1992 motor swap sohc

[tom jordan]

Is it possible to put a newer sohc motor in my 1992 SL1? I dont know if it will bolt up to my trans, and if my manifold will bolt up to a newer head. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Tom J.

[carguy83]

it is very possible... 97 is the newest you can go i'm PRETTY sure... someone correct me if i'm wrong... but i think something changed in 98... anyway everything should bolt up... if you considered a DOHC swap you could have a faster car. hehehe.

[sierrap615]

any year (91-02) will work. but any year other then 92 will take a little work.

in short:
91-94 will work with your intake manifold. and auto trans.
for a manual trans any year will work but the gear ratio changed with the intake manifold and fuel system in 95, for best results swap the trans with the motor.
91 will need to change the motor mounts.
any engine 93+ will require swaping the PCM and wiring harness(due to a change with the crankshaft)
98+ will require some work with the fuel system.
and a dozen other small things, give me a certian year and i can give you more info on what to do.

[tom jordan]

Originally Posted by sierrap615

any year (91-02) will work. but any year other then 92 will take a little work.

in short:
91-94 will work with your intake manifold. and auto trans.
for a manual trans any year will work but the gear ratio changed with the intake manifold and fuel system in 95, for best results swap the trans with the motor.
91 will need to change the motor mounts.
any engine 93+ will require swaping the PCM and wiring harness(due to a change with the crankshaft)
98+ will require some work with the fuel system.
and a dozen other small things, give me a certian year and i can give you more info on what to do.

Thanks, I will look for a engine. the one I had my eye on got sold it was a 2000 sohc, my trans is a manual 5spd. I'll try to find another deal on a engine. Take Care, Tom J.

[cga1974]

Originally Posted by sierrap615

any year (91-02) will work. but any year other then 92 will take a little work.

in short:
91-94 will work with your intake manifold. and auto trans.
for a manual trans any year will work but the gear ratio changed with the intake manifold and fuel system in 95, for best results swap the trans with the motor.
91 will need to change the motor mounts.
any engine 93+ will require swaping the PCM and wiring harness(due to a change with the crankshaft)
98+ will require some work with the fuel system.
and a dozen other small things, give me a certian year and i can give you more info on what to do.

I've got an 93 SL2 with the DOHC motor. The engine has 190,000 miles but still runs strong. The only problem I've had with the motor was that the valve cover seal was leaking oil into the sparkplug wells and saturating wires and fouling plugs. I had just fixed that when I nosed into a telelphone pole last Thursday night. Lots of body damage, but nothing to the engine.

I found a very clean 92 SL1 with the SOHC motor. The motor runs, but has a blown head gasket. I can pick up the car for $400 which seems like a hell of a deal. Would I be better off fixing the SOHC motor in the 92, or swapping in the DOHC motor? How much work are we talking about and what's the difficulty? Anything you could tell me would be great. Oh, both cars are automatics. I'm not that worried about tricking it out, although the extra umph of the DOHC would be nice.

THANKS!

[sierrap615]

Originally Posted by cga1974

I've got an 93 SL2 with the DOHC motor. The engine has 190,000 miles but still runs strong. The only problem I've had with the motor was that the valve cover seal was leaking oil into the sparkplug wells and saturating wires and fouling plugs. I had just fixed that when I nosed into a telelphone pole last Thursday night. Lots of body damage, but nothing to the engine.

I found a very clean 92 SL1 with the SOHC motor. The motor runs, but has a blown head gasket. I can pick up the car for $400 which seems like a hell of a deal. Would I be better off fixing the SOHC motor in the 92, or swapping in the DOHC motor? How much work are we talking about and what's the difficulty? Anything you could tell me would be great. Oh, both cars are automatics. I'm not that worried about tricking it out, although the extra umph of the DOHC would be nice.

THANKS!

personially, i would rebuild the DOHC engine then swap it in, transmission must be swapped too.

http://www.differentracing.com/tech_...dohc_swap.html

also, how is the rear axle and did you have ABS on the 93?

[cga1974]

Originally Posted by sierrap615

personially, i would rebuild the DOHC engine then swap it in, transmission must be swapped too.

http://www.differentracing.com/tech_...dohc_swap.html

also, how is the rear axle and did you have ABS on the 93?

No ABS, and I really have no idea about the rear axle. What should I be checking for?

[sierrap615]

you may notice the SL1 doesn't handle as well as the SL2, more so at highway speeds. the SL2 has a beefyer suspenction, a big part of the difference is the SL2 has a rear sway bar and the SL1 does not. also if you had ABS then you would of had rear disk brakes.

if you want to you could swap the rear axle for better handling.

[cga1974]

yeah... No rear disc If I'd had ABS I might have avoided sliding into the telephone pole in the first place ) At any rate, the rear axle seems like it would be easy enough.

I'm not so worried about speed or handling. This is just a to and from work kinda car. I have an 85 RX-7 project car turning just over 300hp. When I want speed, I go there but I can't drive it daily because it DRINKS gas.

Thanks soooooo much for all your help

[sierrap615]

if you want a kit to swap the rear disks is available

[cga1974]

Originally Posted by sierrap615

personially, i would rebuild the DOHC engine then swap it in, transmission must be swapped too.

http://www.differentracing.com/tech_...dohc_swap.html

also, how is the rear axle and did you have ABS on the 93?

Okay, thinking about this some more, and I have some questions. First, what's involved with just changing out the head gasket? If I do everything but machining (if needed?) what kinda cost are we talking about. My big concern here is purely transportation.

I'm assuming that nothing else would cause the coolant resevoir to gurgle white foamy oil from the top when the cap is off. There is, however, no water in the oil. What are further the risks of driving car as it is for short distances (topping off coolant regularly) until I've at least got the DOHC motor out and ready to go.

I just have a lot going on right now, and trying to weigh all my options. All your help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Chris

[sierrap615]

just changing the head gasket requires removing the head(duh), timing cover, timing chain, oil pan, crank pulley, intake and exhaust manifolds. if you are lucky you may not need to remove the intake manifold and the exhaust manifold could be disconnected at the down pipe. the head bolts will need replaced, as well as gaskets to the items above. the timing chain and oil pump may need replaced.

i can not promise its the head gasket, i would need to see the car myself, check for any external leaks. if this problem goes on to long, you will need new bearings. did the seller tell you how long the problem has been there? plus there is a rare chance a blown head gasket can bend valves and connecting rods. i would also send the oil out for a oil analizis(sp?) i would be surprize if there is no water in the oil.