'86 Sunbird motor swap/upgrade

Lokim

Lokim

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Hey all! I'm a new guy with a brain-buster for ya. My wife's Sunbird blew up about 2 months ago, THE DAY AFTER I put brand-new brakes on it! :mad:

It has the 1.8L non-turbo, and it started jackhammering about 2 miles from home. She made it to within 3 blocks of the house before it stopped running altogether. It turns freely, but has 150-90-0-0 compression in cylinders 1-4, respectively. It only had 135K, and I had done the timing belt and W/P last summer, among many other things. The motor was was spotless inside the valve cover when we got the car, and we've been great about oil changes (Mobil 1 or Valvoline full-synthetic and Wix or Bosch filters). Anyone have any ideas as to what failed? I haven't taken it apart and by the time I became a tech 90% of these old things were off the road. My guess is cracked pistons or broken valve seats, as the noise seems to come from higher in the motor.

I've put enough work into it that it's far more economical to just drop in a new motor rather than scrap the car. My wife really likes this car (it's her first.) Her only complaint is it's a turd on the on-ramp.

My questions to everyone are these:

1. Does the 2.0L provide a significant increase in power? (The posted numbers are 84HP for the 1.8L and 96HP for the 2.0L according to Wikipedia, but I can't seem to find torque specs.)

2. Is a swap to the 2.0L a direct plug-and-play bolt-in?

3. If not direct, are the modifications relatively simple?

4. Is the 1.8L Turbo a bolt in (as far as transmission bellhousing, motor mounts, etc.)? I know that the underhood wiring harness and ECM would need to be changed due to the different injection system.

5. Is the massive (according to Wikipedia, 150HP) increase worth the modifications required (harness/ECM replacement, wire splicing, etc.) to install the 1.8L turbo?

For perspective on what I'm willing to deal with as far as modification and budget goes, I don't want to fabricate/weld parts. I don't want to buy any expensive adapters/kits. I don't mind some light to medium wiring work. Ideally I'd like to only need nickel-and-dime stuff, and possibly some things from the junkyard (like a torque converter if that's different, wiring harness, connectors, etc.) I also don't want this to be a week-long odyssey. I can swap the factory setup in a day, day and a half on my own. I don't mind spending an extra day or so more to get an upgrade in there.

Thanks for any help!
 
1) NO

2) Yes up to 91

3) Simple up to 91....... 92 and up is more work

4) Yes

5) If you can find a running one............ but a V6 is a better option.

Are you sure you just didn't blow the head gasket? Maybe its just the cam lobes are rounded or the rockers are shot. ( both are common)

Doug in P.R.:cool:
 
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Thanks for the reply, Doug!

I'm positive it ain't the head gasket. This thing sounds like a jackhammer. It sounds very much like the motor in my buddy's '84 Cav wagon that spun the #3 rod bearing at 80K, only it sounds higher in the engine. I think I'll pull the valve cover and have a closer look at the rocker arms, but when I shined a light in there the arms on the #3 cyl looked intact, as did the springs (I was thinking it might have a broken valve spring, but it didn't look like that was the case.)

What all needs to be done to accommodate the turbo motor? There are a few listed on Car-Part.com...

You mentioned a V6 as a possibility? Please elaborate! To be clear, I'm an ASE Master Tech, so don't hold back on technical details.
 
Oh yeah! I forgot to ask, will the engine from a M/T car bolt in to the A/T car the same?
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To add the 1.8 turbo motor, you need the harness, air intake with filter, exhaust head pipe, computer, and the higher rated fuel pump. that's it.

To add the v6, best to get a donor car., . I haven't done the swap but others have on the jbody.org forums and v6z24.com

On the 2.0's there are 2 different blocks, 6 and 7 bolt. 6 is for the auto, 7 for the stick.The auto can be used on the 7 bolt block but the stick cant be used on the 6 bolt block. Not sure on 1.8's.

I'm no expert, just what I read over the years.

Doug in P.R.:cool:
 
Hmmmmmmmmm...

*stroking chin thoughtfully*

I think I may have to bird-dog me a 1.8L Turbo engine assembly! Wish me happy hunting, would ya?

Just real briefly, the engine harness all goes back to just the two connectors at the ECM, right? Is there a through-firewall connector or is the harness just integrated into a rubber plug in the firewall?
 
Is the 2.5L a bolt-in?
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Thanks for all the input, Doug! You've been really helpful.

I'd appreciate it if anyone would like to chime in here, too. I'm just looking to gather as much info as possible before I make the pilgrimage to some far-off junkyard and (with my luck) end up with a several-hundred-dollar boat anchor. :eek:

Possible pitfalls, any experience you might have, parts I may need in addition to those Doug listed...
 
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