What would it take to swap an Ecotec with a 5 speed tranny into my 97 sunfire with the 2.4l with a 5 speed tranny? are the motor mount somewhat the same? tranny mounts the same?
you will need to weld tranny mounts on the car and rewire the whole car. done
scott (section8cav) wrote:you will need to weld tranny mounts on the car and rewire the whole car. done
this man speaks the truth. the getrag trans has different mounting points than the isuzu, you have to cut out the old mounts and weld in new ones.
rewiring the car is easiest.. although I have a feeling you COULD get it to run on the older electronics systems borrowing the OHV ignition and lengthening/shortening some wires and swapping connectors, then reflashing the PCM in the car with all ecotec values in the tables....
but that is just a theory
and after you're done, you now have a motor that makes 10 less WHP and is basically like having another LD9 in your car (in terms of base performance)....
IMHO crossing the 2000 line isn't worth it... (well the getrag swap is, but that can be done to the existing LD9)
once you go ecotec you never go back hope to see this swap you love it trust me!!
I was talking to Jeffie about swapping my LD9 and turbo kit to him for his eco set up and a turbo set up. I am searchtarded, can anyone link me to the progress thread of someone who has? It just makes sense to do the exchange with him so he can have an easier swap than rewiring all his stuff. On a related note, what wiring changes would I have to make?
perry shonkwiler wrote:once you go ecotec you never go back hope to see this swap you love it trust me!!
You sir must have never owned a well maintained LD9.
The two motors are comparable... the LD9 makes slightly more hp and is slightly faster on the track (stock vs stock)
the eco has the aftermarket support to reach super high HP numbers, but 1 out of 1000 people trying to build a motor wants 700 + WHP...
so either way, you can build a bad ass engine with either motor, however swapping from one to the other is a waste of money, time, and effort, especially when the 2000 line has to be crossed...
LD9 -> Eco === now you have a motor with 10 less WHP, and a couple tenths slower on the track.
ECO -> LD9 === not worth the time and money to gain the 10 WHP and the tenths...
Mike Demo (Civic Eater) wrote:I was talking to Jeffie about swapping my LD9 and turbo kit to him for his eco set up and a turbo set up. I am searchtarded, can anyone link me to the progress thread of someone who has? It just makes sense to do the exchange with him so he can have an easier swap than rewiring all his stuff. On a related note, what wiring changes would I have to make?
i was wondering about that... Jeffie was talking to me about acquiring my parts LD9
Yeah, it seems to be his best bet since his car has the older wiring etc and the LD9 is the old engine *which I love btw* I just want the extra ability to find parts and compatibility that the eco offers. I prefer to scour junkyards and sites for cars that are under 20 years old to find the goodies I want. Its much harder to find a achieva scx than a saab or cobalt. Stock for stock I would never go to an eco, modding a car to go slower is like a hot chick getting a breast reduction
I have been searching ld9 eco swap and its variants for 3 hours trying to find a build thread, i suck at boolean searches.
^^^ I'll totally give you that... i lucked out on my build... Ben had the HO IDI cover and HO Mani + phenolic spacer for sale and Clyde had the .430 cams for-sale... everything else was available from GM and/or the aftermarket ... (i cheated and bought his block already 95% ready for the oil pump swap)
Depends on year of the car if it is newer quad the mounts and the interior wiring are the same inside the car just need the engine bay harness you can make the radiator work with different hose i have done 6 of these swaps so far.
97cavalier
97cavalier, stop while your ahead, you need engine, tranny, wire harness, blah blah blah you know what who cares lol, stay with LD9, dont waist your time if you do not have to, LD9>eco
"As I lay rubber down the street, I pray for traction I can keep, but if I spin and begin to slide, please dear God protect my ride." -Amen
theres nothing superior about the LD9, the 10 extra hp stock doesnt make up for the added weight of the iron block and the numberous reliability issues as well as of course older pcm programming and worse gas mileage
One could go on, but let me ask you this, have you ever saw anyone get rid of an eco for a LD9? I can't remember it happening much if at all, EVER, theres a reason why everyone is getting rid of those hunks of crap and switching to ecos
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
Rodimus Prime wrote:theres nothing superior about the LD9, the 10 extra hp stock doesnt make up for the added weight of the iron block and the numberous reliability issues as well as of course older pcm programming and worse gas mileage
One could go on, but let me ask you this, have you ever saw anyone get rid of an eco for a LD9? I can't remember it happening much if at all, EVER, theres a reason why everyone is getting rid of those hunks of crap and switching to ecos
I got rid of my eco for an ld9, why. Because when i started putting numbers together for putting together a set up for 500 hp the eco became MUCH more expensive. Also I didn't feel like dicking around with tuning the eco for 25+ psi out of a gt35, I know its possible....
If i had the chance, I would throw a 2.3 quad 4 in a cobalt just to see peoples reactions lol
jmarks82 wrote:Rodimus Prime wrote:theres nothing superior about the LD9, the 10 extra hp stock doesnt make up for the added weight of the iron block and the numberous reliability issues as well as of course older pcm programming and worse gas mileage
One could go on, but let me ask you this, have you ever saw anyone get rid of an eco for a LD9? I can't remember it happening much if at all, EVER, theres a reason why everyone is getting rid of those hunks of crap and switching to ecos
I got rid of my eco for an ld9, why. Because when i started putting numbers together for putting together a set up for 500 hp the eco became MUCH more expensive. Also I didn't feel like dicking around with tuning the eco for 25+ psi out of a gt35, I know its possible....
If i had the chance, I would throw a 2.3 quad 4 in a cobalt just to see peoples reactions lol
^^^ i'd love to see this
i wonder how much re-wiring it would take...
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Tuesday, May 11, 2010 7:14 AM
Well if you don't feel like dicking around with tuning, you might not want to aim for 500hp
I'm also confused as to how a LD9 build for higher boost could possibly be cheaper given the fact theres hardly any aftermarket support and theres so many more parts that need to be replaced, maybe you werent looking in the right places.
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
So i just need engine bay wiring harness, the computer does not need reflash?
I would get eco and eco getrag with the swap. I already have the t3super 60 with iirc a 57 ar trim. i am just concerned the set up would not mount the same, but I see the threads about cobalt headers fitting so it would make sense they do.
Any other issues as far as sensors, cruise module axles or something?
Rodimus Prime wrote:Well if you don't feel like dicking around with tuning, you might not want to aim for 500hp
I'm also confused as to how a LD9 build for higher boost could possibly be cheaper given the fact theres hardly any aftermarket support and theres so many more parts that need to be replaced, maybe you werent looking in the right places.
You might need to do an oil pump swap for he LD9 but you dont need to sleeve it for 500hp like an eco thats about 1000 dollars difference right there.
Also an eco doesnt make near 190whp power on comp stage 1 grinds and if youll notice they are more agressive than the HO cams that make that power in the LD9. just had to throw that out there.
Rodimus Prime wrote:Well if you don't feel like dicking around with tuning, you might not want to aim for 500hp
I'm also confused as to how a LD9 build for higher boost could possibly be cheaper given the fact theres hardly any aftermarket support and theres so many more parts that need to be replaced, maybe you werent looking in the right places.
what needs to be replaced besides the oil pump that doesn't need to be replaced in the eco??????? and as posted ^^ if you compare having to sleeve the eco vs the LD9 oil pump then you just canceled that out... Also i have yet to need a part that i couldn't find from a vendor, and i have a fully built motor... that aftermarket support thing... that is more myth than fact...
maybe you aren't looking in the right places for knowledge of LD9 parts...
jmarks82 wrote:
If i had the chance, I would throw a 2.3 quad 4 in a cobalt just to see peoples reactions lol
even better if you could find a high output Quad 4. I had one of those in a Grand am GT. the fastest Quad 4 was in a special edition Olds Achieva. it was pushing 195 hp if I can remember correctly.
Rodimus Prime wrote:Well if you don't feel like dicking around with tuning, you might not want to aim for 500hp
I'm also confused as to how a LD9 build for higher boost could possibly be cheaper given the fact theres hardly any aftermarket support and theres so many more parts that need to be replaced, maybe you werent looking in the right places.
Hmm its a lot easier to set up and ld9 for 500 hp than the l61 in a cav.
Where do ld9s get all their parts? Oh yeah, stock 2.3 HO parts.
before this starts being a slapfest, please can someone lead me to a thread talking about specifics to swap ld9 to eco?
also I have 2 LO mani's, idi set ups and covers as well as a 2.3 tb when I swap I assume those aren't bolt on to an eco
AJ B wrote:97cavalier, stop while your ahead, you need engine, tranny, wire harness, blah blah blah you know what who cares lol, stay with LD9, dont waist your time if you do not have to, LD9>eco
Its true they started running the getrag in the newer cav's and the tranny mounts are the same. Just different bell housing.
97cavalier
Walter Losey wrote:jmarks82 wrote:
If i had the chance, I would throw a 2.3 quad 4 in a cobalt just to see peoples reactions lol
even better if you could find a high output Quad 4. I had one of those in a Grand am GT. the fastest Quad 4 was in a special edition Olds Achieva. it was pushing 195 hp if I can remember correctly.
the HO Quad 4 is a 2.3 quad 4
and the fastest is the W41 quad
