my JDM engine finally done

pyros88legendcoupe · 10-02-02, 10:27 PM

hey everyone, im back. finally the days of working 6:30 in the mourning till 3 then going and working on my car until 1 in the mourning are over. it took a solid 1-2 weeks to finish the engine. less if me and my buddys werent drinking the whole time. here's the story. ( all prices in CAN)
first off i blew my old engine because my water pump was leaking bad and it blew out the seal even more so i overheated and blew the headgasket. 2 months later after researching just about everything i came to the conclusion. Either spend 1064$ on parts alone to rebuild the head. that includes basics gaskets,water pump,belts,getting the head re-surfaced. Or find another engine. i knew it would be insane opening the legend engine up so i searched around for a new engine. after a few weeks and alot of differnt prices starting way up at 3900$ for a rebuilt one down to 1400$ for one out of california (www.usedengines.com) down to my favorite and my choice 600$ (www.jkjapaneseengine.com)
Luckily i live 5 hours east of vancouver and the shipping was cheap. after BSing on the phone for a long time i made sure i got a good engine.

so i started out in my freinds back yard. we just started takeing everything off top to bottom. And it sucks because you have to take everything off. right down to the tranny and driveshafts. but thankfully Acura is god and made all the bolts either 10mm or 17mm theres the odd 12 and 14. and there all the same thread and strength. a few suspension bolts are stronger. so after looking at my new 60k km jdm engine this is what is different.(also from looking at my acura workshop manual for both us and jdm engines) the JDM engine is a non-cat engine. so it has no catyltic conv,no air suction valve (recirculates air into the exhaust for emmisions)no sensor on the valve cover. there is another variable timing thing before the dist too but i didnt have it. also the non-cat engine runs 9.4 compression ratios compared to our 9.0 . other than that its the same. i even took my old valve cover with the sensor on it.another thing that a little diferent is the vacuum lines the jdm one has 2 less hoses ( forward and return for the air suction valve) there vacuum box is differnt too but ours works fine.
So i droped in the new engine.bolted it up and all the hoses and it ran to my suprise. unfortunatly it idled at 4k. after alot of messing around i think the throttle body is bent because if you manually bend it back it goes down. either that or im reducing the airflow so much it has to idle that low. the computer is already fixing it and now after a few mins it will go down to 1500 then to normal when driving. unless anyone has any ideas im going to put my old throttle body on after i bore it out and put a new butterfly plate in it. and im going to hone out my manifold from my old engine and mabye put that on. the jdm one is a little differnt has no hole for air-suction. but other than that it runs fine with no codes. my ABS light is on but thats never changed. and my oil light blinks now and then, also no suprise. so how does it feel now??
id say its a very noticible differnce the car has enough power to squel the tires from take off on pavement for a good 20 feet. not constantly though. it idles along at 80 kph and wont go below 60 kph without holding on the brakes. and it does 100 kph (60 mph) at 2400 rpm. and 80 at 1900-2000 rpm. and id say 125 kph at 2700 rpm. i havent raced it around yet but soon we will see. hopefully it will be a bullet soon. after i hone out intake,exhaust and put on a CAI. by buddy at the muffler shop is also putting in a full true dual exhaust off the manifold ( not crappy Y-Pipe) and a crossover H pipe for sound. all for a really good price. im thinking a 2 inlet/2 outlet exhaust NSX style. after all that Im putting on NOS and a custom computer and a few hours of dyno time. hopefully it will all be done by summer time next year if cash allows. i dont know the HP rating Im going to get but around 300 is a good guess with the nos. probly more. if anyone has any questions about the JDM engine fire away. later

LEGENDCanadian · 10-02-02, 11:37 PM

Im glad to hear that the motor runs good! what did you do with the extra hoses for the air suction? leave them not attatched to anything?? i am almost gonna buy one but i need to save a bit more money. i plan on doing everything out of the car first. honing and port and polishing. any tips you would suggest? post some pics if you have any

pyros88legendcoupe · 10-02-02, 11:55 PM

I really Really wish i could have took some pics but i couldent get ahold of a digital camera. as for the air-suction valve i just plugged it seems to work fine with no codes. I'll try to take a few pics later and scan them. the only advice i can give is be organized label all your bolts in bags. i didnt and im missing 2 or 3 and they were important. 1 was from the drive-shaft bracket ( dosn't take much stress but still. the othe from the back mount. ( 2 go into the tranny and 1 into the engine, i only have 2 in the tranny

no engine bolt) other than that its not that hard. you dont even have to go slow. Hondas goal when they made the legend was to make it fast reliable very high tech. and also workable. you can pull everything off it only goes in one spot. there are differnt type's of 2 prong elec conecters, so you can't mix up any of the elctrical. plus every wire has a bracked so it pretty much lays beside where it goes. all the vacuum lines have numbers on them. just label where they go on the throttle body the rest are easy. if not you can look at the acura workshop manual for a complete breakdown of both type engines. make sure you dont loose the dis O-ring. and if it dosnt spark, it probly isnt giving fuel too. most likely something is plugged in wrong or the dist is on backwards. the ECU will stop it from fireing and cut the fuel pump. but overall I'd say the engine is the best engine i have ever worked on very simple and too the point.

905_LEGEND · 10-04-02, 03:05 PM

I was just wondering what transmission are you running? (Manual or Automatic) and what ECU are you running? (JDM or Canadian)

Represent the Canadian Legends!

pyros88legendcoupe · 10-04-02, 09:00 PM

im useing my old tranny and my old ecu. orig 88 canadain spec. im sure the same as american spec.

905_LEGEND · 10-04-02, 09:19 PM

So is it a automatic or a manual transmission?

Iceman22 · 10-04-02, 09:27 PM

Post lots and lots of pictures as soon as you can

pyros88legendcoupe · 10-06-02, 11:26 PM

it was an auto.
anyone know where the vehicle speed sensor for variable power steering is. Is it the small metal disc shaped thing sticking up out of the tranny. It has 2 braided hoses coming out of it going to the back driver firewall. And the cable to the dash for the speedo. because my dumbass budy cut the 2 tranny fluid lines to the firewall because they were a ***** to get off. so I guessed and i think i got it wrong. The car makes a large whinning sound like a belt vibrating but it isnt. And the car leaks PS fluid from the bottom where the tie-rods come in. Mabye I might have the 2 hoses on the wrong holes on each side. Any other ideas?. also my car jumps to 3k when i start it because my cold idle control sensor is screwed. along with the throttle body on my car. It got mangled at some time. It looks fine but i think it has a little warp in it. i can go stand outside the engine bay and turn back the throttle and it goes down to 1300. but if the engine is warm it runs good and idles at 1k. my tach is probly off. is there a cold idle control sensor i heard there was?
I think im just going to put on a my old carb and make sure i clean it bore it and resize the butterfly valve to fit snug. should i be worried about messing anything up in the carb doing that.

10-02-02, 10:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
pyros88legendcoupe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: oliver Posts: 552 Car 1: 88 legend coupe L - JDM eng iTrader: (0)	my JDM engine finally done hey everyone, im back. finally the days of working 6:30 in the mourning till 3 then going and working on my car until 1 in the mourning are over. it took a solid 1-2 weeks to finish the engine. less if me and my buddys werent drinking the whole time. here's the story. ( all prices in CAN) first off i blew my old engine because my water pump was leaking bad and it blew out the seal even more so i overheated and blew the headgasket. 2 months later after researching just about everything i came to the conclusion. Either spend 1064$ on parts alone to rebuild the head. that includes basics gaskets,water pump,belts,getting the head re-surfaced. Or find another engine. i knew it would be insane opening the legend engine up so i searched around for a new engine. after a few weeks and alot of differnt prices starting way up at 3900$ for a rebuilt one down to 1400$ for one out of california (www.usedengines.com) down to my favorite and my choice 600$ (www.jkjapaneseengine.com) Luckily i live 5 hours east of vancouver and the shipping was cheap. after BSing on the phone for a long time i made sure i got a good engine. so i started out in my freinds back yard. we just started takeing everything off top to bottom. And it sucks because you have to take everything off. right down to the tranny and driveshafts. but thankfully Acura is god and made all the bolts either 10mm or 17mm theres the odd 12 and 14. and there all the same thread and strength. a few suspension bolts are stronger. so after looking at my new 60k km jdm engine this is what is different.(also from looking at my acura workshop manual for both us and jdm engines) the JDM engine is a non-cat engine. so it has no catyltic conv,no air suction valve (recirculates air into the exhaust for emmisions)no sensor on the valve cover. there is another variable timing thing before the dist too but i didnt have it. also the non-cat engine runs 9.4 compression ratios compared to our 9.0 . other than that its the same. i even took my old valve cover with the sensor on it.another thing that a little diferent is the vacuum lines the jdm one has 2 less hoses ( forward and return for the air suction valve) there vacuum box is differnt too but ours works fine. So i droped in the new engine.bolted it up and all the hoses and it ran to my suprise. unfortunatly it idled at 4k. after alot of messing around i think the throttle body is bent because if you manually bend it back it goes down. either that or im reducing the airflow so much it has to idle that low. the computer is already fixing it and now after a few mins it will go down to 1500 then to normal when driving. unless anyone has any ideas im going to put my old throttle body on after i bore it out and put a new butterfly plate in it. and im going to hone out my manifold from my old engine and mabye put that on. the jdm one is a little differnt has no hole for air-suction. but other than that it runs fine with no codes. my ABS light is on but thats never changed. and my oil light blinks now and then, also no suprise. so how does it feel now?? id say its a very noticible differnce the car has enough power to squel the tires from take off on pavement for a good 20 feet. not constantly though. it idles along at 80 kph and wont go below 60 kph without holding on the brakes. and it does 100 kph (60 mph) at 2400 rpm. and 80 at 1900-2000 rpm. and id say 125 kph at 2700 rpm. i havent raced it around yet but soon we will see. hopefully it will be a bullet soon. after i hone out intake,exhaust and put on a CAI. by buddy at the muffler shop is also putting in a full true dual exhaust off the manifold ( not crappy Y-Pipe) and a crossover H pipe for sound. all for a really good price. im thinking a 2 inlet/2 outlet exhaust NSX style. after all that Im putting on NOS and a custom computer and a few hours of dyno time. hopefully it will all be done by summer time next year if cash allows. i dont know the HP rating Im going to get but around 300 is a good guess with the nos. probly more. if anyone has any questions about the JDM engine fire away. later __________________ 88 Legend coupe L Auto c27a1 JDM Engine non-cat version 9.4 c/r currently :dead auto 86 Legend 4d auto c25a1 currently:stock and running, soon to recieve my 88s JDM motor and manual tranny

10-02-02, 11:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
LEGENDCanadian S*preme Legend Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: San Diego Posts: 405 Car 1: 1987 Blue Acura Legend 2 door 5 spd iTrader: (0)	Im glad to hear that the motor runs good! what did you do with the extra hoses for the air suction? leave them not attatched to anything?? i am almost gonna buy one but i need to save a bit more money. i plan on doing everything out of the car first. honing and port and polishing. any tips you would suggest? post some pics if you have any __________________ <img src="http://www3.sympatico.ca/buchler/signature.jpg"> http://groups.msn.com/Orenandfriends Performance mods: custom 2.25 cat back exhaust with vibrant muffler weapon r intake KVR cross drilled rotors custom ceramic clutch and tranny (San Diego transmission) custom strut bars (front and rear) Bayou/Dinan stage 2 chip 17 inch rims Interior mods: momo shift knob custom real leather seats brown tan 2 tone Stereo mods: Alpine head unit Alpine in dash screen 2 12" pioneer subs Rockford fosgate bd 500.1 Rockford fosgate 400.4 2 ferad capacitor alpine 6.5" dddrive japanese rear speakers AVI component 6.5" front speakers 12 disk alpine changer Exterior mods: JDM clear corners 90 tail lights road boy fog lights bmw side markers

10-02-02, 11:55 PM	#3 (permalink)
pyros88legendcoupe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: oliver Posts: 552 Car 1: 88 legend coupe L - JDM eng iTrader: (0)	I really Really wish i could have took some pics but i couldent get ahold of a digital camera. as for the air-suction valve i just plugged it seems to work fine with no codes. I'll try to take a few pics later and scan them. the only advice i can give is be organized label all your bolts in bags. i didnt and im missing 2 or 3 and they were important. 1 was from the drive-shaft bracket ( dosn't take much stress but still. the othe from the back mount. ( 2 go into the tranny and 1 into the engine, i only have 2 in the tranny no engine bolt) other than that its not that hard. you dont even have to go slow. Hondas goal when they made the legend was to make it fast reliable very high tech. and also workable. you can pull everything off it only goes in one spot. there are differnt type's of 2 prong elec conecters, so you can't mix up any of the elctrical. plus every wire has a bracked so it pretty much lays beside where it goes. all the vacuum lines have numbers on them. just label where they go on the throttle body the rest are easy. if not you can look at the acura workshop manual for a complete breakdown of both type engines. make sure you dont loose the dis O-ring. and if it dosnt spark, it probly isnt giving fuel too. most likely something is plugged in wrong or the dist is on backwards. the ECU will stop it from fireing and cut the fuel pump. but overall I'd say the engine is the best engine i have ever worked on very simple and too the point. __________________ 88 Legend coupe L Auto c27a1 JDM Engine non-cat version 9.4 c/r currently :dead auto 86 Legend 4d auto c25a1 currently:stock and running, soon to recieve my 88s JDM motor and manual tranny

10-04-02, 03:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
905_LEGEND Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 42 iTrader: (0)	Good job on the swap! I was just wondering what transmission are you running? (Manual or Automatic) and what ECU are you running? (JDM or Canadian) Represent the Canadian Legends! __________________ 1990 Acura Legend Coupe L Midnight Blue/Black http://www.legend-forum.com/vbulleti...=&postid=53097 Support this petition http://www.petitiononline.com/sect1722/petition.html

10-04-02, 09:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
pyros88legendcoupe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: oliver Posts: 552 Car 1: 88 legend coupe L - JDM eng iTrader: (0)	im useing my old tranny and my old ecu. orig 88 canadain spec. im sure the same as american spec. __________________ 88 Legend coupe L Auto c27a1 JDM Engine non-cat version 9.4 c/r currently :dead auto 86 Legend 4d auto c25a1 currently:stock and running, soon to recieve my 88s JDM motor and manual tranny

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10-04-02, 09:19 PM	#6 (permalink)
905_LEGEND Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 42 iTrader: (0)	So is it a automatic or a manual transmission? __________________ 1990 Acura Legend Coupe L Midnight Blue/Black http://www.legend-forum.com/vbulleti...=&postid=53097 Support this petition http://www.petitiononline.com/sect1722/petition.html

10-04-02, 09:27 PM	#7 (permalink)
Iceman22 Lord of *he Legends. Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: For you to know, for me to find out! Posts: 274 Car 1: car iTrader: (0)	Post lots and lots of pictures as soon as you can __________________ Its hard to soar with Eagles, when you are surrounded by Turkeys!-somebody.

10-06-02, 11:26 PM	#8 (permalink)
pyros88legendcoupe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: oliver Posts: 552 Car 1: 88 legend coupe L - JDM eng iTrader: (0)	it was an auto. anyone know where the vehicle speed sensor for variable power steering is. Is it the small metal disc shaped thing sticking up out of the tranny. It has 2 braided hoses coming out of it going to the back driver firewall. And the cable to the dash for the speedo. because my dumbass budy cut the 2 tranny fluid lines to the firewall because they were a ***** to get off. so I guessed and i think i got it wrong. The car makes a large whinning sound like a belt vibrating but it isnt. And the car leaks PS fluid from the bottom where the tie-rods come in. Mabye I might have the 2 hoses on the wrong holes on each side. Any other ideas?. also my car jumps to 3k when i start it because my cold idle control sensor is screwed. along with the throttle body on my car. It got mangled at some time. It looks fine but i think it has a little warp in it. i can go stand outside the engine bay and turn back the throttle and it goes down to 1300. but if the engine is warm it runs good and idles at 1k. my tach is probly off. is there a cold idle control sensor i heard there was? I think im just going to put on a my old carb and make sure i clean it bore it and resize the butterfly valve to fit snug. should i be worried about messing anything up in the carb doing that. __________________ 88 Legend coupe L Auto c27a1 JDM Engine non-cat version 9.4 c/r currently :dead auto 86 Legend 4d auto c25a1 currently:stock and running, soon to recieve my 88s JDM motor and manual tranny

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