4G63T conversion
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mightymaxin
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4G63T conversion
Hello all! I have been reading through the boards trying to take in a all the useful information. I currently have an 88 MM with a G63B and KM132 tranny. I fell in love with the idea of a DOHC turbo power plant under the hood, but I'm still a little sketchy on the details. Basically I bolt on the head, manifolds, sensors, ECU, harness, oil pump cover, pulleys, and plumbing from a 1G DSM onto my block. Or is that way too over-simplified?
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carguyf545
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mightymaxin
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So, where did you have problems during the swap? I thought as long as the head came from a 6 bolt narrow block everything was the same except for some minor mods to the pump cover and timing belt stuff. I am in no rush for this project, I want to get all the facts before undertaking anything. I read that the only difference between the 4G63T and G63B is a slightly different bore and stroke, and the timing belt arrangement is different.
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mightymaxin
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DJpowerHaus
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The first half of the swap is pretty simple. If you have all the parts you can bolt everything together in a matter of minutes and have it bolted in the car within a day.
That's where it stops being simple. You'll need to do some fabrication on the intake manifold. You'll need to fab up IC pipes, water pipes, exhaust pipes, water and oil lines for the turbo, modify your wiring harness, modify any clutch lines, etc. At many points you'll need to get to things on the back of the head and you'll need to pull the engine in and out.
Lets just say the clock STARTS when you bolt the engine in with the transmission for the first time. We've all seen posts "4G63 swap almost running" with an engine bolted in with nothing hooked up.
That's where it stops being simple. You'll need to do some fabrication on the intake manifold. You'll need to fab up IC pipes, water pipes, exhaust pipes, water and oil lines for the turbo, modify your wiring harness, modify any clutch lines, etc. At many points you'll need to get to things on the back of the head and you'll need to pull the engine in and out.
Lets just say the clock STARTS when you bolt the engine in with the transmission for the first time. We've all seen posts "4G63 swap almost running" with an engine bolted in with nothing hooked up.

Getting the engine bolted in is about 10% of the way there.
The next 80% can go quickly with help and skill.
That last 10% takes about as long as the 90% that came before it.
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mightymaxin
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yeah if you give up just reading about it dont try to start this projectmightymaxin wrote:From my understanding the real work is in all the little bits and wiring, right? The more I read into this the more I find that this swap might not be for me. Thanks to all he shared insight. Who knows I might change my mind later if I still have the truck.

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DJpowerHaus
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Over the next few months I'm going to try and change some of this. You'll have to spend some $$ on it though. I think the time saved will more than make up for the expenditure.

Getting the engine bolted in is about 10% of the way there.
The next 80% can go quickly with help and skill.
That last 10% takes about as long as the 90% that came before it.
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mightymaxin
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Bill Hincher
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4g63mightymax
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I agree 100% and would also like to add:Old Colt wrote:Correct,
Definition of a simple swap.
5-10 hours to get the engine in the chassis.
50-100 hours to make it run and drive.
5 hours of pulling the engine + trans back out of the chassis once you realize that bashing in the firewall with a hammer was a BAD idea.
20-30 hours to make the firewall presentable again.
1000 hours of wishing you had just done it right the first time.
Let us know when you are ready!
-Jeremy