Please Share Your Engine Swap Experience..

[sunny747]

i'm thinking of swapping my 1.3cc mitsubishi engine to 4g93na engine which is about 1.8cc. Economy is pretty down at the moment so hoping to get a good deal with the Engine. I drive a lot in the city and occasionally i might travel to pattaya or khaoyai from Bangkok so need a bigger engine. I have discussed with a local mechanic here and the total cost might be around 40k with installation/labor.

Now, i don't have much idea about engine swap but i have few questions if any kind person could shed some lights.....

1. what I see from above is nicely painted color but since it is lancer from 1993, is it already rusted from underneath? can it hold that heavy engine? how do i know body/chassis is not rusted and in good condition? If i ask the mechanic obviously he will say its good coz he wants the work.

2. I'm looking for manual transmission so do i need to change my current gear box as well?

3. Do i need to change shock absorber and brake?

They call it Ecar here which is widely popular in Thailand. Parts and accessories for this car is available in reasonable price. I wouldnt' go for evu or turbo charged as maintenance would be costly and i have to drive a lot so oil consumption is a question.

I don't intend to change the car as i wont' get a good price for it so better modify to some extend.

looking for some quality inputs....thanks guys.

[thaicbr]

Sunny you have answered your questions if you don't even trust your mechanic to check the vehicle how will you know it will be done correctly.

Most Thai mechanics have a rightly deserved reputation for being lazy bastards that cut corners and do a crap job.

either just sell it and get something else or leave it as standard.

But up to you..........

Allan

[Lopburi99]

Sunny you have answered your questions if you don't even trust your mechanic to check the vehicle how will you know it will be done correctly.

Most Thai mechanics have a rightly deserved reputation for being lazy bastards that cut corners and do a crap job.

either just sell it and get something else or leave it as standard.

But up to you..........

Allan

Agreed. Engine swaps are often frought with problems. Don't go there, Pal.

However, I do have an interesting "engine swap" (true) story:

When I was 16 my brother's friend stored his Renault (Dauphine I think) in my parent's garage. He had just "swapped" whatever engine came in it with a fuel-injected 327 c.i. Chevy engine (5.7 L). The new drive train included about a 9" driveshaft and welded-together shift tube linkage which spanned from behind over the top of the engine then down to the shifter on the floor. As a punk kid, I hotwired the engine and started up the car. I'll never forget hearing that V8 fire up to life! My heart was pounding. Anyway, I proceeded to back the car out the driveway then drive through a McDonald's restaurant (near Detroit). As I did, I remember reaching back and opening one of the rear doors to show my friends the fuel injected Chevy powering it inside. Nobody could believe their eyes! The owner had slicks tires in the back and this was quite a machine. I remember telling my brother about 40 years later about hotwiring and taking out the car. To this day I don't think he believes me. I also remember telling him I had a problem finding the gears to which he responded it had a 3 speed, not a 4 speed gear box (that explains it!). My brother also told me he didn't think the car had any coolant in it (or not much)! Maybe that explains why it seemed to be kinda hot inside! Such a stupid kid I was. Could have ruined the engine. Never worried about being pulled over by the police or getting caught. Stupid .... Stupid !!! (But nonetheless a GREAT memory!!)

Edited December 22, 2008 by Lopburi99

[neverdie]

Sunny you have answered your questions if you don't even trust your mechanic to check the vehicle how will you know it will be done correctly.

Most Thai mechanics have a rightly deserved reputation for being lazy bastards that cut corners and do a crap job.

either just sell it and get something else or leave it as standard.

But up to you..........

Allan

Agreed. Engine swaps are often frought with problems. Don't go there, Pal.

However, I do have an interesting "engine swap" (true) story:

When I was 16 my brother's friend stored his Renault (Dauphine I think) in my parent's garage. He had just "swapped" whatever engine came in it with a fuel-injected 327 c.i. Chevy engine (5.7 L). The new drive train included about a 9" driveshaft and welded-together shift tube linkage which spanned from behind over the top of the engine then down to the shifter on the floor. As a punk kid, I hotwired the engine and started up the car. I'll never forget hearing that V8 fire up to life! My heart was pounding. Anyway, I proceeded to back the car out the driveway then drive through a McDonald's restaurant (near Detroit). As I did, I remember reaching back and opening one of the rear doors to show my friends the fuel injected Chevy powering it inside. Nobody could believe their eyes! The owner had slicks tires in the back and this was quite a machine. I remember telling my brother about 40 years later about hotwiring and taking out the car. To this day I don't think he believes me. I also remember telling him I had a problem finding the gears to which he responded it had a 3 speed, not a 4 speed gear box (that explains it!). My brother also told me he didn't think the car had any coolant in it (or not much)! Maybe that explains why it seemed to be kinda hot inside! Such a stupid kid I was. Could have ruined the engine. Never worried about being pulled over by the police or getting caught. Stupid .... Stupid !!! (But nonetheless a GREAT memory!!)

So Lopb, What I want to know is did you give it some berries or what? ps: Police were probably on horse-back, back in those days?

[stingray]

Any RWD cars you can swap engines easly. FWD cars are a pain in the a... Very difficuly, problems with engine mounts, drive shafts, complicate ,not much room. I had a RR with always overheating problems. Original it had a shitty 3.5 liter SU carburetor engine inside, no power, bad fuel economy. After i fitted a 1UZ (V8) engine in the Range Rover, with ATM Tranmission and Landcruiser 4x4 box (eleronic switch for 4x4, no permanent). The hottest "cake" i ever done. I had to modify the chassis and the engine hood. 4 months of work, but i got a perfect car, double power, never had troubles anymore.

[sunny747]

Any RWD cars you can swap engines easly. FWD cars are a pain in the a... Very difficuly, problems with engine mounts, drive shafts, complicate ,not much room. I had a RR with always overheating problems. Original it had a shitty 3.5 liter SU carburetor engine inside, no power, bad fuel economy. After i fitted a 1UZ (V8) engine in the Range Rover, with ATM Tranmission and Landcruiser 4x4 box (eleronic switch for 4x4, no permanent). The hottest "cake" i ever done. I had to modify the chassis and the engine hood. 4 months of work, but i got a perfect car, double power, never had troubles anymore.

thanks for your inputs ppl. Thats why i'm choosing 4g93 na engine which is meant for lancer only. Just that it is 1.8 cc but it fits well on my current lancer. Several hundred thai's had swapped their lancer. I'm not choosing toyota or mazda engines for mitsubishi so installing shouldn't be complicated as i don't have to work on major mounting.

yes i don't have much trust on thai mechanic but i have no choice. I need to a powerful car but i don't want to spend that much money and get a new one specially during this economy crisis. so i was thinking of spending few bucks and get a powerful engine so that i can travel up countries with speed and durability. I won't get a penny if i sell my current car so getting a new car is really out of question. Again, hearing all these visa restriction so not really sure how long i'll have patient to stay here so not really interested to invest huge amount of money.

I'm researching online a lot and i came up with 4g93 na engines. I'm asking experts from Philippines and Malaysia as these Ecars are widely popular there also. Cant ask the Thai guys for the language barrier.

While choosing engines, i'll take the mechanic guy to check. Later i will also take my security guard who i have seen working on his old hilux . He took out the whole dam_n engine and cleaned it. So he should have some skills. I will pay him few bucks and have it checked by him.

however,

i still need to know what else i will have to consider. Like gearbox, suspension and others. Although i have some info, but need to know from guys who really experienced it.

i'm actually very excited about my new project.

thanks so much.

[culicine]

I don't know a lot about these cars, but I'd imagine the gearbox you have isn't compatible either. You could probably get a gearbox (get the clutch plate checked) and engine set. It will need to come with the ecu as well. A rear disc brake conversion would also be useful, but not totally necessary. Get a decent header and exhaust also. I'd imagine the engine, second hand would be 30-40K - and this is pulled from a wrecked car. Who knows if it will blow smoke after 5000Kms. These engines haven't been reconditioned, as far as I'm aware, and their driving history is unknown. I've seen some pretty decent looking turboed e-cars around for 300K or so. I would tend to go that route if you have the money. And it's going to be quite a bit faster than a NA 1.8. Either that or tweak your current engine a bit. Anyway, good luck with whatever you do:)

[sunny747]

I don't know a lot about these cars, but I'd imagine the gearbox you have isn't compatible either. You could probably get a gearbox (get the clutch plate checked) and engine set. It will need to come with the ecu as well. A rear disc brake conversion would also be useful, but not totally necessary. Get a decent header and exhaust also. I'd imagine the engine, second hand would be 30-40K - and this is pulled from a wrecked car. Who knows if it will blow smoke after 5000Kms. These engines haven't been reconditioned, as far as I'm aware, and their driving history is unknown. I've seen some pretty decent looking turboed e-cars around for 300K or so. I would tend to go that route if you have the money. And it's going to be quite a bit faster than a NA 1.8. Either that or tweak your current engine a bit. Anyway, good luck with whatever you do:)

thanks for your reply. Well, if i have turbo, which means more oil consumption and expensive maintenance. As far as i know, Turbo engines are not suitable for long drive as it often gets hot. My intention is not to race but to have decent speed. I now get only 140km top.

welll, this engines are not pulled out from wrecked car. These engines are imported from Japan. I have known a guy who got a 10 years old engine which has been driven just 20k km. Not sure how he figure that out. Is it possible to know the total kilo it is driven from a naked engine?

But again, i would never know whether these engines are pulled out or imported.

yes in total, i was quoted 50,000 baht with labor/installation. I'm sure i can bargain in few months when they will face the aftermath of economic downgrade. I have also joined one of the lancer club here and i have met few guys who has done the conversion. But language is the problem so i can't communicate with them. and they are kinda afraid to talk to me. i have seen their car running just fine.

I'm going to a reputed garage where they only fix lancers.

yes i'll also look for exhaust and header. thanks.

[culicine]

I don't know a lot about these cars, but I'd imagine the gearbox you have isn't compatible either. You could probably get a gearbox (get the clutch plate checked) and engine set. It will need to come with the ecu as well. A rear disc brake conversion would also be useful, but not totally necessary. Get a decent header and exhaust also. I'd imagine the engine, second hand would be 30-40K - and this is pulled from a wrecked car. Who knows if it will blow smoke after 5000Kms. These engines haven't been reconditioned, as far as I'm aware, and their driving history is unknown. I've seen some pretty decent looking turboed e-cars around for 300K or so. I would tend to go that route if you have the money. And it's going to be quite a bit faster than a NA 1.8. Either that or tweak your current engine a bit. Anyway, good luck with whatever you do:)

thanks for your reply. Well, if i have turbo, which means more oil consumption and expensive maintenance. As far as i know, Turbo engines are not suitable for long drive as it often gets hot. My intention is not to race but to have decent speed. I now get only 140km top.

welll, this engines are not pulled out from wrecked car. These engines are imported from Japan. I have known a guy who got a 10 years old engine which has been driven just 20k km. Not sure how he figure that out. Is it possible to know the total kilo it is driven from a naked engine?

But again, i would never know whether these engines are pulled out or imported.

yes in total, i was quoted 50,000 baht with labor/installation. I'm sure i can bargain in few months when they will face the aftermath of economic downgrade. I have also joined one of the lancer club here and i have met few guys who has done the conversion. But language is the problem so i can't communicate with them. and they are kinda afraid to talk to me. i have seen their car running just fine.

I'm going to a reputed garage where they only fix lancers.

yes i'll also look for exhaust and header. thanks.

Hopefully the engine you get will be in good condition. I don't think you can tell how good it is until it's installed. Perhaps you can ge the compression checked afterwards. Still i don't think it would be too expensive to get the valve seals and piston rings replaced if you find there is a problem. See if they can give you a 6 mionth / kms warranty or something like that. Probably not, but it's worth a try.

[simonseze34]

If we are still talking about "lancer / Evo " I would like to recommend a garage I have been using for years since I have been here (11Yrs) Not so long ago ..I was a proud owner of a Mitsubishi Evo IV and I have a well earned" trust-worthy" Mechanic ..... Mr. Wit / Onnutch Rd. Soi 44 futher info ...please contact me ....(expat auto club : forum)

Engine conversion to me isn't all that scary ...I have done a few and owned a few Mod cars since I have been here , got to admit that it is a heck of alot Cheaper to mod / convert than in the States... Mechanics ...Yes they can be a problem .....but not when you talk and walk like a "THAI' and not a "walking ATM" like how they look at all " FARANGs " ... you should know a few things about your car and the engine(s) but "never" be too forceful with what you "think " you may know...and do allow them to work on your car but kept on a very short leash ... use that time to try and build up some kind of a friendly relationship with The Garage shop "little" Machanics / helpers ...they will come in handy one day !!! good luck

[dotcom]

I do know a shop in Lad Prao 101 who could do the swap & speaks excellent English.

PM me if you need to know more.

[sunny747]

If we are still talking about "lancer / Evo " I would like to recommend a garage I have been using for years since I have been here (11Yrs) Not so long ago ..I was a proud owner of a Mitsubishi Evo IV and I have a well earned" trust-worthy" Mechanic ..... Mr. Wit / Onnutch Rd. Soi 44 futher info ...please contact me ....(expat auto club : forum)

Engine conversion to me isn't all that scary ...I have done a few and owned a few Mod cars since I have been here , got to admit that it is a heck of alot Cheaper to mod / convert than in the States... Mechanics ...Yes they can be a problem .....but not when you talk and walk like a "THAI' and not a "walking ATM" like how they look at all " FARANGs " ... you should know a few things about your car and the engine(s) but "never" be too forceful with what you "think " you may know...and do allow them to work on your car but kept on a very short leash ... use that time to try and build up some kind of a friendly relationship with The Garage shop "little" Machanics / helpers ...they will come in handy one day !!! good luck

Yeah Simon i'm talking about lancer but not evo. i own a lancer 93 and would like to mod such as engine (4g93na, 1.8cc) and some body kits. I'm not choosing turbo coz of maintenance cost and oil consumption. However, i have talked with a reputed lancer garage at rama 9 and he quoted 50,000 baht for the whole project.

Engine is imported from Japan. He will verify by invoice. Later i'll verify that invoice by my japanese friend in tokyo. I'll request him at least to make a phone call and verify the invoice.

Engines comes with ecu, gearbox and electrical harness. cost 35,000 baht max. Installation / labor cost 15,000 baht. this engine is meant for lancer so i shouldn't be worry about mounting.

Most important thing is i'll get 6 month warranty if i make the conversation done by this garage.

I bought this car for 140K including LPG 8 months ago with no major problems. I had a budget of 200k. I was about to buy a new car but didn't have that much cash and didn't want to go with all these papers works for Bank loan. Al though, i have WP and other documents but for foreigners, getting a bank loan for cars is something close to hel_l. Even to apply for credit card , they asked my daddy name.

Yes Dotcom, i heard about the garage you mentioned at Latprao. The whole group used to work together until they had some internal conflicts. The mechanic at latprao walked out from the group and opened a separate garage. His old friends running the garage in rama 9.

I would also like to check the conversion price with him. Yes you are right, i usually very friendly with these guys. Sometimes they do free tuning for me and i treat them bears. before i go and talk i do full research at least i should know what they are talking about.

now looking for tips ....how to verify a naked engine regarding it's condition.

Edited December 24, 2008 by sunny747

[thaicbr]

Ok sunny looks you have done your homework... sorry if i sounded negative before, but your initial post led me to believe you hadn't. good luck and have fun.

Allan

[sunny747]

Ok sunny looks you have done your homework... sorry if i sounded negative before, but your initial post led me to believe you hadn't. good luck and have fun.

Allan

no worries hehehe. I just needed to know if any of the members here done any conversion in Thailand. not sure about the odd experiences.

[stingray]

Ok sunny looks you have done your homework... sorry if i sounded negative before, but your initial post led me to believe you hadn't. good luck and have fun.

Allan

no worries hehehe. I just needed to know if any of the members here done any conversion in Thailand. not sure about the odd experiences.

Done a lot of engine swaps. Mosthly 1JZ, 2 JZ, 1 UZ, or SR20 engines. Never got any bad engines. All this engines are imported from Japan and usally they don't have high milage. Make sure you get the engine registered in your blue book. The import tax ave to be payd by the seller. Otherwise you'll get in troubles.

[bazmlb]

I am looking to change the motor in my BMW from an M20 to an M50 if anyone is pulling out a 525 M50 motor I would be interested in it and reconditioning it to go in my E34.

[sunny747]

Ok sunny looks you have done your homework... sorry if i sounded negative before, but your initial post led me to believe you hadn't. good luck and have fun.

Allan

no worries hehehe. I just needed to know if any of the members here done any conversion in Thailand. not sure about the odd experiences.

Done a lot of engine swaps. Mosthly 1JZ, 2 JZ, 1 UZ, or SR20 engines. Never got any bad engines. All this engines are imported from Japan and usally they don't have high milage. Make sure you get the engine registered in your blue book. The import tax ave to be payd by the seller. Otherwise you'll get in troubles.

thanks for the reply. yes i heard similar stories. these engines are imported from Japan and has very less millage . Looking for it and hoping to get one soon.

[Plus]

The normal practice is that after five years of driving in Japan the car must be sent to a scrap yard. You can know the age of the engine but not mileage.

The mileage is not recorded in the ECU that usually comes with an imported engine, or at least it's not easily visible. Speedometer readings are saved in a chip that comes with a display panel.

I got a five year old engine when I swapped and there was no change in speedometer reading, BUT when I swapped the display for the second hand form a Japanese Crown the reading from my original dispaly had gone forever and I got stuck with 157,000 km. That's quite a lot for a five year span, which means that not every Japanese car has a low mileage. And there's no way to tell the mileage from the engine only.

[Plus]

The normal practice is that after five years of driving in Japan the car must be sent to a scrap yard. You can know the age of the engine but not mileage.

The mileage is not recorded in the ECU that usually comes with an imported engine, or at least it's not easily visible. Speedometer readings are saved in a chip that comes with a display panel.

I got a five year old engine when I swapped and there was no change in speedometer reading, BUT when I swapped the display for the second hand form a Japanese Crown the reading from my original dispaly had gone forever and I got stuck with 157,000 km. That's quite a lot for a five year span, which means that not every Japanese car has a low mileage. And there's no way to tell the mileage from the engine only.

[stingray]

The normal practice is that after five years of driving in Japan the car must be sent to a scrap yard. You can know the age of the engine but not mileage.

The mileage is not recorded in the ECU that usually comes with an imported engine, or at least it's not easily visible. Speedometer readings are saved in a chip that comes with a display panel.

I got a five year old engine when I swapped and there was no change in speedometer reading, BUT when I swapped the display for the second hand form a Japanese Crown the reading from my original dispaly had gone forever and I got stuck with 157,000 km. That's quite a lot for a five year span, which means that not every Japanese car has a low mileage. And there's no way to tell the mileage from the engine only.

Im nut sure about the 5 year driving period, because i was in Japan last year and i saw a couble old classic crowns and Nissan cedrics (in good shape) on the road or parked in some public parkingspaces. Not many ,but some still drive arround.

[stingray]

The normal practice is that after five years of driving in Japan the car must be sent to a scrap yard. You can know the age of the engine but not mileage.

The mileage is not recorded in the ECU that usually comes with an imported engine, or at least it's not easily visible. Speedometer readings are saved in a chip that comes with a display panel.

I got a five year old engine when I swapped and there was no change in speedometer reading, BUT when I swapped the display for the second hand form a Japanese Crown the reading from my original dispaly had gone forever and I got stuck with 157,000 km. That's quite a lot for a five year span, which means that not every Japanese car has a low mileage. And there's no way to tell the mileage from the engine only.

157'000 clicks isn't much for a Crown engine. They do a 500'000 clicks. Don't worry.