DodgeIntrepid.Net Forums banner

2.7 to 3.5 swap

7K views 49 replies 12 participants last post by  lukas james 
#1 ·
My G2 has been in stored in the garage with a thrown rod for over 5 years. The body is in excellent shape and only has 80k on it. I've been trying for years to find any size junkyard engine for it, with no luck. I've decided to go ahead and purchase a remanufactured 3.5L and just get it over with. I'm going to do it myself since I have neither the additional funds nor the confidence in any local shop to do it for me. Before I hit the yards for the additional parts, I would like to buy that swap manual, but I can't find the link anymore.

1. Anyone have the link to purchase the manual?
2. Any recommendations as far as online companies to purchase the rebuilt motor from?
There are plenty of places here that offer them, but I really don't trust these guys anymore.
 
#2 ·
Get in touch with Daytrepper. Dan is the author of the "manual" and still has them available I believe.

Be aware that Chrysler has discontinued some parts and they aren't available new at all.

Getting a replacement 2.7L rebuild is n o problem. But when doing a 2.7 to a 3.2/3.5 swap then the discontinued parts become a big issue.

Again...contact Dan and he'll let you know what you're looking at for a swap and what you need.
 
#3 ·
Thanks. I should be ok on the other parts. The yards here have everything except working engines.
Those they pull themselves and sell as salvage engine at reman engine prices.
I just want to be able to grab everything in one outing and I don't want to forget anything.
 
#4 ·
Based on a recommendation from a family member, I contacted "THE" local rebuilt motor shop for a quote. They wanted $3000 for a short block with a 1 year warranty. Not gonna happen.
In absence of decent pricing locally on a rebuilt motor, I'm looking at 2 options. Pick up a motor from the yard and just drop that in or order a rebuilt from an online retailer. I really don't have the free time to do my own rebuild. Unfortunately, I have no experience with any of these online companies nor does any one else I know. And I would prefer not to drop in anything that doesn't come with a 6 or 12 month warranty.
 
#8 ·
The swap itself is fairly easy. I may have some pictures in my build thread from when I did mine, I can't remember now if I ever put any swap pics in.

As Ronbo mentioned, get a hold of Daytrepper for the manual, I purchased mine thru him and I think it is only available in PDF format now.
 
#9 ·
where are you located? if in western Ohio or Michigan i might know where there is a used motor or 2.

just a thought. >>you might look for wrecked unit that might be low miles and still runnable (so you know the engine is good) you could swap things out. would give you all the extra parts, and a few other things you need then scrap/part the car out afterwards (if you want)

That's pretty much what i did with my 300m. mine donor happened to be a wrecked 03 Intrepid Police with a Jasper rebuilt Engine and a rebuilt transmission. Swapped the whole cradle out. in some respects it was much easier that way but you'll need a way to pick the car up off the cradle. Biggest issue with mine was swapping extra stuff between the 03 and my 2000. not hard just extra work.

> of course at 80000 miles your transmission is probably good and then the cradle swap isn't quite as advantageous.

make sure you do the inner tie rod ends while the engine is out.
 
#11 ·
I'm in SE Michigan. I found a motor and trans cheap in Central Ohio, but I had to pass on it because the owner needed me to pull it myself. Like you said, there should be plenty of life left on my tranny anyway, though. I can get a 3.5L motor delivered to my door for about $1000, but up until I get the 2.7 out I'm still looking out for a better deal.
If you do know of anything available in Mich or Ohio, I'm all ears.

I've got to do the tie rods, front brakes, the big 3 and a couple of other things once the motor is out. I had to push it into the garage during the last snowstorm and I scratched the bumpers all to hell with the front of my truck. So I'm going to have to repaint those pieces and I'm thinking about adding the police push bar and trailer hitch receiver.
 
#12 ·
I'm pretty much done with the top side for now and moving on to the steps underneath with the starter and engine to trans bolts. Unfortunately, I didn't raise the car high enough for my liking. I'll have to go up a few more inches on the jackstands for my comfort. I"ll get back to it tomorrow morning, I guess.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Got the motor out over the weekend and the 3.5 is scheduled for delivery tomorrow.
I'm about to modify the pass side downpipe, but I'm having a bit of trouble getting it out.
Should I be disconnecting it A.) at the resonator or B.) at that point about halfway down the downpipe?
I've unbolted the band clamp at the resonator but it won't really budge. That midway point however is awfully loose by comparison. Is it going to matter one way or the other? Is one of these points going to be more difficult than the other in terms of putting it back together?

***I know the clamp is welded on. I'm not trying to remove it, just twist it loose.***
 
#17 ·
Even though I think the FSM says the V-band clamp is spot welded on, I believe I have read posts by others saying they are not, and I know from when I did my 2.7 and 3.2 swap, they weren't welded on. Like Harvey said, you have to pry them a little. They're tightly wedged onto a V and have been there for many years. :)
 
#18 ·
I got it out a few hours ago. The band clamp appears to be welded on the resonator side (or maybe its just stuck on there really, really good). It took a lot of Mapp gas and a 4lb sledge, but I pounded the downpipe out without damaging it. I'll put up some pics in a bit, because now I possibly have another dilemma.
 
#21 ·
Got it out and stored it under my workbench on the rolling cart.
[/URL][/IMG]


The passenger side downpipe that played with my emotions for 2-3 days I marked off very carefully and took to the exhaust shop that was literally down the block.
After explaining to 3 different people what I wanted done and why (they just stared at me with the dumbest looks on their faces) they finally call out from the back the guy who does all the actual welding. Before I could even get the words out, he takes one look at the pipe and asks "Sebring? Or Intrepid?"
"Intrepid", I said.
He nods his head and says "Going from a 2-7 to a 3-5? Ya need two and a half inches cut out, right?" And he took the downpipe right out of my hand and headed to the back of the shop.
I was amazed. Clearly, he was familiar with the procedure so my tension level dropped way down. I left, grabbed a sandwich and came back about 20 minutes later.
As soon as I pulled up, the guy working the counter comes out with my part and sets it in the back of the van for me.
[/URL][/IMG]
[/URL][/IMG]

Needless to say, I was a little disappointed.
I wasn't expecting it to look perfect, but truthfully I could have done a better job on my own and I literally do all my own welding with car batteries. The only reason I brought it down to the shop was because I assumed their results would have looked more professional. For the 20 bucks they charged me, I would rather have just pulled a downpipe at the yard.
I considered cleaning it up a bit with the angle grinder, but as long as the seam holds it's not like I'm going to be able to see it once it's all put back together.
[/URL][/IMG]

If I spot one at the yard, I will pull it out.
 
#24 ·
...After explaining to 3 different people what I wanted done and why (they just stared at me with the dumbest looks on their faces) they finally call out from the back the guy who does all the actual welding. Before I could even get the words out, he takes one look at the pipe and asks "Sebring? Or Intrepid?"...
You were probably as shocked as I was when I once carried the jug off a 1942 Gravely lawnmower engine into a Harley Davidson shop in Richmond, VA to see if they could bore it out, and before I could set it on the counter, the 275 pound biker in leathers and chains behind the counter said "Oh - a Gravely cylinder!".

He nods his head and says "Going from a 2-7 to a 3-5? Ya need two and a half inches cut out, right?"...
He musta read Dan's book. What are the chances of both of them coming up with exactly the same number?
 
#22 ·
Ok, so the 3.5 got delivered on Thursday morning.
[/URL][/IMG]
After moving half the garage around in order to get it inside, I spotted something odd out of the corner of my eye.
[/URL][/IMG]
It was tucked underneath a connector so I didn't see it before, but I followed it all the way to the back of the block and lo and behold....it's a block heater cord.
[/URL][/IMG]
God bless the Canadians. That should come in handy next winter.
 
#25 ·
Hit the yard this morning for a power steering pump and reservoir, throttle cable and airbox. I finally found a power steering pump a half mile into the yard in decent shape with enough of the radiator assembly removed to make it a quick pull. I removed it and turned it upside down to drain the old fluid while I removed the airbox assembly. So i gather up my parts and my toolbox on wheels and trudge a half mile back to the building to cash out. Not until I get there do I realize that the power steering pump is still upside down a half mile away. I had to walk all the way back to go get it.

Before I drove off I put all the parts into a hefty bag because I drove the new Town & Country to the yard and I didn't want any grime on my interior. On the way home I stopped at the dealership to order the flex plate to torque converter bolts and bought a new set of belts from Autozone.
I get home and pull out my junkyard parts to clean them and it turns out that while my parts were banging around in the bag, the upper connector on the reservoir snapped clean off rendering it useless.

I get home and check my dropbox for packages and the v-band clamps were finally here.
Unfortunately, they sent the wrong ones and they're too big so I just ordered another set and requested a return on the others. So I'm a little disappointed because the clamps were the last thing I was waiting for before I lower the 3.5L into the car.
 
#26 ·
So the reorder on the band clamps won't be here for at least 3 days.
The EVIC I just purchased will probably show up around the same time.
The in-dash digital voltmeter isn't here yet either, and I might return it because matches the current dash, instead of the soon-to-be dash.
I still need to wetsand my headlights, but I keep forgetting to pick up sandpaper.
I think I'll use the next 3 days to hunt down those Charger rims to replace my beat-up mismatched ones.
 
#28 ·
I would highly suggest first taking a paint buffer with some buffing compound to the headlights to remove most of the oxidation. Then if needed, go back and wetsand with 1,000 and 1,500 grit. And follow it up with one of the turtlewax headlight restore kits that way you put a new protective coating on the clean lenses. I skipped the 1,500 grit and went straight to the kit and there were some very fine marks left behind.
 
#29 ·
Good to know. I'll take your advice. It's funny, though, one headlight looks almost brand new and is superclear with no hazing. The other one looks like its from a completely different car and has the appearance of frosted glass. Anyway, I figure now is the best time to do them since they're already removed for the swap.

****Dealer just called. Torque converter bolts are here!***
 
#30 ·
Attempted to drop the 3.5 in yesterday, but it started raining and the wind was pretty much blowing it sideways right into my face in the garage, so I gave up for the day.
Went to pick up the torque converter bolts from the dealership today. The guy goes into the back and comes out almost 5 minutes later with 4 loose bolts and drops them into my hand.
I'm taken by surprise because I didn't expect them to be loose like that and I didn't expect them to already have blue Locktite on them already. So I look a little closer and discover that the threads are scratched and they have dark greasy smudges on the top and bottom of the bolt head.
I'm telling the guy at the parts counter that these bolts aren't new.
I have my old bolts. I could have used those. I ordered new ones because it was recommended.
Doesn't make sense to pay $3.93 per bolt for used bolts.

This guy looks at me like I'm stupid, and tells me that they are new, he just took them out of the package, they come dirty like that all the time, they're scratched from banging against each other in the bag, yadayadayada.

I'm like, ok fine whatever. I'd like a refund. I'm not paying for scrap bolts. I'll go order them from another dealer.

He says he can't give me a refund because they were special order. I didn't feel like having the police called on me so I told him to re-order them. And I left.

And I bet when I go back it will be the same dirty scratched up bolts.
 
#32 ·
The way I saw it, those bolts appeared to have been removed from something.
They were filthy and barely any Locktite was visible on them.
If they had bothered to put fresh Locktite on the threads I wouldn't have even noticed anything.
I don't know to what degree those bolts were previously torqued or stressed and I wasn't going to bet my flywheel or torque converter on it.
If the only reason for using new bolts is the Locktite, why am I replacing them at all?
I have blue Locktite and 4 perfectly good used torque converter bolts in my toolbox.

The guy told me they were new, he just took them out of the bag.
He insisted on going into the back and retrieving the plastic bag.
The plastic bag bearing a label with my name on it.
If they're new bolts, special ordered for me, why are they out of the shipping bag?
He said they come in packs of six, but the label on the bag says my name and quantity of 4.

Luckily, there is no shortage of dealerships around here.
I went to Livonia Jeep this afternoon and bought 4 brand new bolts.
5 minutes to get there. 5 minutes to pay for and receive 4 brand new in stock bolts.
 
#33 ·
Ok, finally got the motor and trans lined up and bolted together.
This has got to be the most grueling part of the entire procedure.
I was that close to yanking out the tranny just so I could mate them outside of the car and put it back as one unit.
 
#35 ·
that was handy when i had to swap the flexplate/flywheel from the 2003 to the 2000 on mine having the cradle out on the garage floor. used engine hoist to float the transmission back, then swap then slide back in place. can get all around the engine transmission.

I will say i'm lucky to have a buddy with an full car hoist to pick the car up off the cradle then set the car back down on the new craddle (need 3 guys, 2 to line up the struts and 1 to run the hoist. should have a 4th to watch for pinching wires/hoses/ect) . i set them both on those cheapy furniture dollys so i could just wheel them around in and out .

good luck. you'll love the 3.2 when you have it all done. Don't know if i would go thru it all again but its been a good reasonable $$ swap for me. still can't get used to a car that the oil level is always exactly where is was when i changed it. kinda sold on the jasper rebuild.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top