Ok well here a good first post lol

OK well here goes I was 3 hours from home one Easter visiting family and on the way home my wife’s car make a lil noise then about a mile down the road theres a big noise along with some shaking grinding and some other fun things. A big cloud of smoke and the smell of tranny fluid. Her tranny just gave out not gears whatsoever.... We had it towed to her mom’s house rented a car and got home safely... Then this morning on my way taking her to work about 5 miles from my house I hear a loud pop and some metal on metal sound and I lose all oil pressure so I shut the car down and get over to the turn lane and lift the hood to see a hole the size of my fist right where the oil filler tube goes into the block NOT GOOD... so I get it towed after 4 hours of just settin there...
So heres the question at hand I'm pretty sure that I can take my 5 speed tranny and bolt it to my wife’s 96 2.2 block but what about the head would it be easier to take my head off my car and swap it with hers or just go from a TBI to a MPFI what all would I need to do to make the MPFI motor run right with no problems but keep my gauges and everything else I need to go the quickest way we need a car ASAP.. I would like all the info I can get on this swap or whatnot...All help is greatly appreciated.....

I'm pretty sure to swap the 96 engine to your car you would need the whole computer, wiring harness, etc. You can check here to see the differences between years2.2 History 96 2.2 has camshaft position sensor for sequential mpfi

OK that helped a lil but i would like more info i was told that my ecu could control the MPFI is that true? has anyone done this swap or know if there is a how to?? I need to start on this right away but i only have one shot to do it right so all the info you have would be great....

I don't think your tbi ECM will work for that engine. I could be wrong but who knows? You would probably have to have the ECM for sequential mpfi to make it work, and also the PROM from auto would be different than manual

just so i know we are on the same page, you are putting a 96 motor into a 90, correct???

the motor will drop in just fine, however wiring and fuel delivery is an issue. first off, technicaly a tbi ecm will run mpfi, but not well without tuning. your best bet is to find a 92-94 mpfi wiring harness and ecm. the next bug hurdle is the fuel system. tbi uses low pressure, around 10-13psi. mpfi uses high pressure, 43.5psi at the rail. you need to change the fuel pump.

what year is the tranny you plan to put in??? what tranny is it??? if its an isuzu 5 speed from a 95+, just make sure it has the lugs on top of the bellhousing for the mount bracket. everything else should be the same.

OK what would I need to make my TBI ecu to run the MPFI well. I plan on putting my 90 5-speed on it. will it bolt up? if i get a 92-94 ecu and harness will i have to change my gauges i really dont want to change anything like that but the pump and everything will be coming out of a 96 cavalier i have the whole car minus the auto tranny because it blew up..so if you need parts let me know...but back to the main subject i need to get the 96 motor to work in the 90 with the 90 5 speed tranny and all stock gauges what would i have to do with the stock ecu or would it be better to change the head.

The trans will work just fine, since its the same block. My suggestion as well would be to run a 92-94 ECM, since using the 90 ECM would be a PITA, and you would have to swap a bunch more harness than you probably want to use the 96 ECM (OBDII, plus theft and crap like that). The 92-94 ECM would be fine with the gauges, since its all the same sensors, and the VSS is in the trans.

But, if you want the absolute quickest route, use the 96 block with the 90 head and cam. If you don't want to swap cams, you'll need to swap the valvetrain, or at least the pushrods and rockers.

Coupla things.

Pushrods go with lifters. 96 has roller lifters, shorter pushrods. Cam is larger in 96, and compression is up some due to pistons.

I'm the third one to say choose an ecm from 92-94 for closest match on mpfi. Using TBI ecm on MPFI means either burning your own chip or putting up with a car that runs wrong. Do you really want to spend weeks trying to play with fuel pressures and injectors and who knows what else to try and make the mpfi engine run good with the tbi ecm? Or do you want to make the swap to the mpfi ecm, deal with som slight mismatches in fueling, and get the job done?

You need to use the olde exhaust manifold, heater hoose and lower radiator hose adapter on the block, remove the 96 engine mount and alternator brackets, change the EGR housing, replace the heater hose fitting on the intake with the one from the 90. You'll probably need to change the routing of the heater hoses since the pfi engine doesn't have a heated TB. You might need to grab some fuel line from a 92 - 94 car, not sure that the TBI lines will match up or even connect to the mpfi rail. And I'm not sure what else... just find a 92 - 94 car in the junkyard so you can make as many trips as needed.

-->Slow

Actually, you need an injector wire harness from a 92 or 93 in order to make your computer work the MPFI components.

Yes it does work, driveability is fine, although it will run a bit rich at idle. My gas mileage went down just a bit after I did a TBI to MPFI swap on my old 91 Cavalier.

In short, yes it is possible, yes it does work, no it doesn't drive like crap. I still have the original instructions I made nearly 10 years ago if anyone would like to see them. Just email me at Cav_GT@yahoo.com

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91 Cav "GT"<-- R.I.P.
91 Cavalier Wagonstein - Turbocharged wagon goodness
You can take my rifle when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

OK well now i dont know if i should get a new ecm ok keep the old one i could deal with it running rich at idle i could turn down the fuel pressure if needed... Has anyone else done this swap. and like i said before I'm not tryin to buy a bunch of @!#$ i have a complete 96 cavalier so any parts i need I'm hoping they will be from it. But give me some more info I'm going to try and get the swap done this weekend....I hope it all works out never swapped a motor before and i[m the only one who will be doing sounds like i have a whole lotta fun ahead.... but nay info will help.....thanks

Any one else with some input i need to figure out what i need and if i should do the swap any way of ind a new block for my car??? any info will help!!

Listen to the guys.

If you plan to go through the hassle of swapping the motors, use the correct ECM and wiring harness. My 90 is fast with all I've done, but it will never run correctly the way it is.



JLP
90 Cav<--- "1LE" MPFI car
79 Monte<--- 11.82 @ 112.72