ecotec swap (Page 50/98)
wftb DEC 30, 12:03 AM
i got a low mile (25000 miles) engine for 375.00 .it was cheaper because it's oil pan got a crack in it from the accident it was in .good for me because i am using my old pan that is already drilled for the turbo oil return .on the ontario auto recyclers website you can brouse through way over 500 ecotec motors .spent today tearing it down and so far i am happy .nice smooth bores without sratches and no sludge anywhere .the cylinder bores still have factory cross hatch lines . there was a lot of carbon buildup on the tops of the pistons , this engine was running rich for some reason .this is from an 06 cobalt and there are some changes from my old engine .it has a drive by wire throttle body ,no cast in EGR passage ,a cast cover where the PS pump would have been , a redesigned cam chain tensioner and some extra mouning hardware that i assume holds on an engine cover .i took apart most of what i need to do to put in my new pistons in about 4 hours today .it is so easy to work on an engine that is on a stand .the plan is to get this engine ready to drop in to the car , and then wait till spring and tow my fiero over to the garage when the snow is gone .pics:


returnless fuel rail that i cant use:

no EGR casting , factory PS drive cover:

drive by wire TB has a low profile but i cant use it:

new style thermostat housing , may have to swap for the old one :

nice clean valve train:

finally a cam chain i can see the marker links on:


nice bores
wftb DEC 30, 05:30 PM
i ordered new clevite connecting rod bearings today .the old bearings were in good condition , at least until i managed to put a scratch in one of them while i was taking out the pistons .a new set from a local auto supply was 65.00 taxes in so i am not to upset about it .i have been reading the gm lsj build book and in the book it says to take the old rings off and use them on the new pistons .this way you do not have to hone the cylinders.so thats what i was going to do .but , the old rings dont fit the new pistons(too thick) so now i may have to give the cylinders a light hone . anyway , here is a side by side picture of stock versus wiseco pistons .you can see that the wiseco top ringland is almost twice as thick as stock :

my new bearings wont be in till monday so i cant put everything together till i am off work on weds morning .
wftb DEC 31, 02:19 PM
i ordered an LSJ head gasket today .i didnt want to risk reusing the cometic gasket even though the engine was never fired .i have not heard too many good things about the cometic gasket and the LSJ gasket is what most ecotec guys are using now .it holds boost really well and is 40.00 cheaper than the cometic head gasket .i ordered it from crate engine depot . com .
Goldenfoot JAN 01, 01:06 AM
Thank you for keeping this updated! I love watching your build! Happy new year!
wftb JAN 01, 06:43 PM
thanks everyone for watching and happy new year to everyone here .
wftb JAN 02, 07:14 PM
i noticed an item on the ecotec forum recently .it was a group buy of 58X bolt on reluctor wheels .these allow you to run a 2.4L ecotec as well as the 2007 and newer 2.2 ecotec using the older ECM .my new motor is a 2006 because i did not think it would be possible to run anything newer with my wiring .nice to know that down the road i will be able to once again update to a nearly new motor .and since i am putting in a new motor , i have decided to do a cleanup on the engine compartment wiring and plumbing .i recently rerouted the heater core and turbo coolant feeds but i am still not happy with it .the main problem is that the outlets are at the back of the engine(next to the fiero trunk) and stick straight up .so to reach the fiero heater pipes , two rubber hoses have to go all the way around the engine .this is the mess i have now :

i have pulled off the charge tubing , intake tubing , exhaust pipes and muffler and turbo and manifold . i hope to improve on all of these items but at the same time i dont want to be without my fiero for the summer .i havent missed a summer since i did my swap so if i dont get it done on time , the old stuff goes back on .
this is a busy elbow .these taps will go on a new to me 2.4L ecotec intake manifold , as long as i can find one used .good for a 13hp gain over the 2.2 manifold and 3 lbs lighter.

my subaru 16g turbo is still in really good shape so i will continue to use it .bearings spin freely and no slop side to side .i am going to get a real turbo manifold and then use this plate that i made when i first went turbo to weld up a proper downpipe .

i will get a top mount log manifold and put the turbo back to its stock configuration , instead of this:

i have had my share of difficulties running my home brew turbo set up , but one thing i am proud of is that i have never broken down because of my setup .i like to make constant improvements and i hope to have a car that will be better and faster and still be as reliable as it has been up till now .
wftb JAN 02, 07:16 PM
i meant to say 7X reluctor wheels . the new motors and 2.4L have the 58X wheels on the cranks.
wftb JAN 14, 05:13 PM
my cylinder head is back on my new motor .the lsj head gasket looks good and fit the 2.2 perfect.it has extra sealant on it that the cometic lacks .and since the machining lines can be seen (but not felt) i really think the sealant is needed.so , more pics:




back together ,and hopefully to stay together :
Eau_Rouge JAN 16, 02:54 PM
Wftb, I'm very interested in putting in a 2.4L ecotec in my car. I'd love to get an LSJ but it's expensive and more complicated/time consuming to make work in a fiero. Plus, I don't want to spend a year or more doing the swap and 180-190 hp in my fiero would be good enough for me. Also, I have no interest in a 3.8 or 3.4 - I like the 4 cylinder engines.

You say that with 7x wheel, a 2.4L can be made to work in a fiero, what exactly do you need to make the 2.4L ecotec operational in a fiero?
I'd like to do a swap like yours, that is by using the engine, transmission, ECM, BCM and the wiring harnesses necessary to make the engine work - I don't want to have to worry about re-writing codes for the ECM or tuning - would like to do it plug and play if possible.

Given your knowledge of the ecotec in a fiero, is it possible to make a 2.4L ecotec plug and play in a fiero?
Should I avoid any particular year of 2.4L ecotec and why?
If I source an engine from a solstice, will the stock flywheel, clutch setup work with the 2.2L ecotec 5 speed transmission?

...Just trying to get an understanding of what's needed to do this swap. Given your knowledge, if you could put a list together, it would be greatly appreciated.

Great build and please keep updating!
wftb JAN 17, 05:52 PM
if you get the ecm, bcm ,steering collum with key in it ,fuel pump with harness , wiring harness from donor car ,gauge pod and gas pedal assembly ,then it is plug and play .the key is the wiring harness , this makes it easy .you will have to make your own motor mounts and figure out the DBW gas pedal mounting , and buy the shifter kit from roger thelin .you will have to extend some wires to reach the gauge cluster if you go that route.make sure you get hp tuners compatible model so you can disable the anti theft .i would stay away from the solstice motor because you cant use the exhaust manifold and i do not know about other problems that may crop up .LSJ's are dropping in price but you still cant get a good one for less than 900.00 .and that was without a harness or supercharger . i was thinking of going that route because the harness and tuning in my car can run an LSJ .but then i would need to sell my pistons and rods to recover some of the costs so i got the new 2.2 instead .i am now going to get a Hahn racecraft 20g turbo and manifold for the new motor.just waiting on the price....