First car tuning, help would be appreciated

[cggorman]

Hello! I am 15 and i have gotten my first car as a gift... The catch is the engine is seized. No problem I say I'll pull it out and rebuild it! So to give some background information, the engine seized and the car is a 1996 Dodge avenger and the particular engine is a DOHC 2.0 L 420A I4 (Same as a neon) and it has the stock manual 5 speed in it, the chasis, transmission, and the engine have roughly 200,000 miles on them. Also I BELIEVE the main crank bearings blew. So I have been saving for the past 6 months and I am at a grand total of $890 with at least another $150 coming in january. I am asking you guys or help. I plan on beefing the engine up with the transmission being able to support it. I also plan to redo the suspension. Now do you fellas have any advice for parts [Or manufacturers] I would like to get a high performance pistons, cylinder head, exhaust manifold, intake manifold, and exhaust systems, (I know I cant afford all )I own the required tools to rebalance the engine and to check compression as my grandfather built drag racing engines and when he died my father inherited all of his tools. I also have 3 full to the brim tool cabinets. Working on engines is NOT new to me. At around 7 I rebuilt (just helping my dad) a highly modified Chevrolet corvette engine as well as two others.

[EXHAUST MANIFOLD/SYSTEM QUESTION]

But all engines I've worked on have been V8's and im not sure how this engine is situated as I've seen I-4s in forward (lengthwise with transmission strait behind it like traditional v8s) but I've also seen them situated so the exhaust must run under the engine to get to the rear so any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[GazMac]

Mate if your from the UK you'll never get insured, unless your on trading insurance. But if your in thé US then that my differ, I myself am a mechanic, personally, don't rip it out yourself, bring it to someone qualified, unless your 110% know what your doing, on the other hand if it was a Subaru Imprezza, Vauxhall, or Golf GTI/R32 I could help you out no problem, but dodge I have know idea

 

[cggorman]

Mate if your from the UK you'll never get insured, unless your on trading insurance. But if your in thé US then that my differ, I myself am a mechanic, personally, don't rip it out yourself, bring it to someone qualified, unless your 110% know what your doing, on the other hand if it was a Subaru Imprezza, Vauxhall, or Golf GTI/R32 I could help you out no problem, but dodge I have know idea

Thanks but no thanks haha, four cylinders is not all that many parts, insurance? Who needs to know I rebuilt it? Haha but seriously I know what im doing. As I said this isn't my first engine build. I have a dad that was raised by an engine builder (granddad built drag racing engines) so I will be having help from an engine/ car guy as well as an engineer.

 

[Slash]

Quick fix.

By another engine for cheap that runs (be it pulled out of the junkyard or bought of Ebay/Craiglist etc). Put it in so that the car is driveable and you can use it. Pull the other one, and build it how you want it but make sure the block is good. That way you can still drive it while having a little side project going on at the same time.

 

[Space Dynamics]

Such a tiny motor for such a big car! Still, better then that V6 (Yuck!). But I sure do like how Avengers look!

 

[oopssorryy]

Quick fix.

By another engine for cheap that runs (be it pulled out of the junkyard or bought of Ebay/Craiglist etc). Put it in so that the car is driveable and you can use it. Pull the other one, and build it how you want it but make sure the block is good. That way you can still drive it while having a little side project going on at the same time.

This. So you can at least get on the road.

 

[Slash]

Oh and if it's siezed, good luck unseizing it. The best thing I've found is soak the cylinders in penetrating oil for like a month and then maybe....if you are really lucky you well unsieze it.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

Start looking for Quad 4 W41.

 

[MrWednesday]

[EXHAUST MANIFOLD/SYSTEM QUESTION]

But all engines I've worked on have been V8's and im not sure how this engine is situated as I've seen I-4s in forward (lengthwise with transmission strait behind it like traditional v8s) but I've also seen them situated so the exhaust must run under the engine to get to the rear so any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

I'd be very surprised if it's not a transverse layout. Longitudinal FF is a lot less common.

Look for manufacturer-specific forums for advice on parts. As you note that the power plant is shared with the Neon, that expands your options for information. I suspect there's a decent amount of info out there for Neons.

What do you want to do with the car when it's done? Street use only? Drag racing? Autocross? Track driving? Road racing?

 

[cggorman]

Such a tiny motor for such a big car! Still, better then that V6 (Yuck!). But I sure do like how Avengers look!

Yeah I know right!? I am SOO glad mine had an I 4 it redlines AT 7000 and goes to 9000 and gets good mileage. If mine had the v6 I would sell the car

 

[cggorman]

I'd be very surprised if it's not a transverse layout. Longitudinal FF is a lot less common.

Look for manufacturer-specific forums for advice on parts. As you note that the power plant is shared with the Neon, that expands your options for information. I suspect there's a decent amount of info out there for Neons.

What do you want to do with the car when it's done? Street use only? Drag racing? Autocross? Track driving? Road racing?

Well I want it to be a beefed up version of its original, stiffer suspension, higher BHP, seeing as it came stock with about 160 I would love to get it to around 260 (Im looking large haha) easiest way I can think of doing that is cold air intake, smoother/ well balanced parts, exhaust, bigger fuel injectors, lighter pistons and lighter well everything haha

 

[Slash]

Cold air intakes really don't do anything except flow a little better. Balance it, get an intake/exaust system and that kind of stuff. 100hp more isn't too big of a goal.

 

[mazdaman]

So you want to make 80 more hp np first buy your rebuild parts, port and polish her. Since it's na not to big on the injectors a better fuel pump and a piggy back wallaaaaaaa

 

[MrWednesday]

Well I want it to be a beefed up version of its original, stiffer suspension, higher BHP, seeing as it came stock with about 160 I would love to get it to around 260 (Im looking large haha) easiest way I can think of doing that is cold air intake, smoother/ well balanced parts, exhaust, bigger fuel injectors, lighter pistons and lighter well everything haha

That's how you want to upgrade it, but it's not what you want to do with it when you're done. It may or may not affect your choices of what to do, but I figured I should ask. I don't think I'd want to do the same things to the suspension on a drag car as I'd want to do on a track car, and I may want to do yet a third thing on a street car.

I may be telling you things you already know, but...

A lot depends on (a) what the capabilities of the stock sensor suite and ECU are, and (b) what sort of aftermarket exists for the engine. It won't do you any good to set the thing up to rev to 12k RPM and flow vast amounts of air/fuel if there's an 8k RPM fuel cut-off and the ECU doesn't know how to handle more flow.

Things to consider doing that don't necessarily involve major expenditure on parts include porting and polishing the head and intake; a good header; a good cam if there's an aftermarket available, or you might be able to get the existing cams ground a little differently; bumping compression a little bit by milling the head (but if you do that, be extra aware of knocking, and you may need to run higher octane fuel).

All of this is going to push the tune out of the original range; maybe something like bumping fuel pressure can deal with it, maybe you'll need to chip your ECU. If you want to run above the existing fuel-cutoff (if you're beefing up the rotating assembly), you'll definitely need to do something about your ECU. Make sure you research what you need to do for the engine to stand up to whatever RPM you plan to run---you don't want to have lighter pistons, smoothed and balanced everything, and so on, and then have a stock rod bolt let go.

You're going to have a hard time doing much of anything parts-wise on a budget of ~$1k. You could spend more than that on just a cam (keeping in mind that you would also want to do followers and valve springs at the same time).

Cold air intakes really don't do anything except flow a little better.

Not exactly. Cold air intakes make the engine draw in cooler, less-dense air, so the same volume of air contains more mass (and thus can burn more fuel, making more exhaust gas, making more power).

 

[Joey D]

The 420A didn't come in the Neon's, they had the A558 and ECC 2.0L's in them. They are probably 90% the same though. I believe the intake ports are on opposite sides of the engine if I remember correctly.

 

[Slash]

That's how you want to upgrade it, but it's not what you want to do with it when you're done. It may or may not affect your choices of what to do, but I figured I should ask. I don't think I'd want to do the same things to the suspension on a drag car as I'd want to do on a track car, and I may want to do yet a third thing on a street car.

I may be telling you things you already know, but...

A lot depends on (a) what the capabilities of the stock sensor suite and ECU are, and (b) what sort of aftermarket exists for the engine. It won't do you any good to set the thing up to rev to 12k RPM and flow vast amounts of air/fuel if there's an 8k RPM fuel cut-off and the ECU doesn't know how to handle more flow.

Things to consider doing that don't necessarily involve major expenditure on parts include porting and polishing the head and intake; a good header; a good cam if there's an aftermarket available, or you might be able to get the existing cams ground a little differently; bumping compression a little bit by milling the head (but if you do that, be extra aware of knocking, and you may need to run higher octane fuel).

All of this is going to push the tune out of the original range; maybe something like bumping fuel pressure can deal with it, maybe you'll need to chip your ECU. If you want to run above the existing fuel-cutoff (if you're beefing up the rotating assembly), you'll definitely need to do something about your ECU. Make sure you research what you need to do for the engine to stand up to whatever RPM you plan to run---you don't want to have lighter pistons, smoothed and balanced everything, and so on, and then have a stock rod bolt let go.

You're going to have a hard time doing much of anything parts-wise on a budget of ~$1k. You could spend more than that on just a cam (keeping in mind that you would also want to do followers and valve springs at the same time).



Not exactly. Cold air intakes make the engine draw in cooler, less-dense air, so the same volume of air contains more mass (and thus can burn more fuel, making more exhaust gas, making more power).

I know how they work. The gain you see from it is so minimal on an engine such as this that it's not even worth it IMO.

 

[cggorman]

The 420A didn't come in the Neon's, they had the A558 and ECC 2.0L's in them. They are probably 90% the same though. I believe the intake ports are on opposite sides of the engine if I remember correctly.

Did the really? I wasn't completely sure if they did or not but I knew they were similar,

 

[Joey D]

Did the really? I wasn't completely sure if they did or not but I knew they were similar,

I recently just rebuilt a Neon and did a 2.4L swap in it so I got way more knowledge about the motor then I'd really care to know.

You know you could probably do a 2.4L swap in an Avenger too. I have to imagine everything would bolt up pretty easily. Either that or I'm guessing a DSM motor would fit in the car as well. I've heard stories of people shoehorning the turbo V6 out of a Stealth in the car but I'm not sure how accurate those stories actually are.

 

[cggorman]

I recently just rebuilt a Neon and did a 2.4L swap in it so I got way more knowledge about the motor then I'd really care to know.

You know you could probably do a 2.4L swap in an Avenger too. I have to imagine everything would bolt up pretty easily. Either that or I'm guessing a DSM motor would fit in the car as well. I've heard stories of people shoehorning the turbo V6 out of a Stealth in the car but I'm not sure how accurate those stories actually are.

I would LOVE to swap the 420A for an audi 2L I 4 but I do not have the money to buy the motor. Also I would do an engine swap but I need the engine to be 2- 2.6ish liters and I dont have the money (I don't believe) to pull an engine from a scrap yard, fix it and tune it

 

[Slash]

It's going to cost you more money to rebuilt the one you have over buying one that already runs