the creature comforts working with a motor swap.

Last time I drove the lude with the AC and the it was a hot day 80-90 degrees outside the inside was freezing!!! I had to turn down the fan to 1 and even then the inside of the car was way too cold.

This while using the Enviro Safe refrigerant.
I keep telling people that this stuff is better than having to deal with expensive R12 and the inefficient R134 stuff.

Envirosafe is cheap and much easier on the system.
I would recommend it to those still using the old AC system.
But I also recommed that everyone who wants to maintain their stock motors and keep their AC systems, to convert to the B-Series compressor and modify the the AC lines and then vaccum and recharge with the EnviroSafe stuff.

Your system will be way more efficient and also last a long time.

Dave has built his own bracket on the B20a lude and either you can have someone make the bracket for you or talk to Dave about making it for you.

Once you change over to the newer AC components your AC should last you a long time and on the hot days you will be so much happier to drive the ludes 30 years later...:wink1:
 
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