Pete_tls90

What's up ladies and gents , I'm kind of sort of new to this Forum and was wondering if you guys can help me out. With that being said I want to know exactly what I need to swap in a 2nd gen tl-s engine and trans into my base model . I'm sure plenty of ppl have asked this before just can't find the answers .. thanks

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

You'll need the engine, ECU, multiple harnesses & time.

For the money it'll cost, buy a Type S

Pete_tls90

That's true .. I was looking into it because in my area there alot of crashed type s's for a little over 1k

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

If you need a shop to do it, it will be too expensive to be worth it.

If you have the time and interest, you can do it for the cost of buying a wrecked Type S. It's not bad at all, I did it with little to no experience. You just need to be motivated (and have tools).

fsttyms1

Technically you dont need anything special to get the motor to run. It is a direct bolt in, and will run with your stock ecu. To take full advantage of the Type-s motor though you will need to change/add/repin some of the harnesses and get the type-s ecu

04mojogt

We swapped a Type S engine in our Base 02 TL last year. The only thing extra i needed was a RPM switch to control the butterfly's in the manifold. You don't need the Harness or the Ecu really. But if you plan on running the Type S ECU then you will need the harness.I noticed the harness had plugs for the 2nd Throttle body that the Type S uses for VSA and to control the butterfly's in the manifold. You can throw the 2nd TB out and use a Rpm switch for the butterfly's like i did and your set.
Otherwise the base engine ECU will run the Type S engine just fine. Our TL has been running like this for over a year with no issues. The power difference of the Type S cams is noticeable even on the Base ECU. It just doesn't rev higher than the Base ECU which really isn't that big of a deal knowing the engine can rev higher. And oddly it gets better MPG's like that than my 03 Type-S( I have the base with the type S engine and a real 03 Type S) If you need anymore details Feel free to Pm me.

fsttyms1

How did you get the RPM switch to work properly? Activating it is easy, but The 2nd stage TB needs the polarity to be reversed to deactivate once activated.

prove_it

Also without the TCS throttle body, doesn't the ECU throw codes and go to limp home due to a lack of the throttle body?

04mojogt

The RPM Switch I got turns it off and on. I connected it to the Tach wire on the firewall on the driverside, Basically you just follow the instructions on the rpm switch that you buy and it will work. It worked for me. I have a Digital one and it opens the butterflys at 4000 and closes it when the revs drop below 4000. It took a day to figure it out but I got it to work.

If you are using the ECU in the Base TL to run the TypeS engine the ECU is not going to ask for that TCS TB because it doesn't come with it. So if you toss that 2nd TB and use the Harness from the base engine it all plugs in as normal. You just bypass that Tb by removing it. Now if you want to use that 2nd TB you will have to use the harness from the Type-S engine along with the ECU. And that will control the butterfly in the manifold also. Basically the Base ECU doesn't have the butterflys to open. That's where the RPM Switch comes in. Also the Base engine doesn't have the VSA Traction control system so it isn't going to ask for it. The only extra plugs on the harness for the S is the butterfly plug and the VSA Tb control. Otherwise everything else is the same and plugs right in. Our car has had no engine lights since this swap last year. Runs and drives every day with zero issues and works as normal. Just has the extra Kick from having the S engine. I hope this makes sense.

TrUcOvErDuGo

I am curious to know if I buy a JDM Acura TL Type S engine from Japan and throw it into my Type S here will it work just dropping in or do I need to modify anything???

JayCoLeo

Is this possible with the 99 TL being that it has the 4-Spd Auto and not the 5?

04mojogt

I am not sure about that.

C.Austin88

I apologize for digging up an old post but I was told if I were to run the cls ecu in my base model I would need to reprogram my key to that ecu can you confirm this or clarify for me.

04mojogt

Yes that would be right. If you somehow could get a hold of the keys to the Doner car i think that would eliminate that i think not sure. Our TL is still kicking with the Type S engine on the Base Ecu with no issues to date.
I have a Type S Harness if you need one.

C.Austin88

10-4...I have a couple Cl-s models in a junkyard where i am so grabbing the harness will be no issue however the keys might be a challenge. Now as far as the harness goes will I be looking into grabbing the harness from behind the dash/firewall as well as engine harness?

04mojogt

I think its just the engine harness as that plugs into the ECU. Not sure about the rest.

Charles Shepherd

Can I take the heads off of my 03 TL type s have them port and polished and do nothing else to have a couple extra horsepower

thoiboi

Sure

Ahmed Nomaw

I have 02 Base CL coupe, I had the whole auto transmission issues and all. Even though I swapped a 06 TL auto trans into it currently, a dear friend helped me acquire a Type-S motor and 6 speed manual trans. I know of the whole clutch assembly to add and the braided line that will control the slave cylinder. Can't also forget the shifter assembly and routing the trans cables to the tranny. Otherwise I believe that the installation process was very easy since I took out the swap from a previous auto accord coupe.
I do have the Type-S engine harness and Type-S ECU, but what will be connection for the clutch safety switch?
Also In question about the VIn being encoded into the ecu, like when I go in for a auto inspection and the computer is reading a different vin on the ecu from the chassis of the car ?
I'm still doing the swap, But if these questions can be answered the I will be installing this swap much faster than my K swap project. and beside the CL 01-03 CL coupes are still sexy till this day. Younger Acura owners are still loving the boldness of this coupe since it stands out like the current euro competitive coupes.

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

If you look at the electrical troubleshooting manual, it will show you the differences between the auto and manual setup. The auto setup checks to see if the car is in neutral or park I believe, while the manual obviously checks to see if the clutch is pressed. I wanted to mimic the OEM wiring setup as closely as possible, so I just swapped the wiring as such.
I don't think the OBD2 spits out the VIN of the 2G cars, but I'm not sure.

Ahmed Nomaw

Ok , I will get the type s dash harness to simplify the process. thank you for being soo supportive