ok guys i looked all over and cant find a deffinate answer to this.

I have a 1995 Cavalier with 2.2 5-speed. I also have a 1996 2.2 engine from Cavy and 1995 2.2 motor from a s-10.

This is what im trying to get too...My car has a leaky head gasket and is gonna have to be changed soon. My question is the 1996, Is that the same exact head, i heard the water jackets are just a little different between the 2 years and i also heard they are the same.
So what is it???? lol

The reason i want to know this is because if the 1996 head is the same i would like to rebuild it as well as do some minor modifications(witch i don't know where to start or do.) and put it in my car. Its an everyday driver witch is why i cant do the work on the original head.
Help would be appricated

95 and 95 cavalier heads are the same s10 is slightly diffrent i dint remember what but it is

im assuming you mean 95 and 96 are same...Is it even worth doing any head work? and what would be the best bang for the buck for these motors? I am just looking for a little more snap so to say. I heard about getting the rockers but i never read anything about say port/polish, i'm sure there is something on here about it but you can call me lazy, ha.
I have only rebuilt 1 motor and it was a 2.0ohc from a Sunbird. So i basically know what i am doing.

well the main reason you dont see any thing about it is because not alot of people do anything to the 2.2 except drive them into the ground a few people have built them but there isnt very much bang for the buck lol not alot of an after market porting will help a little but it cost to much to make a 2.2 ohv motor fast i would suggest a 2.4 swap

I always had good luck with the 2.2.. Ever hear a 2.2 in a s-10 going over 290,000 miles with all factory internals...I still found that hard to believe but it happened. i know i don't have the money or time for a 2.4 swap so ill just stick with what i got.
Thanks alot.

Yes the '96 head will work on the '95 with no problems. Be sure to use new head bolts, as they are torque to yield bolts. They have to stretch a predetermined amount to seal properly. I've posted the torque sequence and spec in other threads in the last couple of weeks. Use the search feature to find the thread.

Actually building the 2.2L doesn't cost as much as doing an equivalent mod on the OHC motors. I does take a more knowledgeable person to build one. Not that those who build the other motors don't know what they are doing. Many of them have started with the OHV, but got frustrated and gave up before finishing their builds. There is almost no support for the motors, so knowledge in fabrication is required and/or testing and fitting things that weren't originally designed for these motors. These motors were built as the base model economy motor, not for performance (The transmission gearing they put in them sucks also!). They are durable and simple to work on, but performance is severely lacking in stock configuration. The biggest restrictions are the air/ fuel flow into and the exhaust flow out of the head and the sedate camshaft profile. While all the bolt ons will provide a small gain in performance, you wont see any major gains till you do some major work to the head and cam.

Building-up the OHV isn't for the feint of heart. It takes time, knowledge, elbow grease and still some money, but it can be done. Most don't have all of that, so they move on to other motors. Most just don't have the time or don't want to take the time to build one, so they move on. I'm one of the biggest proponents of the OHV, but I'll tell you now, if your not up to a challenge, don't bother. Now if you like the challenge and have the time and money to spend on it I'll help.

The head gasket use in the FWD apps of the LN2 prior to a certain year had certain passages at one end of the head blocked to route the coolant properly to prevent cooling problems since it exited at the tail of the head. The S-truck version had the same, but with the passages at the other end blocked. Both were done for the same reason: To keep the coolant from just flowing straight to the thermostat housing without having absorbed any heat from the cylinders, resulting in overheating.

The '98-up version of the LN2 used the same gasket in both apps, since the FWD version had it's thermostat housing located the same as found on the S-truck app. It merely use a transfer-tube to direct the coolant back over the the radiator inlet.

The head's only differences between the FWD & S-truck apps is the coolant passage port, and the thermostat housing bolts, are just on different ends. This can be remedied by the change of installation of a freeze-plug from one end of the head to the other, and drilling & tapping the bolt holes (if needed). Other thatn that, the replacement heads offered are the same.

The LN2 was intended as GM's lil' econo-car workhorse, meaning: Inexpensive to make & operate, and as durable as an anvil. Favor in the aftermaket always goes towards models of anything (Car or engine) that are intended to be sold as performance pieces, and the LN2 was never marketed as one. So...

The odd weak-point of the LN2 seems to be the timing chain set. For some odd reason, in the S-truck apps, it always seems to fail around 100,000mi. But yet the FWD app'd versions go for way more than that without a problem. It's my personal belief that, if the LN2 got a factory-installed double-roller timing set (Like the OHV 1.8L it was based upon did in '82) then it would easily last as long as say, a SBC would before needing any major service (Like, 300,000mi before needing a rebuild?).

The only real worry with the LN2, and this is only what I've heard, is neglectful maintainance of the cooling system results in rusted-out core-plugs in the block, resulting in coolant leaks & need for replacement. But, having a '94 S-tuck that saw 163,000mi on the block before needing major service (That was the result of a neglectful mechanic's work on the timing chain before I got hold of it), I guess I can say there's no proof to that rumor.

290,000mi... Man, I envy you!


Go beyond the "bolt-on".

i knew it was somthing basic that was diffrent from the truck to car engine

I know i am up for the challenge i have all winter too mess around with this project. I am almost thinking just take the whole 96 engine and do that vs. just the swapping head but i don't know because i never heard the 96 run. I just dont know what to do lol...

A buddy of mine has a Sonoma with 2.2...Bought the truck for $500 with about 190,000mi and now has well over 220,000mi and still running good actually. I don't know what the maintenance history on these high-mileage motors was but what i see they are great if you take care of them...

But thanks for all the great info, i will hopefully decide what i will do with this, and let you all know what goes on.

The only headache you may have is the lack of CPS (Cam Possition Sensor) wiring in the 95's harness. It's located along the side of the block, above the crank certerline & about parallel with the oil-pressure sender. But since that's only really for use with the later management systems (OBD-II from '96-up) it'll run just the same for you as the original engine did with it being hooked-up.


Go beyond the "bolt-on".

btw i have $500 give or take to play with so hopefully i can get something done with that

wow, this is gonna be off the subject here, but does anyone know if someones put an eccotec in an s-10, i think that would be an awesome idea. But anyways, i think the computer and wiring would be different because as stated above, thats the OBD switch year, so it might not like the newer engine.

03 Sunfire - Sold.

Heard of it... But never saw it.


Go beyond the "bolt-on".

diffrent bellhousing i think

yep, different bell housing. I've been saying for a while though, how about the Saturn Vue driveline (Eco w/ AWD and 5-speed) in a cavalier? is it even worth it? after building it up fully too. could that be the true "evo eater"?

alot of custom work but i dont see why it cant be done but why? you could just go buy a wrx or evo

I must admit... I see the Ecotec S-10 swap the same way. The Atlas-4 in the Colorado performs phenomenally, and that can had new for what all it may cost to do the swap I just mentioned... If you buy a base-model.


Go beyond the "bolt-on".