engine swap from 2.4l to 3.8 supercharged buick

i was wondering what part(s) of the front end I would have to worry about matching up. i know rear wheel drive cars a lot better and also its easier for rear wheel drive since mainly all you have to worry about it bolt pattern and such. the engine and tranny for the 3.8 are complete it would just be a straight drop in. also for the people who might not have followed my posts i already know need to change wiring harness and computer. im just worried about the front end ONLY

The only issue I could forsee would be the axleshafts. You may need longer/shorter ones depending on the size difference in the transmission or it's orientation in the engine compartment. I'm not familiar with the 3.8L transmissions to know if it's the same size (or maybe even the same model). There may be other clearance issues as well, as I don't recall if a 3.8L would take up the same room in the engine bay as a 3.4L.

Maybe a silly question, and I don't want to sound like I'm peeing in your Cheerios, but why go through the trouble? I'd sell the Alero and get the turbo Buick personally. I guess if nothing else, its a good challenge.

The only issue I could forsee would be the axleshafts. You may need longer/shorter ones depending on the size difference in the transmission or it's orientation in the engine compartment. I'm not familiar with the 3.8L transmissions to know if it's the same size (or maybe even the same model). There may be other clearance issues as well, as I don't recall if a 3.8L would take up the same room in the engine bay as a 3.4L.

Maybe a silly question, and I don't want to sound like I'm peeing in your Cheerios, but why go through the trouble? I'd sell the Alero and get the turbo Buick personally. I guess if nothing else, its a good challenge.

well i got a good deal on the engine and transmission with cx joints complete... the transmission is a 4T60-E and in the alero is a 4T45-E or in the other alero is a 4T40E. well i looked up some of the transmissions on ebay and alot of them saying this for the 4t65-e transmission ec
Aztec 01-04 3.4L
Bonneville 97-04 3.8, 3.8L SC
Grand Am 97 - 04 3.1, 3.8L
Montana 98-04 3.4L
so my 6 cyl it would be most likely be no problem right? or still able to be done in the 4cyl?

i was wondering what part(s) of the front end I would have to worry about matching up. i know rear wheel drive cars a lot better and also its easier for rear wheel drive since mainly all you have to worry about it bolt pattern and such. the engine and tranny for the 3.8 are complete it would just be a straight drop in. also for the people who might not have followed my posts i already know need to change wiring harness and computer. im just worried about the front end ONLY


For the record it'd be much easier building up and turbocharging the lil 2.4L you have. You can easily get 300+hp with a mild engine build and a properly sized turbo with some tuning. 400+hp if you're ready to start seeing the limits of the N-body platform. :naughty:

For the record it'd be much easier building up and turbocharging the lil 2.4L you have. You can easily get 300+hp with a mild engine build and a properly sized turbo with some tuning. 400+hp if you're ready to start seeing the limits of the N-body platform. :naughty:

well i got my supercharged engine laying on a pallet right now it needs a home. :) i already spent money on the engine and transmission. i would cost like 1-2k to do up the turbo. whereas the supercharged engine would be less with some surprises probably.

well i got my supercharged engine laying on a pallet right now it needs a home. :) i already spent money on the engine and transmission. i would cost like 1-2k to do up the turbo. whereas the supercharged engine would be less with some surprises probably.

Do you have the PCM and wiring harness that goes with it? you're going to need pinouts of the Alero PCM and BCM as well as the supercharged engines PCM that you have. If you want everything to work OEM style, aka the speedo/tach/dash lights not shooting out freakish SVS SES lights.

I only recall one guy doing a successful 3.8L GTP motor in a late model n-body and that was in I think a 99 or 00 grand am. I believe the owner, now ex-owner as the car sold on ebay in recent months, spent over 30 hours on the wiring, had to fabricate the mounts.

Definitely your hands will be full on that project.

If I was swapping I would've gone full blown ECOTEC set up to run on E85.

Do you have the PCM and wiring harness that goes with it? you're going to need pinouts of the Alero PCM and BCM as well as the supercharged engines PCM that you have. If you want everything to work OEM style, aka the speedo/tach/dash lights not shooting out freakish SVS SES lights.

I only recall one guy doing a successful 3.8L GTP motor in a late model n-body and that was in I think a 99 or 00 grand am. I believe the owner, now ex-owner as the car sold on ebay in recent months, spent over 30 hours on the wiring, had to fabricate the mounts.

Definitely your hands will be full on that project.

If I was swapping I would've gone full blown ECOTEC set up to run on E85.
well i wouldnt mind the christmas tree effect in my car ^_^ my 4 cylinder already has checked engine light on (it cant locate the engine :p ) abs light and trac off light stuck on so more lights toward the christmas tree effect wouldnt hurt my feelings much more than the ones that are lit now are doing.
i have to pick up the pcm and wiring harness still but ill have them this weekend.

Do you have the PCM and wiring harness that goes with it? you're going to need pinouts of the Alero PCM and BCM as well as the supercharged engines PCM that you have. If you want everything to work OEM style, aka the speedo/tach/dash lights not shooting out freakish SVS SES lights.

I only recall one guy doing a successful 3.8L GTP motor in a late model n-body and that was in I think a 99 or 00 grand am. I believe the owner, now ex-owner as the car sold on ebay in recent months, spent over 30 hours on the wiring, had to fabricate the mounts.

Definitely your hands will be full on that project.

If I was swapping I would've gone full blown ECOTEC set up to run on E85.

do you know if you need the ecm too? which one is the bcm? boost control module? i saw like 4 computers under the passender side I got out the ecm and pcm no problem i left the other 2 in there one of them was pretty small though. i wasn't able to read what it said on it though. i dont understand how it would take 30 hours on the wiring. i can get the full wiring harness all day long no problem in the junkyards here.

do you know if you need the ecm too? which one is the bcm? boost control module? i saw like 4 computers under the passender side I got out the ecm and pcm no problem i left the other 2 in there one of them was pretty small though. i wasn't able to read what it said on it though. i dont understand how it would take 30 hours on the wiring. i can get the full wiring harness all day long no problem in the junkyards here.

BCM = body control module.. everything else other than the powertrain..

in newer gm cars there are basically two computers that talk w/ each other... that's what creates the wiring nightmare.

BCM = body control module.. everything else other than the powertrain..

in newer gm cars there are basically two computers that talk w/ each other... that's what creates the wiring nightmare.

well i can get the whole wiring harness for $20.00 for everything harness that goes to the ecm bcm and pcm. i really am not seeing how the wiring would really take that long since i will have the whole harness.

well i can get the whole wiring harness for $20.00 for everything harness that goes to the ecm bcm and pcm. i really am not seeing how the wiring would really take that long since i will have the whole harness.

The problem here is the harness's may seem closely identicle but I assure you they are NOT!

So then you have to test each wire strand to find out what it goes to on the PCM and BCM or to what sensor. Have you counted how many wires thier are in that harness's ??

Then some adjustments might be needed to trick the PCM BCM to think it has the same engine, you cant do that with out the proper software and know how.

Good Luck, let us know how it works out :thumbsup:

The problem here is the harness's may seem closely identicle but I assure you they are NOT!

So then you have to test each wire strand to find out what it goes to on the PCM and BCM or to what sensor. Have you counted how many wires thier are in that harness's ??

Then some adjustments might be needed to trick the PCM BCM to think it has the same engine, you cant do that with out the proper software and know how.

Good Luck, let us know how it works out :thumbsup:

i am able to get any part out of the car still. all harnesses or speedometer cluster whatever. i already have the ecm from the car im getting the pcm tomorrow and the bcm when i have more money this weekend or next week.
it is the same engine exact same year just a different car. the engine i got complete was out of a buick avenue ultra im just using the pcm ecm and bcm from the rivera. but im still not seeing any major problems with the install. it seems pretty simple in general (not the completing part). as far as the wiring diagram i know where to get the infomation of where the wires have to go.

Good luck my friend, your going to need it.

Do you have the PCM and wiring harness that goes with it? you're going to need pinouts of the Alero PCM and BCM as well as the supercharged engines PCM that you have. If you want everything to work OEM style, aka the speedo/tach/dash lights not shooting out freakish SVS SES lights.

I only recall one guy doing a successful 3.8L GTP motor in a late model n-body and that was in I think a 99 or 00 grand am. I believe the owner, now ex-owner as the car sold on ebay in recent months, spent over 30 hours on the wiring, had to fabricate the mounts.

Definitely your hands will be full on that project.

If I was swapping I would've gone full blown ECOTEC set up to run on E85.

i have the pcm and ecu. is the bcm like 6 inches big? like the order when i took them out was ecu pcm then i think the 6 inch one is the bcm it had 8 numbers on it like 1692 or 1962 with a few yellow tags on the harness.

Good luck my friend, your going to need it.

:eek: well today i went to the junkyard and pulled out a saturn engine complete and took the broken valve engine out of my neighbor's sister's car and we swaped it in same day i know we can accomplish something definitely if there are gonna to be some hidden surprises. i cant say i have swapped a recent engine with a ecu and all that but i have done a 350 swap before.

350 swaps are a horse of a different color. I hope it goes well for you, otherwise you're going to have a virtually worthless Alero sitting around. But, if that happens you could put in a 350 and make it rear wheel drive.

Seriously though, good luck. I hope it works out for you. I'd still probably sell the Alero and buy a supercharged Buick though. Find one with a bad motor and put in your good engine and save a lot of headaches.

350 swaps are a horse of a different color. I hope it goes well for you, otherwise you're going to have a virtually worthless Alero sitting around. But, if that happens you could put in a 350 and make it rear wheel drive.

Seriously though, good luck. I hope it works out for you. I'd still probably sell the Alero and buy a supercharged Buick though. Find one with a bad motor and put in your good engine and save a lot of headaches.

theres really not much that is really needed to get it to work the drivetrain is going to line up fine its just wiring the ecm pcm and bcm or so that is how it is suppose to work i guess

engine swap will be real soon guys. :p :) just need to have some backup money for the hidden surprises my car wants to threw at me like suspension (struts or what not) the 4 cylinder appears like it would be easier since it already has the engine mount where it is.