Yes we have done it and it felt great to accomplish the mission given that all the team members got no previous experience with such projects and the fact that high level technical support doesn't exist (a shop with an OBD scanner is a thing of a wonder in here).
I am going to detail the steps we went through along with pics and all taken during the 3 days of the project but at first I am going to do this little introduction to illustrate why did we start this project in the first place.
The first time my buddy Zikas talked to me he said that he wants more power out of his 1.6 DOHC Nubira so I asked him ?what mods do you have on it?? and he replied ? I have CIA with K&N filter, 8.8 spark plug wires, split fire sparks, chocochip? the whole nine yards? so I simply replied ?you need to swap in a 2.0!?, I know he could have turboed the 1.6 but given the technical facilities in this country; even if we installed the turbo we wont be able to fine tune it at all, there are no dynos in Egypt.
Since then and Zikas was thinking of my words and I really didn?t think he would do that but I noticed that the man is determined and after he got the financial requirement for the swap I introduced him to my mechanic and we started the works.
Day 1:
Zikas and me went to the mechanic and in turn he took us to the used car parts shop, the guy has more than 50 different Daewoo engines including the 1.6 DOHC that fits the Lanos and the 2.0 that fit the Nubira, we made a deal to trade in the 1.6 DOHC and we got things arranged for picking up the engine next morning.
The guy that owns the shop has a 2001 Lanos and he swapped in a 1.6 DOHC? the guy said that the Lanos, Nubira and Leganza uses the same ECU and the Lanos will require suspension modifications to fit in the 1.6? at first I thought that that was bull shit as I was under the impression that all lanoses got the same suspension and the lanos and Nubira got different ECU?s and I had no idea about the Leganza ECU.
Day2:
We picked up the engine and it was a T20SED engine and we got no idea about its previous history at all? that?s why a throughout inspection was needed and we were not going to accept the engine until it was dropped in the car and it was scanned and tested? the preliminary check came out OK and the engine seemed good but that is not enough of course.
The next step was taking out the 1.6 DOHC out of the car? it is a piece of cake for the mechanic as he already done that some 1000 times before? now the real project starts.
The mechanic stripped out the engine wiring harness up to the ECU to see how will the new engine will fit the existing harness? surprisingly enough the Nubira got the same 2 socket ECU as the Lanos, the old goat at the parts shop was right.
First thing we noticed while fitting the harness is that the O2 sensor on 2.0 got 2 wires, a cam sensor, electrically controlled EGR valve whereas the 1.6 engine?s O2 sensor got only 1 wire, no cam position sensor and vacuum operated EGR valve. Also we found a sensor on the 2.0 intake that we didn?t know what the hell is it for.
We simply switched the O2 sensor from the 1.6 engine, bypassed the cam position sensor and we tried to swap the EGR valves but the mounting base and holes between both are not the same so we couldn?t do that? we had to replace the whole part so that was the first on the ?replaced parts? list.
It seems there are two versions of ECUs where the first is for the countries that got pollution requirements and those got the 3 sockets, dual O2 sensors, dual catalytic converters and cam position sensor, the other is for the countries that don?t give a damn about pollution ? like Egypt ? and those got 2 socket ECU, one CAT, one O2 sensor and no cam position sensor. We had to make the 2.0 a ?pollution version? to make it kit the ECU we have.
Also we had concerns regarding the oil filter on the 2.0 as we were not sure if their was enough chassis clearance for it on the car but that won?t really show up till the engine is dropped into the engine bay.
We also noticed that the front engine mount on the 1.6 is different than the one on the 2.0; the 1.6 one got the center threading a bit off the line joining both screws on the ends, the 2.0 got all three on the same line so this means that the 1.6 aluminum mount won?t fit? another part on the ?replaced parts? list.
screws and thread not on the same line:
1.6 DOHC Nubira mount:
2.0 DOHC Nubira mount:
We tried to fit the 1.6 flywheel on the 2.0 but it didn?t fit as well seems like the 2.0 fly wheel is a little different in shape - ?replaced parts? list - plus the clutch on the 1.6 was almost dead so we went out and got a new clutch assembly and replaced the EGR, fly wheel and engine mount.
We tried to fit the 2.0 flywheel using the 1.6 fly wheel?s screws but those were too short? again we had to replace them and we finally could fit the damn clutch and then we fitted the tranny back on.
After almost all the parts were put back on the 2.0 we had little problems fitting the engine mount that is between the radiator base and the engine side, the thing had to be twisted a little bit to fit both the tranny bell house and the engine block?extra work needed here but we managed to do it in the end, now the engine is ready to be dropped in.
Day 3:
The mechanic started work in the morning and did drop the engine into the car, front engine mount and oil filter clearance issues are well covered? now for the hard bit.
A little problem was the exhaust? the bottom flange on the 2.0 header won?t fit the flange on the down pipe of the Nubira, we got a short pipe with the correct flange but we now have to weld it to the existing exhaust system? we decided to do that after we get the engine started.
The problems we have at this stage were rather irritating because of the fact that the 1.6 got VIGS and vacuum operated EGR? now the VGIS is gone and we swapped from the 1.6 so where to fit what vacuum lines??
He got a load of vacuum lines that we didn?t know which goes where? extra lines from the VGIS trigger, no connections to the EGR and a whole mess of every thing, even the mechanic was furious about that? we just went for a smoke and started to think about it in a logical way.
mechanic checking vacuum lines:
We got this sorted out by removing all the extra lines for the old VGIS and fitting the 1.6?s EGR trigger to operate the old vacuum EGR, fitted the lines for the MAP and FPR and all seemed to be OK? we were expecting a CEL after this total mess and that was not looking to be solid.
Now for the fuel rail? the one on the 1.6 got the feed on the passenger?s side and the return on the driver?s side on the 2.0 this goes the other way round so the lines from and to the fuel rail had to be replaced. We got a long line for the return line but the feed line had to be very short that we couldn?t find a fuel line to fit so we used a standard issue rubber line to do the connection? again a thing that doesn?t look that solid but we are trying to let the engine run so that we can judge if it is worth buying or not.
Also the gas pedal?s wire was a bit long for the 2.0 as the TB in the 1.6?s VGIS was further to the passenger side than the one on the 2.0? we bent the wire?s frame a little to fit the cable for the time being until we buy a Leganza gas pedal wire to sort this out.
final checkup before starting it up:
Now every thing back in place we are ready for cranking the engine? 3 cranks and it was running and it was loud as hell, the exhaust pipe is just 12" long with no mufflers at all, we got a CEL ?cause the IAT was disconnected and after we hooked it up the CEL was gone? things are starting to look nice.
We filled up coolant and PWS fluid and kept it running to monitor the operation and all? the feedback was good so far but the exhaust was killing our ears.
My mechanic went for the first test drive and he headed for his cousin ? another Daewoo mechanic ? for getting a second opinion? after some 20 minutes both came back with a big smile on their faces, we knew then that the engine is fine and the project is a success? we still have things to do though.
We couldn?t really hear the engine sound because the exhaust sound was insanely loud and we couldn?t hear a thing? we went to an exhaust shop ? with the hood off the car ? to get the exhaust welded and fitted correctly.
Now with the exhaust killing all the noise the engine sound was really nice? a powerful grunt whenever it was revved up? no CEL so far and it is looking real nice. Zikas went for a fast test and was squealing wheels all over the place with the loads of torque spinning the 205/45/16 wheels on the sand covered tarmac? tire marks were all over the place.
After he parked the car we listened to the engine and their was a loud sucking noise? after tracing it we discovered that a big chunk of the intake manifold?s gasket is missing causing a big air leak? we added that to the shopping list as well as new timing belt, idling pulleys, tensioner and cam cover gasket
Now it was my turn for a test drive? the damn thing is very very torquey? remember I came out of a 1.5 SOHC to test a 2.0 DOHC so the experience was amazing, I couldn?t even shift to second gear as the car was up to some 60 km/h in first gear and the brakes are not that good plus the dust on the tarmac makes it very slippery yet after 6 or 7 times accelerating hard on 1st gear you know that the car is hungry for an open road.
While I was parking the car the CEL came on and the engine revs were going from 1000 to 2000 back and forth? I was thinking, ?Shit I have damaged the car!?? The mechanic came and tried to reset the ECU but that didn?t fix the problem so he checked the IAC and cleaned it up yet still the problem still exists. He went for the TPS and took it off and cleaned it and put it back, the CEL went off and the idling was back to normal? only then I could breath again.
Now the engine was approved and officially bought? we now need to get it back to action and clean it up and fine-tune it.
Day 4:
At the afternoon Zikas and me went for shopping and bough fuel injector cleaner, coolant flush, WD 40 as well as new intake manifold gasket, timing belt, idling pulleys, tensioner and cam cover gasket and went for the mechanic? we got the intake off and cleaned it, their was a load of crap in it and replaced the intake gasket then switched to the timing belt and tensioner and pulleys? the water pump was looking good so we didn?t replace it but that was not the case with the PWS pump? it was so noisy so we had to take it off to replace it at the parts shop as well ac the timing belt cover as it was cracked.
After we got all this back we started the cosmetic work? cleaned up the Splitfire 8.8mm wires, re cleaned the TB and IAC housing, cleaned all the crappy numbers on the top engine cover, refitted the CAI and the K&N filter.
me during the IAC cleanup:
cleaned up Splitfire 8.8mm cables:
We did a brakes fluid flush using ATE DOT4 fluid as the old fluid was never flushed before? probably why the brakes felt so crappy? having all that done the car was now ready to kick ass on the road.
Co. mechanic enjoying himself during rear brakes bleed:
Again Zikas and I went for a test drive with the engine fully tuned and cleaned up? it is really fast as hell and the sound it phenomenal? we gave some cars waaaaay much of a head start and we always caught them back, the brakes test was very good too, now you can drive the car fast with no brakes fear whatsoever? the flush job is really recommended guys.
the team that did the project: Zikas, M.Abdo & MMamdouh:
The beast sparkling after cleaning up and cosmetics:
Now we are on a vacation after those 4 days of hard labor? we still have to flush the radiator and fill with proper coolant and replace the old oil and filter and flush the engine then put new oil? we haven?t decided yet on that but most probably within the up coming couple of days.
Will keep you guys posted.
MMamdouh
