1996 Prelude Si h22a4 swap and cosmetic upgrades.

So I'm definitely in the right for going with a JDM 4G63t over the USDM one? Too bad i can't just get a front clip. Ah well, best to just get the motor and put in then start funding my Skyline hunt. lol

Not necessarily. Like Dennis pointed out.. The best N/A h22 is a European model.. So it really all just depends on the make and series of the motor, as well as time it was produced.

Good point. I want to say the JDM 4G63t is the better motor, as i don't know about the stats of a Euro model. The motor i'm looking at is out of an Evo, but will bolt up in an 95-99 Eclipse/Talon. 210 isn't much, but I'm hoping the JDM will be a bit better. I'm using Tiger JDM, Osaka JDM motors, and JDM Source to find the perfect motor. So far, looks like Tiger is the leader, only wanting 945 plus 190 for shipping. I have a shop that will put it in for 900. I might be able to haggle that price.

And that comes with wiring harness, transmission, Ecu, and it just drops right in? Or do you need new mounts?

Would need new motor mounts wouldn't you since the engine is compatible with the earlier Eclipse and not the newer ones so the engine won't line up just right.

It'll come with just the harness. If my research has been correct, I'll just need a remap of my ECU and change a few wires, but the beauty of the 4G63 and 64 is they're the same block, the 63 being a DOhc 2.0 liter and the 64 being a SOHC 2.4 liter. They use the same transmissions, motor mounts and oil pans. A ton of people do Evo 8 head swaps onto the 64. I thought about doing that myself, but i need to rebuild the lower end, and Evo 8 heads are going for about $800+ on eBay, not counting parts. Turbo optional. If i go with a full motor from Tiger JDM or JDM Source, I get a complete motor; head, turbo, block, manifold, alternator, A/C and power steering pumps. The most i might have to get would be a cam angle sensor, but that's a whopping $60. After dropping $945 for the motor, it's pocket change. Worst case scenario i may have to go to Autozone and get some vacuum hoses, but that's a narrow possibility. Once it's all said and done I'll only spend about a grand to $1600. I'm going to contact them both and see who offers the most parts for the buck. At least i have everything but the motor. LOL

Tis really a shame that Mitsubishi didn't continue the 4G63t into my body style. Coupled with the 3G's reliability it would have been an awesome machine.

And i looked at the wrong engine. The head design on the 95-99 Eclipses equipped with the 4G63/63t was backwards of the design i have in the 4G64, meaning that the timing cover and belts are on the left side of the engine when you're looking at the engine mounted in the car. On the 95-99 it's on the right. I will have to go with an Evo 8 engine. Unfortunately, with the pictures of the engines sitting on a pallet it's a little hard to tell at first.

My engine:


The engine i looked at:


And the Evo engine I need:


The Evolution engine will set me back about $1,795.00 plus shipping from Tiger JDM. I'll do some more looking around for a better price, but looks like Tiger is the only one with this engine.

Poppin the tranny off, draining the remaining oil, spraying the whole exterior of the motor down with a 3rd can of break cleaner, picking up my engine stand, removing the head and all it's internals, moving the motor to my house, and running the bare head through the dishwasher to get that bitch immaculate. That's what's on the agenda for today. Should have some pics n stuff at the end of the day.
Stay tuned!

Sounds like a busy and successful day. looking forward to pics, we love pics lol.

Yeaaaaah didn't quite get all that done. Some other stuff came up so I didn't really have a chance to do much but spray the motor down with some degreaser. On my next day off all the aforementioned tasks will be complete haha.

Something else always seems to get in the way doesn't it? lol.

Sounds fun.

Got a little work done in between the off and on rain we've had for the last couple days.


Got the motor hoisted to drain it.


This was a little disappointing.. figured the previous owner had at least changed the oil regularly.. Guess that wasn't the case..


Popped the IM off just to lighten it up during transport. Surprised at the lack of build up in the ports.


Once we had it loaded in the back of the truck we decided we should just get the tranny off while we still had some daylight and the sky was clear. We had already loosened up the flywheel bolts prior to loading the motor so the tranny wouldnt leak everwhere when we pulled it off.
Got the tranny off and threw it in the metal scrap pile.. it was automatic and I didn't get any offers on cl for it so it's gettin scrapped.
That's all for now, I'll have it on the stand later today. Also went to Walmart and I've gotta say.. they've got some pretty good deals on their tools. Bought a 123 piece Stanley toolset for 40 bucks, with a lifetime warranty, and placed an order for a 750lb engine stand, also only 40 bucks.. the stand I've got right now is pretty beat up.
More pics to come.

Got 'er up on the stand.. In my kitchen.. But I'll work with what I've got.


On the plus side, getting a nice stock of spare H series/prelude parts.

Nice stock on parts, I need to get myself an engine stand so the D15B can come out of my hatch and be replaced by a B16 sometime. Project looks like it is going along very smoothly keep it up.

Well call your closest Walmart and tell them to order you a 750lb Torin Jacks engine stand and it'll ship to the store for free. They don't carry them in store unfortunately. They're compact, easy to roll around and honestly the best bang for your buck.

sounds good thanks, 750lb is plenty for a Dseries right?

yeah found them online for only $50 good deal but would need to take car to shop to have engine pulled cause the lift/cranes are expensive.

750 is more than double what your engine weighs hahahah, so yeah it's more than sufficient.
Ehh I've pulled a d series without using a lift. Just pull the head off first, take it apart and clean it, break the tranny loose while it's in the bay still and it'd only take you and one other guy to pull that little block out. But you'd need a cherry picker to drop the b series in there.

Sounds awfully time consuming lol. I wasn't worried about putting the engine in myself cause I need some other things done as well so I would be having some help from someone.

Naah single slammers are easy, you don't even have to take your cam out to pull the head bolts.. I have to pretty much pull my head apart before I can take it off the block.

might be a good project for me to tackle some time then.

It'd be fun man. I love working on single cams.
Well I got sent home from work yesterday for being sick, I was well enough to work but I work in a kitchen so we can't risk spreading anything.
So I took the day to start some cleaning on the h22.




Started on the head too.



Still gotta LOT of cleaning to do.

looking very good! What did you use to get it all shiny? Was the the cover hard to get all the old paint off?

I used some 3m break cleaner. Any brand works, I can't remember which one i used off the top of my head.
And for the valve cover I just used like 4 coats of aircraft stripper. Ill take pictures of the can tonight.
It works great I always use it when I need to strip something, you just spray it on, the paint bubbles up from the metal and you can literally spray it off with a garden hose.

sounds good, I'm gonna have to buy a case of brake cleaner when my engine comes apart cause I know the previous owner didn't take care of it very well and it is well overdue for an overhaul.