Looking for a cost effective way to swap out an engine and transmission.

danielpattonjr

Hi guys. Im new to the forum. I have a buick century 2004 i believe. And i got into an accident and pretty much totaled the car. But the engine and trans is still good (Ibelieve). the only have about 65,000 miles on them. so im wondering if i could just buy a gm car and swap the engine out. also if thats a good option what are my options as far as cars go? I also should mention i dont have an engine hoist.

Mr_Shiftright

One big favor you can do for yourself is to swap the engine into the EXACT same year and model car. Right there, you've eliminated a rat's nest of electronics noodling, wiring puzzles and mysterious goings-on.

You probably will need to rent the right equipment. Engines are heavy and you need to work safely. You'll also need a workshop manual to see the most efficient way to extract the engine. Some come out from the top, some from the bottom with the subframe, some with the transmission, some without. So you need a good service manual to give you step by step instructions.

danielpattonjr

Mr_Shiftright said:

One big favor you can do for yourself is to swap the engine into the EXACT same year and model car. Right there, you've eliminated a rat's nest of electronics noodling, wiring puzzles and mysterious goings-on.

You probably will need to rent the right equipment. Engines are heavy and you need to work safely. You'll also need a workshop manual to see the most efficient way to extract the engine. Some come out from the top, some from the bottom with the subframe, some with the transmission, some without. So you need a good service manual to give you step by step instructions.

Well i found locally a 2001 same make and model do you think that will work or should i keep looking for the same year?

Mr_Shiftright

One problem with that is that if you're in a smog state, that's not illegal. You cannot "downgrade" an engine from 2004 to 2001.

But all that aside, you are bound to run into wiring and sensor differences and you'll have to use the 2001's computer and harness, and splice in the wiring to the 2004 car.

This is why exact year to year engine swaps are so much easier---plug n play!

I don't mean to discourage you here--but you did say "cost effective". You can put just about any engine into any car with enough money, skill and talent.