1G Turbo Motor in 2G Nonturbo, or 1G Turbo head on 2G Nonturbo Block. Which is easier

[junseth]

I wasnt sure if I should put this here or somewhere else....

Since I might have blown my motor, in the meantime while its being fixed I need a reliable DD.

My friend has a 2G eclipse non turbo automatic. He said it has some sort of head problems, but the rest of the block and everything else on the car are fine.

I also have another friend who has a turbo 1G motor thats just the motor, heads, and turbo basically without any intercooler piping or that kind of stuff.

Now I was going to this summer swap out the motors, put in the turbo wiring harness and ecu, and get all the intercooler piping, etc but that will take time and money.

In the meantime, I need a daily driver. Is it possible to just pull the head off of the 2G non turbo motor, slap on a new headgasket, and run the 1G Turbo head??

Will this create any problems, etc???

I know that as far as turbo heads and non turbo heads, the only difference is the cams.

But according to someone else, there is a big differnece between 1G and 2G. He sent me this:

have you ever heard of a random misfire? my friend currently has a 2g block with a 1g head on his GS-T. your current ecu reads the crank angle sensor, the 1g head uses a cam angle sensor. this will require some more wiring, which i do not believe is hard to do, however while driving, your car may drop a cylinder out alot. a lot of people do do this to their cars, it is not as simple as just bolting it down tho

Thanks!!

 

[beating4g63s]

I would say yes it'll all work perfectly but when you try it it really won't so I'd be lieing, NO it won't work most people won't respond but I'm bored right now, 2g n/t is 420a 1g turbo is 4g63 complete different motors so in other words just think of it like this can you take a rx7 motor and swap it with a civic. you'll need another 2g n/t head.

 

[junseth]

Alright thanks. I thought my friend did this somehow, but I guess not.

Thanks though

 

[junseth]

What wont work about it??? Will it simply not bolt on?? I could have sworn that my buddy found a way to do this.

 

[GVR4592]

If you are talking about interchanging parts from a 1g turbo engine to a 420a that's impossible. I think some of the 2g spyders had 4g64's though, so that swap is doable, if that is the car that your friend has. Find out if it is a spyder gs.

 

[junseth]

No, he doesnt have the spyder motor

My friend has seriously done some weird ass things. He is an eclipse collector, and he has run his turbo head on the non turbo block and vise versa. He does NOT have the spyder block

According to him, it will bolt up, but I think I should listen to you guys.

What wont work about it? According to him, the non turbo and turbo heads are EXACTLY the same. So since they are the same, why wont it work?

 

[junseth]

Why do I keep seeing different responses.....

http://www.dsmtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76785&highlight=turbo+head

 

[19Eclipse90]

Won't work, a 2g N/T engine is a 420A motor which has nothing in common with a 4G63, besides having only 4 cylinders It won't work because the 420A motor is flopped around compared to the 4g63. The timing belt and whatnot are on the driverside in a 4g63 where as it is on the passenger side in a 420A. That is why it won't work!

You are correct, the turbo heads and the non turbo heads of a 4G63 motor are the exact same. But again, they have no relation to a 420A motor. Please do not attempt to do this. Find another 2g head or swap a complete 1g motor in. That's all you can do.

 

[junseth]

OK. So i understand it now.

But the turbo head would work on a non turbo block, but only if it was a 4g63 block.

When did they change from the non turbo 4g63 to the 420a? Were all first gens 4g63 and then the 2nd gen non turbos had the 420a?

Sorry for the confusion. I just read some posts where it said that I was able to put it on. Thanks!

So now....my choice is to basically I have to use the whole motor. So its an automatic, but is it going to be a direct drop in?? Same motor mount locations or not?

I know the hard part is going to be the wiring harness

 

[GVR4592]

When did they change from the non turbo 4g63 to the 420a? Were all first gens 4g63 and then the 2nd gen non turbos had the 420a?

That is correct. 1g N/T cars are 4g63 and 2g N/T cars are 420a. You won't be able to swap a 4g63 for a 420a. Either buy a turbo car or turbo the 420a.

 

[junseth]

why can't I swap the motors?????

What exactly prevents me from swapping them?

 

[19Eclipse90]

OK. So i understand it now.

But the turbo head would work on a non turbo block, but only if it was a 4g63 block.

When did they change from the non turbo 4g63 to the 420a? Were all first gens 4g63 and then the 2nd gen non turbos had the 420a?

Sorry for the confusion. I just read some posts where it said that I was able to put it on. Thanks!

So now....my choice is to basically I have to use the whole motor. So its an automatic, but is it going to be a direct drop in?? Same motor mount locations or not?

I know the hard part is going to be the wiring harness

Yes the turbo head should work on a non turbo 4g63 block.
They changed to a 420a in 1995 with the beginning of the 2g T/E. All 2.0L first gens from the factory have the 4g63, turbo or not, and all 2nd gens non-turbo from the factory had a 420a.

 

[mavisky]

why can't I swap the motors?????

What exactly prevents me from swapping them?

Alot.

First off, here's your engine bay. (well not really yours but a 96 at least) Notice engine on left, tranny on right, ecu under hood.

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Now here's a 97 turbo engine bay. Notice engine on right, tranny on left, ecu inside the car.

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It's not impossible, but most would label it a waste of time and money.

 

[junseth]

Alright well thanks so much for the help guys

I am thinking it would be a much better bet to just fix the head or whatevers wrong with it, or buy a used 420a head for this car and leave it at that. I dont see a reason for turbo'ing it, as my stealth TT has PLENTY of horsepower.

I think that I should look for a 1g with a blown motor and put this extra motor in that. That seems to be the best bet for me.

Or, I could buy a 2G turbo with a blown engine and swap it in there, but then I would need to change the cas and stuff, so the 1G would be a lot lot easier.

Thanks guys again! I was just informed different things by different people and sorting the facts from the lies was harder than it should have been