Ecotec 2.4 motor swap - ordered motor now what? LOL

[BajaLobster]

So I sold my VW motor and decided to go Ecotec! First I tried to buy a turnkey package but found the overall cost although very fair and competitive , to be more than I personally should be spending.

I ordered a junkyard 2007 2.4 ecotec shipped to the house for $600. This is about $1200 less than the local yard wanted.

I have spent several weeks reading all I could find on the conversion and have a pretty good idea of what parts I need and which vendors to get them from. What I do not know much about is what I have to do to the motor itself to "convert" it for my use.

For instance, I favor the idea of a standalone harness and ecu such as available from cbm or afi, but they are speed density or do I start trying to trim the factory harness and find an ecu and tuner. I don't know any tuners and then do I keep the MAF?

What other sensors are "supposed" to stay. I know there is a water block off for the heater circulation but what about the power steering block or is there a power steering block off issue on the 2.4?

Any and all help is appreciated.

[Dale M.]

Might want to look at Megasquirt for ECU and fab your own harness.... MS wants simple sensor systems, and they may already be on motor.... IT wants coolant temp, Air temp, MAP, TPS and OXY, and not much more... Not only does it do fuel it can do wasted spark + crank fire ignition....

http://www.megamanual.com/index.html

Graphic show it in simplest form, you can go EXOTIC from here...

https://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/index.php

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewforum.php?f=23&sid=42a7090c1e15cc26e5cc046132cd24db

Dale
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All suggestions and advice are purely my own opinion. You are free to ignore them if you wish ...

[murdoch44]

Where to begin? I am not an off-reader, but I have been acquiring the parts and knowledge to put a 2.4 Ecotec in my Bay Window. Some of what I have learned you might find useful. I have a 2.2 and a 2.4 up and running on engine stands in stand alone configuration. Here are some pointers to get you started: Join the Ecotec Forum for engine specific info, tons of good advice and info. I used a GM or stock computer and made my own harness. It is cheaper and not hard at all. I sourced the wiring diagram from AlldataDIY.COM. You will need to get the security codes disabled in the ECM. There are good sources for that or you can do it yourself with HP Tuners. There are also good build threads in the Bay forum and here that used the Ecotec. Most used the 2.2 motor. The 2.4 has variable valve timing so I am not sure how that will interface with a non-stock computer. It also has a drive by wire throttle body. That can be changed out with a 2.2 throttle body that uses a cable pull; however, you would have to use the 2.2 manifold. The 2.4 manifold is better even though it looks the same. The 2007 2.4 is one of the two years that used forged rods. With the right bolt on parts, turbo, headers & such you can get 260 HP, with a cam upgrade and retuning, 400 HP is possible without changing any of the bottom end because it is so strong. There are plenty of vendors for the Ecotec stuff you will need. Google is your friend. Good Luck

[BajaLobster]

Thank you, I have reviewed the megasquirt and it is definitely beyond anything that I care to take on myself. I will go with some version of the stock e67 ecm and harness and have no choice but to find a local tuner or drive until I find one as I will be setting up a turbo to boost at 15lbs as well. That said the le5 that I bought is 2007 for the forged internals and I intend to keep the DBW. Hopefully will find upwards of 300 hp.

Murdoch - if you have a 2.4 mockup, can you elaborate on what physical parts of the block get changed or altered for a motor swap?

Thanks

[murdoch44]

None are needed. The 2.4 were in cars that had drive by wire steering; therefore, no power steering block off plate needed. The heater outlet/inlet lines can be eliminated with an aftermarket milled piece, available from a couple of suppliers of off road engine stuff. There are plenty of hard points on the block for any number of mounting options. In your first post, you asked about sensors. The second O2 sensor (the one downstream for the Catalytic converter) is the only one that can be eliminated. If you are going to build your own harness and use a stock computer, get everything from a single donor car, preferably the model your motor came from. It will be the easiest.

[BajaLobster]

Thank you, good stuff. For a water cooled turbo, it appears there are no freeze plugs - Do you think it would be worth pursuing the heater in/out for use for the turbo cooler instead of blocking them off?

[BajaLobster]

Can anyone tell me what this black hose is coming from the intake manifold just under the throttle body? What to do with it for my bug?
Thanks

[BajaLobster]

Just to update - Steve Humphries will build a new harness for me. I have changed to an 091 trans and remounted so that the firewall does not need to be cut. Engine is mounted and cage is currently being fabricated.

Can anyone give advice on plugging the brake assist and EVAP lines coming from the intake manifold. I assume I will just cap them off?

Thanks

[md perf]

do yourself a favor: get ahold of Alphafab. that's all they do is eco swaps.

http://www.alphafabindustries.com/
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They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time, it works every time

[BajaLobster]

Just thought I'd vent a bit here since its been a long time since I was actually ripped off and maybe I take it personally.

The short version is he is a really nice guy, but I am left with a worthless computer system E37 that I don't know what to do with.

I sent Steve Humphrey the following on July 15, 2014.


Description Unit price Qty Amount
2.4 ecotec system-8 wire t/b, ls alt $850.00 1 $850.00
O2 sensor $40.00 1 $40.00
Maf sensor $50.00 1 $50.00
Pedal $65.00 1 $65.00
Subtotal $1,005.00
sales tax 8% $80.40
Total $1,085.40 USD

Payment sent to stephen humphrey
Invoice ID 000112851

Since that date I have had my car running a total of 7 days. For the first 7 days everything went very well. On day #8 the motor no longer received spark. I troubleshot EVERYTHING on the motor for 2 weeks by replacing every sensor then returned the ecm to him. He kept it for 3 weeks and agreed it had failed and then sent me a "new" one, but the new one is not tuned correctly or has some other problem and the motor will now start and run but it runs very rough and therefore is not driveable.

For all of you who are thinking the obvious - maybe there is another problem...I yanked the motor this week and replaced it with another. Guess what ? Both motors run like crap in the same way. The controller is bad. Also, I actually receive a PO606 - ECM bad error message when scanning the ecm!

I have not heard from him since - he will not return my calls. I find it interesting that the reason that I went with him over some others was for the simple fact that someone posted that he was easy to get a hold of.

I am now facing having to purchase a complete new unit from CBM, but they do not deal with the E37 so unit and harness will have to go.

At this point, I have been completely abandoned by Steve.

[WrRider]

If it makes you fell alitle better I called him a couple times last week and left message to purchase a computer and he has not responded, I know it doesn't make your car go but its not just you.
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=508856&highlight=wrrider

[BajaLobster]

Not really feeling any better as I found him posting 12 hours ago on ecotecforum.com.

[md perf]

[BajaLobster]

LOL Now I feel better. I did send him an email yesterday, but no response yet. I suspect he does not want to deal with the E37 as it is not a speed density setup - one of the reasons I did not use him originally.

[md perf]

huh. heard nothing but good things, you should give him a call.....

sucks about your situation, sorry man
_________________
They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time, it works every time

[ORANGECRUSHer]

He's probably gone through all the spare POS ECMs he had laying around his shop and doesn't want to have to find or buy a new one for you.
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Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[Alpha Fab]

[ORANGECRUSHer]

Hey I'm sorry I offended you. I just see a lot of that sort of thing going on with people making custom pieces. You make good with Lobster and I stand corrected. Just keep in mind a quick communication with paying customer goes a long way to avoiding these kind of frustrated reactions.
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Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[BajaLobster]

I'm sure no one was trying to upset you Shaun as the recent posting is about my experience with the Stand Up Guy Steve Humphrey.


It s a shame that so many threads on the internet get hijacked or turned into some ridiculous rant, but looks like this one is going that direction....


I've owned Steve's $1100 box of wires / pcm for about 90 days, of which the car ran for 3 weeks...with a lot of error codes that Steve told me not to worry about.


I'd say that since the pcm failed about 5 or 6 weeks ago and Steve has not returning my phone calls since - I've been officially ripped off.


Now that said, I'm over it and Steve. I'm only interested in fixing my car.


My "local tuner" priced me at $700, spent an hour with the car and told me he couldn't "get into it" and politely declined...didn't charge me a penny.


I mailed it to CBM. CBM turned me down and sent the pcm back to me. They were very nice, sympathetic and accommodating but said they could not service the setup as it stood and could "try" if I could get the car to them sometime towards the middle of November. They also offering me a MEFI5 solution at $1600 which is nice but I am still trying to salvage this POS setup.


Moving on to fixing my car - I need to purchase $500 HPtuners and a few different E37s, spend about 100 to 200 hours learning about tuning, start switching sensors, throttle bodies, injectors and probably in the end - motors until I get this heap running...Or of course I could just hire a professional to fix the car right?


Shaun, are you that professional? If so, I'm ready. What would you like to do? I've sent you an email with some details. Thanks

[Alpha Fab]