420a to 4g63 engine swap, im doing it need help!

[j_stevens2000]

hello, im converting my nt 1997 eclipse into a turbo gst, (please before you begin posting, i already have the wrecked gst, the old engine has been taken out, i dont want to be talked out of it. its being done as we speak.) im just wondering if anybody has ever done it, or helped do the swap if they have any pointers or things i should look out for. if so email me or post. the main problem i am running into is the fact that the engine is completely opposite in both cars. how to move the moter mounts(how to fit the tranny on the left side of the car) did u just cut the mount on the left side or what? thanks

 

[markGSX]

There is no solution. It's not a bolt-in. You've got alot of custom fabrication ahead of you.

 

[siueclipse]

you really should have searched the board

 

[98Turbbo420A]

Originally posted by j_stevens2000
.....i dont want to be talked out of it. its being done as we speak.) im just wondering if anybody has ever done it, or helped do the swap if they have any pointers or things i should look out for. if so email me or post.

I hate to be the bad news guy, but someone has got to do it. I' mnot going to sit here and talk you out of it by anymeans, it's obviously pointless. However I think maybe because of my knowledge you MIGHT listen to what I have to say. Here is what I would do, SELL that motor! It's worthless to spend time, money and effort on something that will take you forever to get right! You're talking about running a completly new wiring harness, new cluster, damn new everything. It's obvious you failed to do any sort of research. Then all you end up with is the stock performance of a GS-T. Not to mention the fact that you can do all of that work, and BAM it walks on you. I'd be pissed meself.

the main problem i am running into is the fact that the engine is completely opposite in both cars......

You didn't know that? I hate to tell you this but you are in for the worst time of your life....It's simply going to take you forever to get this thing to accually run right, not to mention that if you live in a state that has smog laws, you're screwed, because you car is still vin'd as a non-turbo, motor swaps and you can't pass the visual portion! Just think about what you are trying to accomplish, and just how much is it worth to you......when you could spend the exact same amout of money and have your car in the 12's with your 420A!

 

[Session101]

Swapping in the mighty 4G63T motor into the 2GNT is really not
a cost-effective project. I know everyone has told you:
"no, it can't be done!", but they are correct in
that it will take a lot of $$ and blood. I have done
extensive research in this "projected" swap years
ago and have also gone to the darkside proclaiming that it is
not worth it. The first thing to remember is that the 4G63 is
a Mitsu motor while the 420A is a Chrysler motor. For a quick
summary, you have to get and swap in:
1)ECU
2)harness
3)complete 4G63T motor
4)tranny
5)fuel system
6)suspension (4G63T is a lot heavier) components
7)CROSS MEMBER under the tranny (since the4G63 will hit our
stock front cross member)

You will have to modify the 2G GS-T motor mounts a little bit to work. This is just a piece of the major parts that is needed. You
WILL spend at least ~3K on parts alone without labor and man
hours. If you have the time and patience, go for it man. I
only know of one person who supposedly did go through with
the swap and that was Steve Lawrence from the defunct and
dishonest Mutiny Racewerx.

 

[j_stevens2000]

thanks for all youre info. i see that some of you guys dont understand that i am doing this conversion, regardless of whatever u say. anything can be done if you put enough effort into it.

the differences in the car that i have come across so far, are the crossmember on the bottom of the car, the left motor mount and the right motor mount, as well the ecu, wiring harness, axles, suspension. the thing is, that i have all these parts. i have an entire wrecked eclipse to get parts from. i am moving the passengers side motor mount to the drivers side and welding it. and cutting the lower part of that mount and reinforcing it to make room for the tranny, which is on the passengers side now. the only problem that i could run into is getting the mount just exactly right so that it lines up. im replacing the factory bushings with polyurethane to keep it from throwing out. if u have done this and/or think u have some info that could help please respond, if u want to talk me out of it, then theres nothing i need to hear from you

thanks.

 

[j_stevens2000]

also i live in kentucky so smog tests arent an issue

 

[98Turbbo420A]

We will wait to hear you say the following words, "Sorry guys, I should have listened to all of you!"

Until then good luck!

 

[fivestardsm]

Originally posted by j_stevens2000
thanks for all youre info. i see that some of you guys dont understand that i am doing this conversion, regardless of whatever u say. anything can be done if you put enough effort into it.
thanks.

I'm glad to see that your determined to make it work. I hope that every thing works well!! And also Take lots of pics!!! Because I too want to do this to me 95 esi.

So P.M. me when you get some pics and some specs on what was nessicary.

Steve.

 

[BodyRage85]

hey i was wondering i have 1992 eclipse with the 1.8 would the 4g63 bolt in? im going to dealer tomorrow to see if the motor mount #'s match up cause i can get a motor with everything: ecu, harness, belts, 5 spd fwd trans, im talking everything so if thats the case i was just wondering if some responds be4 tomorrow morning to let me know. i know i have enough room under the hood...thats a definate!

 

[fivestardsm]

Originally posted by BodyRage85
i know i have enough room under the hood...thats a definate!

Not neccesarily, The reason that the 2.0 has the hump in the hood is to alow clearence for the double cam's. Other than that, I belive that you can do the swap if you have all the parts from the 2.0, including mounts sub frame, trannie, wiring harness, ecu, and axles.

Steve.

 

[BodyRage85]

yeah i have the hump too ill go to a dealership and match up the engine mount serial #s..if they are the same then its go time

 

[mdre21]

if you have all the parts from a turbo, why don't you take all the parts, (motor mounts, wiring harness, ecu, tranny, tranny mounts, cross member, etc.) and mount them where they need to go on your n/t. They have the same bodies, really if you have the parts, it sounds to me like more of a welding job then a "getting every thing to fit" job. We know it fits they are the same chassis with the same engine bay. Now I have to agree that if you were looking to buy all these parts without a completely parted out car to work with that it would be much, much easier and more effecient to go with a turbo kit. Since you have a whole car to part out which should have the necessary motor mounts, engine, wiring harness etc. it shouldn't be as hard as if you were trying to buy everything seperate. A turbo kit would still be easier because you don't have to transplant a motor (turbo kit=bypass surgery, engine swap=heart transplant) but if you have a whole car to part out, go for it if you want a 4g63 that bad.

 

[BodyRage85]

yeah this guy is getting me everything and is gonna put it in for me both he and i just needed to know if there were any fabrications but i went to the dealership and all 3 motor mounts are the same on all cars...i figure id do some research be4 i decide and spend money on a motor and trans u know.

 

[98RedGs]

Is it just me or does everyone in the world that talks about motor-swaps for eclipse's not understanding that our cars ARE NOT HONDA'S!!!!!.

Also to the guy thats swapping his 2g-gs for a gs-t .... when you finish it make sure you tell us how much it ran you for the time/money. If your doing the work yourself figure in about 40-hr. if it was a shop.

Im sure 98Turbbo420A will agree you could probably buy the bottom end kit from howell, order a turbo kit and TUNE IT for less than its going to cost you to do this "swap".

Make sure also that you post your pics of it because this should be worth seeing.

 

[fivestardsm]

Originally posted by BodyRage85
i went to the dealership and all 3 motor mounts are the same on all cars...

Hey just a heads up, all the mounts are not the same. I too thougt that they were, but I recently did a swap where we took a n/t and put it in an AWD (don't ask ) And when we got the motor in we realized that the mounts on the front and back of the block did not line up. Yes both were too short!!! We tried to change just the front being that it was easy to get to, but nooooooooo, we had to change the $#@$ing back one also wich was a real PITA!! Anyway, just thought you all should know. The mounts do have a # on them that tells the size of the mount's, It's stamped on the tops and is usually a 3 digit #!!! Like I say, just a heads up!

Steve.

 

[HighPSI TSi Guy]

i have seen this done. as hard as it is to believe, the guy i know that did it is a total rice-headed idiot who has no clue as to how a car works. (is it just me or is it always the complete idiots who are abel to do these swaps, no offense to the cool people that have done them.. hell i've seen a TT FWD 3kGT..)

anyways, i have seen it done, and basicly, to do it, you are changinf EVERYTHING. you are better off buying a GS-T and swapping all the body panels, your interior and anything with a vin. then you have successfully done the conversion

seriously, that way would be about 200% easier. the ONLY parts betwen a 420a clips and 4g63 clips are the interior, body panels, and the frame. EVERYTHING and i mean EVERYTHING else is different. you will need to cut out the current mounts for everything in the engine bay and weld in new mounts for the 4g63 and its tranny. due to the different axles, i believe you would have to swap a lot of suspension too. you wil need to cut/drill holes places to accomadate the new hardware setup. you will need to rip out the NT wire harness and install a wire harness from a GS-T. you will need all engine related electronics swapped (turbo guage cluster, GS-T ecu, etc). all the accessories wil be different as well. i'm drunk and it's late, that's about all i can think of off the top of my head. basicly, what it comes down to, is that there is not a single mechanical part in common between a GS-T and a 420a clipse.

 

[mdre21]

in order to get everything with a vin number on it you'd have to swap a lot more than that, there's probably a good 50 places in your car with the vin etched on to it, including engine components.

 

[j_stevens2000]

why r u concerned about the vin number, its not like all these kids in hondas who swith there engines change out all the vin numbers. anyways so im updating on the current state of the car. its at the welders right now hes putting in all the gst motor mounts and swapping them over right now. it should be there for a few days. hes reinforcing all the welds to make sure nothing snaps out. next is swapping over the engine cradle. the dash has been swapped over from the gst as well. look for pics soon.

 

[fivestardsm]

Originally posted by j_stevens2000
its at the welders right now hes putting in all the gst motor mounts and swapping them over right now. it should be there for a few days. hes reinforcing all the welds to make sure nothing snaps out.

Just a quick question?!!!

Why is he (the weld shop) trying to reinforce the welds? This is a 1.8 body, right? If it is, your kind of hurting yourself more than you may think. First off the body is made on the same assembly line as the 2.0. And all the "body" mounts are the same as the GST-GSX. So I'm just curious who is telling you that you need to do all this. Also when you double pass a weld on a body panle, there is a chance that instead of strengthening it, you actually give a weak point where a crack will develop at the edge of the weld.

IMHO, I think that you are doing something for nothing.
Please no offence is intended, I just want you to know.

Steve.

 

[j_stevens2000]

i didnt really mean to say it like that, hes just moving the welds and making sure that they are gong to stay there in place. u see the left motor mount had to be cut to fit the transmission under it, and he put steel reinforcements underneath it and welded it to make sure it wouldn't break loose. it took the welder a couple days to get everything lined up. it looks pretty good, almost factory. whenever i get pics developed ill put them up. all thats left is bolting the other engine cradle on and they will be done with the hard stuff

 

[t-dogg10]

drop me a pm when your done. . .id like to know how it went, i am considering it on my 95 esi. . .thanks

 

[Hobbes =^.^=]

How much is all of this going to cost you?

 

[allwheelTSI]

hahah,everybody trying to convince him not to do it,and none of them have tried. he's gonna pull it off without a whole lotta work and then everyone with a rs/gs 2g will be asking him how as they have already started. just do things right,don't take any shortcuts you'll succeed and have the bragging rights to go with it.

 

[Hobbes =^.^=]

It's just that you can go faster with the same amount of money with a turbo kit.

You'll spend a few grand here, and you'll run stock gs-t times... 15 secs.