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Update on 1994 Geo Metro Engine Swap; The car is licensed and running.
Topic Started: Aug 10 2012, 12:22 AM (1,597 Views)
cwatkin


The Geo Metro that I swapped engines on is now legally roadworthy. I drove it several places today and it is doing great. This includes the guy who sold me the pair of cars. He originally had the same idea to repair these and make them both run but quickly realized he was in over his head and decided to sell the cars so I ended up with them and successfully completed the engine swap and other repairs myself. I have remained in contact with him and I took him for a ride around. He was amazed how well the one car was running and thought it couldn't have run much differently when brand new. It also had a completely new front-end as well as new pads/rotors so the brakes were very good.

I also flushed the manual transmission and put in synchromesh so it is also doing better. I also put a new clutch in the car while I had it apart.

I did get the check engine light on again for code 15. This happened on the other car and it was suggested that the wiring was bad. I inspected it and couldn't find anything wrong but figured I was swapping the engine to a different car and wasn't going to use that harness although I am keeping it, so I figured the problem would go away when the engine was in a new car with a different harness. Anyway, I decided to swap ECT sensors from the parts car engine when the same code returned with the engine in a new car as that was the same ECT. I replaced the harder to get to parts such as the water pump, seals/gaskets, and timing components but didn't mess with this. Obviously this part was bad and the code hasn't returned.

Either way, two Metros with serious problems have been turned into one good running car that will legally pass a legitimate state inspection in Missouri and I have plenty of parts to spare.

The little 3 cylinder just runs like a champ and has more power than I would have ever imagined. It pulls some pretty good hills around here without struggling and easily maintains the speed limit. I did replace the cap/rotor and will be doing plugs and wires next, likely tomorrow. The rest of the stuff involves giving the inside and out a good cleaning and treating some rust spots/touching up the paint. The owner of the car prior to the guy I got it from was a drywall worker and used it for his job. The inside is very messy but not torn up.

The engine oil was flushed and changed to synthetic and the cooling system was also flushed and refilled.

Thanks for all the help from those on this forum. They definitely helped me on my journey to fix this car.

Conor
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crankcase


Nice job cwatkin. Did you clean the EGR system while you were at it (pluged lines)? It's a fun and simple project. Good idea to flush the coolant system, something that is sometimes overlooked! Back washing the heater core and the little coolant lines that go to the throttle body is a good maintenance idea, especially when done seperatly for best results.
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cwatkin


Thanks. I was actually amazed at how simple this was. The Geo Metro is one of the few cars I could change the engine out on a roadside with only a jack and metric socket set.

I did remove the EGR and clean the valve/passages with a flexible cable type cleaner. It wasn't too bad but I figure it didn't hurt anything to do this.

I didn't mess with the coolant lines besides running a good flush through the car. I let it warm up and circulate for the suggested 10 minutes and then shutoff and let sit for a while. I then warmed it up again and let it circulate a while longer, then drained and flushed with clean water for a while, then refilled. I did not replace the thermostat as that is easy to get to and it was indicated they usually don't cause much of a problem.

Should I do an additional flush on the heater core lines, etc. or let it go for now?

Thanks,

Conor
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crankcase


It might be a good thing to do one of these weekends. It should probably takes less than an hour or so, but you do need to get a couple of fittings to make the hoses connect to a garden hose.

If the vehicle is maintained well and flushed regularly, then a regular flush is more likely to work ok. If it has not been flushed every few years or so, things could have started to get stopped up. The small coolant lines to the intake are feed by very small orifice. These getting clogged can make it idle high. To do these remove the line from the pipe coming out of the water pump to inspect the outlet to the small hose for a clog. Separate the both small hoses from the rest of the coolant system and flush them along with the intake passages they are connect to. Do the same with the heater core, separate/isolate from the rest of the coolant system and flush.

Another thing to consider at some point is replacing old vacuum hoses etc. A crack in one of these will usually make the idle behave strangely.

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cwatkin


I am not getting a high idle so maybe this isn't a problem. On the other hand, idle is somewhat rough so maybe I should just replace all the vacuum lines. A vacuum leak would be most noticeable at idle but the car runs great at speed.

Now if I get a racing idle once the lines are changed, then I better look into flushing those other coolant lines.

All in all, the little car is running great and I get the feeling this engine is going to serve me well for quite some time. I am considering rebuilding the transmission from my parts car and dropping it in one of these days. The 2nd gear synchro is bad on both of these. I drained the fluid in both and refilled the one I am driving with synchromesh. I drained the other to remove the half shafts so it wouldn't drip everywhere. This one had clean fluid but some large gold colored flakes in the oil. Is that brass from the synchros?

Conor

Thanks,

Conor
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cwatkin


I had one very minor setback today. It appears the thermostat is stuck in the open position as the temp dropped to nothing at 55 mph on a flat road and then crept up at slower speeds. Everyone suggested I not replace this unless I was having problems and now I am. At least it is easy to access. I would have replaced it no matter what had it been behind the water pump or timing belt. I plan to change it as soon as I am done eating.

Conor
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cwatkin


I replaced the thermostat yesterday and there was no doubt it was bad. The rod in the front had bent and broken in half, jamming it wide open.

There was no gasket or RTV on the old one so I don't know how it wasn't leaking. I am all good now and will be driving it today to see how it does.

Also, where on the gauge should the needle stay within the normal range? It was almost always a little below half on the old one but then would sometimes spike up over half, especially when idling. I let it idle a while last night after I added coolant to replace what was lost and wanted to make sure some had sucked in so I could check the level this morning. I stayed stable right at the halfway point.

Conor
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Jittney
Anchorage 92 XFi

IIRC , depending on what degree thermostat you use will affect where the needle lands. If your car is running well and the needle is staying steady at the half way mark, it sounds like you are doing well.
Nice work on the car. I'm finally catching up on some of your work.
(Would be easier reading if it was all in one thread.)
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