Newbie needs help with engine conversion!

[miker76]

Hi guys, I've had this 1989 2.6 5-speed trooper II for a loong time, the body is immaculate, interior very clean, but it keeps having engine problems. The head has been redone 4 imes in the last 10 years, the head gasket been replaced 5 times. It keeps running bad, etc...

I want to change the engine, and swap it with something more reliable.

I can go two different directions with this;

1-get a 2.8 engine, wiring harness and tranny, (i assume the tranny needs to be from swapped as bellhousings don't match?) maybe a rear diff, to match the gearing in the v6 tranny?
and just convert the truck to 2.8...Anyone know where i can find an engine wiring harness and ecu for a 2.8?

or

2-is there any company out there who makes bellhousing adapters to bolt in other types of engines on the stock tranny? I'm thinking a VW tdi, or even td, etc...

Anyone have any info on this?

Thanks in advance guys!

[magnum]

Just my 2 cents....

The 2.8 v6 route will be labor intensive and gain you not much more power than a good running 2.6.:shaking:

If you want a reliable 2.6, get an AMC head and a Delta camshaft and you'll never see another head gasket problem for 100k miles.:smokin:

I had mine for 4 years and love it. Delta cam add lots of low end and mid range torque. (Calmini cam is better at higher rpm with a header)

Again, just my opinion.
Good luck with your project.

Karl

[mlclark]

I agree with Karl.

But, it also sounds like you have block problems too. Rare, but possible. Along with all the head work and gasket replacements, did anyone ever check the block for being straight? Were the head bolt holes chased? Was the cooling system serviced (including a new radiator)? How many times did they resurface the head? Did they ever check the clearance on the alignment dowels?

There are lots of reasons for the problems you are having. $500 in a new head from AMC and a new gasket may solve most of them, but the rest need to be addressed too.

To answer your question a bit more directly, no there is no easy engine swap. A 2.8 swap would be a PITA and you would be better off buying a 2.8 Trooper and ditching your 2.6 rig. No adapters are made and any other engine swaps would require lots of work, plus an engine/tranny/transfer case swap.

Good Luck,
Michael

[miker76]

Hi Guys, thanks for the replies, your opinions are greatly appreciated.
Karl, i don't really care about power, my other projects take care of that ;) , all I really want is a reliable engine. I have no faith in this 2.6 anymore!
Michael, the block was checked twice already. The bottom end was sent out to an engine builder along with the head on two occasions and checked out very good. The truck only has 140,000kms, (about 80k miles or so).
The rad was replaced last year, also, the 4 injectors, coolant sensor, two oxygen sesnors, maf, etc...

I hear you on selling my truck and buying a 2.8, but they are really rare where i come from, and like I said above, my truck is in REALLY good condition body, interior and drivetrain-wise.

So, even if I do buy an amc head, I will still have the driveability problems, rough idle, hunting idle, etc that seem to plague this car.

You can see why i would prefer an engine swap?!

Thanks again guys!

[mlclark]

Actually, the 2.6 is pretty bombproof. I would take my 2.6 over a 2.8 any day. But that comes with a bit of a caveat.

It has to be maintained. Valve adjustments are killer. Coolant every two years or sooner. It cannot be overheated.

I am still not sure what the cause of your head problem is.

Was the engine rebuilt, or just checked out? I trust a rebuilder about as far as I can throw the pig of a 2.6 block. Which is not very far. Their goal is often not quality, but production, production, production.

If it was not rebuilt, then the block was not tanked. Who knows how much crud it in the passageways.

Other than that, keep the vacuum lines connected and uncracked, make sure the air tube is not cracked. Make sure the sensors are working and these things will run forever.

It sounds like some of your problem comes from others doing the work for you? While these are not maintenance intensive engines, they do not like being neglected. It is hard to trust others to keep the same kind of eye on it as you would.

Good Luck,
Michael

[SSSRodeo]

If you end up going to the trouble of going to the 2.8 L v-6, why not go ahead and bump it up to 3.4 L v-6 out of a Camero.

Not that much difference in the engine until you step on the pedal. Parts are cheap and the 3.4 is almost a bolt in. Other than the wiring harness.

I know a guy who owns a 2.8 L tranny and a rebuildable 2.8L engine if you want to go that way. I have another friend who probably has a 2.8 wiring harness. Which will work with the 3.4L with a few changes. The engine swap is very well documented. We just converted his Trooper to the 3.4L but used his 2.8 tranny cause he had new lower ratio transfer case gears in it. It looks like it came from the factory with that motor. It'll run Highway speeds all day with 33" tires and 5:38 gears. It has ARB's in both ends and will climb like a goat.

I drove the Trooper the tranny came out of before we stripped it and it's in great shape.

Not that I'm pimping his stuff for any reason other than to help you out. Since you are aparently in Canada or someplace since your talking kilometers instead of miles shipping will be a bitch. But your local yards may have what you need.


Troopers in great body and interior shape are getting hard to find. Engines are everywhere. So I'd keep it too.

Just another avenue to look at.


SSSRodeo