JLDT Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Hi all I am having alot of trouble with many things with my 86 and I have access to a 88 that has a rod knock. I am wondering if I can just swap long blocks. The manifold looks the same, single port to each head, and the engines are both 1.8's. The primary difference seems to be that one has the AC and cruise (the 88) and the 86 doesn't. Can this be done? My 86 needs a clutch, cv, bearings, front bumper and some electrical problems so fixing it doesn't seem to be worth it assuming that I can just swap the engine into this other car. Any input will help Jordan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 sorry,I need to re-read that post...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Should be a straight bolt in of the long block - with the exception of welding up the AIS ports on the heads of the carb block. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 OK,I've got you now. Yes,you can drop the carb'd engine's longblock into the SPFI car with one minor issue.When you disconnect the AIS piping from the exhaust port of the carb'd model you'll need to cover the holes with some metal shim stock,or whatever you have that'll cover those holes. Intake mainifold gaskets are the same for carb/SPFI.Be slow and careful with those intake manifold bolts.Keep in mind that most of us have snapped one of those bolts.Heli-coil to the rescue!!:-p ...or Time-sert. Good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 OK,I've got you now. Yes,you can drop the carb'd engine's longblock into the SPFI car with one minor issue.When you disconnect the AIS piping from the exhaust port of the carb'd model you'll need to cover the holes with some metal shim stock,or whatever you have that'll cover those holes. Intake mainifold gaskets are the same for carb/SPFI.Be slow and careful with those intake manifold bolts.Keep in mind that most of us have snapped one of those bolts.Heli-coil to the rescue!!:-p ...or Time-sert. Good luck with it. Ditto. I've put together EA82 engines from various combinations of carb and SPFI engine parts. The carbed engine has slightly lower compression, but it's not a big deal. I made up some AIS block-off plates from an old street sign I had lying around, and they worked fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLDT Posted January 23, 2007 Author Share Posted January 23, 2007 Thanks for the input. I was looking around a bit and I notice that there are some differences in how the engine's are timed. I was wondering if that was a firing thing or a cam thing that controlled that? I am assuming that it is a firing thing that controls it or it doesn't matter but I just wanted to make sure that was true. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 The cam profiles are slightly different, but you probably won't even notice. Cams are timed via the same procedure, and your SPFI disty will drop right in. You might experiment with advancing it a couple degrees beyond the stock setting (is it 20 degrees on SPFI engines?) to compensate for the lower compression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLDT Posted January 24, 2007 Author Share Posted January 24, 2007 Thanks for all the info. I feel alot better about doing this now. One more question. I am planning on resealing the engine while it is out. The plan is to do the cam seals, the rear main, the front main, the oil pump, the oil pan and the valve covers. Are there any others that would be a good idea to replace while I have the engine out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOOBOUTLAW Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Intake, exhaust, throttle body, o ring on disty....off the top of my head. Oil pan drain plug washer? But you can do all this with the motor in anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 there are two seals behind the camsahft pulley, and make sure you read up on the procedures. for alot of these parts, it is highly recommended to go OEM only; the oil pump in particular comes to mind. intake manifold gaskets seem to be thought of the same way. The headgaskets on these engines are the biggest weak point, so you might even consider going THAT far.. but thats only to avoid the possibility of a problem in 20,000 miles, and wishing you had done it now.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Yes,for the "no regrets" treatment DO the headgaskets and intake manifold gaskets too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLDT Posted January 29, 2007 Author Share Posted January 29, 2007 UPDATE: Got it done. The swap was successful, only about 16 hours to get it done. Would have been 5 less, but someone (probably me) didn't tighten the oil pump pulley bolt enough and we lost a timing belt. . . More questions: someone mentioned the possibility of adjusting the timing. The timing on the engine is 20 btdc, which way should I go with this engine and cam being a carbed? Question 2. I am running ok, but not great. I try to climb a hill at 65mph and floored and I just loose speed, Exhaust, bad gas, timing, something else?????? So that is where it stands, it is running, but still needs some adjustment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjaben43 Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 i would definately play around with the timing a little before chalking it up to bad gas or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 I would try advancing the timing a little bit, say 2-4 degrees, and see if you get any ping. Another thing to check if it seems low on power, is the MAF sensors on the EA82 engines like to get dirty and cause all sorts of drivability problems. Take a look at the MAF sensor wires, and if they're not shiny and new-looking, get some MAF cleaner and spray the heck out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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