as you can tell form my post count, I'm new here, looks like lots of great info on here though. my wife has a 95 Ex 4dr with 2.2 v-tec and manual trans. it has been a great car and my wife is very very attached to it. she loves this car i'm going to do a bit of paint and body work this summer as a surprise to her, while i have the car in the shop i would like to do something with the motor and trans, the car is approaching 230k miles, and has some small issues, very noisy top end (i have adjusted the valves and they quiet down for a short time then noise again) has a rattle when cold, she doesn't even notice but i hear it if i drive it. 5th gear sychros are going bad have to double clutch to keep it from grinding. and the trans growls and rattles when you turn left?!? i've never heard anything like it, i am familiar with axle noises, and things like that, i think it maybe differential or something.

all of these issues are very minor currently, but i want to have a plan before they get worse, she isn't about performance at all but loves that her car is quick, and nimble. loves the 5spd and laughs at girls who cant drive one, lol

my thoughts are currently leaning towards a jdm swap, a cheaper one, i have been looking at a f22 dohc swap, or f20 dohc swap, both seem reasonably priced, but i want to make sure they come with a low mileage manual trans too. in my area i am having trouble locating a decent replacement engine and trans that doesn't have the same or more miles than the current engine does.

since the current motor is an f-series block, will either of these motors just drop in? same mounts? same axles? ecu? wire harness?

i'm looking for simple, reliable, and reasonably priced.

does anyone have any input? recommendations? where have bought swaps from? being a 95 its obd2 correct? how difficult is an obd1 conversion if i buy an obd1 swap?

 

Your 1995 should be OBD-1. In 95 only the V-6 cars were OBD-2, one year ahead of the EPA requirement.

 

Either one is going to be a bit of a headache, nothing crazy, but not just drop it in.

Both the F22B DOHC and F20B DOHC are kind of rare engines, so finding an ECU to run either one is going to be difficult.

Also the biggest thing is the engine importers have no idea how many miles are on the engines, they just say 35,000 miles for every one. Notice how they say OBD0 CRX engines from 1990 have 35,000 miles just like the K20A from a 2005 Civic SI also has 35,000 miles?

I have bought from importers and I have bought from junkyards, junkyards seem to stand behind their product a lot more. Most have 90 day warranties where as most importers have 30 day start up warranties that just say it will run, but doesnt mean it won't run well. Also there is usually a long list of restrictions to their warranty, like you have to replace ever seal on the engine first and have it all done and installed by a professional mechanic.

If I were you I would look for a 92-01 H22A(non SH) from a local junkyard. It will be simpler to swap in, and easier to deal with if you have problems with it. It will also make more power than either of the engines you listed.