I have decided to drop $3600 into my CL to swap her engine with a used one. I was driving home New Years Day and it started to misfire. Got it to the stealership, cuz i happened to be right by it at the time. They did a leak down test and it failed 90%. It was either scrap the car all together or have it rebuilt for $2500, or get a used one (76,000) installed. I thought about buying something else, but everything I can afford is just going to give me more headaches down the road.
So I am dropping about $3600 to have a used one put in. It comes with a new timing belt, water pump, thermostat, transmission mounts and a 24,000 mile warrenty with Acura. Im also having a new radiator put in, cuz my old one was rusted out and locked the thermostat open.
Anyways, thats my gripe just wanted to share my problems. The one thing that does help is that they gave me an 07 TSX with like 300 miles on it for my loaner car.

 

The TSX seems worth the hassle.

 

dude........you should just bought a new car, that transmission is gonna go too sooner or later

 

Well I thought about it, but my budget is only around $5000. Anything I get for that is either a high mileage car or a throw away car like a chevy cavalier or something. Acura was only going to give me $500 dollars for it and I just couldn't accept that. I dont have a driveway or storage to part it out. But I can drive it for another year and trade it in towards something else. I can at least hope for $3 -$4 K as a trade in.

 

ah gotcha, i hope you the best of luck then

 

Plus, I dont have time to shop around or I would. I have to have a car. My tranny gets babied anyways. I change the fluid every 3 months.

 

I know all about dumping piles of money on the CL and not giving up on her trust me, I feel your pain. G'luck with the motor swap

 

why don't you swap in a different motor while you get the chance?

 

Well, I would if I had the place to do it and had a car to hold me over. But unfortunately I have neither. Plus, I have never done a full motor swap on my own. This way they do it and they warrenty it.

 

he has a j30......there isnt too many options for him to swap

 

Yes he does. He can go with an odyssey bottom end for around $500 making him a 3.5L using his stock head. It bolts up to the tranny, and he'll have the valve clearance. They use the same casting as our stock 3.0's. You can even go with the pistons of your choice to bump up the CR for more power.

If I bought another 3.0, I'd def put a $1000 into it to make it another 3.5L sleeper. Wouldn't be as fast wihtout the CLS head, but it'd def be funny.

Btw it'd probably bump you a good 15-20whp going with that bottom end and roughly the same amount of torque.

If I were you, I'd tell em to rebuild the head and throw in the short block of an 02' Odyssey.

 

shoulda bought a civic. at least maintnance on them if u need any would have been cheaper.

 

thats still not that many options

 

You can go with a lot of different routes. I can name plenty. But I was simply naming what he could afford.

Odyssey short block - roughly $350+shipping

If you do the labor yourself, then its a great bang for the buck. Othersise expect about $600 for an install. That's a fucking bad ass deal.

You say there aren't too many options, yet you don't know shit about the J series. There are always options, but it comes at a price most aren't willing to pay.

 

lol ok i meant realistic in his price range and with the conditions hes in right now, like having the dealership put it in for him.

 

Price range is everything for car mods and engine rebuilds

 

Cocoa, would you need to alter anything else at all, or could you simply replace with the Odyssey short block and be set?

 

if anyone knows anything about the j-series engine, its cocoa. aznX TL, if you want to stop looking like a fool in front of everyone, you should just keep to yourself and leave your ignorance out of the convo

my

 

ignorance? actually i could give a rats ass how i look on the internet, but thanks for the e-tip.

 

The odyssey, mdx, CLS, and 3.0 CL all share the EXACT short block. They ALL share the same casting, BUT different internally for some. The CLS and MDX have cylinder walls that can withstand more heat at higher rpms (depending on what year MDX, but falls true for every CLS), and the Odyssey is a 3.5 simply because it's stroked.

So you can take out your 3.0 short block, throw in the Odyssey short block from the years 00-02, and you will now be the next 3.5L first gen for under $1000 (assuming you get the short block for $350 and labor to have someone else do it run about $600). Also, make sure you use the crank positioning sensor for the 3.0. I'm know some are the same for some years and what not, but dont risk your engine if you decide to do this without the extra research. I can help anyone that wants to do it, if you just let me know in advance. I'd explain what can go wrong if you were to have the wrong sensor, but I dont want to type it. Easiest way to say it, it'd read the crank revolutions wrong which would cause a whole lot of shit to go wrong, and then boom.

All sensors from your 3.0 you just throw on the new short block.

Because this was true, it allowed for the 6 speed tranny to bolt right up onto the Odyssey short block. BUT, it will not bolt up to every mdx and odyssey block. You will find the Odyssey block cheaper than the mdx or CLS block, therefore it'd be better if you just keep with the 00-02 Odyssey short block. I rather not get into ALL the details about what you can do with what specific years and this and that, and that and this, cause it will literally be an essay.

If I were anyone else that would be willing to spend a $1000 (est.) to stroke their CL, I would buy CLS pistons for $200 brand new for all 6, and what ever the price be for new pistons rings and what not, to raise the CR to 10.8:1 to get a lil more power out of it.

Btw aznx TL, I really didnt mean to blow up like that. I was drunk, and I really hate it when people try to dog on the J series. People just dont realize that they can really do something with their J series for a little bit of money with the right knowledge.

This is why I don't talk as much on the boards. My fucking replies are always long, and I can still go on about this subject.

 

its cool, its the internet where its ok to be free and speak your mind. so harsh comments, as well as good comments are always welcome. if you keep typing and explaining the j-series potential, the more people will learn about it.

 

I have made a few threads, but none of which ever were made into a sticky.

 

i'm pretty interested in this...
is swapping the short block (and maybe pistons) something i would be able to do myself?
i have access to a hoist and tools, but i dont have any experience working on engines.
if i could save the money on labor, i would go for the pistons, too.

 

i wouldnt do it then. if someone else fucks up as least it will be on paper.

 

i read up on the j35 swaps/conversions on that other site that shall remain nameless and there are alot of different routes you can go..

listen to cocoa, the man knows

 

bump

if i knew i could swap the short block myself, i'd be all over this.
i would throw down the few hundred for parts, but not 1k to get it done.

so is this definitely not a DIY job for an engine noob? the most i've done under my hood is replacing the IACV.

 

I'd say not, I've been contemplating for almost 2 years, but I am gonna end up paying someone, pulling motors just aint my thing

 

Wowwwww. I learned ALOT from this post. I never knew that it was that bolt on with the right parts. If I was out of college and had a good job, I would totaly PM ya to get more info and swap ASAP.
Wow, great post man. Alot of J30 ppl NEED to read that.

 

makes me wish i had a j30 haha

 

Makes me wish I had money.

 

cocoa, so i really want to do a j35 block/ j32a2 head combo with cl-s 6 speed combo. The thing is though, i have the 4cyl 2.3, so i don't think my car will be able to hold up the J-series engine blocks. They won't bolt up, i was told that i could just get the subframe from the 3.0CL and i just want more info on it...maybe...you can start a J-series thread and give tips and advice on engine building for the j-series? i'm already looking through other websites for the same info, but i'd feel more confident in what i need, what limitations, problems there are. I'm really serious about this engine swap, so the money won't be an issue. This is a long term project so i have plenty of time. make a sticky?

 

if you have a i4, best bet is to swap in a k24/k20 or h22.

 

 

ahhh, i see, my friend told me about the k24s, i haven't done much research on them. I think i will, the k and h series can go into my car with the OEM engine mounts? more research to doooo haha

 

you'll need hasport mounts for the k-swap

 

thanks for the info, i'm going to start looking into these now think v-6-p is a good way to go?

 

you'll probably have more luck on H-T or k20a.org

 

oohhh thanks! When i get my engine project up and running, i'll make a thread to keep the aziners posted

 

to the op: realy sorry to hear man...but just curious....did your tranny fail or was it the motor itself?

 

GL brother, you couldnt go to a mom and pop engine replacement to save some cash? A friend of mine had his RSX engine replaced and acura quoted about 4500.00 and he had it done for around 3k.