How hard is the 2.3T swap?

[Biffmeistro]

I've seen quite a bit on everything you need for the 2.3T swap, but I just would like to know... How hard is it?

I'm not the best mechanic, but I rather well can get by. (If I take it apart, I can easily put it back together, and learn quite a bit in the process)

If I were to aquire the necessary parts for the swap, would I be able to do it in a weekend?

My current car is my only car, so I don't want do start something that has a high chance of failure, or is incredibly difficult, because I need to get to work.

So is it really that hard to do?

 

[RustBucket]

If you don't get crazy with it and stay focused, the motor swap itself can be done in less than a day. The plumbing, wiring, debugging may take longer than a day based on the condition of the parts and your skill set. It's not a difficult job, there are just some tedious aspects that may run longer than anticipated. You should also take Murphy's Law into account. Mr. Murphy always shows up when you need him the least.

If it were me, I'd gather everything I know I need, then gather a few things I think I might need, then wait for a long holiday weekend or even take some vacation time. This way you're not up 'til 2:00am Monday morning trying to get it back together to drive it to work in a couple of hours.

 

[towbar]

Its not the easiest thing to do, but its not the hardest either. If you work at it and have everything before hand, you should be able to finish it in a weekend. The killer is when you have to constantly run to the parts store to get stuff. Just be sure to take your time with the wiring, do it right the first time.

 

[certified_ninja]

manual

whats a good manual to do the 2.3 to 2.3 turbo swap, and someone know of a parts list of stuff you'd need/might need?

 

[Shawneebear93]

There's no "manual" but there's some good guidelines over at www.stinger-performance.com and I don't know a complete list of what you'll need but I'm sure you can find most of the stuff you'll need there as well.

 

[mg man]

Your best way to go is find 87 to 88 turbo thunderbird 5-speed if you can get one or automatic and find 5-speed elsewhere. Since this is your only car get the Thunderbird running perfectly so no surprizes when you convert. Read Stinger's site. What is left over sell or e-bay You may make money on it. If you want to put your general area of state on you public profile maybe someone would give you a hand. Just a thought.

 

[Biffmeistro]

Hey, thanks a lot, guys. Well, if anyone does happen to have a 87 or 88 auto with them (I'd rather only swap the motor right now, likely easier) that they want to part with cheap, I'll be happy to oblige. I'm in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

 

[91rangerturbo]

I just swapped a 2.3 turbo engine in my 89 hatchback. It only two 2 days to get the car up and going.

 

[Slow92LX]

if you run into trouble, post up and we can give ya a hand.