ksu90

You are absolutely correct. But you can use J37a1 Crank, rods, piston, and camshafts in J32A2 or J35A3 to get 3.7L Type S Ultimate. Granted, this will cost some $$ doing machine work to bore out 89mm --> 90MM smoothbore.

zeta

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like a plan.... For you??

ksu90

I already have J35A3 with J32A2 Cams + bolt ons (headers, CAI, Crank Pulley), spending 2-3k for 300WHP --> 350whp gain seems expensive Shrugs:

On top of that, you gota upgrade wheels to 255's or 275's Pilot Super Sports to hold on to the powA!

If I did do the J35A3 swap last year, it might be an option. hah

zeta

iTrader: (1)

You have the original 2g tranny or have you made the switch to an AV6 like Iggy??

ksu90

Dealership put in a rebuily one at around 120k miles some years back. Car now has 189k miles. Still on B7WA transmission. I hear if you use good clutch materials like raybestons it's better.

Nivekfreeze

For those looking for the J35A3 still, the 2005 Saturn Vue V6 is a J35A3. Surprised? I was too. Anyway, I picked up up at my local parts place for 250 bucks. it has 98 thousand miles on it. I realize that I'm late to this party, but hey, for the other guys looking at the swap...

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

I remember seeing somewhere the engine in the Vue does not have the forged crank the other J35A3 engines have; personally I would avoid that motor.

zeta

iTrader: (1)

^This is where I remember reading it from.

teh CL's a reliable source of info in regards to the J engine, even though he could not provide the source.

Iggy

source: Honda J engine - The Full Wiki


J35

J35Z2The J35 displaced 3,471 cc (3.471 L; 211.8 cu in) and is an SOHC VTEC design. Bore is 89 mm (3.5 in) and stroke is 93 mm (3.7 in). Output was 210 hp (157 kW) for the J35A1; 240 hp (179 kW) and 253 ft·lbf (343 N·m) (5800/4400 rpm) for the J35A3; 240 hp (179 kW) and 242 ft·lbf (328 N·m) (5500/4500 rpm) for the J35A4.

The J35A5 used in the 2004 - 2006 Acura MDX produces 265 hp (198 kW) at 5800 rpm and 250 ft·lbf (339 N·m) at 3500 rpm. The 2003 version of this engine produces 260 hp (194 kW) at 5750 rpm.

The new J35 used in the Acura RL produces 290 hp (220 kW) at 6200 rpm and 256 lb·ft (347 N·m) at 5000 rpm. This engine was on the Ward's 10 Best Engines list for 2005 and 2008.

The J35A9 used in the 2006 - 2008 Honda Ridgeline produces 247 hp (184 kW) at 5750 rpm and 245 lb·ft (332 N·m) at 4500 rpm.

The J35A3 was also used by General Motors in the 2004-2007 Saturn Vue, though it utilized the cast-iron crankshaft from the J35A4 rather than the forged-steel version of the J35A3. GM refers to it as the L66.

• J35A1
  • 1999 - 2001 Honda Odyssey
• J35A3
  • 2001 - 2002 Acura MDX
  • 2005 - 2008 Acura RL
  • 2004 - 2007 Saturn Vue L66

zeta

iTrader: (1)

^
Nice!

Now I'm wondering if it would be possible to source a later, lower mile, J35A3 from the 2005-2008 Acura RL when considering a swap to a 2G CLS/TLS?

Iggy

Good question.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

If I recall correctly, the J35A8 from the 2005-2008 RL is quite incompatible with the J35A3; differences in how the throttle management and exhaust collection is done among them. For your car your best bet is to find a J35A3.

Iggy

Zeta And Horseshoez, I double checked and found my previous source incorrect. 05-08 RL's used the J35A8.

source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_J_engine#J35A

J35A8[edit]

• 2005-2008 Acura RL
  [15]
• 2007-2008 Acura TL Type-S[16]
• Displacement: 3,471 cc (3.471 L; 211.8 cu in)
• Bore and stroke: 89 mm (3.5 in) x 93 mm (3.7 in)
• Power: 286 hp (213 kW) @ 6200 rpm[17]
• Torque: 256 lb⋅ft (347 N⋅m) @ 5000 rpm[17]
• On the Ward's 10 Best Engines list for 2005, 2008 and 2009

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

Definitely have to watch what you read online regarding J series motors.The amount of misinformation is mind numbing.

End of the day, the 01-02" MDX's J35A3 is still the go to motor for the 2nd Gen CL/TL.

InspireJ32A

Hey man. Have you had your car on a dyno? What sort of power is it making with the J35A3? I'm thinking about getting one myself, but I'm still sort of on the fence. Not sure it would be worth it, if the gains compared to a fully bolted J32A2 were in the 15-20 horsepower range or thereabouts.

zeta

iTrader: (1)

The guy below made 276.77whp and 248.06 torque on his CLS 6-speed:

InspireJ32A

Thank you for your input, zeta. Sounds like it ain't worth it. I'm making 250 wheel on my auto J32, I'm pretty sure most of that difference in wheel horsepower is down to the transmission and not the engine.

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

The J35 is more about the tq gain across the entire rpm range. Peak power doesn't tell the whole story.

I've done 2 swaps on different cars & there's no question that the J35 wakes the car up.

2ndgentl

I just noticed this thread again as I was researching J35a3 engines. IGGY, I noticed that you were swapping j32a2 cams in your J35a3 without swapping the heads as well. I did the same exact thing to my J35a3 and it ran like a beast for at least a year with a heavy foot, but eventually ended up blowing the engine... I don't want you making the same mistake I did if it's not already too late. When you swap over the cams you must also swap over the type S heads, because the valve springs are much stronger on the type S heads rather than the MDX heads. Unless you changed your valve springs to a higher performance grade when you swapped the cams, then you should be ok. I recently had a floating valve at high rpms when I punched it in first gear and a piston ended up smacking a valve and breaking it off destroying the motor. So if your motor is still running great with the Type S cams in it, I would take it easy until you swap over Type S cams or switch out your valve springs. I know it's a pain in the ass, but blowing a motor is much worse

Iggy

2ndgentl,

No I did not change the springs. My understanding is the exhaust springs in the J35A3 heads are the same part number as the J32A2. The intake springs on the other hand might be cause for concern. Coming up on 2 years since the engine swap and haven't had a single hiccup with plenty of red line driving.

Do you remember which valve floated in your J35?

Iggy

2ndgentl

It was the exhaust valve on cylinder #5.

Iggy

2ndgentl,

You got me wondering, so I did verify that the exhaust springs in the J35A3 heads are indeed the same part number as the J32A2. I wonder if your valve crash was due to a worn/sticky guide or some kind of spring defect.

2ndgentl

oh man, now you got me all screwed up over here. You are right though, I just took other people's word for it. It's the intake side that's just slightly different. So now I'm wondering how I had a floating valve? I'm trying to think what could have happened. I mean, it could have just been a defect, or a weak spring from the motor sitting for so long at the junkyard before I purchased it. I did use my 03 CL-S 6-speed j32a2 oil pump on the j35a3 which are different part numbers. I wouldn't think that would make a difference though on lubricating everything. Another thing that's in the back of my mind is that the j35a3 has a lower Redline than the j32a2. Since the j35a3 would Redline a couple hundred RPMs more than it's used to, could that have been an issue? I don't know...