hey guys, i got a magna TS for cheap with a dud engine. it basically churns through coolant something chronic, i think it may have a cracked head.

it came with the 2.6l 4 cylinder auto, i can get the model for the motor tomorrow. dad and i bought another motor for it, also a 2.6 auto from a magna. still a 4g54. although my concern is it looks slighly different, like it has less belts on it or something. the new motor's serial number starts with v571u. the motor thats currently in the car started with w531.

do you guys reckon ill run into any difficulties swapping the engines over? i think the new motor i got is from a series 1 :confused:

thanks,
rdorman

The only real issue you may have will be with the knock sensor under the inlet manifold, the early first gen blocks do not have the facility to screw the sensor in.

If was from a TP you may be ok

To be honest though, going to a first gen engine in a TS is really a backward step as the second gen engine is an updated design. Try dropping over to U Pull It and grab yourself a M* or M9 head, take that to Colliers in Modbury, get it crack tested, resurfaced and valve stem seals done and you should have yourself a good motor

On a final note, the TS had a far better chain set up internally also

the new motor is from a TM, so yeah its old :( ah well.

the motor in it has coolant all through it, it was pissing out of somewhere around the head, its in the oil in the sump, etc etc.

so far ive pulled the intake assembly out, battery, and a few electrical points...

where is the starter motor located on the TS' motor? the workshop manual is brilliant at telling you how to remove it, but has no pictures showing where it is :P

still not sure how im going to take vac hoses and carby / intake earthing points off when i cant even get in there :( also will i need to get the air con 'emptied'? or is that not connected to the motor by more than a belt...?

Only worth doing if the TM motor is low Km and known to be in good condition.
The starter motor is on the firewall side of the engine, on the drivers side. Best to remove the air ducting to get to it.
The aircon conpressor is unbolted from the back of the engine and suspended from the bodywork with fencing wire while you swap engines. No need to de-gas.
I hope that both engines are carb models? If so, you should be OK.

both engines are carb models, the new one has only done about 125,000km... so it was a relatively good pickup :)

thanks for the info madmax, i reckon ill attack the starter tomorrow :)
cheers guys!

Sounds worth doing! You can leave the starter on, and lift the engine and gearbox out as a single unit, then transfer gearbox and starter to the TM engine - much easier! Just make sure you have disconnected everything! Take your time !

Engine hoist is useful!

Sounds worth doing! You can leave the starter on, and lift the engine and gearbox out as a single unit, then transfer gearbox and starter to the TM engine - much easier! Just make sure you have disconnected everything! Take your time !

Engine hoist is useful!

yeah :)

im borrowing some wheel ramps tonight from one of dads mates, and should also be able to get a hoist form him at the same time.

im taking photos of absolutely EVERYTHING that i take out, so i can make sure everything is put back together properly :)

so leaving the autobox on, is it hard to disconnect everything from that? would i be able to get away with leaving the intake manifold / carby on too? it is becoming a royal PITA to get to the back of the engine bay :P


might also run some new grounding wire and some new wiring from the alternator to the battery, because i will have a stereo in here sometime down the track.

Dont bother with starters etc, just take out the drive shafts, drop the exhaust, remove power steering pump and alt, remove fluid lines, remove wiring (being carb there is stuff all) and gear linkages

Lift engine off mounts enough to get to aircon and then the sarter can be disconnected and engine out.

argh. got engine out, but now i have problems.

where the driveshaft connects to the diff has pulled out a bit, from moving the gearbox to get the plate out, and my driveshaft support falling out :'(

this has caused some gearbox oil? red stuff to leak out the end of the diff.

can i just push the shaft back into the diff? or do i need to do something special before putting it back in? im guessing if i need seals or something it would be much easier to replace anything before i put the motor back in.

while the motor is out, is there much that i should replace? so far ive got:

top exhaust manifold gasket
bottom exhaust gasket
new belts

would it be better to replace the entire intake manifold or just put the carby onto the other intake? if so ill need 1 of the 2 gaskets.

new oil filter
oil
gearbox oil

anything else i should get?

cheers guys.

I think you should get a workshop manual so you know what to do and know how to rectify any problems. they also have all torque settings and outline removal and refitting of the engine, etc. you wont regret the purchase and i think for someone with your level of expertise, its a must. cheers and good luck.

rob,

i downloaded the workshop manual in the sticky up there ^^ but it isnt very descriptive on this section...

Yeah i did the same mate but it's very vague, assumes that you know what you are doing. I'm in the process of removing the head from my TR to get machined and/or replace with a new one. I got stuck so i went and got myself a Haynes service manual. Any autobarn or supercheap should stock it (you may have to order it in though).

yeah the haynes is great outlines the whole procedure, what has to come off and in what order, and tells ya everything ya need to know. i started with no experiance on a isuzu trooper, and the haynes got me through a head gasket change and alot of other repairs, also they have great info on bolt and nut grade markings, clearances on vital components and heaps of other stuff. i did a nissan cefiro RB20 bottom end with the manual and it was great. had never tried anything like that before. and now i have the confidence to do all my on repairs. i dont trust anyone else to do a proper job!!!!

reckon i can get the haynes through my local library for a borrow.

so if i go down to the shops tomorrow, is there anything else i should buy besides a belts and oil filter, and gaskets?

cheers.

awesome.
bought a haynes manual, oil filter, ngk plugs, belts, intake manifold gasket, exhaust gaskets all for $88 :D:D love having connections :D

so ya. will be doing a full days work on it tomorrow :) got some of the brackets on the new engine already.

will i need to worry about compliance and all that with the new engine? will it need to go to regency? if so its so not worth it :P

awesome.
bought a haynes manual, oil filter, ngk plugs, belts, intake manifold gasket, exhaust gaskets all for $88 :D love having connections :D

so ya. will be doing a full days work on it tomorrow :) got some of the brackets on the new engine already.

will i need to worry about compliance and all that with the new engine? will it need to go to regency? if so its so not worth it :P
short answer, no. I didn't when I did my engine conversion :)

I can vouch for Colliers too if you need any headwork done. He did all mine. Excellent work!

good luck with it alll mate.

thanks blazin. im guessing youre 'no need for compliance' means you just didnt bother ;)
i dont think coppers are going to check engine numbers...

status update: old engine out, took intake manifold off old engine, put on new one with new gasket and gasket goo. i think what might have been happening was the gasket was leaking, letting coolant force its way through the cylinder. this might have been why it was being forced out the overflow... backwards.

engine has been put back in the car. is off the crane now and back bolted into the engine mounts and the gearbox. i got a new seal for the driveshaft, but i havent installed it yet, ill try my luck with the old one. just gotta pop the protective cover back over it tomorrow morning before uni.

ive also put the starter motor back in now. is it safe to kick it over with the starter (try to start car) without any oil? ie do i need the oil for lube even when its not firing? it would be good to not have to worry about putting the engine in and then having it not working at all.

up next, putting everything back on. air con needs to be screwed in, alternator, belts, radiator and fans, air filter, exhaust.

:D

for ****s and giggles, is it safe to start it up without the exhaust manifold on?

also, what oil do you guys recommend? i have a new filter and filter wrench,so just need new oil. also, an additive for coolant?

stay tuned for this, ill probably end up changing a fair bit of the internals, and doing a nice stereo... already got some audio stuff ;)

bit of an update:

got exhaust / starter / some vaccuum hoses / power steering plugged back in / screwed on. tis all going dandy.

have a couple of questions though. there are 2 barbs sticking straight up on the coolant side of the inlet manifold. these are corroding away. is there a way to replace these? or would i be forking out for a new manifold...

also the alternator for the TS is longer than the alternator for the TM, and there is a gap where the bolt goes through the block. is there anything i can put there?

edit: southland mitsi say the barbs are tap in. i have another manifold (from the TM) with the same barbs. how hard is it to take these out?

awesome. got it pretty much done today!

everything is on except for the air filter and assembly. made sure it ticked over today alright, she fired up :D

all ive got left is to put some good quality coolant and oil in it. i have some automatic oil to put in it from mitsubishi, but what other oils should i use?

ive got some valvoline, not sure on the weight. might just be 15w40. is this okay?
and a friend who built a sigma turbo said these motors need good quality coolant, otherwise they corrode to all buggery. would some toyota radiator rust inhibitor stuff be okay? or should i get a bottle of tectaloy concentrate and mix it myself? or tectaloy premixed?

thats pretty much all besides oil filter and plugs :D
ill post up a folder of alllll my pictures when im done. this thing was oily AS.

another update, and a problem.

inlet is on, oil and coolant is in.

problem is, when the motors on, the temp is way down low for a bit, but then is starts to climb, and FAST. turned the motor off when it hit about half way, and left her to sit for a bit. no overflow or anything.

radiator felt cold to the touch.

opened the cap slowly with a rag, and pssshhttttt out comes coolant trying to squirt everywhere.

now seeing as it has a new motor, and the radiator has some mouldy **** off to the side, would it be the radiator that is the problem? hoses / water pump are all new. the only old things in the entire water system are the intake manifold, water thermostat, and radiator. i checked the manifold and thermostat, the thermo opens, and the intake is clear.

any ideas?

LOL Yep, this is normal. An air bubble forms at the thermostat and stops it from opening up, or maybe the pump is full of air and not pumping water. Coolant temp on the guage goes up to normal very quickly and the radiator stays cool. At this stage, turn the engine off and just wait a few minutes, then start it again. The air bubble eventually finds its way to the radiator and you need to top it up a lot more with coolant, sometimes several times. When you let the engine idle with the radiator cap off and you can see hot water flow inside the radiator you know everything is ok.

This happens to me whenever I refill an engine with coolant from dry. Last time was yesterday, after replacing the water pump and hoses.

okay max :) thanks for that. ill try to find time to give her a run tomorrow and see if i can get all the air out. was dreading the thought of pulling apart the thermostat again :P just after new parts went in.

happy to hear nothing should be broken :)

now somehow i have to put transmission oil in it =/ doh.

Trans oil.

Manual = filler plug on gearbox. VMX80 oil.

Auto = funnel in the dip stick tube. Use the proper mitsu ATF.

You can't overfill a manual, but with the auto you need to check the level carefully as you go - don't want to overfill it!
.
DON'T go for a run to get rid of the air lock, do it idle speed - you don't want a sudden surge of cold water to go through a very hot engine!

Trans oil.

Manual = filler plug on gearbox. VMX80 oil.

Auto = funnel in the dip stick tube. Use the proper mitsu ATF.

You can't overfill a manual, but with the auto you need to check the level carefully as you go - don't want to overfill it!
.
DON'T go for a run to get rid of the air lock, do it idle speed - you don't want a sudden surge of cold water to go through a very hot engine!

cheers.

its an auto, i bought the ATF the other day.

thanks for the tip about not driving it until air lock is gone, i dont think thats going to happen when its unregistered, uninsured and on stands :)

i know a fair amount of gearbox oil came out, should i top it up with roughly that amount before starting it? (was about an ice cream container full)

Put about half of that in, then run the engine, warm it up - hopefully you have solved that coolant problem - move the gearstick through the gears and leave it in neutral, with the engine running. Check level. Add ATF until it is on the dipstick mark. You need to check it again with the car level - ie off stands - later with the engine/gearbox fully warmed up. Probably better to stay below the dipstick mark at this stage so that you don't need to drain any later.

coolant problem still isnt solved. i couldnt see any flow in the water while car was running, so i have taken the thermostat out and put that in water boiling, it opened at around 80 degrees. i assume this is normal.

just used some gasket goo and have now put the lot back together without the thermostat, to see if there is any flow through the top of the radiator. if no flow = buggered pump or radiator.

will check in about half hour.

edit:checked!

motor runs fine with no thermostat!! :D only downside is i cant really drive like this, unless i let the motor really warm up first.
so both thermostats (old and new motor) open at the same time over the stove in water, but not properly (i assume) in the car, as the coolant doesnt flow through, and the thermos dont go on at half way, causing it to overheat.

will be on my way to repco tomorrow to get another gasket for this, as well as a new thermostat and some more coolant :D

Bolt the thermostat back in. Idle the engine and disconnect the top hose on the pump until coolant comes out of it. Might clear the air lock. Maybe. Possibly . . . .

You have an air lock

Remove the coolant temp sensor, fill up the system, let sit a few minutes for all the air to leave, top up intil flows out of the coolant temp sensor and replace. Top up unitl rad is full and then the thermostat should open eventually

If the guage starts to climb too far, shut it down for a few minutes to allow the heat to soak up, start again and will come good

The Astron can be a bit funny when it comes to air locks

DO NOT run an engine with no thermostate, it will run too cold and cause a lot of wear also if on a hot day can overheat as the coolant flows way too fast and will not be cooled by the radiator

yeah, all good. taking the thermostat out was just for a test.

bought a new thermostat, installed, tightened belts etc, she is running and registered.
will be sorting out insurance tomorrow.

slight concerns are:
she is idling at about 1100 / 1200 sort of area when in neutral or park, but in any other gear it drops down to about 700 or 800 and the car shudders :(

is this a problem with the tuning? should i reset the ECU for the new motor?

ok, bigger problem.

when the car is put in reverse, sometimes it works fine. sometimes (mostly), it does this.

put your foot down slower and slower, and revs will start to go up, but car wont move. when it does, it jolts, then stops. its almost like in reverse the car is going in and out of park, while im trying to go along... :(

any ideas?

Check the auto box fluid level.

ok done that.

when its cold, the fluid is above both the hot and cold levels.

when it warms up, the fluid is in the hot range :confused:

when we checked it and filled it the car was at normal running temperature, like it says.

bah
dad and i went out to try and see if we could make it do it again, and it hasnt done it.
thats twice ive been by myself and its done it, and 3 times dads been there and it hasnt!!

how long would the oil to take to go through the gearbox? im thinking it might have just been an air lock which is sorting itself out...

Could be the shift linkage - go from neutral to reverse or park to reverse next time (the opposite of what you normally do) and see it that helps. If it only does it going in one direction then you should check gear linkage adjustment.

mm, i was driving it this morning, going through the different possibilities, and it wasnt doing it. just got it from the front lawn to the driveway backwards (involved going out onto the street and from reverse to drive about 100000000 times) and it was fine. thinkingit may be fixing itself.

now newest dillemma. HOW THE **** DO YOU GET THICK MATTED DOG FUR OUT OF CARPET!

previous owners had 5 long haired dogs. :(

Rub it with a wet sponge - hair ends up rolling into a ball. Or drive with the window open - it blows out eventually.:bowrofl:

Rub it with a wet sponge - hair ends up rolling into a ball. Or drive with the window open - it blows out eventually.:bowrofl:

its in the boot of the wagon

wonder if ill get spotted with the tailgate up :bowrofl: :bowrofl:

wagon carpet - rip it out, hose it, rub it - problem solved