The B20A is in!!!!

[carotman]

Well, I don't have time for a full write up right now... really excited to go through the break-in period and floor that thing!!!

Here's a small video without sound just to make you wait until the full write-up!

http://keruh.com/3gz/b20a.avi

[accordlxi2.0]

congratulations man!
it looks real nice!!
have you dynoed it yet??

[AccordAddict]

DAMN! thats sick!

[RobT5580]

You lucky bastard!!!! Looks good and if there are any heads up you want to pass on to me then PM me. The only thing holding me up is the machine shop and fidanza with my damn flywheel. Hopefully things go well then i should have some pictures the first few weeks of august.

Glad to see your done!

[1988starter]

damn spooge that is beyond beautiful. How is it the sound and the speed.

[nswst8]

Gives me a woody to see that Please do the full write up now I can't wait to get mine to start working on. Definately a heads up on anything will help

[blazin3gen]

HOLLY SHIT CAROT!

thats sweet congrats!

[L3G10N]

my little bitch!!!!

but i don't read any tnx anywhere?!!?!?

GIMME BACK MY TRANNY PLATE!!!!

Congrats dude! you'll have to show me this when you'll get take your rear strut bar in Daveluyville.

where's the sound!?!? :thumbdown

[A20A1]

I'm D/L it now... I sent you the gauges and stuff... I tried to PM you but your mail box was full.

[blazin3gen]

my little bitch!!!!

but i don't read any tnx anywhere?!!?!?

GIMME BACK MY TRANNY PLATE!!!!

Congrats dude! you'll have to show me this when you'll get take your rear strut bar in Daveluyville.

where's the sound!?!? :thumbdown

where the hell have u been lol havent seen u in awhile

unless im blind

[Busted_Blue]

great teaser video..I'll wait for the writeup before I ask any questions.

[carotman]

Well, I wonder if I should do another thread or post alot of pictures... you guys sure have seen an engine swap before... I'll post some anyway as an eye candy

They are resized to 640X480 to save on the bandwidth a bit (Hi-Res available on request)

Day 1:

Here's my friend Marc and my girlfirend stripping the A20A1 of it's accessories... that poor thing!




Tha's my friend Gabriel and I (I'm on the left) preparing the B20A to go in the engine bay.


Any good Canadian knows that working on a car can't be done without taking a beer. We didn't take too much tough


Now, here's something interesting!

Here's a picture of the JDM and USDM Left side CV joint (Tranny side).

The USDM joint has splines only on half of the inboard joint. The JDM left side joint uses an intermediate shaft and has splines all along the inboard joint. This means that the USDM right CV joint will NOT fit in the intermediate shaft. If you thought you could use 2 left side joint as equal length shafts... you're wrong! (and I was). The good news is that you can swap the inboard joint without a problem.

I was lucky enough to get the inboard joint with my intermediate shaft. If you don't have one, there might be other Honda shafts that will fit. Any CV joint rebuild shop might be able to find a replacement part. If you're out of luck, the loooooong A20A left side joint will fit.

(USDM on the left, JDM on the right)



Finally, the A20A was out by 9h PM
Those Cast Iron blocks get really dirty.



The car was now ready to receive it's B20A...... but there's more to come.

[shepherd79]

it looks good. reminds me of Steve89DX B series swap. it was fun project.

[carotman]

Day 2

Before the engine gets back in, I wanted to do some work on the car.

My girlfriend helped to remove the front console and shifter assembly... I got a nice Pacesetter shifter now






That's me under the car, removing the DC header downpipe.



Here's the A20A Doenpipe (left) compared to the B20A downpipe (right). I had this welded at without any "real" measurements....

My B20A came with the front part of the downpipe only (everything past the rear bracket was cut). I bought an Accord DX downpipe (cheaper that the 4-2-1 LX-i) and aligned the rear downpipe bracket on both downpipes... I then cut the DX downpipe where the B20A downpipe ended and got it welded in place. If you use the rear bracket as a reference, It fits perfect!!! I noticed that the B20A and A20A rear bracket are different... I don'T have the B20A bracket but it doesn't seem to cause any problem.



I took my X-Member out. I hit a curb back in 1999 (yeah... 5 years ago) and the right side of the X-Member where the lower arm bolts was moved 1/2 inch towards the middle of the car... that even caused a slight positive camber problem (even with the ingalls camber kit)




My girl working on the lower tranny mount.


Tha's Marc and me trying to bolt the new X-Member... boy that thing is heavy

[A20A1]

Nice Vid... good pics too.

[carotman]

Day 3:

Sunday, we put that B20A in!




That engine crane was heavy but quite solid.!!



We came into a problem with the crane... had to lift it by hand.... a man gota use his muscles sometimes




Oh yeah..... it's going in!!!!!





Those cables are realllly close to the camgears.... and the stock cover will not work with the custom gears....



The engine is finally in!



Time to put the fuilds in!
I used that tube filler for the tranny fluid. Did you guys know that the bolt pattern from the pepsi bottle matched that filler???

[carotman]

Last checkup before we start the engine.....



Then.... the engine would not start. I doublechecked everything again and again.... still would not start. It finally started after like 15 mins and alot of sputters... but ran on 3 cyls

It was getting late and the diagnosis was more difficult in the dark.... everybody was tired too.... so we called it a day.




So, yesterday I finally found the problem.... those damn injectors...!!! I replaced all of them with the known good A20A injectors. I don't know if they have less flow but I got spare B20A ones anyway...


Now the engine runs like a charm... the paint on it needs to cure (stinks as hell) and I got some minor idle problems (god bless the agressive cams)

The problems so far:

1- Weird hesitation after a 20 min drive...I suspect my new 4 wire O2 setup. I replaced the 2 O2 sensors with a single 4 wire.... The engine ran fine for a while tough...

2- Leaky oil drain bolt. My drain bolt was kinda stripped but seemed somewhat okay.... I was wrong. Anyone got a quick way to fix this?

Thanks.

[88LXi68]

Looks good Carot! now the fun part starts when you try and get rid of all the little swap bugs. Good luck and maybe we can set up a meet later this summer or early sept

[A20A1]

Nice touch with the DOHC

I dunno about the bolt... Depend how far I could get it in but I would probably see if a good winding of teflon tape would hold up... not sure if the used oil is corrosive to the teflon though.

[smufguy]

I need to see the VIdeo, Bet Jim (hostile Java) can host it for you with no problem. Man..... tell me about the lower cross member, that shit weighed a ton and the damn long ass bolts go like crazy in. Also Jean, did u feel steering chatter when u hooked up the steering rack to the column? cause mine is being weird and got a lil more play, even tho the 10mm bolt on the floor is tightned good.

Im loving this man. I cant wait to see this thing broken in along with your clutch, and then up on the dyno for some crazy ass numbers.

PS~ did u do anything to the intake manifold?

1. THere is something really hot and "turn-on" about a chick who can work around cars and does not mind getting dirty. Hell i envy your girlfriend.

2. You look a lot like my friends boyfriend, ROb, he looks a lot like you, only problem is, he is polish and ur french.

Now to your problem

1. Hesitation whille driving.
- You are not throwing any codes are you? Check for code number 5.
- I had this weird hesitation when my car kinda ran for a whille and these were the symptooms. It drives good and clean and then all of a sudden u hit the gas and it starts to sputter, no where to go, it runs like a lawnmower and then picks up and runs fine at high rpm.
- Its most likely misfiring due to heat or detonation because its running too lean.
- Check how much fuel pressure ur running, for you 43 psi would be awsome at WOT, so at idle, its about 38-40 psi.
- Check the spark plugs right after u start the car up and hit it to 5K, stop the car immediately, pull the plugs and see how the tips looks like.
- how old are the cap and rotor, and u got the cap gasket and the distributor O-ring is fine right?
- CHeck the injector filter screens and also check your fuel filter.
- Too much moisture in the gas tank would also cause this hesitation so use two bottles of Gas tank treatment.
- Check the hose that goes to the MAP sensor, and if needed change it. I redid all my vaccuum hoses, im in the process of pulling the metal shit out and just running all rubber vaccuum lines from the emissions box to the TB and other sensors. Its about 20-25 feet is needed and you might find about $0.35 - $0.65 a foot vaccuum lines.

Leaky Oil Drain Bolt

- If its stripped, you could Re-Thread the bolt hole. You have done this before and you know how to do it.
- If the bolt itself is messed up, (is it the same 14mm bolt like ours?) try using a B20A5 oil drain bolt.
- Worse comes to worse and need to immediately fix it. Wipe the bolt hole area clean and spray some carb cleaner on the bolt and surrounding area to clean it good. then use the gasket maker (any kind) and just apply a dab around the bolt head and the pan to seal it good. Let it sit for a while and then drive around and u wont have any leaks (this was my alternative solution to a leaky distributor because of a crapped out Dist-O-Ring).

Hope those help you are the master of troubleshooting, im suprised u even asked Jean, But you know we are at your service, MR. Bear Baron Mod

[Gregg86DX]

Congrats on your install!!! Looks good and I'm really interested in seeing some numbers for your setup.

I found out about the spline problem on the intermediate shaft this weekend too! Unfortunately, I don't have the original joint to pirate from. Another problem I have is the intermediate shaft I have is from an auto, and it appears to be slightly too long. The carrier bolts won't line up. In the short run, I am stuck with the long axle solution. I need to do some research and see if I can find the correct intermediate shaft and CV joint.

Gregg

[carotman]

I need to see the VIdeo, Bet Jim (hostile Java) can host it for you with no problem. Man..... tell me about the lower cross member, that shit weighed a ton and the damn long ass bolts go like crazy in. Also Jean, did u feel steering chatter when u hooked up the steering rack to the column? cause mine is being weird and got a lil more play, even tho the 10mm bolt on the floor is tightned good.

Im loving this man. I cant wait to see this thing broken in along with your clutch, and then up on the dyno for some crazy ass numbers.

PS~ did u do anything to the intake manifold?

1. THere is something really hot and "turn-on" about a chick who can work around cars and does not mind getting dirty. Hell i envy your girlfriend.

2. You look a lot like my friends boyfriend, ROb, he looks a lot like you, only problem is, he is polish and ur french.

Now to your problem

1. Hesitation whille driving.
- You are not throwing any codes are you? Check for code number 5.
- I had this weird hesitation when my car kinda ran for a whille and these were the symptooms. It drives good and clean and then all of a sudden u hit the gas and it starts to sputter, no where to go, it runs like a lawnmower and then picks up and runs fine at high rpm.
- Its most likely misfiring due to heat or detonation because its running too lean.
- Check how much fuel pressure ur running, for you 43 psi would be awsome at WOT, so at idle, its about 38-40 psi.
- Check the spark plugs right after u start the car up and hit it to 5K, stop the car immediately, pull the plugs and see how the tips looks like.
- how old are the cap and rotor, and u got the cap gasket and the distributor O-ring is fine right?
- CHeck the injector filter screens and also check your fuel filter.
- Too much moisture in the gas tank would also cause this hesitation so use two bottles of Gas tank treatment.
- Check the hose that goes to the MAP sensor, and if needed change it. I redid all my vaccuum hoses, im in the process of pulling the metal shit out and just running all rubber vaccuum lines from the emissions box to the TB and other sensors. Its about 20-25 feet is needed and you might find about $0.35 - $0.65 a foot vaccuum lines.

Leaky Oil Drain Bolt

- If its stripped, you could Re-Thread the bolt hole. You have done this before and you know how to do it.
- If the bolt itself is messed up, (is it the same 14mm bolt like ours?) try using a B20A5 oil drain bolt.
- Worse comes to worse and need to immediately fix it. Wipe the bolt hole area clean and spray some carb cleaner on the bolt and surrounding area to clean it good. then use the gasket maker (any kind) and just apply a dab around the bolt head and the pan to seal it good. Let it sit for a while and then drive around and u wont have any leaks (this was my alternative solution to a leaky distributor because of a crapped out Dist-O-Ring).

Hope those help you are the master of troubleshooting, im suprised u even asked Jean, But you know we are at your service, MR. Bear Baron Mod

Damn so much questions!!

I'll gladly answer!

The steering response is the same as before... the 10mm bolt has a slot in which it must go (just like the front spring perch on the struts). Check if yours is correct.

I reallty like having a girlfriend that likes to work on cars!!! She enjoys my mods as much as I do.

The intake manifold is stock (for now!). I might use a skunk2 in the near future.

For the heditation, I'm not getting any CEL but i did not check on the ECU itself. I though about the O2 sensor since I did the 4 wire O2 conversion like Tom Coleman did (www.ludespeed.com). I bought a used sensor so it might be the problem. I honestly did not think about the engine leaning out but if the O2 has weird readings... the ecu might go crazy a bit and lean out the mixture... I know I'm good at troubleshooting things but a second opinion is always welcome.

I'll soon use a PM6 I think... 1 O2 sensor input... problem solved!

Since the injectors were fine on the A20A, I guess they would be ok.

I'll check the MAP sensor too. good idea

The cap/rotor/gasket O-rings are brand new and the fuel filter was replaced last year. (not more than 5k miles on it)

The fuel pressure is still stock... so getting an adjustable fpr might help.


For the bolt hole, I re-threaded it and used a thread rebuild compound... I'm affraid to put too much pressure and break all the threads... using a bigger bolt would solve the problem I guess. The bolt is a standard Honda bolt.

I thought about the gasket maker and I even bought it to seal the TPS (no gaskets are available at Honda)... I guess it was not a bad idea at all. At least it will work as a temporary solution for the break-in process.


Thanks for all your inputs guys!

[PortugalFocus]

Congrats on getting the B20 in man..... when are you gonna stick that car on rollers for a dyno?

[carotman]

Congrats on your install!!! Looks good and I'm really interested in seeing some numbers for your setup.

I found out about the spline problem on the intermediate shaft this weekend too! Unfortunately, I don't have the original joint to pirate from. Another problem I have is the intermediate shaft I have is from an auto, and it appears to be slightly too long. The carrier bolts won't line up. In the short run, I am stuck with the long axle solution. I need to do some research and see if I can find the correct intermediate shaft and CV joint.

Gregg

I found out this friday that the intermediate shaft I had was not the one for the B20A (it was from an automatic Integra). I went to the engine importers in Montreal and no one would sell me a B20A intermediate shaft... I found only 1 place that was willing to part it out (lucky me). I almost threw the outboard joint into the garbage.... glad I didn't!!!

I also noticed that the auto shaft had a different part number. Maybe we can use a shaft from another car (like the 88-89 lude) but use the B20A bearing and bracket.

The inboard joint can be found here in America i'm sure. Just hit the rebuild shops.


The car will be put on the Dyno after the break in period. i'll need to change the ECU too before I dyno tune it.

BTW, the video is now available again.

[Mike's89AccordLX]

That's fricken great Carotman! So how much do you want for the DC Sport Header and Downpipe since you can't use it? I got first dibbs

-Mike