Whats up fellas. Im new to this site and have a few questions. Ive done a few searches and looked around for a few days but im not familiar with j-body terminology. Ive been working as a mechanic for a few years now and recently a co-worker gave me a 95 cavalier with 101k miles on the clock. when I got it the engine was taken apart due to a blown headgasket. I noticed the head itself was cracked and replaced it along with a timing chain. Apparently it had been driven awhile with the craked head and has repeatedly broken off sparkplug ground straps (electrodes). What I think was the #1 cyl ( furthest on the drivers side) had a lot of scoring and pits on the piston.

Im pretty sure this is a base model 2dr cavi. 2.2L OHV with a 3 speed auto

I drove this car after selling my trans am ( I was referred here by a LS1TECH.com member) and put about 4K miles on it with out one problem. ran great and got great mileage. I think it might have had a little valve terrain clatter when cold and a slight rod knock after highway trips. All of a sudden, last friday the engine grenades as im driving about 60mph. Horrible knoking noise. some how I made it the rest of the 4 miles home and it locks up as I pull into the driveway. Checked the oil to find bits of metal and shavings. Im thinking a piston ring came apart along with the rest of a piston. never lost oil pressure and never got hot.

My questions are:
1. what year model 2.2 ohv eninges (or short block) would work with my year model cavi? Is a 4cyl S-10/S-15 sort block the same?

2. are there any other non electric automatic transmission options other that the 3 speed. Like maybe something with overdrive? the 3 speed sucks on the highway.

3. will my new cyl head ( if its not ruined) work on a 2200 ohv? will a 2200 use the same mounting points as the 2.2? do they have the same dimensions?

4. I have seen that a lot of these engines have timing chain issues as well as head gasket problems. are there any other things i should watch out for while trying to find a replacement engine?

Thanks for any help, like I said, this is my first post here but im no stranger to the automotive scene.

Here is a link to a few pictures of my Old T/A and one of the cavi. Try not to laugh at the color. http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=632786

OMG IM NOT THE ONLY RASPBERRY J ANYMORE!!!

now that i have that out of the way...

first, #1 cylinder is on the passenger side.

to answer your questions:

1. 95-97 are direct replacements. you can swap in a 98-02 2200, BUT you will have to do some wiring. yes, the s-10 ln2 is the same engine, minus the intake manifold, its set up (obviously) for a north-south(rwd) drivetrain.

2. yes. the 4t40e and the isuzu manual 5 speed will both bolt up if taken from another 2.2.

3. no. the 2200 (98+) and the 2.2 (97-) heads are not easily interchangeable, although they are roughly the same engine.

4. the timing tensioner. grenades more than its fair share of the ln2's. the head gasket, only because of the iron block. aluminum head combo. other than that, keep the oil changed and its a strong little engine.



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hmm if the tensioner broke would this have allowed me to drive the rest of the way home while knocking very loudly? would the valves be hitting the pushrods? interference motor

I did replace the timing tensioner, the chain and both sprockets.

to each there own but i personally am having a tough time getting used to driving a pink car

trust me... mine's not staying raspberry.

if the tensioner self-destructed, you probably wouldnt make it very far. the chain is loose enough to skip ALOT if it doesnt have the tensioner on it. easiest way to tell whats up is to pull the head. but, make sure you buy a new set of bolts before you do, the head bolts are torque to yeild. the ln2 was a parts bin engine, gm decided that they liked the way that the old school sbc's worked, so they cut one in half and shrunk it down. literally. almost ALL of the parts are either the same size or shrunken versions of small block chevy parts.the engines are extremely easy to work on, although if you'r elooking for power, it'll cost a lttle more than the others to get to the same place. as for reliability however, there's no other way to go. if you have not found out what went wrong yet, i would pull the head.if its a connecting rod, i would recommend buying a full set of eagles, due to one stocker costing nearly $120 from a dealer, and you cant get them anywhere else.everything else however, you can get here: clicky.



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i like my raspberry 95 185000 on it, second motor, second trans(5 speed)
and it is staying pink

1. 95-97 2.2 motors are interchangeable. 98+ also known as the 2200 and wont be worth the hassle as you would have to swap the computer and harness since it is obd 2. You could yank a 2.2 out of an s10 or sonoma and you would need to change the intake manifold as far as I know.

2. Your stuck with the 3 speed auto as the 4 speed is electronic.

3. the 2.2 and 2200 are almost similar but unfortunately the heads are not interchangeable. The cooling passages wont line up.

4. with my experience with the ohv....i've had good luck but I would just do the head gasket and timing chain to play it safe you never know the prior owners driving habits or maintenance habits with the used engine were.

Is the 95 just a commuter? Also some posts by ohv notec , madjack, funky bottoms aka event, and slowolej may be helpful as they seem to be pretty knowledgeable on the ohv motors. You just would have to search. If you have access to all data or a similar program it may be useful to ya to look up the differences on the 2.2 from the FWD to RWD cars/trucks.

As far as for the Smaller version of the SBC......only to an extent as some of the valve train components bolt on or fit with minor modifications.

Hope this was of some help to ya. If you have any more questions feel free to pm me as I rarely go to this forum. I spend alot of time in boost, suspension, and tuning.

-Jeff

Thanks for all the info fellas. The car is a daily driver so it dosnt need anything special, just reliable .

I called a local wrecking yard and found an engine for 500 complete with unknown miles. the guy said only a 94-95 engine would be a direct swap. maybe he dosnt know what hes talkin about?


One other question about the 5-speed

would this be an easy swap? heres what I think

:cut a hole for shifter

<find a clutch pedal assembly/ master& slave cyl.... im just assuming this is a hydrolic set up

>new mounts and CV axles? or will the current one fit?

Im going to tear the engine down this weekend, possibly yank it all out the top. Ill have pictures w00tw00t

you also have to cut out and weld in a new rear trans mount.
you do not have to cut a hole for the shifter, it is a cable set-up.
you will need the computer and wiring harness.

as mentioned above, the 95-97 is a direct swap.



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You could get a better deal on the motor if you try looking around. One of the nice things about the 2.2 and 2200 motors is that they are in so many gm vehicals they are dirt cheap. I picked up mine for $350 with 60k after I poped my old one on the bottle.