1.6 DOHC to KLZE. Need more info please!!!

[tmac_90]

Hello everyone, this is honestly my last resort... I have a 1996 Mx3 1.6 DOHC... I could not find any detailed information on the 1.6 to KLZE swap. Most of what I read suggests that the swap is more difficult and better on the 1.8 V6.

Here's my situation:

Long story short, a friend of mine lost his license and has ever since wanted to sell me his 1996 Mx3 with a KLZE engine. He hasn't bothered posting it online or anywhere else. It's been about 2 months now and the price went down from $900 for the whole car, to just $400 recently. I had previously gotten over the idea of swapping to a KLZE after having read that it wasn't a good move, but now... seeing as my friend sounds desperate, 400$ does sound like a good deal. Now the idea was to take his car to a garage and see what parts I can salvage and whether or not he could do the swap...

Here's a list of what I can use from his car

-Front Windshield (mine has a crack)
-Rear Windshield (his is tinted)
-Front Suspensions (mine are finished)
-Black Leather Seats
-All 4 original Mx3 mags
-Maybe rear brake disks????

And finally the engine itself with roughly 75000km.
He also changed his entire exhaust and put a cold air intake

Now my question to you guys... Do you think, for 400$ CA that all these things would be worth getting???
AND IS THE SWAP POSSIBLE???? If I can't do the swap, could I sell the engine for a reasonable amount??? HOW much more difficult is it? Will I have to replace many more parts?

I love my car, I just wish it had a bit more kick to it... And this Klze would pretty much double it lol.
I really want to do the swap, I just don't want it to be too much of a hassle, and by hassle I mean in my wallet...

So please everyone, I'd love some feedback... This has been on my mind for forever and I really can't find too much info on the subject. Mainly I need to know whether or not it's worth me getting the car for 400$..

Thank you all
Gabi

[RS_OBD'oh_2]

I have no idea how people still seem to ask this question.

Aside from you owning the 1 year of mx3 that the dealerships don't know jack about... This swap is not a good idea. If you wish to do so, it is said that you'll need a v6 donor car. You will need everything in the engine bay.

I'm not too sure where the idea or rear discs came from. The RS only has drums on the back. This is also a swap that must be done right or not at all.

There is nothing easy about the 96 RS... expect a new ecu and full wireharness replacement, whatever you decide.

If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it.

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[Dark_Rider2k3]

Well if the kid buys the V6, I don't see how it's too hard. Considering he'll be ripping out the old motor and everything.

If you do the swap, just realize you need everything in the V6 engine bay. I don't know what all is involved as I'm swapping into the BP, but I do know from previous stuff that you will have to take everything out of the V6 engine bay and swap it into your engine bay... including the mounts, subframe..

and while your at it, swap out the rear discs..

[wytbishop]

In order for this to be worth while you have to have everything on hand. It seems that you do and at a very good price. The trouble you’re going to have is that because NOBODY does this anymore nor has anyone done it for many years, there is very little specific documentation on exactly what you need to do.

If I were in the situation you are with my knowledge of the car I could do the swap. But then it’s not my first rodeo. Even at that though, working evenings and weekends it would still take me a long time to complete. It might be a little daunting for someone who is a) not too familiar with the GS and b) I’m guessing here, but perhaps not extremely experienced with a wrench.

If you had the help of a guy who was very knowledgeable I would say why the hell not? If you’re thinking you can do it on your own, I would say prepare for months of frustration.

[Nd4SpdSe]

Now my question to you guys... Do you think, for 400$ CA that all these things would be worth getting???
AND IS THE SWAP POSSIBLE???? If I can't do the swap, could I sell the engine for a reasonable amount??? HOW much more difficult is it? Will I have to replace many more parts?

The swap is alot of difficult from a 4cyl Mx-3. Basically you'd need to replace everything in the engine bay. Engine mount member, mounts, radator, swap the wiring harness, along with the motor, trans and axles. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things too.

Indeed the Mx-3 was designed to accept the 4cyl and v6, but each car is totally different when it comes to their own.

Not sure why you don't just buy that guys car and use it

[ninjajim4]

i for one am totally against huge conversions that basically give you stock results. rear disk swap, auto to manual, 92 to 94 dash swaps come to mind. why would you do all the work just to get to where everyone else started out? if you really want those things, look for a car with those things. in all those cases, i guarantee you the time and effort involved is less, and probably the money as well.

if you have your heart set on a ZE, you could sell your 4 banger and have enough money to buy that ZE AND a decent v6 shell to put it in. you haven't really said what's wrong with that ZE you're buying or why you couldn't fix it up.

[umcamara]

i for one am totally against huge conversions that basically give you stock results. rear disk swap, auto to manual, 92 to 94 dash swaps come to mind. why would you do all the work just to get to where everyone else started out? if you really want those things, look for a car with those things. in all those cases, i guarantee you the time and effort involved is less, and probably the money as well.

if you have your heart set on a ZE, you could sell your 4 banger and have enough money to buy that ZE AND a decent v6 shell to put it in. you haven't really said what's wrong with that ZE you're buying or why you couldn't fix it up.

I understand where you're coming from, however, I for one am in the middle of a slow-going 4-6 conversion. There's a lot of pride involved in knowing that you've done the work yourself, instead of plunking down cash for exactly what you want to end up with.

It takes awhile, but if you have the donor vehicle, and cash for the parts that you really should replace with new ones, go for it.

The worst part is probably the encounter of rusted in bolts (if you live in a corrosive environment). A decent impact gun and lots of liquid wrech, PB Blaster, etc will be your best friends.

[wytbishop]

I’m all about doing what makes me happy. Does it always make perfect sense? No. People are always trying to talk me out of stuff.

It’s a better hobby than a lot of others.

[TMP39]

DOO ITTTT!!!!!

i payed !)) can for my second mx# with klze and everythings there. all im pretty much going to do for the swap is drop the whole subframe and engine and suspension i nthe front right out hte bottom with the steering rack and everything you need. and im going to do the same in the back just drop the subframe. it makes it easier the pull it piece by piece.

im hopefuly going to do it for next summer. and maybe il put up pics of how it goes. but since most people on here are against it cause they have never attempted it them selves i probly wont.

[tmac_90]

Wow, I did not expect so many replies in one day lol. First of all, thanks... Second, to answer a few of your questions... My mx is 96, but I'm pretty sure it's a 95 that was sold in 96. When I bought the car, I couldn't find anything about the 96... Then my mechanic confirmed it was a 95 (because he could not find the ECU lol). So yeah another thing... the other guy's car needs to pass inspection... He had 2 mx3 before and pretty much kept the one with the better frame and took as much as he could from the other one. His Mx is basically half green, half black... and blabla he got into an accident, officer pretty much ordered an inspection to be done. He also lost his license. The car outside isn't very appealing, bumper hanging etc etc... He hasn't driven it for almost 2 months, it's been sitting there, tires slowly deflating lol. But everything under the hood looks great (yes, looks! I still haven't gone to see my mechanic, but I'm almost certain there shouldn't be anything major).

A lot of you guys saying I will need a bunch of stuff from the V6... and I'll have it all with the car!!! Won't I??? So really how much of an issue can this be?

Also, yesterday while painting my brake calibers red (sounded so easy, had to do it), I looked to see how bad my front shocks were (I knew they needed replacing)... REALLY BAD, I'm talking broken bad. And this has to be dealt with asap, I am not driving my car much longer in its present condition...

So fix the suspensions???? Or buy the damn 400$ car, and if its front suspensions are good, use em and anything else I can use??? (like the list I mentioned in my first post)... I'll only have to pay for labor.

I have to decide soon. Right now, honestly it just looks like it'll be a smart move to buy the car... Worst case, I'm sure I could find a buyer for the engine. I'll sell it for cheap just to make some of the money I spent on my MX back.

As for the swap, it seems like I'm at square one again! I've already ruled out that this is not the kinda job I can do... I mean, I'd love to do it, but I'm not ready for such a big job. I'm good with basic stuff, but nothing too detailed hands on.

So I'm gonna check with the garage I go too, if they're confident they can do the swap at a reasonable price, then I may move forward with it. Otherwise, KLZE for sale :D:D haha

Let me know what your final thoughts are on all of this.

Thanks aaaaa looottt guys

[umcamara]

In that case, don't bother. Buy a GS. If you're paying somebody to do it, you'll be better off burning your money.
I wasn't aware, when I posted my reply, that you wouldn't be the one doing the work.

I see absolutely no advantage in doing what you origianlly intended. There's no emotional attachment/satisfaction involved in paying somebody to work on your car.

[tmac_90]

Yeah I know what you mean... Selling my car and buying a V6 would be ideal... Except I've already put way too much money into mechanical reparations... I bought the car for 2200 and have since dropped about 800$ into it... Starter, Axle, brakes, small things here and there... I would love the KLZE but if that means that I'd have to get another MX3 and sell mine... I wouldn't do it. I probably won't get half of what I paid for it...

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to do the swap... I'm just not ready for it... And for the price I'm getting the car for, if my mechanic can give me a reasonable price for everything that needs to be done... it's still an option for me. As for emotional attachment/satisfaction, I see no reason why I won't be satisfied by getting the KLZE. I know what you mean though, but at this point I'm stuck with my MX for at least another year or so. If I can turn my 1.6 zippy little engine into a sexy 2.5 rrrarrrrrrrr, then I'm sure I'd be satisfied enough lol.

So for the swap... it's still a maybe... But as for parts, I'm probably going to get the car.

Thanks

[RS_OBD'oh_2]

if you did enough research, you could swap a bp or turbo the b6 you already have and end up with more power than the ze. There are no easy roads to power. You really need to check if you have an obdi or II.. check for the obd2 diag port under the passanger side of the dash. If your mech can't find the ecu.. I don't trust him.

It's going to cost thousands to have your mech do the swap!

[Ryan]

No swappy! Baaad. You've got the WORST combination going on. (likely) OBDII RS looking at a swap that works best in an OBDI GS.

If you can't turn a wrench, stay away from ruined cars.

Sure you could sell that motor to someone on here though. They'd probably pull it themselves too.

Where are you located?

[tmac_90]

Montreal. Yeah it'd probably be best I let her go to someone else. I'll post it up on MX3 Quebec soon. only 27 posts to go