I have a 94 cavalier with the 2.2 engine and 3 speed auto. Now I know that everyone says the 2.2s from 94-96 were identical so this is my question. Would a 2.4 5-speed from a 96 be able to be swapped into my car without all the fabrication as said in past threads? I ask because I found an engine for a good price and it seems like if the 2.2 are same, then the mounting would be the same and likewise for the 2.4.

Please keep answers to whether this is possible and what it would entail as any other option is not viable right now and I would like to have the 2.4 over a 3.1 if they go in as easy.

And also, I would be able to get everything including the computer and wiring harness from the 96 as well if ODB2 is also a problem.

Also, any other concerns that deal with A/C and such?

I don't know about the a/c or anything, but I'm pretty sure you'll definately need that harness and computer, because the 2.4 is OBD II. I think you might also need the tranny from the 96, because I don't think the old 3 spd will mate up with it.

i'm not saying this is the case but think about having a baskitball mounted in a box alright now i want to mount that baskit ball in a bigger/ smaller box whatever the case maybe you cant use the same mounts that you used in the first box because ther is now more/less space. I don't think that under the hood there is the same space in both the 94 and 96 and that would be your problem and theres also the question would your gauges and warning lights work with a differnt ecu.

it will bolt in and fit no problem just use the mounts from the third gen car it came out of, the engine bay and mounting points are pretty much the exact same in a second gen and third gen so theres no problems there, the only real probelm is just like you said, making OBD2 work in your second gen. The easiest way to do it would just be to swap over all the wiring from a third gen, like everything from the engine bay and all the crap under the dash, its not actually that bad of a job, I've had my dash out before and there isnt to much wiring and its usually pretty obvious were everything goes, but being a third gen it might have a little more of a mes under there, lol
good luck with it.

Mr.Efficiency (Tyrin) wrote:it will bolt in and fit no problem just use the mounts from the third gen car it came out of, the engine bay and mounting points are pretty much the exact same in a second gen and third gen so theres no problems there,

T!!!!!!! I can't believe you man!

Third gen mounts are different. All of them. The engine will fit, but you will need to build mounts/modify the unibody to make it work. The 2.4 has a different bellhousing bolt pattern, so you will need the 3rd gen trans also, as well as all the wiring harnesses/ECM, etc. You will need custom heater hoses and A/C evap hoses, and probably alot of other little things, but none of that is the big problem, getting it mounted is.

I'm not sure about the axle length, but considering you would be using the entire engine/trans as a unit, they will probably work since the track is the same.

Look on V6Z24 for speedvisioncavalier's swap in the performance forum. He did it with a 2.3 (basically the same as the 2.4), and I think he only needed to build one custom mount and he used some others from another car (maybe a GA or GTZ).

If I were you though- I would swap in a 3.1, since they generally have alot less maintanence problems than the 2.3/2.4 engines.