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| converting 4 cylinder metro to 3cyl | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 10 2010, 07:14 PM (4,490 Views) | |
| Horn | Jun 11 2010, 11:07 AM Post #16 |
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Have you heard of a clutch locking up and causing the cable to snap? the guy I bought it from was talking it could be that reason. Honestly I was looking by the firewall and saw some broken strands to its probably broke their. hopefully the cable just rubbed on the firewall and broke. When I looked at the car I pushed on the lever that controls the clutch and it didn't seem any different than on mine (cant really push that much on the lever anyway by hand, so this doesn't tell me anything about the clutch), but I was making sure the arm wasnt messed up and it would atleast move. I don't know Il check it later today. I've almost been thinking about not doing the swap, and just driving the 4 cyl 5 spd. but I would still really like to have a 3 cyl 3.79 though. anyways. back to topic how hard would it be to swap the motors? other than ecu, wiring and motor? any ideas. |
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| Coche Blanco | Jun 11 2010, 11:11 AM Post #17 |
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Troll Certified
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Buy the 4 cylinder. Drive the 4 cylinder. Sell the 3 cylinder. |
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| Horn | Jun 11 2010, 11:23 AM Post #18 |
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I know it would make life easier. but I really wanna try to max out as much mpg.......damn lol This is one of those good dilemmas because I really don't have to deal with it If i don't want. either way I will come out ahead. I could drive the swift and sell my metro come out even, or swap motors get what I want (but waste time working on it) and get what i was wanting originally.....but there is the whole side what if I don't like the way the 3 cyl 3.79 drives when Im done with it.....Im thinking about it too much I should just keep it simple. sell both and buy an xfi. lol not gonna do that though (unless I found a good deal). anyways any of you have any other ideas |
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| Coche Blanco | Jun 11 2010, 11:30 AM Post #19 |
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Troll Certified
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I didn't know you were going for max MPG. Buy 4 cylinder. Fix it. Sell it for a profit, and find yourself a 3.52 transmission. or Buy 4 cylinder. Pair it's transmission with 3 cylinder. Sell remainder of parts. |
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| Horn | Jun 11 2010, 11:33 AM Post #20 |
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well at the end I want to keep the red swift because everything is better on it. I don't want to keep the black one anymore (beat up with rust). so If I paired them together I need to know what all I need to do to swap the motors. But it sounds like a good idea maybe trying to look for a 3.52 but aren't those rare? |
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| CityConnection | Jun 11 2010, 01:46 PM Post #21 |
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Sir, yes sir!
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The reason people around here like the 98+ 1.3 so much is that it's the most technologically superior engine ever to end up in these cars. The advantages are: mulit-port injection (vs throttle body injection) 16 valves (vs 8 or 6 in other engines) mechanical lifters (vs failure prone hydraulic lifters and/or roller rockers) no EGR (vs clog prone "through the head" passage system) Couple all this with an engine that isn't an interference type (like the 1.3 DOHC) and you have one of the most efficient and reliable cars in the stable. I went the opposite way and swapped out my bad 3.79:1 trans for a 4.10:1 and the car now actually feels lighter and tons more fun! I still get higher than old EPA ratings and I scoot through town and even have a 2000ft elevation change on my commute. The highway RPM difference is negligible. *EDIT* Post 666. Looks like it's time for me to take over the world. Edited by CityConnection, Jun 11 2010, 01:48 PM.
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| Horn | Jun 11 2010, 02:04 PM Post #22 |
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I understand they are newer and more technologically advanced and all that bs but that just means more stuff to go wrong. I like working on my 3 cyl and like things when they are simple. but does anyone know exactly all I would have to change if i swapped motors............sorry this is on here 3 times don't know what the hell happened and cant figure how to delete
Edited by Horn, Jun 11 2010, 02:05 PM.
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| Bad Bent | Jun 11 2010, 02:21 PM Post #23 |
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Facetious Educated Donkey
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It's all magic. So I taught the software a lesson and deleted the first two posts. Well, I've seen the video of the fellow who stuffed a 4 cylinder into a 3 cylinder engine bay. I assume it was all the same OBD so no reason not to go back to the 3 cylinder if you want a few more mpgs. If it's 5 mpg then you save almost a gallon per tank. Swap the block, manifolds and all the hoses/electrical connections must match....
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| Horn | Jun 11 2010, 02:50 PM Post #24 |
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yea it will be quite a difference in mpg. yea if the electrical connections were the same it would be nice.....why don't I just take a look when I get the 4 cyl to my house??? lol. im going to get the car in a few hopefully its just the cable.....hopefully. o yea and thanx 4 deleting
Edited by Horn, Jun 11 2010, 02:57 PM.
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| CityConnection | Jun 11 2010, 03:08 PM Post #25 |
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Sir, yes sir!
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I think I made it pretty clear that the newer engines are MORE reliable than the older ones. Ever heard the one about the guy that had the EGR system failure (ok... several guys), that doesn't happen in a car that's missing an EGR. The failure prone problems of the earlier engines had been addressed with the 98+ 1.3 engine. Complaints of the hose going to the MAP sensor failing and causing driveability problems was solved by mounting the MAP sensor directly to the intake manifold. Have you seen the vacuum hose routing diagram in the newer models? ![]() For comparison, here is an early model: ![]() There are less failure points in the newer engine than in the older one. It's hard to find a distributor leak when you don't have a distributor. (99 and up) Now that being said... What you need to change: motor mounts axles wiring harness ECU You might even need to drill a hole for the transmission mount as the 3cyl and 4cyl attach in different places. The transmission is actually moved farther to the driver's side in the 4cyl model, hence the fact that you need the mounts AND the axles. There are also people who have run into shifter issues when swapping out transmissions, I was not one of them. But something to keep an eye out for. *note* I'm not a proponent of the whole "newer is better" mantra and I don't want it to come off that way, but in this case it really is. I've got a 93 3cyl and a 2000 4cyl and I'll take the 2000 any day of the week over the older one. But I never got rid of the older one, so take what I say with a heap of salt.
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| bogs | Jun 11 2010, 11:46 PM Post #26 |
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Duct tape heals all wounds
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Actually, that would be one way. the other would be to use the tranny mounts as is on the swapped tranny and move the engine mount(s) to suite. I can think of a couple reasons why that would be a better strategy. Btw, I agree with you on the newer models, in some respects they are far far easier to work on. |
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| Horn | Jun 12 2010, 12:24 AM Post #27 |
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I understand your guys points. I actually never drove a 98 + until this one. I just got this one I paid 500 (almost had a full tank of gas) and the reason it was so cheap.....clutch cable broke. The guy kept trying to say it was probably the clutch. $20 and five minutes later I was driving it home! It has been sitting for about 5 or 6 mos so it smoked pretty good when I first started (burning some oil). After driving it on my trip the smoke disappeared! It could be valve seals or from sitting I will look more into it, but I am way ahead. If I start it up tomorrow and no smoke I will probably ignore it and just look at the oil level. The trans shifts very nice and the shifter is not wore out at all. (it is very firm like a new car). Driving my 3 cyl and driving this are quite a bit different. I liked the way it drove and seems to be getting better mpg than I thought. Im almost thinking its not even worth it to swap the motors. it may be more work than what its worth. I should probably just sell my 3 cyl 5 spd and if a 3.52 trans comes along get that. I don't know anybody have ideas. I will get you guys some pictures. I am yet to find any rust on this thing and that is unheard of for the midwest. |
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| Horn | Jun 12 2010, 12:26 AM Post #28 |
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can i put the 3 tech cam gear on here? and do some of the same things that ppl do to the 3 cyls to get better mpg? |
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| Coche Blanco | Jun 12 2010, 12:31 AM Post #29 |
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Troll Certified
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You don't need the gear, your torque is already better. I think it works on the 4 banger too. 3 tech doesn't make an eco cam for the 4 banger, I don't think. |
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| mjspiess | Jun 12 2010, 12:37 AM Post #30 |
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I know if I ever came along a 4 cylinder, my 1st plan of action was going to find & buy a 3.52. I'd check www.car-part.com everyday until I found one. I'm sure you'd see some nice gains going from the 3.79 to 3.52. Also, you can do what I'm doing...sell the old tranny. You'll be able to get a pretty good price for your 3.79 unlike my 4.39, but at least I'll be able to get something out of it. I just checked the St. Louis area & the cheapest I saw was $300. Nothing cheaper around me either. There's one in Oshkosh, WI for $136 with 149K on it... Even if you had to pay $300, I bet you could sell your 3.79 for around $200. $100 for a 3.52 is pretty dang good! |
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So I taught the software a lesson and deleted the first two posts.


7:39 PM Jul 10