I am doing alot of work on my cavalier, and in my search for parts and upgrades i am finding many things specified for 95-00, or 01-03, etc....
I mean i know there were some cosmentic changes along the way...
a few things in particular i was curious about.....
1. engines. i plan to do an engine swap down the road here... cant seem to find many 2000+ engines but lots of late 90's... but i was told that they changed and you cant swap them.
2. suspension. springs, struts, kits... i see alot of stuff out there for pre 2000... what changed in 2001 that would effect the interchangablity of suspension parts?
1. depends on what motor you have. from 95-97 the non-z24 had the 2.2l ohv. that was replaced by the 2200 and was in non-z24's from 98-02. in 95 the z24 had the quad 4 2.3l. from 96-02 it had the twin cam 2.4l. from 03 up it was all ecotec 2.2l.
2. basically all can be used on any 3rd gen
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i do have the 2.4L. it is a 2002 Z24 cavy.
I know about the 2.3L quad4 in early 90's... and am aware of the major differences in the 2.2L engines in the non-Z24's.... I should have specified... but i am mostly interested in details involving changes in the 2.4L twin cam over the course of its production from 96-03. I understand it went thru some changes mid-life around 2000... that is what i am mostly interested in learning about.
as far as suspension... you say there should be no difference in suspension parts in any cavy from 96-2003?
or is the "3rd gen" cavy a narrower range than that?
(I have my eye on a spring kit for a 96-00 cavy, but need to make sure it will fit my 02 Z24)
my poor baby is sick... someone help me...
(2.4L engine in my cavy is ticking bad... need to make it stop)
there's a write up on the diffrent generations and diffrent phases of the gerations but as for your question about the shocks seeing how nothing mechanically changed as far as suspension you should be able to get sum 95-99 lowering springs or coil overs and slap them right on your 02.
3rd Generation covers years from 95-05, here are some details:
95 was the only year with the 2.3, and only year to get one throughout the generations
2.4 was in use during years 96 to 2002
2.2 was in use during years 95-2002, although it went through 2 major revisions and was called the 2200 starting in 98.
Eco started in 2002 to replace the 2.4
Major differences in the 2.4's throughout the years:
96 was the only year to get an oil level sensor in the pan
96-98 has a smaller knock sensor
96-99 had an EGR, in 99 they started phasing them out, and in 2000 the EGR was completely eliminated
96-98 water jackets in the head are slightly different shaped than 2000-2002
96-99 had 9.5:1 compression, 2000+ had 9.7:1. The compression difference is in the pistons, 99- had dished pistons, 00+ had flat tops
00+ had slightly different intake manifolds, there was a lip inside the manifold that was removed and the EGR port was eliminated
00+ has a smaller starter motor
In 99 they started using high impedance injectors with different style connection clips, low impedance injectors are fat, high impedance ones are skinny
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I think if your swapping out the whole engine your primary concern would be the changes to the fuel injection system. an easy solution would be to take the complete engine from whatever donor car you find, and then assume the engine internals to be matched for that year, keep your wiring harness and intake manifold with all the injectors and stuff in it, they should bolt up the same. the oil level sensor is only an issue if you have one now, then you will need to either get an engine with one, or swap your into it. If you don't have one, and by chance the engine you get does, then you can simply not connect it. but since you have an '02, you have niether an oil level sensor nor an egr valve, so keeping your haness and manifold pretty much eliminates that hassle, just plug/block any extranious passages you see.
How about exhaust???
I am seeing ALOT of Cat-back systems claiming "96-01" and when i ask them "why only to 01? what about the 2002?"
they tell me....
"this item has not been tested or confirmed on the 02 Cavalier. I cannot give you a 100% guarantee that this item will fit without any problems"
what gives? did they change anything in 2002 that i dont know about?
i have seen alot of parts say "96-01" or "00-01"
why is my 02 left out?
Right. the exhausts are all pretty much the same. just hanger locations. if you're willing to "wing it" and move a hanger, a cat-back exhaust will be pretty much interchangeable for ANY year cavalier. well provided it's a coupe. earlier sedans had the exhaust on the opposite side, I have no idea why.
suspension is all the same from 95-05. its all interchangable.
