Hello, new here and looking for some ideas or advice. My son picked up a 160,000 mile93 Eclipse against all advice and finally lost a rod bearing before grenading the whole thing, locked up solid. He got it for 2200, dumped in some BS things he can pull off, stereo, wheels/tires, etc. He wants to swap in a used engine, its a 2.0, I feel it will be near impossible to find a good used engine due to the age of the donor cars, miles, abuse many have seen. A rebuilt will push the investment even higher, with little chance of ever exceeding a value of $2000 for the car anyway, correct? Is there a good source of solid used engines for these? Cheap rebuilts? We're in NJ area, I'm expecting to junk this car but if there are good sources for engines maybe we can save it. He can pull off a motor swap himself. Thanks for any guidance. Jim.

 

Turbo or non-turbo?

 

Sorry, non turbo, limited funds as he must pay for it on his own. Thanks.

 

a non turbo shouldnt be too hard to come across, the biggest thing to watch is the 92.5+ engines have a 7 bolt flywheel, and 90-92.5 have a 6 bolt which is the better motor.
if you get a 7 bolt replacement engine check the endplay of the crank, and you should at least put a new thrust bearing in it.
try car-part.com to search for an engine in your area.
theyre going for a little over $500 around here for a non turbo.

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll give him the info but it looks like he may have to part it out or sell as a non runner. Anyone need parts in north NJ? Clean red car, PM me if so. Thanks again.

 

im in ohio, i wish i could buy the whole thing as is but thats a long haul on a trailer.

 

Speaking of new engines, I'm planning on replacing my engine, I have a 92 Talon 2.0 NT, and I plan on replacing the ECU. My question is, if it was you guys, would you put in another NT, or Turbo? I would rather have a turbo, I don't know how hard it would be to convert and what all I would need. Just looking for some input.

 

you might as well add a few more things to your list and go turbo, i have some extra turbo car odball parts if y need anything.

 

do you know anywhere there is a list of the upgrades I would need to make that work?

 

my advice is get it rebuilt. i personally did the same thing but i didnt sieze mine up but i did spin my bearings, crankshaft and i also had a loose rod
get it done at a good shop. i took mine to a backwater shop and now im really paying for it. a rebuild will probably cost you around 1000 to 1200 depending on where you get it done. (reminder to everyone this is from experence im no expert on cars and i dont claim to be). you could replace the engine with another engine of the same size and do a direct swap. either one will work out.