Well today i got the great ****ing news that my v6 is ****ed. I have a buddy whos got a 1989 chevy s10 with a 2.5 in it that he just rolled about a week ago, so far its just the body thats ****ed up but i will b checking through it. What I need to know is will it bolt to the tranny thats already in my car, and any hints an tips on easy ways of doing so. Any and all help is appreciated.
Thanks

 

first of all... check to see if the engine in the s10 is 2 main or 4 main bolts. Those are the bolts that hold the engine in place. If it's a 2 bolt main, then there shouldn't be any problem. I've got an '86 trans am, it's a 2 bolt. For the tranny, it might be easier to lift the engine and transmission as one unit from the s10 and transplant the whole thing into the firebird, unless the tranny you have in there now is better or you just like it more. If you want to keep the one you have, then I'm fairly certain it'll fit, but without actually seeing them both, I can't really give a definitive answer.

 

Ok thanks for the help. Any other tips? Its my first time doing an engine swap so i dont really know what to look for or make sure of..

 

Have a buddy standing by to do runs to the hardware store / autozone and the gas station for beer!

 

I'm in the process of my first swap as well. Here's my thread: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...-350-swap.html

The main thing you want to do is make certain that all of the wires and hoses and everything else are disconnected from the engine (and transmission, if you go that route) before you start to take the engine out. Oh, and pics. Take lots and lots of pics, so you'll know where everything goes when you're ready to put it all back together. If you have hedders, drain the oil and remove the oil dipstick tube. Mine caught on the hedders and got a bent a little. If you do take the tranny out, you'll want to cap off the end as soon as it's loose, or your car/truck will 'bleed' all over the place. Removing an engine is not a hard thing to do, but take your time. Having someone there that knows what they're doing is a HUGE plus. If for nothing else, to let you know what to watch for when everything comes out. You'll definitely need help tho, either way. One person to operate the lift, another to watch for anything that might get caught, but if you can, try to avoid having your friends' wives there. They may be nice to look at, but their sarcastic comments won't help the process much. Especially the ones that go "that looks like it hurt."

 

It will bolt up to your existing trans but you still need to grab the wiring harness & pcm to make it run. Adapting it to the camaro engine bay shouldn't be difficult. Is this a carb motor? I'm not a fan of iron dukes but if you plan on making this anything beyond a daily driver you could look into putting a bbc head on there. Might be entertaining.

 

haha ya the beers already waitin for me in the garage. and no i think its got FI on the 2.5

 

Step 1: Sell the 2.5.

Step 2: Buy a running V6 to put in the 'Bird. A 3.1 would be better than another 2.8.

 

Unless the iron duke is free I have to agree with five7kid.

 

Even if the duke is free, Id follow five7kid

A conversion always has hidden bugs to work out that gets expensive. Even more-so when the donor is not the same as the recipient i.e. S10 to Fbody

 

Whats the hate on the duke? It will be fun and different plus he has an entire donor car.

 

I'd look into a 3.4 swap instead. There are a lot of unknowns about attempting a 2.5 swap - exhaust, transmission, a/c, power steering, water pump hoses, wiring, engine accessories. Now I've never done a 3.4 or 3.1 swap but I imagine it could be done with pretty much just swapping out the engine block and not having to figure out how to get all of the other stuff mentioned above to work.

 

The duke makes 90 hp. Think about that, 3rd gens are sluggish with a 305 making double that

Next, add in it would be a conversion so much of the swap is fab work

3.4 swap is a better choice. Junkyards are littered with early 4th gen V6's and the entire long block can swap under the old 2.8 parts. Simple remove and replace

 

Agree unless the 2.5 is free just get a 2.8 or 3.1 out of a junkyard Camaro or from hawks ($350). Truthful even if it was free modding the camaro would mostlikly be more then just getting another 2.8 or 3.1 plus time. I can get one for about $100 around my area, you just have to be willing to take the time to pry the engine out. While the swap will be fun (not really, fun more like lots of time and fewer hp) and different, I don't think it will be worth it at all.

 

Bad plan. Quite apart from the self-evident folly of the 4-cyl business itself.

If you add up the cost of the "free" motor and what all it will take to swap over to it (fuel systme mods, exh system, and so forth), and compare that to the cost of just buying a direct drop-in that DOESN'T require any of that, I think you'll see REAL QUICK that the "free" foreign motor isn't a "deal" at all.

Lowest possible cost swap is going to be, go get a RWD 60° 6-cyl at the junkyard. The other is the path to ruin.

Another option might be, figure out what's wrong with your existing 6-cyl, and fix it. We maybe can help you with that. What REALLY happened to it? What did it do? What have you tried? "Died" doesn't give us much to go on.

 

well im short on cash rite now so its gonna have to wait for the bigger motor. i gotta 327 with performance heads but i need to rebuild it

 

You still have time, sell the 327 to someone who wants a 327 and use the money to build a 350 or a 383!

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...t-fiction.html

 

I understand your problem. Most of us are short on cash but I think in the long run you are better off staying with what a replacement 60 degree v-6. Like has already been said it will cost a lot for the parts for the swap to the 4 cyl. I have seen very low mileage 2.8 for 150. They are not highly sought after but they are pretty reliable. If it came with a 4 cyl and you were short on cash, I would say stick with a 4 cyl. Its the easiest and cheapest solution.

Kevin