Can I put a dohc engine in for sohc?

The engine is dying in my 99 escort w/ the 2.0 l sohc. I can get a dohc out of a 2000 pretty reasonable cost, but would it fit? And if it fits what would need changed? If this is a bad choice what years/motors should I be looking for?

The engine is dying in my 99 escort w/ the 2.0 l sohc. I can get a dohc out of a 2000 pretty reasonable cost, but would it fit? And if it fits what would need changed? If this is a bad choice what years/motors should I be looking for?

When you ask if it will fit I assume you want to know if it will bolt in. Yes, it will. The motor mounts are the same, but just about everything else is not. It all depends on how labor intensive you want to be and depends on how good you are at fabricating parts. The Zetec engine will bolt in, but just about everything else that doesn't look like an Lx will have to be changed. Engine wiring harness, computer, etc. If you want to go this route your best avenue is to get a whole Zx2 parts car. Another problem with the zx2 is that it doesn't have an EGR valve. It has variable cam timing that overlaps the exhaust stroke with the intake stroke. Your SPI computer would throw a faulty EGR code on your check engine light. It would be a good thing if they were easier to swap because there are a whole lot of Zetec zx2 engines out there and very few 2.0 SPI's. For an identical engine any SPI engine with the same 5th digit in the VIN will work. These are engines from 97-2002.

Thanks for the great reply. At this point I'll be avoiding that swap! Its a shame its not easier, there is a ton of those engines available in my area. But thanks again.