Hello everyone. I wanted to make this post about my recent project, as I was not able to find much info beforehand, and I think this would be a nice write up for people to stumble across down the road.
Here's how I retrofit a gen 2 2.4 ecotec and transmission (2012+) into a gen 1 equinox (2010-11)
My local junkyard got a freshly wrecked 2013 equinox in, that was not yet molested. A wheelbarrow of tools, 4 hours, some elbow grease, and $440 after core deposit, and I walked out with an engine and transmission. I knew both the engine and transmission would have to be retrofit to go into my gen 1 car, but I figured getting stuff from a wrecked car would leave me with a solid start. I separated the engine and trans, and got that little ecotec on my engine stand. I went through and changed the timing set, water pump, gaskets, etc, but here is a list of stuff that, at a bare minimum, HAS to get swapped over from the old gen 1 setup, to the new gen 2 stuff in order to work in the gen 1 vehicle:
Engine:
Here's how I retrofit a gen 2 2.4 ecotec and transmission (2012+) into a gen 1 equinox (2010-11)
- My car: 2010 equinox; 2.4, 6t45 (mh7 code) transmission; fwd.
- Issues:
- Transmission slips whenever it feels. A bottle of Lucas helps, but doesn't 'solve' the problem.
- Also hydro locked the engine on a flooded road and broke a connecting rod. Basically, the engine and transmission was junk.
- The Dilemma(s):
- I'm too broke to buy a new car
- People on Facebook want WAY too much money for used engines
- The decent 2010-11 cars at junkyards are immediately salvaged before I could get my hands on anything
- Parts to rebuild the engine ands transmission would be about 3x the cost I was willing to pay - let alone any needed machine work.
My local junkyard got a freshly wrecked 2013 equinox in, that was not yet molested. A wheelbarrow of tools, 4 hours, some elbow grease, and $440 after core deposit, and I walked out with an engine and transmission. I knew both the engine and transmission would have to be retrofit to go into my gen 1 car, but I figured getting stuff from a wrecked car would leave me with a solid start. I separated the engine and trans, and got that little ecotec on my engine stand. I went through and changed the timing set, water pump, gaskets, etc, but here is a list of stuff that, at a bare minimum, HAS to get swapped over from the old gen 1 setup, to the new gen 2 stuff in order to work in the gen 1 vehicle:
Engine:
- gen 1 intake camshaft and vvt phaser
- gen 1 fuel injectors/rail assembly
- gen 1 throttle body
- gen 1 valve body
- gen 1 valve body-to-case gasket
- gen 1 TECHM
- Both the gen 1 and 2 exhaust manifolds will work, but one of the heat shield mounting bolts changes locations, so make sure you have the appropriate heat shield for the manifold you are using (or order the correct manifold for the heat shield you have; since the stock manifolds love to crack so much.)
- If you're replacing the timing set too, make sure to get a gen 1 set, as the intake phaser is slightly different.
- Now is a great time to take off the oil pan and clean any junk out. Mine had some bits of timing guide, and parts from a failing ratcheting mechanism on the balancer chain tensioner just chilling in the bottom of the pan.
