Hello everyone
I have a question which doesn't really relate to me - I'm just interested.
Just before I bought my Mark 4 Fiesta, it had a new engine put in of the 1.25 ZeteC S variety. God knows what was in it before.
My friend has the same car but has had a 1.6 put in his (presumably an Escort engine) and I was wondering how difficult it is to change engines in a car. I don't know myself because mine was already done before I bought it.
Is it just a case of pulling the old one out,and whacking the new one in or is it more technical (I have a feeling it may) and how expensive is it to buy an engine?
I understand it would vary from car to car and before anyone panics, I'm not on about putting a 2.5 V6 in there - I'm not swapping the engine at all - I'm just curious
Many thanks
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"Ah...beer - my only weakness - my achilles heel if you will"
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It can depend some cars are very easy to change (citreon saxo just unbolt the old engine and drop the powerful other saxo oen in then just join 3 wires up). Other ie new shape clio are big problem you need for simplicity to change the whole dash.
On a fiesta I'd imagie it to be quite easy assuming the ewngienis from a similar car and you have the whole car there.
You act like you taking the engine out ie life the old one out disconnecting the leads etc and then drop a new one in and match up the leads etc you may ned to changea few bits ie radiator as the normal one might not be good enough to cool but other than than should be quite simple.
But it will depend on the engine being dropped in, car being dropped into and knowedge of someone who is doing the job.
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New ECU, Fuel lines, engine mounts, may be different drive shafts.
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I think it's easier, if the engines are from the same family of engine, ie much the same but different bore and stroke, and or multijet instead of monojet injection, as opposed to replacing say an inline 4 with a V6 which is going to be a different kettle of fish,
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It's either very easy or very difficult - take your pick!
If the car was originally made with a variety of engine options, some of them may just literally drop in, plug and go.
A bit more difficult are ones from the same family of model, which may bolt up all right but have different electronics or fuel systems, in which case that all needs swapping over too.Also maybe engine mountings and exhaust.
At the other extreme there are totally different engines, from different manufacturers. These may well need access to an engineering workshop that can fabricate parts, or machine gearbox input shafts, etc. Anything is possible given the technical knowledge and the facilities.
Even if the replacement engine appears to be a straight fit, you would be surprised how many little bits are slightly different, and you don't always realise that at the start.
Idealy one would have aquired the whole donor car, rather than just the engine.
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One thing's for sure, it's more difficult than it used to be due to the increased use of electronics - engine management systems, fuel injection etc. Back in the old days, there were half a dozen or so wires - alternator, temp, oil pressure etc. I swopped out an 1100 engine in an old Austin 1100 (logical!) and put a 1300GT engine in it (50bhp to 75bhp!) which worked well. Just had to buy a new exhaust manifold to tie the new engine to the old exhaust.
These days it's usually easire to sell the old car & buy the one with the engine that you want - bigger engines often come with bigger brakes, different suspension (to cope with the different weight) etc.
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well to give you an idea of the differences between the 1.25 and 1.6 Fiesta:
the front brakes are different: bigger discs on 1.6
the rear brakes are different: bigger drums on 1.6
the final drive is different: different gearing
the exhaust is different
the ecu is different.
the speedo is different (the gearing ).
and that is for starters..
madf
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Not worth the hassle - expensive and easier to change the car for something faster. The 1.25 is quite nippy and you probably wouldn't gain that much. Also consider insurance, and suspension, brakes and tyres may also need upgrading to cope with the added power.
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I wouldn't bother. Insurance companies don't like modified cars, and will hit you hard. If you choose not to tell them you will not be insured. You'd be better off buying a new car.
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Thanks for all of your replies but I would like to reiterate that I'm not changing engines in my car. I was merely curious as to the hassles involved. It should be noted that my mate's car is...er....not working which may have something to do with the fact that:
ecu wasn't changed
brakes weren't changed
exhaust wasn't changed
NOTHING else was changed apart from the engine
THanks again for your replies though
Adam
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"Ah...beer - my only weakness - my achilles heel if you will"
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Dont be put off by insurance, unless you are very young. Insurance companies specialise. If you ring direct line and ask for a quote for your car with a small block chevy engine they aren't going to be too interested. The quote will reflect that. Although some can be reasonable; I had a car insured with RSA drive and they added nothing to the preimum for bigger brakes and stiffer anti-roll bars.
Companies that specialise in modified cars can offer some very attractive premiums. Some modified premiums are actually lower than than standard cars.
Friends of mine (same age) have modified cars and pay less insurance than i do on a 2ltr mondeo.
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Insuracne companies take different views som charge almost nothing with engine conversions it all depends.
2.0 liter Nova and corsas are now so common than some yound/ specialist insurers include them in there normal list of cars.
One of the reasons many people go with a transplant s for the extra power which isn't aavailiabel in any norml model for reasonable spending.
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