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Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 10:48 pm
by 80XOR
Hey guys, first time post, so I bought my 04 liberty 2.5 manual almost a year ago. I love the car, it's fantastic. I was planning on upgrading to a GT or 3.0r in the next few months but I know have an opportunity to borrow a mates car for 3 months, so I thought why not look into a conversion. Obviously a turbo motor would be easier to source and would probably be cheaper but I'm more interested in doing something different and I really like the idea of just straight NA power out of an ez30. So my question is, could someone help me out with a list of what I would need to swap and ez30r and 6 speed into my liberty.
Also I get that it's not the most logical way to spend my time and money but I really just want to know what I would need before I decide.
Thanks

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 6:01 am
by alexxxz
Sell the car now, then you have three months to find a perfect example.

Conversion will not only cost you more, but the car will be worth far less than an actual example. If it were a model which didn't already come with it from factory it would make a bit more sense but this is just doing so much work for something you can just go out and buy plenty of good examples of.

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:40 am
by HardwareBoB
alexxxz wrote:Sell the car now, then you have three months to find a perfect example.

Conversion will not only cost you more, but the car will be worth far less than an actual example. If it were a model which didn't already come with it from factory it would make a bit more sense but this is just doing so much work for something you can just go out and buy plenty of good examples of.

Solid advice.

Also if you have anything on your current car you want to pull off that would suit a GT/3.0 (rims/stereo/vibrating back seat etc) now you have plenty of time to take it back to stock so you can put them on your new car.

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:46 am
by bigBADbenny
6 speeds don't fit into prefl autos - not sure if 5mt's too.

Sell and buy the car closest to what you want and go from there.

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 10:20 am
by 80XOR
Thanks for the replies guys. I know what you're saying is the smart thing to do but I just really want to know what parts I would need to make this conversion happen, apart from the motor, gearbox, ecu and new loom. Like would I need a different instrument cluster or diff or anything like that.
Thanks guys

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 10:43 am
by bigBADbenny
Well you don't state what you plan to do with it, or even a budget.
Or who will do the work and so on. I guess we can't tell where you are either.

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 11:14 am
by HardwareBoB
An engineering certificate because the car is physically different MT to AT and you need to fab a crossmember AIUI. You would also need the rear diff because I think the autos are a different ratio (as well as being a different driveshaft length). I also wouldn't bother converting it to a 5 speed, because it's a lot of time and money when you could have a 6 speed - however the 6 speed will require more fitting, and even the 5 speed may not fit. You will also need new brakes.
You will possibly not NEED a new dash, but it will look weird having the auto stuff in the cluster when the car is a manual.

dr20t went a lot further down this road, and has a lot more invested in his car, and ultimately ended up not doing the 6 speed conversion because it was more hassle than it was worth.

I'm not sure anyone in australia has even done it at all, due to the difficulty involved, given you could just buy a car with an ez30/6speed already. If you were going to do something crazy or unique, say a 1uz with a RWD conversion, that would be worth the hassle, but at the end of months of hard work, sweat, tears, money. You will have a car that is best case, as good as one you could have bought already in that state, and cost you lots more.

Just back-of-the-envelope (good price) second hand numbers here:
EZ30 + bits : $2000 ?
6 speed + bits : $2500 ?
consumables: $ 400 ?
GT/3.0 brakes: $400 ?
You'll have spend more than the value of the car before you get anywhere, and it wont' be worth any more when you are done.

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 11:21 am
by 80XOR
Hey guys, obviously there is some confusion about my current car. It's a manual 5 speed 2.5l na. No auto gearbox in sight. My plan is to upgrade my 5 speed manual to a 6 speed and my 4 cylinder to a 6.
Thanks know for the help.

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 11:28 am
by Robbks

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 11:33 am
by HardwareBoB
80XOR wrote:Hey guys, obviously there is some confusion about my current car. It's a manual 5 speed 2.5l na. No auto gearbox in sight. My plan is to upgrade my 5 speed manual to a 6 speed and my 4 cylinder to a 6.
Thanks know for the help.

Ok, remove the comments about engineering cert, the rear diff/driveshaft still needs to change, the base parts in terms of money don't change, but it makes it possible.

Crazy, but possible.

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 12:12 pm
by 80XOR
Thanks so much for the help guys.
Ok, new question, what about putting in an ej20t rather than an ez30???
Sorry about all the questions...

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 12:15 pm
by HardwareBoB
80XOR wrote:Thanks so much for the help guys.
Ok, new question, what about putting in an ej20t rather than an ez30???
Sorry about all the questions...

Pretty much the same thing from a project standpoint.

Re: Engine Conversion Question??

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 12:18 pm
by 80XOR
Yea that is what I figured.
Thanks for you're help :)