Engine swap: 1999 1.6L/auto to 2002 2.0/5-speed

[NegatiZE]

I'm going to make this thread to document my engine swap project that my friends and I did last March.

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I bought a wrecked 2002 Mazda Protege LX 5-speed off Mackdadam the beginning of last year. It was missing the shifter linkage and ECU, but the engine/tranny were still intact. The car was in a front end collision but the engine still ran. The airbags had been deployed.

 

[NegatiZE]

Some of the parts I ordered to start off:

MSP shifter/linkage assembly: BP7H-46-100
MSP #3 engine mount: BP7H-39-06Y
2.0 Manual ECU
Shift Knob
Shift boot

We started pulling the engine/tranny out of the donor car February 7th. It was on an engine hoist for a few days before I could get time off to get started on the swap into my car.

 

[NegatiZE]

More engine pictures. Painted the valve cover with Duplicolor "Cast Coat Iron" DE 1651 from O'Reiley's Auto Parts.

 

[NegatiZE]

The easy part: Physically fitting the engine into the engine bay. Assuming you have a donor car with the 2.0 mounts, axles, transmission, clutch pedal, slave cylinder, everything bolts right up.

The clutch pedal assembly will mount to the firewall where (on automatic Protege's) a white plastic plug covers the hole. No need to drill anything.

The hub assemblies were carried over from my 1.6. Keep in mind I upgraded to the 99/00 ES front calipers/rotors previously. I would recommend doing the same, as the 99/00 1.6L front brakes were tiny and with the extra weight of the FS-DE 2.0, you will have bad brakes if you don't!

The steering rack on 01+ Protege's were revised for a lighter feel. You do not need to change it out. I did not, because of my personal preference for the heaver feel of the 99/00 models. Drive the 99/00 back to back with an 01+ and you will notice the lighter feel yourself.

Also, 2001+ front crossmembers are slightly different. I retained my 99 crossmember, but it is recommended you switch them out if possible. 01+ crossmembers have an additional brace on them. While this new brace is removable, it will not fit onto the 99/00 crossmember because there are no mounting holes for it.

 

[NegatiZE]

Because of wiring differences, us 99/00 people will have to change out just about every wiring harness in our cars to accomodate the new engine and ECU. (Unless you want to do your own custom wiring.) I hate wiring, so I ordered everything I needed and used everything I could out of the parts car.

You will need:
Main dash harness (ECU/gauge cluster/turn signal relay/clutch switch/brake switch/wipers)
Secondary dash harness (radio/HVAC/airbags/ignition)
Engine harness (engine sensors/ECU/fuel pump)
Front engine bay harness (connects headlights/turn signals to main dash harness)
Roof harness (dome light/rear deck speakers/taillights/keyless entry)

The part numbers will vary depending on your car's options such as side airbags/keyless entry/ABS. Consult the parts catalog for more information.

 

[NegatiZE]

In addition to the new wiring harnesses, you will also need to change out the HVAC controls/center pod bezel/airbox. The reason for this is that the 01+ models use a motorized actuator to open the flap for air recirulation. Us 99/00 guys have a cable-operated recirculation function. The new secondary dash harness has different connectors for the HVAC controls and has a connector for the motorized actutator.

 

[NegatiZE]

Finally, a new gauge cluster is needed most likely. I went ahead and ordered a 2001 ES cluster (red backlight illumination to match the new center pod.)

Your mileage is stored in the cluster itself, so unfortuntely it will not transfer over.

 

[NegatiZE]

This should complete your engine swap!

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND buying the 01+ Factory Service Manual and the complete parts catalog to guide you along the way.

 

[Chicoloco]

Can't believe people missed this thread, nice job!

 

[Sk8ter05]

yea, very nice thread. in a few years i'll be doing the same to my 1.6

 

[mazdafreak3189]

wow dude it just what i wanted but i wanna do the turbo 2.0 so not sure if anything is diff. If so do you know.

 

[Prodigy]

NegatiZE = life saver.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123710872

 

[NegatiZE]

I'm glad somebody found this useful.

 

[Prodigy]

This will definitely save time whenever I get around to pulling my 2.0L out.
I have a feeling that the dash wiring will be the only PITA part of the swap.

How long did it take you to complete the swap?

 

[NegatiZE]

As long as you have all the wiring from both cars, it shouldn't take more than 2-3 days. Yeah, the wiring is that much of a pain in the ass -- have fun pulling the dash, A/C cooling unit, blower motor. The main dash harness runs behind them, clipped to the firewall.

 

[Markos]

I am replacing my ZL-DE engine with a ZL-VE unit with SVT, but I haven't got the harnesses for it yet. I know the VE needs a different harness to run the SVT and chip, so I definitely need the Main dash and Engine harnesses, and possibly the Front engine bay harness too, but I'm not sure if I need to change the roof or the Secondary dash harnesses. NegaTIZE, do you have any ideas what I could be in for swapping to a ZL-VE?

Markos

 

[NegatiZE]

I'm not sure about overseas models, so you're best way of knowing is to acquire a parts catalog for the year of your car, and the year the engine that's going to into your car came out of.

I know some other people on here have access to that information, so best of luck!

 

[Markos]

The ZL-DE is almost exactly the same as the ZM-DE, slightly different stroke and that's about it. The ZL-VE has a different head which houses the SVT, I think you can bolt it straight into a ZM-DE but it needs different harnesses and ECU. I'm weighing up a complete engine swap to the ZL-VE, or just flip the SVT head on my current block, rewire everything and go. The ZL-VE has different pistons and rods too I think.

It'd be like either swapping the head or the entire engine on a ZM plus rewiring at least three of those harnesses and the ECU. I think the ZL Protege's were early so the VTAC and roof harnesses could be the same. Digging up info on it as we speak

Markos

 

[Blackmazda99]

How did that engine swap go markos?