I have a 98 Accord 2.3 liter and auto trans. The trans is on its last legs and I have found a 2000 Accord engine and trans as a possible replacement. However the new engine is s ULEV and my current engine is the VTEC (no ULEV). is it possible to use the ULEV engine as a replacement without too much modification? The research i have done indicates that the ECM (engine control module) from the ULEV car at a minimum would be needed to make the swap. Is this true? Are there other considerations to make this swap possible? Thanks.

Joe

1998 Accord EX 2.3 AT

 

if you're gonna swap in a different engine then what the car came with, it must be dohc vtec. this is the rule, this is the law. f20b, h22, or h23. pick one and run with it. whichever one you go with will not disappoint. they are all above 200hp output. the f20b is probably the least expensive because it is an f block and will use all your accessory brackets and engine mounts. I swapped an f20b into my 97. it's great. it's awesome. it's 205hp out of a 2.0L. and it's not that expensive on ebay or jdm suppliers. and the transmission it comes with is lsd with short gears for the high revving motor.

 

I am pretty sure the block is the same between those two engines. The sensors are different, so you should be able to use your original intake and exhaust manifold (and maybe swap some of the sensors, like ECT) and be ok.

I know this has been discussed on here, so search this forum. Hopefully others will chime in as well.

 

F23A4 engines were ULEV (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle). F23A1 were generally non-ULEV.

I believe both F23A1 and F23A4 were SOHC VTEC engines. The ULEV engine was similar to the non-ULEV, the main differences were the exhaust manifold, a more restrictive intake manifold and cylinder head, and the PCM/ECM.

You should be able to swap the exhaust manifold and intake manifold (like PAhonda stated) from your previous engine on to the replacement engine and use your current PCM. If you use your current PCM, there is no need to reprogram it for to the Immobilizer System (if you replaced the PCM, reprogramming for the Immobilizer will be necessary unless it was bypassed/disabled.)

There were some differences in models years between 98 and 00.
Differences in model years (not because of ULEV vs. Non-ULEV)
Wiring for temperature gauge slightly different.
1998-99 Accord: Engine coolant temperature signal is from coolant temperature gauge sending unit. 98-99 Accord had Yel/Grn wire from coolant temperature gauge sending unit to Gauge Assembly Connector pin C2.
2000-02 Accord: Engine coolant temperature signal is from PCM. 00-02 Accord had Yel/Grn wire for Engine coolant temperature signal from PCM Connector pin C24 to Gauge Assembly Connector pin C2.
Pin-out for 98-99 Accord in diagrams "highlights": Blu/Blk wire for 2nd Clutch Pressure Switch goes to PCM Connector B14. I currently haven’t confirmed if 00-02 Accord is different yet for this switch.

Difference between ULEV vs. Non-ULEV (98-02)
ULEV had Air/Fuel Ratio sensor. If you used your current exhaust manifold and PCM, you can just use the regular O2 sensors.

 

I used to have a 98 F23A1, and remember from the Helm book that there were substantial differences in the wiring harness for the ULEV (F23A4) cars. There were several places where the pinouts on the PCM were different. The A/F sensor got it's heater power from a different fuse, & other things like that.

To me it seems simpler to change that ULEV engine into a non-ULEV engine by swapping the exhaust manifold & some sensors over from your old engine. That would be easier than grabbing the ULEV PCM and making the changes to the wiring harness.

 

Thanks to all for your replies on the engine swap question.