Need some good advice and opinions

[Jaydsm-]

i'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, sorry if its not..

Ok so I bought my first car, a Eclipse Spyder GS 96 pretty beat up but I got it cheap(around 500$)
Straight to the point: It appears to have a blown headgasket, it looses compression,Idles like crazy and revs max till 3k rpm(thats a bad MAF sensor), looks like the guy drove it while having a blown gasket might of warped the whole head, I have a extra engine(BUT its a 5 speed and the spyder is auto) I really dont want to take the engine out and put the 5 speed because the guy wants to sell me the tranny apart cause he put in a new clutch etc(I already have the engine that was bolt on to the 5 speed tranny) the engine has oversized pistons and a good cylinder head.. I was thinking since I dont want to go through all the work to get the old engine out, buy the tranny from the guy and put the new engine in(cant do it by myself i'll have to pay someone to do it I want to keep it economical since im only 18 getting like 500$ a month) I was thinking of swapping the pistons and swapping the whole cylinder head from the new engine(just in case my old head is warped) on to my old block then I dont have to buy the 5 speed tranny and save me a lot of money and labor work..
Still have to check if the block is still in good working condition tho..
here are some visual and physical symptoms that the car has:
Oil everywhere on the cylinder head and block
A LOT of white smoke coming out of the exhaust
did the radiator cap test and it spilled water everywhere(meaning blown headgasket)
car Idles like crazy, up and down the rpm meter
maxed rpm is 3000 then it starts to loose power(might be the MAF & blown gasket combined)
What do you guys think?what should I do? replace the whole engine or just swap the pistons and cylinder head if the old block is still good?I really wanted the 5 speed so bad but too much work for my knowledge, have to set up clutch pedal and all that cr@p

 

[92AWDHX40]

Swap pistons and head, possible I have always just get new parts since in don't know condition of the engine and rest assured all is good but that's me, seems easier that way. I don't know your level of work so that's what I would do.

 

[dans95dsm]

do what seems easier or what you think you can accomplish,
learn as you do it, then next time it wont be as difficult, if you ever plan on doing a 5 speed swap

 

[bryanwheat]

Why not just rent a cherry picker and swap the other engine in the car? You will not have to swap a 5 speed transmission in the car, just get a new torque converter bushing for the crank, or use the old one from the old engine. You will also have to swap the starter mount plate . The engines are the same, auto or manual, the difference is the, flex plate and bushing in the end of the crank. It would be a thousand times easier to just swap in the good engine than to swap internals and so on.

 

[synthetek]

If the new engine has oversized pistons you cant put them in your std bore block, you would have to take it out to have it machined.

 

[Jaydsm-]

hmm, its true what synthetik is saying about the pistons, i dont mind the pistons I just want it to run as soon as I can, so one option is to just replace the blown gasket and cyl head..(I can do it myself)
another option is to buy the 5 speed tranny mount it on the new engine and swap engines..(need to pay for the tranny,tools,cherry picker and some to help for the swap)
and option #3 try to see if my auto transmission fits the 5 speed engine?(which i doubt will fit?)

 

[synthetek]

There is no 5 speed engine, same engine just different trans. You just have to put the bushing on the end of the crank shaft from the engine that came from a 5spd to use it with an auto.

 

[Jaydsm-]

oh ok i see, and I can use the bushings from the old engine? If so I Shouldnt have any problems

 

[bryanwheat]

oh ok i see, and I can use the bushings from the old engine? If so I Shouldnt have any problems

If you can get it out without damaging it than yes you can use it.

 

[GSXtra]

Just swap your good motor into that biatch and call it a day. Should take a good day to do it. Then when you have time take the old engine apart. It's not a hard project, just take your time and mark all the plugs/bolts you take off so you know where they go. The worst part of a project like this is having three bolts left over and you have no clue where they go