Shop having problems with JDM swap, I can't understand information on the problem.

[stefanOst]

When my 14b turbo took a dump I started looking around my car and found I had a cracked head and was leaking a bunch of oil and to the coolant and vice versa. Needless to say, after problem after problem with my old, tired engine I decided to get rid of it and have a JDM 6 bolt swapped in, as I found a good price on engine and installation from a reputable JDM shop in my area (a few friends of mine have used them and I have done some research online about them).

My car is a 1993 Tsi FWD with the 7-bolt. I was supposed to get the car back today and after speaking to them they are having some trouble getting the 6-bolt JDM motor to fit up to my 7-bolt FWD transmission, as all the 6-bolts they have are from AWD cars. Now they are saying something about using a 2nd gen (7-bolt) JDM engine and doing some flywheel stuff and an OBD-2 conversion or something or other. Suddenly all this drop in stuff that I expected from some research on the forums and from what I was told is turning into another nightmare.

I have done some more searching and have come across some information, but I can't seem to put it together in my head, so maybe some one can help me here because I am just stupid.

What is required to fit a 6-bolt AWD motor to a 7-bolt FWD transmission, and is this even possible? From what I have read it should simply require a flywheel from another car (6-bolt from something no?) or am I wrong?

I really don't want to go through all this BS and end up with a 2g 7-bolt that has all the cam angle sensor or whatnot problems, so if there is something I am missing please give me a hand.

Thanks alot

Stefan O.

 

[stefanOst]

From some of the information I have been coming across it seems that the AWD and FWD flywheels are not the same size (correct me if I am wrong) so shouldn't I just need a flywheel from a 6-bolt FWD to mate the 6-bolt engine to my 7-bolt FWD transmission?

Should I call up the shop and tell them to stop whatever they are doing until I can found out what is needed?

 

[DJYoshaBYD]

I know that the flywheels are different because of the bolt pattern... 6 bolt motors have smaller cranks and need only 6 bolts to bolt up the flywheel, as opposed to the 7 bolt which has a bigger crank and needs an extra bolt... it should be different....

where is a DSM god when you need one... haha

 

[stefanOst]

Heheh yeah, I just need to find out which flywheel exactly is needed to do this swap. Through searching I have found that what I am trying to have done has been done before, and answers to questions similar to mine have come up with definate "yes" answers. I just can't root through them to find what flywheel or spacer or whatever I need to make the 6-bolt motor mate to the 7-bolt FWD transmission.

Wiseman help please!!!

Thanks

 

[talonracn49]

OK, you need a 6 bolt FWD flywheel to make it work.

Then, they need to take the steel plate that mounts between the engine and tranny (1/8 inch thick) from the FWD engine and use that on you AWD engine. The starter is mounted a touch differently in AWD and FWD configurations. It is very hard to see without laying an AWD plate over an FWD plate. Dont know which one is which? THe one that matches the bolt pattern on the tranny you are using is the right one.

Hope this helps.

 

[stefanOst]

Okay great!! Will the spacer from my 7-bolt FWD work with this? Or will I need to pick up the spacer from a 6-bolt FWD to work with the 6-bolt FWD flywheel I need?

Thanks for the response, I will call up the shop and tell them this ASAP and to stop doing anything on that 2g crap.

 

[The_EE]

The shop should have known this information before taking on the job. Hopefully they dont attempt to charge you labor for their mistakes.

 

[DJYoshaBYD]

yeah for real.... if they were such a reputable DSM shop, then they should have known what you needed to do it in the first place.... tell you will get the part, but tell them to eat a d*** if they try to charge you labor.... they really should have known

 

[TSisleeper]

I'm not sure exactly what information your looking for here but from what I've read it seems to me that the shop your dealing with hasn't properly researched the procedures before taking on the job. I was just wonder how your car is coming along. Normally all you need is the 6 bolt FWD plate, flywheel, flywheel bolts, and starter (fwd and awd starters are dif. sizes because of the obvious difference in flywheel size). Evreything else should bolt up without too much hassle. Something you said that is a little confusing is an awd engine vs a FWD engine. All the turbo motors are of the 4g63 family and there are only narrow and wide block designs. Only the narrow block's will bolt up to the FWD dsm transmissions. If you got a JDM motor from any gen evo car (1 2 3 etc) it's a narrow block. Anyway just let us know how it's going.

 

[stefanOst]

Yeah the shop isn't a DSM shop specifically, they are a JDM engine importer/installer, but the mechanic I had spoke to when I was there told me he had done the swap a few times.

From my best knowledge the motor is from a Japanese Galant, the motor has a 14b turbo and a red valve cover with the mitsubishi lettering, and doesn't have the cyclone manifold (thank god for that).

So I have spoken to the garage and the mechanic and told them what I have found through research and he is also doing his own research to find the best course of action. I stressed to him and he agreed not to do any further work until the solution can be found and confirmed.

From what I am understanding then is that I will need a flywheel from a 6-bolt FWD flywheel and bolts (or will the bolts from the AWD 6-bolt flywheel work?), but can I get confirmation that I absolutly need the 6-bolt plate and starter or will my existing FWD plate and starter be compatible?

Thanks so much for the help guys, sorry for going a little long on some of my responses but I figure that more info is better then none. If anyone has ran into this problem and can give me a hand, hit me up with a PM maybe.

Thanks again!!

Stefan O.

 

[stefanOst]

Actually if it will help (I don't know if it is allowed though, if it isn't just delete this post) the website for the shop is

www.jdmracingmotors.com

look under engine catalogue, mitsubishi and 1rst gen 4g63 for the motor.

All the motors are from AWD (galants?) so basically I am trying to find compatibilty of parts for my FWD transmission from a 7-bolt car.

 

[DJYoshaBYD]

convert to all wheel drive?? hehe... that would fix the problem... j/k....

 

[stefanOst]

Well, after a few initial issues, the swap went in very well and I am very satisfied with it. The guys at the shop were even nice enough to lower the bill a bit because it ended up taking nearly a week longer then I had been told it would.

Engine runs great so I am very happy with that, and they tossed in a delete of my busted A/C for free.

My remaining problem is that they could not hook up my stock oil pressure gauge from my old 7-bolt up to the new engine for some reason or another.

Do different year or model engines use different senders or sensors or gauges for oil pressure?

I know that the oil pressure gauge is not absolutely crucial but I think I would have a much better peace of mind if I could get it running.

Stefan O.

 

[deletrius]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the oil pressure sender is different on the 6 bolts than on the 7 bolts. This is because when I had my 6 bolt put in they spliced (quite shoddy splicing I might add) the original wire with a new end in order to connect to the 6 bolt oil pressure sender.