Will any Engine fit any gearbox

ste2006

Hi All,

I have an old Suzuki SJ413 (Small Jeep) that i pulled the engine out of a while ago, I used the engine as parts to rebuild another engine the same that had a damaged crank shaft.

Anyway i am hoping to build a buggy out of this jeep as it is a long wheel base so want to strip her down and do something nice with it.

I am wondering can i fit a more powerful engine into it from a scrap car and connect it straight to the existing transmission or will i need to take the transmission from the car/ jeep also.

I am aware i will need to set up new mounts etc and tweak the fuel/ electrical around to suit but will another engine actually mate with the gearbox.

I am also aware that a Vitara engine will fit but dont want to spend much money as i may never suceed in actually getting it going.

If anyone has any advice it would be most appreciated,

Thanks,

Stephen

ianobrien

Will any engine fit any gearbox - NO!!!!!

Some manufacturers use the same bellhousing bolt pattern for different engines and could be swapped (assuming the gearbox was strong enough to take the torque). Ford was great for that. You could take an engine out of a 04 Focus and bolt it to a Anglia gearbox. The gearbox mightn't last too long, and getting the clutch to work might a hybrid clutch or using parts from two or three. I'm just slightly annoyed that Ford changed the bellhousing for their latest Duratec engines, and have gone to a Mazda pattern, as there is no more bolting a Duratec to a T9 box (without spending money on a hybrid bellhousing)

I've heard that Suzuki were good at sharing bellhousing patterns, and I know of one or two SJ's with Swift GTI engines in them..... If you are going to use it for serious off-road, have plenty of half-shafts and front propshafts. I've seen SJ's with standard engines break half-shafts and front propshafts in competition.

ste2006

Should the Splines from the gearbox fit the clutch from the new engine also or do different manufacturers use different arrangements???

Will i have to use an engine from a 4WD or Rear WD vehicle or can i turn a normal car engine sideways (Probably not as i think of it but it would be handy)

ianobrien

1. No. As well as having different bellhousing bolt pattern, flywheel diameter/Thickness/teeth count, clutch disc diameter/Thickness, pressure place size/thickness/clamping force, spline count, input shaft diameter/length, spigot bearing design, clutch release mechanism (cable or hydraulic), release bearing, starter motor size/location/teeth count would be different between manufacturers. It's just that some manufacturers fix some of these across the range of cars, making fitting different engines easier for the design team, eg dropping in an engine from the model above to make the hot version of the smaller car...

2. For your case (bearing in mind most of this was gleaned from friends/colleagues in the Motor Club, so is second hand and take with a large pinch of salt) I'm fairly sure that the SJ413 and the 1.3 Swift GTI shared the same block. I imagine that the GTI, being front wheel drive, would have a different sump, oil pickup pipe and dip-stick. I'm unsure about the spigot bearing in the crank. The rest, I'm afraid is trial and error, along with very careful measuring.

I imagine that there are forums out there for the SJ and somebody else has tried it before. Google is your friend there.

ste2006

Grand Job,

Thanks for your help,

No doubt ill have more questions still :-)