87 lxi with 89 A20A3 engine

[xxdecompilerxx]

been looking thru the forms for days now couldnt find any info fitting my issues
SHORT STORY
1987 honda accord lxi fuel injected with 1989 A20A3 engine automatic , this is my first transplant i've ever done & have learned alot and enjoyed it currently my issues are after everything has been done swapping all the old parts putting em on the new engine when i start the car the rpm went up to 2,500 or so when i tap the gas it shoots wayy wayy up past 5,000 & ive messed with the idle and all that no improvement, now i was told to go to junk yard and find a 1989 ecu ( a cardone computer box that sits under passenger's seat ) and that should solve my problem but am not to sure thought i'd post here and see the response

LONG STORY
Borrowed the car from friend ( he had new oil pan didnt tell me ) car ran out of oil on freeway. was given an option buy car for 500 or fix it.. dumb me bought the car for 500 went to many junk yards found 89 a20a3 engine for 300. buddy of mine said he could take old engine out and put new one in less than 4 hours ( yea right b.s. ) spent 12 hours getting old engine out. buddy bailed out on me& clipped the a/t selector cable without letting me know about it. me being a noob read the book and talked to several mechanics including honda. got tired waiting around for help (even when i offered 2 pay $$$$ ) went ahead swapped everything out myself wasnt easy ( lots lots of running back n forth to autozone & honda ) currently i am using the 87 intake mainfold, actually all parts are for 87 only thing is diffrent is the a20a3 engine which is from 1989 accord lxi... the vacuum diagram got it all hooked except for # 12 & #3 which i capped off it was supposed to go to the thermovalve. The '89 A20A3 engine dont have a thermovalve. The '87 A20A3 engine has a thermovalve.I got that info from honda & ive looked thru the shop manuel from pauldesignsite. and i found a new a/t selector cable for 40bucks when honda wanted 225.00 for it

so far thats all is left 2 do is
replace a/t selector cable
ecu 87 to 89??????

[forrest89sei]

been looking thru the forms for days now couldnt find any info fitting my issues
SHORT STORY
1987 honda accord lxi fuel injected with 1989 A20A3 engine automatic , this is my first transplant i've ever done & have learned alot and enjoyed it currently my issues are after everything has been done swapping all the old parts putting em on the new engine when i start the car the rpm went up to 2,500 or so when i tap the gas it shoots wayy wayy up past 5,000 & ive messed with the idle and all that no improvement, now i was told to go to junk yard and find a 1989 ecu ( a cardone computer box that sits under passenger's seat ) and that should solve my problem but am not to sure thought i'd post here and see the response

LONG STORY
Borrowed the car from friend ( he had new oil pan didnt tell me ) car ran out of oil on freeway. was given an option buy car for 500 or fix it.. dumb me bought the car for 500 went to many junk yards found 89 a20a3 engine for 300. buddy of mine said he could take old engine out and put new one in less than 4 hours ( yea right b.s. ) spent 12 hours getting old engine out. buddy bailed out on me& clipped the a/t selector cable without letting me know about it. me being a noob read the book and talked to several mechanics including honda. got tired waiting around for help (even when i offered 2 pay $$$$ ) went ahead swapped everything out myself wasnt easy ( lots lots of running back n forth to autozone & honda ) currently i am using the 87 intake mainfold, actually all parts are for 87 only thing is diffrent is the a20a3 engine which is from 1989 accord lxi... the vacuum diagram got it all hooked except for # 12 & #3 which i capped off it was supposed to go to the thermovalve. The '89 A20A3 engine dont have a thermovalve. The '87 A20A3 engine has a thermovalve.I got that info from honda & ive looked thru the shop manuel from pauldesignsite. and i found a new a/t selector cable for 40bucks when honda wanted 225.00 for it

so far thats all is left 2 do is
replace a/t selector cable
ecu 87 to 89??????

Welcome to the forum

Ok on the ECU Question, the 87-89 A20A3 Engines are the same, the only difference is the Intake Mani, Exhaust mani, and ECU, BUT if your running a 87 ECU, Intake Mani, and Exhaust mani you should have no issues

So you should have ANY parts that were on your 87 motor on this 89 motor for it to work.

[xxdecompilerxx]

thanks thats what i orginally had assumed so i guess whats left is the rpm idle issue & the a/t slector cable ( that was clipped when old engine was taken out )
ive gotten the old a/t slector cable off putting in the new one is a bit tricky when i am under the car looking at the trans have very little room to reach in to take the pin out to disconnect the old peice should i hook up at the transmission end first then the stick lever first or otherway around

as for rpm issue when start its 2,500 rpm when press the gas petal lightly rpm shoots way up to high ive got the vacuum line tester and am just about to start testing the lines & got a carb cleaner spray to clean the throttle

also i am hard of hearing so its a bit tricky for me to hear the idle

[forrest89sei]

Is the Car throwing a PGM-FI/Check Engine Light?

[xxdecompilerxx]

yep

[xxdecompilerxx]

also in my first post i have " the vacuum diagram got it all hooked except for # 12 & #3 which i capped off it was supposed to go to the thermovalve. The '89 A20A3 engine dont have a thermovalve. The '87 A20A3 engine has a thermovalve." i got this info from honda so i suspect that could be my problem how can i bypass it ?

[forrest89sei]

also in my first post i have " the vacuum diagram got it all hooked except for # 12 & #3 which i capped off it was supposed to go to the thermovalve. The '89 A20A3 engine dont have a thermovalve. The '87 A20A3 engine has a thermovalve." i got this info from honda so i suspect that could be my problem how can i bypass it ?

No you need the Thermovalve, If your using the 87 Intake Mani it's a 87 Engine, even know you know it's a 89

ANYTHING that your 87 motor used, your 89 motor will need, it's the Same

Chances are the themovalve that you capped off is related to your Idle issue

[xxdecompilerxx]

ok when i look at the engine where the thermovavle should be its just a empty dead end hole i dont know if i need to buy a thermo vavle and drill a hole in it if u could look in the vacuum diagram for 87 and 89 u can see the the 89 dont have a thermovavle

[forrest89sei]

ok when i look at the engine where the thermovavle should be its just a empty dead end hole i dont know if i need to buy a thermo vavle and drill a hole in it if u could look in the vacuum diagram for 87 and 89 u can see the the 89 dont have a thermovavle

Ok where is the thermovalve located?

If it's in the water neck, then you need to swap the water neck from your 87 motor

[xxdecompilerxx]

[forrest89sei]

Ok then all you need to do is Swap the water neck/Thermostat housing from your 87 motor to your 89 motor, then you'll have the proper thermovalve, So swap it, but be sure to get a new o-ring gasket

What you need to remember is yes, there Are diffrences with the 89 motor, But ONLY if you use the 89 Parts, ANY 87 Part will work on that motor just fine

[xxdecompilerxx]

i could do that if i still had the old engine car has been sitting in my grage for a year i guess i can go to the junk yard and grab one ?


and how about that a/t slector cable do i attach it to the transmission first then the shifter stick ?

[forrest89sei]

i could do that if i still had the old engine car has been sitting in my grage for a year i guess i can go to the junk yard and grab one ?

yeah just grab one from another 1987 LX-i and you'll be good

Now what about this Check Engine light? have you checked it?

if no heres the How to:

How to check your ECU codes:
1. move driver seat all the way forward.
2. locate the box on the floor.
3. locate the small plastic window and pop it open.
4. turn the ignition on.
5. count how many times the light blinks.
6. refer to the table below.

ECU CODES for 86-89 accord and 85-89 prelude

Ok I think we finally got this fixed now.. These are the correct codes..

00 LED FLASH(s) ECU

01 LED FLASH(s) 85-98 Accord
Oxygen Sensor "A" (Primary)
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor

02 LED FLASH(s) 85-89 Accord
Oxygen Sensor "B"
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor

03 LED FLASH(s) 85-98 Accord
MAP Sensor (Manifold Absolute Pressure)
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor

04 LED FLASH(s) Crank Angle

05 LED FLASH(s) 85-98 * Accord
MAP Sensor (Manifold Absolute Pressure)
mechanical problem / disconnected piping
* exc. 94-95

06 LED FLASH(s) 85-98 Accord
ECT Sensor (Engine Coolant Temperature)
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor

07 LED FLASH(s) 85-98 Accord
TP Sensor (Throttle Position)
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor

08 LED FLASH(s) 85-98 Accord
TDC Sensor (Top Dead Center)
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor

09* LED FLASH(s) 85-98** Accord
CYP Sensor (Cylinder)
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor
* not a valid code for any throttle body injection Hondas
** not a valid code for V-6 engines

10 LED FLASH(s) 85-98 Accord
IAT Sensor (Intake Air Temperature)
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor

12 LED FLASH(s) 85-98 Accord
EGR Lift Sensor (Exhaust Gas Recirculation)
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor

13 LED FLASH(s) 85-98 Accord
BARO Sensor (Atmospheric Pressure)
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor

14 LED FLASH(s) 88-98 Accord
IAC Valve (Idle Air Control)
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor
IAC VALVE HELP

15 LED FLASH(s) Ignition output signal

16 LED FLASH(s) fuel injector

17 LED FLASH(s) 88-98 Accord
VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor)
defective circuit or unplugged / defective sensor

[cygnus x-1]

Sounds to me like there is a vacuum leak somewhere. Check around and make sure you didn't forget to cap a line somewhere.

C|

[xxdecompilerxx]

went out to junk yard today looked thru over 35 accords & prelude no luck tmw another day ive posted the diagram here so yall can take a look and see if i could by pass thermovavle the #12 vacuum line goes from intake mainfoldto distributor & thermovalve so i

currently # 12 & # 3 vacuum lines that goes to thermovalve are capped off ( probally an mechanic woulda smack the back of my head saying idiot lol







will check out ecu codes soonz

[Dr_Snooz]

Oh gawd! This is such a horrible story. My heart goes out to you. If it's any consolation, I just did a swap and am now trying to figure out why the new engine won't hold oil pressure.

[cygnus x-1]

I can't see the images right now because I'm at work and the firewall blocks most image hosting sites. But if this is what I'm thinking it is you shouldn't need that thermovalve. All the thermovalve does is to switch vacuum to the distributor advance diaphram when the engine is cold. Which just advances the timing a few degrees to help it run better until it warms up. I don't think this is your problem.

C|

[xxdecompilerxx]

Oh gawd! This is such a horrible story. My heart goes out to you. If it's any consolation, I just did a swap and am now trying to figure out why the new engine won't hold oil pressure.

if i knew anything i'd be glad to share it u can always go to honda service dept and talk to the guys that work on the hondas everyday ive found a couple they are always glad to give u info & print out and tell u where to go to get cheap parts or which junkyard to go to

[russiankid]

Oh gawd! This is such a horrible story. My heart goes out to you. If it's any consolation, I just did a swap and am now trying to figure out why the new engine won't hold oil pressure.

First thing to check is the oil pump, that is what i would do.

[A20A1]

For A/T selector cables you might be able to use one from B&M it's like $50

[xxdecompilerxx]

the a/t cables r done

only problem left is the thermovalve ive gone to so many junkyards in the past 3 days and and no luck most hondas i looked at had already been gone by someone else

heres a question what if i drill a hole & thread and install a thermovalve would that do the trick ? considering im on a budget ( waiting on uncle sam 2 cough up my returns )

or what other model such as accord,civic,crx,acura any freaking model anything that has a silmar part to what i need ? WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA