I have a 1990 that has had a homemade st205 swap for about the last 9-10 years or so, done originally by Ktrac, then went through another owner then me then i sold it in 2010 and bought it back last year. The motor needs some love wiring is dry and frayed a lot of plugs are dangling, some hoses are iffy.
runs ok but never great, its tranny is getting somewhat rough and slow through gears and clutch is starting to stick, also the tbelt is overdue and the v/c gaskets are leaking a bit, so one way or another I'm going to have to pull the motor in the next year for a clutch and gaskets tbelt etc, maybe swap the trans to a smoother one.
Anyway I have an opportunity to get a decent deal on an ST215 swap with harness, ecu and 5 speed awd trans from a jdm engine importer who happens to need a couple parts from my pontiac vibe.
I like the idea of the more modern, direct fired, obd2 electronics and slight improvements of the st215, I only have modest power goals over all and mostly want a reliable semi-daily driver with more than 15 mpg. and maybe even reinstall a/c and Cruise Ctrl one day...
My main question for the boards are what can and or should be reused if anything, how is the Caldina Trans, strong enough for daily duty I would hope?
Is it worth swapping any of the st205 parts I already have? I know the pistons and rods are stronger but I cant afford the time or complexity of opening up the motor right now, hoping for minimal down time.
Mostly can the lsd's be reused from the 205 trans,
is the WTA intercooler setup worth adapting or reusing with the st205 intake
(or even a straight feed st246 manifold if one can be found)?
and is the turbo and manifold worth retaining, I'm thinking regardless if the downpipe is different i may have to hang on to the turbo and manifold until i can swap the exhaust setup.
I'm planning on contacting Prime Mr2 in NJ (I'm east of NYC in Central Long Island) as far as wiring or one of the other wiring guru's and prime also keeps t-belts hoses gaskets and some needed swap parts
does having an st205 already make this any easier?
what can i expect to spend beyond the motor and 3-400 in wiring and 500ish in reconditioning parts for the incoming motor?
any and all help and input would be greatly appreciated
and if anyone wants to buy my leftovers to offset costs let me know
Cheers,
Michael
runs ok but never great, its tranny is getting somewhat rough and slow through gears and clutch is starting to stick, also the tbelt is overdue and the v/c gaskets are leaking a bit, so one way or another I'm going to have to pull the motor in the next year for a clutch and gaskets tbelt etc, maybe swap the trans to a smoother one.
Anyway I have an opportunity to get a decent deal on an ST215 swap with harness, ecu and 5 speed awd trans from a jdm engine importer who happens to need a couple parts from my pontiac vibe.
I like the idea of the more modern, direct fired, obd2 electronics and slight improvements of the st215, I only have modest power goals over all and mostly want a reliable semi-daily driver with more than 15 mpg. and maybe even reinstall a/c and Cruise Ctrl one day...
My main question for the boards are what can and or should be reused if anything, how is the Caldina Trans, strong enough for daily duty I would hope?
Is it worth swapping any of the st205 parts I already have? I know the pistons and rods are stronger but I cant afford the time or complexity of opening up the motor right now, hoping for minimal down time.
Mostly can the lsd's be reused from the 205 trans,
is the WTA intercooler setup worth adapting or reusing with the st205 intake
(or even a straight feed st246 manifold if one can be found)?
and is the turbo and manifold worth retaining, I'm thinking regardless if the downpipe is different i may have to hang on to the turbo and manifold until i can swap the exhaust setup.
I'm planning on contacting Prime Mr2 in NJ (I'm east of NYC in Central Long Island) as far as wiring or one of the other wiring guru's and prime also keeps t-belts hoses gaskets and some needed swap parts
does having an st205 already make this any easier?
what can i expect to spend beyond the motor and 3-400 in wiring and 500ish in reconditioning parts for the incoming motor?
any and all help and input would be greatly appreciated
and if anyone wants to buy my leftovers to offset costs let me know
Cheers,
Michael