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97 awd/AT swap. 650whp goal

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boost97gst

10+ Year Contributor
3,036
134
Apr 2, 2012
st jacob, Illinois
Ok....... I think im finally ready to do the swap and build this car RIGHT this time. Im ashamed of the wiring. Its a fast car, dont get me wrong. Body and paint done recently. I just dont like fwd anymore and found a 95 auto gsx as the donor car. It happens to be in pretty good shape too but after spending so much money on the 97 i cant justify having all the body work done and paint all over again. I have less rust on mine as well. So heres a few pics. Literally nothing done so far. Just showing the donor(100% stock btw) and my car and the wiring mess under the hood. I need to shame myself into getting this done haha. Seriously.


i will attempt to get better with the pics and my descriptions of what im doing as time progresses.
This will stay 2.0, metro auto, shift box, all the goodies i have currently and PLENTY more to come. Im sure ill run in to a million things. Going to try and do a wire tuck or a "half" wire tuck. We'll see how much time i have with work and the newborn baby. This may go slow. If you live in the st louis area and would like to make some money i could definitely use the help! Just pm me
 

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Draining tranny now. Then pull axles, unbolt ac and power steering and engine will be out!
Cant wait to see the #2 piston. Thats ultimately the reason for this major rebuild. Have Mahles in there w eagle rods. about 4500 miles. Great comp and leakdown on all 3 but just the #2 cylinder is down around 95psi w 35% leakdown. No smoke, idles and drives great, pulls like a mule..... Only reason i checked it cause i noticed sputtering up past 40lbs/min and i had changed everything. I know fuel n spark were good. Found a good local machinist and the head will be going to Bogus for porting and valvetrain work. My crower 272s will become (Delta) kelford 272s after a regrind.
More pics of the headache coming soon.


BTW: After 4500 miles and pulls over 30 psi the PTE 5558(not a 5858 as i had said before, checked p/n DOH!) is holding up GREAT. Ill take pics of that lil guy as well later
I couldnt even remember what turbo i bought and have it listed as a 5858. Shame shame. And old age hehe


Edit: Got it out. NEVER pulling engine and tranny together by myself again. Damn that was dangerous and stupid. Ran in to a million problems, hardest pull ive done on a mitsu so far. This would be the 5th, iirc. So much easier to drop tranny out the bottom then pull engine. When the auto goes in it should be a lot easier i think. Had to cut the drivers side inner cv boot. It was frozen in the tranny. Matters little though, i wont ever be using either shaft again.
Subframe has the mount welded to it LOL. So i guess im swapping front subframes now too........
Makes it a real bi*** to pull when its WELDED. You can see in the pics ill post up later along with the wiring!!!!! Thats the best part.
 
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pics. Tools cleaned, organized and shop cleaned. Ready to take tranny off tomorrow and mount it on the engine stand. Pics of that too. Never did a build thread so let me know if these are wastes of space and ill leave out the ugly pics and post the final product?? Let me know if i can be more helpful, i know there are other swaps but each may have its own benefits or tidbits/tricks etc. hopefully i can be of some help to someone looking one day.
 

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Oh, and pm me if you need manual parts like shifter cables, master to slave line, clutch parts etc. I dont want this to turn in to classifieds but it would consolidate things a tad and save me time
 
Posting this in several places: If you live in the st louis area and would like to make some money and bust some knuckles on a dsm CALL ME
618 882 8154
I quickly realized this is one hell of a job and my bulging disk in my back isnt liking it one bit.
I posted in the local forums as well as gatewaydsm.org
Hopefully this reaches someone who is knowledgeable and has the time to help
 
Damn bro, I thought I had it bad LOL. That welded bracket is crazy. Some people have no business working on cars. Hope you don't find more odd surprises. Keep up the good work!
 
Yea...... it didnt want to come out. Thats putting it easy LOL. Toughest pull ive ever done on a 4g or any eclipse or any Car!!!


Big decisions: Stick with the mahle 9:1 IF the #2 piston skirt isnt wrecked. Keep the eagle rods? All this stuff has 4500 miles on it. Im leaning towards keeping the rods and going with manley 10:1 or JE 10:1
Want a higher compression on this build. Deciding to keep the Crower 272s, just get adj gears for them, see how they work out in the long run.
Came up with a plan of attack for doing a wire tuck. Not removing dash, fenders, all that. Just going to extend the in-bay fuse/relay box wiring so i can get it mounted in the glove box. Only new wiring will be 1 single 4ga from the alternator. Going to run it along the side.
The engine harness im just going to carefully separate and then cover it with the wrap from JEGS. Should be able to run that along the back firewall and up through the IM. Not messingwith TCU or coils til i upgrade Intake manifold.

Thats the PLAN at least LOL, i know how that shit goes. Ill find one or 2 wires that HAVE to go around the hard way and end up pulling both fenders and doing it the Professional way.

Block will def be off to MBJ machining by next week. if i dont have to leave town for work.

L19 headstuds this time. Also having the BS hole opened up and baffled on the inside to vent CC pressure as this is by far the best place to vent from. Keeps oil from getting trapped up top.
 
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Getting more skeptical on this build. Looking like im going to have to do most of the work solo. Thats not fun. I should have networked more and went to dsm meets locally when i had the car running.

Block is stripped. Cannot see or feel ANY reason why cylinder 2 has compression problems.

This build is changing course. Ive looked at it and see if i do the build the way i originally intended im looking at well over $10,000. Most likely around $15,000. On a car that will most likely break. Often.

Going to re use my barely used internals. Change my crowers to kelfords. New springs and retainers. 1mm os. MLS cometic again. L19s.

Going with a cheaper auto build. Probably just the kiggly clutch pack kit and call it good. Only looking at ~500 crank horsepower so it'll hold just fine at that level.

Any suggestions are welcome

If i run into a situation where the machinist says the block is toast or i need a new crank/rods/pistons you guys are going to see one massive part out of 2 cars and ill be the owner of a 98-2002 camaro z28 haha



Edit: Finally got ahold of the machinist(and my anxiety on this project!!) and feel much more at ease.
Ive made a stark, black and white decision. If anything besides my pistons are ruined(block, crank, rods) I am unfortunately going to part out both cars and possibly jump back in the dsm game in 5 years when the baby is older OR just get into a camaro, the 98-02 z28 or SS.
Ive also started a mental list of what to do first. The wiring. Get one of the hardest parts done first.
Will have updates in 2 weeks after business trip and then the machinist will getmy block and head and inspect everything to see if i can just get away with re ringing the mahle's along with my other plans to keep cost a little lower for now.
 
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Small update: Just dropped off block and head. While i was there he confirmed the head was still thick enough(only been milled once) so THAT's good news. Hes going to pressure test the head then take the rotating assembly apart and mic everything and check the deck as well for flatness. Not sure how warped anything got if it never overheated and only ran 4500 miles. Might not have to take anything off the deck.
So in 7 days I will know if its in need of a .040 bore and new pistons OR if im good with a hone,cleaning, and new rings. If its the latter, im good to go. Otherwise..... well that just sucks but im still hopeful that its just a cracked compression ring. No biggie

Updates to come. If i get the GOOD news then im starting my wiring tuck and bay clean up, then the myriad of other tasks to make things pretty and get ready for the awd swap.
Wish me luck!!
 
Oh, and i have to add something. Every damn machinist i go to gives me the creeps. This one was particularly weird and a contentious little prick! He INSISTED that if i left the front BS in with NO belt attached(its just sitting there) that the crank would hit it???!!!!?? I said i cant count how many people on my forum have their front BS in with the belt cut and a stub shaft in the rear and none of them have had a collision with the crank. What the f*** right? I explained, painfully slowly, that the reason i want to leave the front in is that my oil pressure will stay essentially the same and i dont care to mess with ofh porting, i have perfect pressure as it sits and just want to put the stub shaft in the REAR.

He STILL contested it. I made sure we knew what was the "front" and the "rear" and we were both on the same page.

Dude has a nice shop and has been in business since '74. I'm not trusting him with my head work. I think im sending it off to SIM or JAM. He strongly suggested against going 1mm OS, again WTF? I said dude, this thing lays down over 500 at the crank the way it sits and its going to make more power eventually. He IS experienced so hopefully the small tasks i give him he will accomplish and do quality work on.
 
GOD.... you guys dont know how happy i am. Just got the call that this build is hinging on.
It WAS the valves!!!!! shortblock/rotating assembly in "mint" condition(his words).
I still ahve no f ing clue how i ran that leakdown test 10 different times and heard it coming through the crank case.... Oh well. Just need a valve job. He gigged me a little. Just to remove rot.assembly clean and reassemble cost 350 bucks. Thats a little steep IMO but i couldnt care less right now. Im just thrilled its the head. I am sending it off to be done by a pro, not a local guy. I just had him inspect it.

Ill post pics later of where it was leaking

Stay tuned, now the wiring starts this weekend. Then on to the awd swap
 
great news! I look forward to seeing what you do on the wire tuck I am trying to start mine as well.
 
Ok, i think ive lost my mind LOL. Just payed cash for a brand new car, just got an audit from the IRS, and today picked up my block and head.

The build shall continue. He vac tested all 4 cylinders and they came out perfect. He tried pulling vac on the head(cyl 2) and it would even go below 0, thats how much air was moving past the intake valve. I have no idea how i missed it and it cost me an extra 300 bucks for no reason. Oh well, shit happens and I learned a lesson: Take the head to get checked first if the block looks perfect.
I will post a hi res pic if possible, of the valve up close. You can see burn marks right where the valve seats. So the head is probably staying std size valves but duel springs/K272/adj cam gears this go around. After reading a bit i dont think 1mm OS is gonna be worth it and its basically something else to possibly be cut wrong and end up in the same boat.

Overall: Things looking up. Oh, and if you live near st louis and want a 2006 lincoln LS for cheap or a showroom condition 08 zx10r w 7k miles hit me up!!! Too many cars and too many toys.


Intake valve: Notice burn mark and notice the pit on the flat part! I fear this is un-millable(not a word, you get it though)
 

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Head sent today to SIM for stage 1, kiggly beehives, port and polish. Also got a package deal on L19s, gates blue, complete gasket set(cometic MLS HG) and some new BC adj cam gears. Not the color i wanted(gold/black) but the price with the package was really really good. Sticking with my Crower 272s..... Wanted the K272s but my power goals have changed. I think 600 to 650 CRANK hp will suffice. Thats through and AT going to all 4 wheels. Probably ~500whp.
They offered a great deal on a full P&P FIC 2150 set too. But i have to think that one over. Im going to need a ton more random things so i figure ill order more at once and try to get a better deal. They really did beat any other advertised price out there. Good guys

Soon im going to start with the wiring, dropping the front subframe, miata mod on the PS rack. Then once the engine is assembled and parts arent laying all over the place i can pull the other dsm in, yank the motor and tranny and ship tranny off to IPT or Metro.Leaning metro. Im still gonna spend at least 8 grand.... shiiiiiit
 
Picked up a 40lb media blaster at HF today along with 50lbs of soda. Damn this thing is awesome. I have to use it over at my dad's shop though. My compressor wont come close to flowing the necessary air. I did the water pipe and the dipstick tube. Im going to use sand on most parts and save the soda for ofh and other sensitive parts that may see oil. You can RIP through lbs of soda rapidly, just found that out. Fine sand is only 5 bucks/50lb bag and it will remove everything unlike soda. 160 bucks well spent today. Ill do some before and afters on some parts here in the next few weeks. Soon as my head gets back then i can really get crackin. I want to do 1 thing at a time to minimize "shit" piling up in the garage and workbench. Tons of motor stuff laying around right now so the long block needs to be assembled THEN i can start wiring, and then finally the swap. I hope anyways. I might burn a couple weeks vacation time and focus on this project.
Also, made a decision: RC2200 injectors. What i can gather is its the same damn thing as FIC,ID etc...just a bosch thats modified slightly. At 680 with pigtails..sheeeeeeiiiit. Im on it. PM me for PTE 1000s and Bosch 1600s. Also have stock injectors from a 95 AT gsx.


***EDIT: If anyone has bought one of those 3lb tumblers at HF let me know what you think. I seriously think they would be great for cleaning up small parts, nuts, bolts, washers etc...
 
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Pics coming soon. Just opened my box from SIM. Everything looks great. HOWEVER, sand/blasting media is ALL over the head. Good god man........ I just cant catch a break! So now idk if i have to tear it down or just flush it with water or take it to a machinist to have cleaned. I sent this off specifically because of the bad experiences ive had with local machinists.
Well, the port work looks great at least. One step forward 2 steps back. Getting used to this.
Anyway, the plan is now to have the head cleaned properly, get it torqued down and immediately to a leak down test to verify my block and head are sealing properly.

I'm calling SIM now to let them know they sent me a beautiful head covered in blast media. SMFH.............

Just talked to Alan. Said he would pay for return shipping no questions asked if i didnt feel comfortable washing the sand out. Im going to give a shot cleaning it myself but if i have doubts this build can wait a little longer, im in no rush. I'll just send it back to them to clean it again. What a HUGE hassle though. One grain of that shit could cause a major very very expensive problem.[DOUBLEPOST=1409005081][/DOUBLEPOST]Cleaned head of all media. Wasnt a lot and was only on the deck. Found a minimum of 5 separate places i can catch a fingernail on. I'm not sure if thats acceptable or not. They're not big "divots" but they are there nonetheless. In combustion chamber of #2 cylinder is the largest. This will create a hotspot no doubt. I took vaca time this week to assemble longblock. grrrrrrrrrrrr.
Idk, i might run the head as is with the nicks in it. They're not that bad. Im just freakin out cause its like no matter what, no matter WHO does work on your car that isnt yourself shit just gets squirrely really quick. Not in a fun way. I mean, SIM is a supporting vendor. I get THIS from a TRUSTED vendor? Im all happy that they are not being dicks and accept responsiblity but that doesnt magically make more time in my life to work on a car.
If anyone is reading this what do you think i should do? Send it backa nd wait a month or are small nicks ok? MLS cometic HG, btw
 
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Nice fresh clean head came in this week from SIM. Looks great. Torquing it down now and performing the leak down test before i dump another penny in. Gotta make sure they did their work and my local machinist-approved short block is sealing up. Will post pics of the new head soon to exonerate SIM, they made right with me. I think..... Leak down will tell the story. Got L19s and doing 30,60,90 with moly lube.
Its resting and settling in at 60 now, heading back out for final torque down!!! Woohoo, this might start coming along finally



And it failed. Terribly. Tremendous leakage past 3 out of 4 cylinders all on the intake valves. Removed intake cam just to make sure it wasnt a HLA issue. Nope. Just terrible work again. They installed my cams as well so i would think that any machine shop would vac test a head with the cams in before they send it out. Then again, it would have showed leakage with or without cams. But these are the same guys that sent a sand covered, nicked up head to me the first time.
3rd times a charm? 4th time ive had a machinist take me out. Every single time ive taken a beating from a machinist. 2 times that required major work then this is the 2nd bad head from SIM.

Ya know, if i did my job like this i would be fired i think. Im a clinical engineer and work under a ton of pressure all the time on very complex xray systems. But an engine is an engine!!!! Theres no intermittent failures or a million other things theres just the numbers. Measure, measure, measure and then test. Its an ENGINE, not a f***ing space shuttle.
 
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Been on hiatus. Back injury took me down. Got a couple guys coming out this weekend to assess the project and unfortunately i'm gonna have to pay someone to do the work. I can't risk throwing my back out again.

Now i have to re learn everything i forgot over the last several months. SIM just killed me with their work and took the wind outta my sails. Oh well. I will start updating as soon as i pick a mechanic and we get to work.
 
Wow that totally sucks man, im glad they stepped up on paying for shipping and cleaning. I cant imagine what would have happen if you threw this on and some of that stuff got to the pan.
Sorry about your back, seems like when it rains it pours. Keep your head up!
 
Project is full blast underway! The AWD transplant is complete. Waiting on a shit ton of awd AT internal rebuild/upgrade parts from Tim Zimmer(twicks69).
I'm assembling the longblock. Just did my first bs delete today, pretty cool. I'm working SO slow so i make zero mistakes. Finally using all those tools i bought and the shop i built. Kind of fun to get back into this.

Decided on a build for roughly 500awhp. This will be achieved by going against my gut and ordering an FP black, fp mani, PR o2 with dumped wastegate and a 3" pipe taht will dump 3 ft back to the ground. No exhaust to speak of.
FIC 2150s came in
road surge shift box
tons of other parts including a weighted c2 8" sinister speed converter.
Keeping the power steering after all. With a welded center it might be nice.

The car and build is being done at my builder's shop so no pics but i'll try and post up some of the engine assembly
 
I didn't take any pics during the build.... i'm gonna grab some of the car when i drop the engine off at the builder's shop. We're in the final stretch. Had to source a center differential, paid a LOT for it but it'll be here and welded properly. IPT had one in stock so i did get lucky for sure and they got it done rapidly. No complaints

Fun fact: If you can get your hands on Techline coatings ceramic paint you CAN do it yourself. I did a nice job on mine and even baked it in my oven.
NO CHEMICAL residue. This isn't like powdercoating at all so the oven was just fine. Actually used it an hour after the parts came out. Not one tiny hint of a weird smell.
I coated the FP Black turbine housing, the PR o2 housing/dump pipe, the FP manifold and a couple wastegates i have.
The only thing left is to bolt up the hot parts and VERY carefully transport the assembled longblock up to Worden.

*Having a bit of trouble getting the timing belt on with these AEM tru-time cam gears. TBH, i have never done a T belt on a 4g63. I've only put ~4500 miles on my car so never needed to and the machinist did it when it was first built. May have my builder go ahead and do the timing belt. I have the tools to do it so i'm good to go in that dept.

I'll upload some pics of the finished ceramic coated parts too. I used their "Turbo-X" in black. Had the highest heat rating
 
Engine completed last night and delivered this morning to builder. He needs some more random parts as expected but this is just SO close to being on the road.

I gotta say, that FP black is going to shock me if it's much of an upgrade at all over my precision 5558. The Black is TINY. It looks silly with that little compressor housing and HUGE wheel inside.
God knows how this thing will perform. It's a turbo that has no place in such a tiny housing, on both ends.
This thing would be a monster on a Evo twin scroll(10cm??) with a bigger turbine wheel. Oh well, it was cheap, under a grand. Let's see what she does before i bash it too hard. Just tough to see such a tiny turbo attached to a built engine i plan on laying down 500-550 awhp with
 
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