2.4L Swap? (will it fit?)

[boostiboo]

So i had this random thought the other day whilst browsing craiglist trying to find a backup motor for my sonic to have built and ready to go when i came across a plethora of 2.4L ecotecs, and i got to thinking, why not buy one of those since a good chunk of them are bundled with their transmissions and management systems, buy one, build it, slap a turbo on it and swap it in when my finally kicks the bucket, but then the question arose, has this ever been done? will it even fit in the engine bay? Will a 2.4 bolt up to the existing trans?
What kind of work can i expect if i do decide to go this route? some input on the subject would be insanely helpful since my research has been coming up dry.

 

[MyLonewolf25]

It'll probably work
I can't remember or have links but someone for giggles dropped a 1.8 from the sonic into a cobalt and it lined up perfectly

The engine bay is quite large and someone has already done a k swap

It's easily doable
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[boostiboo]

I was just curious cause ive seen people do 1.8 swaps in cobalts but said the 2.2 and 2.4 would be pushing it in terms of exhaust manifold and pulley clearance, i used to be big into jbodies (owned a 96 sunfire rockin the ld9 2.4L) and size wize id say its not much bigger than my 1.4L but i figure things like battery relocation and what not would be in order to get the right clearances.

 

[MyLonewolf25]

It could probably be done
Just tilt the engine slightly forward?


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[Mr.turner85]

I know when I was looking at 2.2s I believe the starter is on the wrong side of the block.

I'm pretty sure this is a 1.4l pulled from a Cruze I think is what I got the pic from and the starter is on the right side of the torque converter

And as you can see the hole for the starter is on the left side of the flywheel plate mount
I doubt they would use a different block for automatics and manuals so the starter mount is on the wrong side. That being said if you wanted to use the trans from the donor than it may work not sure. But I know using the sonic trans looks like it won't work


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[MyLonewolf25]

Starter position problems could easily be solved

Custom flex plate


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[Mr.turner85]

The position isn't a problem if you use the trans and starter from the donor I was merely pointing out the sonic trans won't work because the block is recessed on the wrong side


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[boostiboo]

i see what your saying, but id prolly have to use the trans and starter from the donor car otherwise id run into issues of having to fab my own parts

 

[carsNskis]

I'd go with the 2.0 + F40 trans swap from a Regal or Verano... The F40 shows as an option for the 1.8L manual Cruze, which means the 1.4 should bolt up (right?)

I've looked up a lot of Chevy swaps, this seems like the closest fit I can find... Still a long way off if I ever get that far down the rabbit hole with this car!

 

[MyLonewolf25]

I'd go with the 2.0 + F40 trans swap from a Regal or Verano... The F40 shows as an option for the 1.8L manual Cruze, which means the 1.4 should bolt up (right?)

I've looked up a lot of Chevy swaps, this seems like the closest fit I can find... Still a long way off if I ever get that far down the rabbit hole with this car!

[emoji593][emoji809][emoji472]

If I ever get this far down the rabbit hole I'd love to do a fully forged build that's awd
Personally


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[greg51]

swap

its been asked many many times --you have to use the matching transmission. Which requires lots of mods. Before anybody starts --Yes it can be done but not easy or cheap. The Cruze and Sonic are much diff chassis. g

 

[tainopayute]

I know that the 1.4T is not a really powerful engine in it's stock form but wouldn't it be easier to do a complete performance rebuild on the 1.4T, to include a turbo upgrade, instead of swapping it out?

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[Mr.turner85]

There are certain parts of the 1.4t that are not supported by the aftermarket that are necessary to make real power. Main things I have seen are connecting rods, camshafts and intake manifolds. All 3 of these things are cornerstones to a real performance build, you throw a big turbo on it and the connecting rods will surely bend and you start pushing serious pressure and the plastic intake will split at the seams. An aluminum intake is possible but it would have to be made by someone who can tig and as far as I know hasn't been built yet. And as i understand no one wants to touch cams on this motor because of the internal oil channels in the cams.


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[boostiboo]

There are certain parts of the 1.4t that are not supported by the aftermarket that are necessary to make real power. Main things I have seen are connecting rods, camshafts and intake manifolds. All 3 of these things are cornerstones to a real performance build, you throw a big turbo on it and the connecting rods will surely bend and you start pushing serious pressure and the plastic intake will split at the seams. An aluminum intake is possible but it would have to be made by someone who can tig and as far as I know hasn't been built yet. And as i understand no one wants to touch cams on this motor because of the internal oil channels in the cams.


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Precisely why I'm looking at the older 2.2 and 2.4 liter ecotecs from the Cavaliers. Much more aftermarket support and potential for power.

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[Big Turbo Sonic]

There are certain parts of the 1.4t that are not supported by the aftermarket that are necessary to make real power. Main things I have seen are connecting rods, camshafts and intake manifolds. All 3 of these things are cornerstones to a real performance build, you throw a big turbo on it and the connecting rods will surely bend and you start pushing serious pressure and the plastic intake will split at the seams. An aluminum intake is possible but it would have to be made by someone who can tig and as far as I know hasn't been built yet. And as i understand no one wants to touch cams on this motor because of the internal oil channels in the cams.


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Where did you hear that connecting rods are weak? People have made 320+ whp and not bent a rod. Its the pistons that are no good and BNR make them. What is wrong with the cams? I have personally pushed the intake manifold to 28 psi for quite some time and quite a lot of pulls before it split. More pressure than that isnt the answer, its a bigger turbo and more rpm. Which are both possible and already done.

 

[Mr.turner85]

Where did you hear that connecting rods are weak? People have made 320+ whp and not bent a rod. Its the pistons that are no good and BNR make them. What is wrong with the cams? I have personally pushed the intake manifold to 28 psi for quite some time and quite a lot of pulls before it split. More pressure than that isnt the answer, its a bigger turbo and more rpm. Which are both possible and already done.

Keywords: before it split, cars with factory cast aluminum intake manifolds rarely ever have problems. Now that is not saying older ecotec motors have that but they have more aftermarket support and almost all new cars come with plastic intake manifolds in the interest of weight and cost saving, but not having a readily available upgrade alternative is a big downfall to the 1.4t. As far as cams, eh there is a reason why every motor with large aftermarket support has an option for cams, though variable valve timing does give you some tunability you can get really aggressive lift and overlap with custom grinds giving you other options for low end torque or power in the upper revs. And as far as rods I am not saying they are especially weak but any part of the rotating assembly is susceptible to damage and often times rods are the weakest link. They may not be for this motor but it is unsettling knowing that you're only options with this motor are
A: stop at a certain power level because parts that aren't available continuously break
B: continuously break said parts
C: pay oodles of money getting someone to engineer stronger parts for this motor because the aftermarket demand for these parts is apparently not large enough to necessitate a supply or do it yourself if you can
D: swap in a motor with more aftermarket support
So anything is possible with enough money and time and is not saying there is anything wrong with tuning this motor to your hearts desire but hey sometimes is nice to have more options


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[Big Turbo Sonic]

Keywords: before it split, cars with factory cast aluminum intake manifolds rarely ever have problems. Now that is not saying older ecotec motors have that but they have more aftermarket support and almost all new cars come with plastic intake manifolds in the interest of weight and cost saving, but not having a readily available upgrade alternative is a big downfall to the 1.4t. As far as cams, eh there is a reason why every motor with large aftermarket support has an option for cams, though variable valve timing does give you some tunability you can get really aggressive lift and overlap with custom grinds giving you other options for low end torque or power in the upper revs. And as far as rods I am not saying they are especially weak but any part of the rotating assembly is susceptible to damage and often times rods are the weakest link. They may not be for this motor but it is unsettling knowing that you're only options with this motor are
A: stop at a certain power level because parts that aren't available continuously break
B: continuously break said parts
C: pay oodles of money getting someone to engineer stronger parts for this motor because the aftermarket demand for these parts is apparently not large enough to necessitate a supply or do it yourself if you can
D: swap in a motor with more aftermarket support
So anything is possible with enough money and time and is not saying there is anything wrong with tuning this motor to your hearts desire but hey sometimes is nice to have more options


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The manifold is not in anyway inhibiting you from making big power. Plenty of people have run high boost without ever splitting it. Its a pain in the *** if you do split it, but you can jb weld it back together.

Cams are obviously not ideal, but they certainly arent holding anyone back from making power and if your seriously concerned about the cams, there is a company that does cam grinding for the 1.4. I dont know of anyone that has tried them, but there is the option.

Dont make an assumption about the rods. They are forged from the factory. I have not heard anyone bending a rod. Not to say it wont happen, but even if it did that is something you can have made.

I would say the transmission is holding people back more than anything. If the EFR guys would rev out they would be hitting some seriously high numbers. I would look for a viable trans solution before ever considering a motor swap.

 

[boostiboo]

The manifold is not in anyway inhibiting you from making big power. Plenty of people have run high boost without ever splitting it. Its a pain in the *** if you do split it, but you can jb weld it back together.

Cams are obviously not ideal, but they certainly arent holding anyone back from making power and if your seriously concerned about the cams, there is a company that does cam grinding for the 1.4. I dont know of anyone that has tried them, but there is the option.

Dont make an assumption about the rods. They are forged from the factory. I have not heard anyone bending a rod. Not to say it wont happen, but even if it did that is something you can have made.

I would say the transmission is holding people back more than anything. If the EFR guys would rev out they would be hitting some seriously high numbers. I would look for a viable trans solution before ever considering a motor swap.

I've head the cars foreign counter parts ( the Vauxhall and Holden) have better transmissions in them, not sure if it's true but even so I've not been able to locate in my range of affordability

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[carsNskis]

The auto and manual transmissions for the Sonic have all had multiple other motors bolted to them throughout the world. If you look up 1.2 and 1.4 Opel swaps you'll find most of them bolting up the 2.0 and many using the m32.

Axle and bearing upgrade, limited slip and a short throw and you're in business. If you're truly ambitious and cash laden you can stuff Quaife dog box gears (5 or speed) into them. You could also run the F40 with an axle swap.

 

[Tesseract_Indeed]

I really want to do an auto to manual swap on my 2012 auto lt. Any body got tips for a swap with a better-than-stock manual transmission?