I saw a post where someone was putting a Chevy Engine in a 2.6. Can anyone give me a list of all compatible engines for the four cylinder. particularly mine....89 mitsu mon 2.6. I am thinking about putting a new 2.6 in, but the head issue...always busting...it just pisses me off..is the Chevy equivalent better or any other engine?

it's not that it is compatible. it is what the person made fit

most 2.6 engine swaps aren't simple swaps unless you're putting in the same engine.

there's the 2.6 Turbo swap (from starion conquest) that requires installing and wiring the mitsu ECU or aftermarket engine management system.

there's the 4.3L chevy v6 from an s-10 blazer. No simple task. In addition to adding the engine management system you also need to fab engine mounts, and chevy tranny and mounts.

there are other more complex swaps in addition to these two.

what's your skill level and tool accessibility?

What is your history with losing cylinder heads? Many have been able to replace the head and gotten good results with a bit of TLC. I run between 10 and 15 PSI of boost on a 2.6 and have not had any head problems for more than 10 years.

It can be done..

frankly there is no head problem if your cooling system is good and you actually followed factory instructions in installing a had. 22 year old brass radiators dont tend to work very good these days.

I have lsot a hg or head in 9 years. And thats all turbo engines. I have blown out a ringland on a cheap set of pistons though. g54b is a great engine if you keep up on it, and will last a long long time.

As to the Chevy V6, if a 4.3 fits, then likely the 4.0 would too and given a choice, go with the 4.0! The 4.3 is cursed from top to bottom.

A 2.4l swap gets you fuel injection and a bit more overall power. It'll bolt right up to a KM-148 auto, too. Don't know about compatability with a KM-145 manual, though.

For my '86, being that it's a narrow block 2.6 with the 3-speed auto, I'd have to find a 2.0l. Instead I'm leaning toward a 2.4 and swapping in a KM-148 with its transfer case and the appropriate drive shafts.

Naturally, I'll have to add an electric fuel pump as well.

I'm only going to go ahead with this swap because the parts are available and it's pretty straightforward. The turbo 2.6 is the ultimate...again...just make sure your radiator is in top shape, get a factory fan clutch, good water pump and if you're needing a new head, use the turbo head gasket and follow the instructions by FastEddy and others regarding tapping/chasing the head bolt holes, using new head bolts, etc. I'm partial to Clearwater non-jet-valve hydraulic heads myself, too.

John B.

One thing that gets overlooked is repairing engines that have had a severe overheat. This can happen on any engine but is worse on one with aluminum heads.

As the engine warms up, the head expands and the force on the head bolts increases. The hotter the engine, the greater the increase. Since aluminum expands more than iron, Aluminum head engines have a much larger increase.

On an overheat the force gets so high the the gasket takes a permanent set and or the head bolts stretch. The head bolt washers can also take a set into the head.

The worse case is the block also cracks through the deck. If it happens, it will be on the exhaust side of the engine. Two factors, one the higher forces and secondly the block is losing strength as it gets hot.

Once you have a crack in the block the fastener would still hold, but the forces on the gasket will not be even. Those motors will continue to lose gaskets, no t matter what you do until the block gets changes.

This is not a 2.6 only problem, it can happen to any engine.

The other problem is some engines get put together with out of true deck surfaces.

All head gaskets have a life span. They will only last so many heat cycles before they fail. The greater the operating temperature range and the greater the expansion difference between the head and the block the more the gasket gets stressed. As the head expands and contracts the gasket lest the head slide along the deck surface.

This will eventually fail the gasket. how long should the gasket last. Reasonable is it should make it to 150,000 miles. Overheating will make sure you dont make it. Also some casting will have residual stresses in them that relax over time. This causes the head to warp over time. The uneven clamping pressure will get fail the gasket. Those are the motors that lose a gasket at 60,000 even when the motor was never overheated.

It does happen, but its not all that common. In general, as others have pointed out, it not that hard to have put together a 2.6 that stays together.

In some ways they did get a bad rep based on problems, but the problems are not as bad as they have been made out to be.

Kevin

I wasaway from the 2.6 for 15+ plus years while doing the military thing, and i picked up this Raider that a kid had been driving 50+ plus miles each way to Jacksonville without overdrive, and have not had any problems with the engine itself. We used to race the G54B, running Weber DCOE on custom manifolds, lots oof compression and RPM's, never had problems. Like everyone has said, we always used new head bolts and Mitsubishi head gaskets, and the worked well. I like mine a lot, it is just underpowered with the 35's on it. I know when I did my 350 swap into my S-10, it was so much more fun to drive. this is a really great platform to build on, maybe a good think thru on rebuilding your 2.6 completely might not be a bad thing.

If you can get away from the air injection (jet) valve,
I've never had trouble.
First head lasted 175k and then ate a jet valve.
Second head (no valve) outlasted me- I went to a
v6 with all it's own issues...

t