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Thread: 1st time engine swap underway!

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  1. #1

    1st time engine swap underway!

    Well I've just arranged to pick up an engine with 114k from a wreck to revive my families old 7g that's been in the driveway for 4 years.

    This is my first time ever doing an engine swap in any car and I have some help from friends but they are inexperienced as well. Despite this I've been researching and going through these forums for months, so I'm confident that it's doable.

    I was just looking for some last minute tips on doing the actual swap, like what parts to replace on the engine, etc. The only thing I know to replace so far is the timing belt.

    I'll start a project thread with lots of pictures once I begin.

  2. #2
    You are here entirely tooo much!! beam514's Avatar
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    I don't know if you guys have a hydraulic tensioner for the timing belt on your engine, but if you do, replace it with a brand new one.

  3. #3
    You are here entirely tooo much!! Galanttuner10's Avatar
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    Yes we go have a hydraulic tensioner and it would be due to do the belt and tensioner at 120k anyway so do the timing belt water pump balance shaft belt and tensioner and you will be set to drop her in and go. Also, what year is the motor out of and what year is your car?
    2014 Lancer Evo GSR
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  4. #4
    The engine is from a 1998 and my car is a 1997.

  5. #5
    where in LI are you

  6. #6
    Farmingville in Suffolk County. If this so called hurricane hits us this weekend it's gonna slow down my progress : [

  7. #7
    Take a few digital pictures of the electrical connectors on your engine. It is pretty obvious where they go now but once the replacement engine is in place you may start second guessing yourself. The pictures will save you from that. Next be aware some of the electrical connectors have a metal clip that has to be slid out of the way before the connector can be pulled. Changing the timing belts is the major thing as it is so much easier to do with the engine out of the car. Another thing to look at is the water pump. As long as there are no signs of leakage you can let it ride. If it shows signs of leakage, go ahead and replace it as it another one of those things that is a pain to replace due to the lack of space when the engine is in the car. Probably a good idea to change the oil and filter in the replacement engine and maybe even the spark plugs/wires. You could even use your old engine for these things if money is tight. After that you should be good to go for the next 60,000 miles except for oil change every 3,000 miles. If you have the space, hang on to your old engine. When time permits, pull it apart. Great way to learn what goes where. If you don't have to take old engine back to the junkyard as a core, you can scrape it out and get a little cash back from recycling centers. Separate the aluminum parts fromt the cast iron parts to get the biggest pay out for it. Things like the throttle body, starter and alternator should be saved in case you need them later. FYI: let the storm blow by before starting this project.
    jjj
    98 ES (5 spd), 94 GS (5 spd), 94 ES (rebuilt auto), 92 Toyota 4X4, 81 KZ550 A2, 67 Mercedes 250S, 58 Mercedes 190SL

  8. #8
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    Nice ! sounds like fun ! :) i wish i had a 7g to work on !

    just buy the timing belt kit, that comes with the balancing shaft timing belt, and the main timing belt as well as the new tensioner pulley and while you got the engine out and the timing belt off. i recommend changing the water pump as well.. these will look great forever, then just all of a sudden they go out, and you gotta take off your timing belt and everything to get it, Which is a MAJOR pain when the engine is in the car. should be a breeze while it is out on a engine stand. replace the seals on the water inlet valves and that should be it. they are known to leak once they have been on there for a while, and you pull your old pump off. another headache that you have to tear everything apart to fix, and its like 2x 3.00 washers from the dealership .

    Replace bolth sides of the water-inlet pipe, install the pump with rtv silicone, and put the timing belts , cover , and all the belts on, and drop her in ! and Also take lots of pictures ! like Eksz said, it makes life much easier to reconnect everything ! Good luck man !! :) and post lots of pics for us ! :)

  9. #9
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    Also like Eksz said.. :) save your old engine, i personally would tear it apart and rebuild it when i had extra money. build it up and make it nice, aso you can do the balancing shaft removal kit. since you arent really without a ride while you are working on it. you can take your time and do everything right. then when its done you have a brand new engine to put in your ride... and if you learned alot, and got hooked like most of us do :) you will have another engine to work on * wink wink * turbo time ! :) see how this could become a cycle ? :) also i would keep the trans' and rebuild it . that way you end up having a turbo 4g63 and a brand new backup 4g63 But that is if space is available to you, some of us cant have engines laying around which would be unfortunate :)
    Last edited by Eclipse97526; 08-26-2011 at 05:40 PM

  10. #10
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    http://youtu.be/HVEh7uuoIlE

    4g63 is a monster... This is my friend alex's car Oregon ftw ! :)

  11. #11
    Any possibility I can reuse the accessory drive belts from my old engine? Money is really tight so I feel like the only thing I'll be able to get replaced are the timing belt and water pump.

  12. #12
    Are you talking about the belts that that run between the crankshaft pully, water pump, power steering and alternator? If so then Yes you can reuse them if they are in good shape. Mark them with a piece of chalk labeling which belt goes where and then draw an arrow pointing towards the firewall on each of them. When you reinstall them on the new engine make sure they point in the same direction. The belts are easy enough to replace should they go bad later. Take a picture of the water pump pulley (I think it is the water pump that has two pulleys that bolt on it) as it is easy to mix that up. If the new engine's belts look good (no cracks, not oil soaked, not antifreeze soaked, etc) you could just go with the belts that are on it.
    jjj
    98 ES (5 spd), 94 GS (5 spd), 94 ES (rebuilt auto), 92 Toyota 4X4, 81 KZ550 A2, 67 Mercedes 250S, 58 Mercedes 190SL

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by FrancisTheGook View Post
    Any possibility I can reuse the accessory drive belts from my old engine? Money is really tight so I feel like the only thing I'll be able to get replaced are the timing belt and water pump.
    Just make sure you know there are technically 2 timing belts. 1 for the balancing shafts, unless it has the removal kit. which is a smaller timing belt. ( goes around the oil pump sprocket , and the balancing shaft sprocket ) " Aslo make sure you read up on how to do this correctly. or your car will run like total crap if its set 180 degrees off, which is easy to do." Little tip too... if the motor you have still has the timing belt on it... turn everything to where it is on time, and top dead center... then check the balancing shafts. to make sure it is not off. " Also make marks now, using a white sharpie or something visable that you will be able to use to lign everything back up once you take off the old belts, the balancing shaft sprocket line up marks are pretty sketchy. the oil pump sprocket has 2 arrows.

    to check balancing shafts.. there is a bolt on the front of your block. it is not holding anything in,or shouldnt have anything bolted to it or anything, its just a plug bolt, should be on the front side. in the center of the block, if you remove this, there is a access hole to the block. and that leads to the balancing shaft ... when you line the arrows up , and have everything on time, top dead center. if it is correct, you should be able to insert the screwdriver. almost all the way into the hole. or about 4 inches or so . if the balancing shaft is 180 degrees off It will not let it go in . only a inch or so into the hole. if the screw driver cant be inserted . use a 1/2 inch wrench to turn the crank around around 1 turn, and line all the marks back up. and you should be able to insert the screwdriver now. if the screw driver goes in, you are good to get started. once you remove the belt, the weights are going to want to fall down, and not want to stay where they are supposed to.. this takes a little time and finess, but eventually u will get the smaller belt on, and have bolth marks line up ! :) also, go check the bolt in the front of the block, to make sure it didn't spin around on you. the weights will make the sprocket spin clockwise by itself. so make sure to turn it counterclockwise when u lign the marks up.

    then there is the main timing belt that goes around the crank and the cams. ive seen people not change there smaller belt, and they break and the balancing shafts basically grenade inside of the motor. or the main belt breaks and they flatten all there valves. the balancing shafts are about 10 lbs and a big chunk of metal with weights on the ends that counter balance the motor.

    the main timing belt is done easiest if you take 2 vice grips, and clamp them to your cams. Make sure the timing marks are on time. and get a bunch of wire, and wrap the pliers together, so the cams don't move around at all. i wrapped them about 20 times every which way, so there was no way they would move on me.

    if money is tight, i'd reccomend that you wait for the timing belt part of it. when i did my timing belt the first time , i got a cheaper brand of belt, and it ended up rapping itself around my crankshaft. somehow a thread got stuck in it, and just pulled it and bound up around the crankshaft, and killed the motor, luckily it didnt break.. i went straight to the dealership. and bought the new timing belt from them, it had the Mitsubishi signs on it and everything. it was expensive thought. but if i did it again... id do it right the first time, rather than waste the money.

    as far as the accessory belts. just make sure to inspect the pre-existing belts for cracks + damage. if they are cracked replace them, if they appear in fairly good condition, you can defiantly let them ride.
    Last edited by Eclipse97526; 08-27-2011 at 03:08 PM

  14. #14
    Two problems with not doing timing belt when engine is out of car. First, you'll never have an easier time changing a timing belt than when the engine is out of the car. The second and most important reason is you don't when the timing belt on the replacement engine was last changed or if it has been exposed to anti freeze (anti freeze will weaken/kill a timing belt in no time). If the belt breaks you are right back where you started, dead engine and bent valves. You can't look at a timing belt and tell if it needs to be replaced. I've broken a few over the years and every one of them looked perfect except at the point where it actually broke. I've had the worse luck with timing belts, they saeem to break right at 60,000 miles; one broket at 60,010 miles. If you do nothing else, change the timing belt when the engine is out of the car!
    jjj
    98 ES (5 spd), 94 GS (5 spd), 94 ES (rebuilt auto), 92 Toyota 4X4, 81 KZ550 A2, 67 Mercedes 250S, 58 Mercedes 190SL

  15. #15
    Well timing belt was on my priority list in the first place after seeing what it did to the old engine. Now as for brands of belts, I was stuck between Dayco and Gates brands. Is Gates worth the extra money?
    Also, does anyone know about GMB Water Pump from Advance Auto parts? I can't afford an OEM water pump but I don't know if buying a cheap one is a good idea.
    And thanks Eclipse97526 for mentioning the balance shaft belt, I didn't even think about that!

  16. #16
    Don't go cheap on the timing belt and never buy a Korean one. Gates, Goodyear gatorback or oem are some of the better choices imho. That water pump is fine. I always replace the seals when I do a swap because I hate having leaks especially after doing all that work. Felpro has a complete timing side seal set for around $20.

  17. #17
    Noob question. So today I was examining the engine and an old gasket came off from it. I think it was from the bottom of the exhaust manifold. There is a gasket between the exhaust manifold and the catalytic converter right? What is the technical name for it when I buy the gasket?

  18. #18
    There is one on the downpipe that connects to the exhaust manifold then one at the end that connects to the cat converter.Which one are you talking about?

  19. #19
    I guess I forgot about the downpipe. I just knew it was between the exhaust manifold and something else. So would that be called an "exhaust flange gasket?"

  20. #20
    I only see it coming up as an exhaust pipe gasket.

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