Hi guys!

I'm new to this forum.

When we bought our Accord from an individual seller, the engine installed was F20B. After a year the engine just stalled and a road mechanic told us that the engine damaged its internals, they even showed us when they turn the main pulley (after they dismantled the head) that the No.3 Piston was not moving. They advised us to directly swap the engine since it will be more cheaper and will save us time. And so we did. They installed an F22B engine.

Unfortunately, we were fooled by that mechanic. After spending Php 52,000 ($1,156 est) and three months of waiting, we got a more defective car. At first when you shift neutral to first gear, when releasing the clutch the car vibrates! then after a month I noticed that the engine warms too quickly. and the worst The RPM will suddenly drop while at idle (i.e stack in traffic) until it dies.

I took it to another mechanic to have a look at it, he said that the the problem is the cylinder head (F22B) the reason why it suddenly looses compression (sudden RPM drop), that water might be getting inside the engine.

So before I decide on what to do, I'll ask you guys since I know you have more experience on this thing.

1. Is it possible to install the previous F20B Cylinder head (whole assembly) on the existing F22B engine block?
2. If it is possible are there any serious modifications that we need to do or we can just install it straight up?
3. If I we're you, what will you do, install the F20B head on the F22B Block to save money or repair the F22B instead but with a lot bigger cost?

I'm on a very very tight budget so I'm asking which is better to be done. Thank you in advance guys!

More HP!

Pictures:

1996 Honda Accord



Previously Installed F20B Engine



Currently installed defective F22B Engine

did u have this swap done at a shop? if so, go back and raise hell. No way that taking 3 months to do a swap, then having it run like complete shit, is acceptable. Threaten them with a lawsuit if it isnt fixed cuz they sold you a shitty motor or fucked up on the swap and wont admit it.

It was done in a shop whom we think has a good reputation. We already did and we threaten the owner with a lawsuit, he even got the guts to keep hold of the engine swap papers so we cannot properly register the car and the next thing we know, the owner was out of the country (went to the US) and they didn't know when he will be coming back. And I need to fix the car because we need running motor here my dad is in the hospital and I'm the one running errands, so its an agony while we have a car sitting in our garage.

I just hope somebody can shed more light if what I am thinking is possible, some say that it is, some say it will not work, I just want to make sure first before I make any move again since rebuilding the F22B will need for to spend another Php 15,000 ($ 400.00) that's a lot of money! my dad is in the military so he doesn't earn that much. If we can install the F20B head at least we can save around Php 6,000.

By the way, I have no plans in to race the car, it's a daily home-office, office-home car.

Update, I went to the mechanic earlier to have the car fixed..they first tested the F22B and indeed it has a leak, water/coolant and oil are mixing inside the engine. When we brought the F20B to be checked, the mechanic said that he wanted to make sure the F20B head is working perfectly after months of sitting in my garage and collecting dust, to make sure I'll replace the same internals (valve spring retainers? oil seals etc) so i decided to go with the F22B instead since I'll be paying almost the same amount.
But they told me that the F20B SOHC non-Vtec (PhDM as we call it here) fits 100% with the F22B SOHC non-vtec PhDM. Both the F22B and the F20B head can interchange their internal parts.

Problem solved! so now Im thinking of slowly rebuilding the F20B and sell at as a whole or its parts. hahaha!

glad you were able to solve it on your own, and share he info with us as well.

keep us posted on the progress of this dd build.

Just got back from the mechanic earlier, yesterday, they are not able to make the engine run, it cranks but it won't go and run all the way...and earlier when I arrived the car is already running but with a few problem. the engine's RPM rises to 4000 rpm and higher even without stepping on the gas. and it sounds like it was choking when at idle and when you started to accelerate.

They are still trying to find out the cause for these, they are thinking of the Servo (Serbo) thing I guess.

yeah def. keep us posted on this build. I hardly know anything about the F series, so i welcome any knowledge u can drop!

Finally after 4 days and spending Php 20,000 ($450.00 est), fixing too many electrical by passes, the car runs smoothly, the mechanic decided to use the F20B throttle body and Serbo which made it run a little better.

Though there is still a "drag" / vibration when accelerating (on first gear only), the mech told me it is because of a faulty/cheap clutch lining installed by the previous mechanic.

It came to me that here in the Philippines the mechanics are ingenious that they can do whatever even by passes, left and right wire taps in order for an engine to run. Whether they are doing it right or it may damage other components, the thing is they can fix and make any engine run..haha.

No I learned my lesson the hard way, never trust any mechanic.