F#&K! Blew my FORTH ENGINE!

Well all was good until last night, keeping in mind I have a 97 Z24, 176,000KMS, and this was my 4th motor in it. Come home last night and heard something strange, guess what the same noise every other engine made before she blew, that damn rod bearing is gone. What do I do. Is there anything I can do to fix this, I am seriously thinking of selling this and buying something other than a Chevy. 4 engines, I have had the car a year and a half. $1200 a piece. Any insight from anyone? The EcoTec swap is way too hard, and this is my daily driver around and to and from work....

buying something other then a chevy? even you KNOW the problem is with that specific engine and not all chevys in general,

Change your oil Change you oil Change your oil. At the very least make sure there's enough.

Yes I always do regular oil changes, and check the level occasionally, put lucas in it, put high octane gas in, and they all still blow

so thats 4800 bucks into motors that are all super old and now dead.
Maybe its the way you drive..
Get a cheap honda and drive it like a OLD HONDA, dont speed around and there you have a good daily driver that will last a while..

Buy a D series Honda and have fun...if it goes, get a new shortblock for $300 and spend 4 hours swapping it. The end

$1,200 a piece? R u fucking serious!!!!!. i bought a rolled over 03 for $1,165 delivered to RDFABS, for a straight over eco swap. Your getting jewed. Eco Motors are becoming a dime a dozen now.

Yea Cody, $1200 a piece. I need a 2.4, not an eco, I would love to do the swap though, but its just too much damn work that I don't know how to do. And I tend to screw things up. I found a guy who has 3 2.4s, $550 he wants for one, so I will take the one with the lowest KMs. ANd then it will cost me 400 or 500 to get it installed. Now, is it worth keep this engine? It runs, but you can hear the click coming from 3 blocks away, when I do need to go somewhere I go slow becuase the clicking goes higher as you gas it. The conclusion though, this sucks, i think after its fixed maybe Ill try and sell it for 5 g's, buy something thats stronger. Cavalier is my favourite car but it is letting me down too much, everything in the last 2 weeks has broken on it, I get MAJOR wind noise from the driver side door at high speed, when you dry turn your wheel left and right, you hear popping sounds, found a couple of wires hanging from the car dragging on the road, which were cut in half, a green and a white wire twisted together, just been a headache the last couple weeks then this happens. UGH, I need some enlightenment lol.

Why not take the one you have out now. Pull the crankshaft out and replace the main bearings?

well your not going to get 5000 for it, maybe 2000 if your lucky cuz you have wayyyy too many miles on it even if it does have a new engine the rest of the car has too many. and im sticking with my theory that you are just not maintainng it properly or racing it. no one else seems to have nearly as many problems as you.

I don't know how Cody, and I think it is the Rod Bearing #3 that goes in the engines each time. And Jstump, I do race all the time, and usually give it hell wherever I go....but it should be able to withstand it?, it is a "Z" series, Chevys performance line. I don't drive slow, I just love how you punch it down and you get that big kick that throws you back lol, it's a powerful motor, that just can't handle anything but daily driving. Chevy should have recalled and re made these motors so they dont blow so easy, none of my motors have lasted no more than 200,000 KMs. and Stump, 176,000KMs isnt a lot of miles on a car here in Canada. A lot of cars here sell with over 200+ on them. Cody, all the mechanics I go to and say can you fix this motor, they say it is a lot cheaper to get a different engine becase it is going to cost a lot to fix that problem. Anywho, I am off to do some things, hopefully I can come up with the money soon to fix this pile of junk. I still love it though, just dissappointed.

its a cavalier z24 not a corvette z06. now if the corvette was blowing engines there is something wrong, but it is a cavalier. sure its the "performance" line and yeah its a quick little car but it wasnt ment for racing everywhere. it can handle some rough driving cuz i too like to play around with it and floor it some times but im not going to race everywhere i go just because i can. most people got the z when it was being produced cuz it had all the nice accessories like power windows not to race it.

i feel silly because im 17 and i will admit i dont treat my car perfectly and will drive it rough just like most teenagers but even i know how to treat a car so it does not get ruined every 2 months.

Good point. I'm young as well, I'm 21, I like going fast, but after 4 engines I think I will keep it to a minimum, only racing the ricers that bash Cavaliers, there's a lot of Honda kids in this town that need a good spank, they think they are invincible, even a guy with a right ahnd drive civic here, he always tries to race me, that's one I HAVE to beat.

lol, that is realy the only time i race, i mean when they pull up next to you with the fart can they bought from auto zone and give you the look while they rev their POS you just have to laugh and whoop some ass when the light turns.

but around here if you have a modded car and its NOT a honda you just kinda give the nod of approval to the other guy showing that you like his car and thats the end of it, you drive off with each others respect. no need to race unless you set it up with the other guy.

I'm 21, but i don't like having to pay to fix them all the time. Which is why i own my Daily driver 03 Pt cruiser. I drive like a normal human being in that and keep it under 3k rpms. Gas is too expensive to just be flooring it all the time. When i get my J back together, i have to run premium fuel with the charger and 93 octane is 3.79 around here a gallon. I will still baby my J. I know you up in canada are paying something like 1.09 a liter. I know i am not made of money, soooo.... maybe adjust your driving habits. These were designed to be economy cars... I'm just shocked your transmission is still holding up.

Keep your RPMS under 5500 on the 2.4 and you can drive it pretty hard.. its when the RPMS get higher than 5500 it starts to blow rod bearings.

Oil pump cant keep up at those speeds.. or do the 2.3 oil pump swap.

you like going fast and own a stock 2.4 :)

anyway rather than buying another crap engine take yours out and have it rebuilt better and stronger.

I have a 1997 cav 2.4 and I've never blown an engine. I also have about 120,000 miles on it (what is that, about 190+ Km). I kow some of you guys on this board like to mod your cav's, race them, put all the rice wings on em and stuff. But eventually you will realize that you've been pushing that poor car past it's breaking point. If you're able to afford to fix it, fine, do whatever you want. If not, well, you just can't complain about it.

You'd think you would have gotten the idea while you were scraping the money up for your 2nd engine. No? Then during the third?

Maybe it's not the granny car's fault...

/end flame - sorry

But eventually you will realize that you've been pushing that poor car past it's breaking point.

Is it a bad thing that what you just said actually is my goal? GM Claims the ecotec can with hold up to 250 hp. I have every intentions in the world to run a 2.7" pulley on my charger with fuel mods to see how long i can beat on it before something blows up or goes through the block.

Then again, i have the funds to purposely blow up motors with every intentions to rebuild another from the bottom up. :naughty:

Is it a bad thing that what you just said actually is my goal? GM Claims the ecotec can with hold up to 250 hp. I have every intentions in the world to run a 2.7" pulley on my charger with fuel mods to see how long i can beat on it before something blows up or goes through the block.

Then again, i have the funds to purposely blow up motors with every intentions to rebuild another from the bottom up. :naughty:

So why not built it from the begening....

So why not built it from the begening....


I want to drive my car this summer, so i have 2 eco in the shop now. one with 40K miles to be put in this summer, and one with 60k being torn down and rebuilt.

Makes sense then

Yea, I just replaced the Transmission a month and a half ago, it's an automatic, and never knew you could burn out an automatic.....the fluid was black....but anyways, what is this 2.3 oil pump swap? I know that would be from 95 2.3.....is it plug and play? What is the gain? Or do they sell an aftermarket High Volume Oil Pump for the 2.4. ALSO Cody, I am getting an '01 2.4 in my 97 this time I believe, the guy I got a hold of, says the have been doing this swap with the 96-98 2.4s because the newer 2.4s are built a little better and should not blow as easy as my style 2.4. He said they have to use my intake and exhaust manifolds, and bolt a knock sensor to something because its a tad different on the newer models, will that be okay? What does a knock sensor do? These guys have been doing this for a while so I trust their work...also I may be able to get the motor bought paid for, installed and fluids for only $900, which is cheap.

2.3 oil pump swap is out of your league. It requires drilling the block. A knock sensor mounted on the engine block and is designed to detect the high-frequency vibrations caused by detonation. It can control fuel timing one way or another ( pulling or adding) if it is felt and makes the car run in the proper range.

At least your not going to have en EGR sensor anymore with the newer 2.4. You could also supercharge that bish now!

Cody. So it would be okay to mount the knock sensor somewhere on the block? And getting rid of EGR and all this wont throw the engine light? ALso another thought here, 3.4 3400 SFI V6, was looking at my buddies grand am last night, pretty much everything is the same in the engine bay for that, and the grand ams also come in 2.4L so that means if a 3.4 can go into a grand am that comes in the 2.4, it should be able to go into my cavalier, correct? Tranny looks the same, I will need the motor, computer, possibly engine mounts? Im going to look into that option this weekend too, that would be perrrty under the hood.

And also, I would not supercharge the newer 2.4, I wont put anything on the motor, imagine when it blows again, all the shit that would be on it, underdrive pulley, header, supercharger, etc. Also if I put that on, that would blow the engine faster, they blow quite easily themselve without forced induction lol.

if you are going to swap motors i would lean towards the eco. A lil "better" than the 3400

the only reason all of them blew was because they all had over 100,000 miles. and racing any kind of engine with that many miles should be highly cautioned against. that and you have no idea how much/little they were abuse by their previous owners. fix the car, return it to stock if possible and sell it. or get a better engine.....

Eco you gotta rip out everything, basically strip the car. 3400 you dont have to and the 3400 is 170HP stock, which isnt bad and has the beefy v6 sound :) I love the old school z24s with the V6's....they sound beautiful.

oh i forgot you where pre-00, If you where 00+ then it would be a ton easier

V6 is out of the picture. Gotta strip the car to swap that. Looks like another 2.4 is going in, hopefully this 2001 2.4 swap, and then hopefully it wont blow.

3 engines and 1200 a piece, 3600 bucks and a blown trans automatic at that. It's not the make of the car that is the problem. It's the fact that you are trying to race everything you see. I am not starting a bash contest I am just advising you that you would be better off if you got rid of your econobox with sports suspension and go get a car built for the beating you give it. I don't know what you spent on the car at first but it sounds like you have a little over 10K in a car that is worth 1500 bucks(before you get a new engine for it) But any way you can get a nice little used sports car for 10K. Your car may drive like it's on rails but it not made to accelerate like a Top Fuel Drag car. I say go back to the drawing board and invest your money in a real sports car.

I love my Cavalier. And reason being I bought the Z24 Cavalier is because it is supposed to be the "sport" edition of the Cavalier. It turns out the 2.2's are better built, I used ot have a 2.2 also, almost had 300,000KMs on it all original motor and tranny and I beat the hell out of it and nothing ever broke, and to this day, the people I sold the car to are still driving it. I'm happy with my Cavalier, but in a few years the car I am going to buy is a Cobalt SS Supercharged, after I pay my Credit Card off.

I love my Cavalier. And reason being I bought the Z24 Cavalier is because it is supposed to be the "sport" edition of the Cavalier. It turns out the 2.2's are better built, I used ot have a 2.2 also, almost had 300,000KMs on it all original motor and tranny and I beat the hell out of it and nothing ever broke, and to this day, the people I sold the car to are still driving it. I'm happy with my Cavalier, but in a few years the car I am going to buy is a Cobalt SS Supercharged, after I pay my Credit Card off.

I too love my little red cavalier, it is a 94 with the 2.2. and I have almost 200K miles on it. But it is just my little commuter. no options, 4 doors and it looks like hell, but hey it runs good and get great gas mileage. But as far as the SS cobalts I would like to see how that ecotech is holding up to the supercharger shoved on the side of it. Hope it will hold the head gasket on.

I too love my little red cavalier, it is a 94 with the 2.2. and I have almost 200K miles on it. But it is just my little commuter. no options, 4 doors and it looks like hell, but hey it runs good and get great gas mileage. But as far as the SS cobalts I would like to see how that ecotech is holding up to the supercharger shoved on the side of it. Hope it will hold the head gasket on.


biggest problem i have ever seen with the SS's is the MAF sensor. it is so low in the intake tube that if you drive it in the rain, hit even the SMALLEST puddle, a little water gets in there and fubars it all up. that and people riding the clutch and either setting codes that kill cruise control, or burn out the clutch.

if your going to get a boosted cobalt i would get the '08 ss turbocharged. makes more HP and i would say more bang for the buck. look at it this way...the ss supercharged makes like 205hp and the regular ss with the 2.4l makes about 185hp so your spending a few thousand more for the same car but with 20 more hp. the turbocharged on the other hand is making about 245hp and will be the same price as the old supercharged ones. and thats with conservitive boost also, you can probly tune that to get more hp.

im pretty sure those numbers are right but i was just pulling them off the top of my head, lol. correct me if im wrong.

Actually the factory turbocharged 2.0 ecotec engine puts out 260 hp. But I agree, go for that, My dad's Solstice GXP is insane. Can't wait to see in in the Cobalt.

i thought it was 260 but for some reason my head said that was wrong lol, that just makes my point even better.

Meh.... you turbo guys....

New replacement for the LSJ from Harrop / Eaton

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Although it is mechanically a bolt-on solution, recalibration of the ECU and any ancillary items will need to be addressed (upgraded fuel system/injectors etc).

Now for the really good news ...
We anticipate that the retail price will only be ~US$2250.

This will allow people to break through the 300hp barrier and the internals of this charger can withstand pulleys as small as 2"s!!! Whereas the M62 the smallest is a 2.6". Hello 350's on a built motor.

Food for thought --- 4 2.4s at $1200 each = $4800.... the downtime could well be worth better spent on the EcoTec swap --- much better engine IMHO.:banghead:

Or you could buy my 92 Z24 Convertible project... first $600 takes it.

anomaly.va@gmail.com

260,000Kms on mine and it still runs just fine, mind you I don't road race the thing all over either. Does not even use any oil.

i would suggest buy either a honda or a nissan.

Fuck Honda. I HATE Honda. I laugh at the ricers and their shitbox Jap-Scraps. I am a PROUD owner of a well built American Vehicle. I will never buy a Honda. Nissan, maybe, but I am sticking to my Cavalier.

Your attitude != your experiences

You might not personally like Hondas, but you can't deny they have reliability that your cav does not. I don't drive a honda - actually both of my cars are American - but I'm not stupid enough to bash Hondas just because I think my union-built pridemobile is tough shit. For that matter, most European cars make American and Japanese cars both look pretty bad. You need some more experience driving other cars before you bash them based on what country they are manufactured in.

Besides, some of the most prominate people on this board try really hard to make their American cars look riced up. That's just the way I see it.

riced out cavi's.......:grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes: :evillol: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: i knew a guy who had a litle sticker made for his fuel filler door that said "rice only".

The eco tech was put in about 2001.Watch out when removing the hidden bellhousing bolts for the eco tech,there are 2 of the instead of one.I have done one so far and is much easier than the quad 4 in a 2002 Grand Am.

The eco tec was put in about 2001.Watch out when removing the hidden bellhousing bolts for the eco tech,there are 2 of the instead of one.I have done one so far and is much easier than the quad 4 in a 2002 Grand Am.

The one thats under the thermostat housing and requires like a 3 foot extension to get to while the motor is still attached and the exhaust manifold? I've taken apart 3 ecotec's now and so far i like how light the f23 transmission is compared to the 4t40e. I can lift the manual and move it on my own into my car unlike the auto which i needed a helping hand.

...and the whole rice topic. Its not your car, its his. I have a 4 door, does that make my car rice to you too?

if you want to kill some rice, get a mid 70's c-10 pickup and drop a 383 stroker in it. make sure it looks like a junker and you have quiet mufflers. they wont even see it coming. its just that much bigger of a slap in the face to them if they loose to an old pickup. funny thing is though that those old half ton regular cab pickups are actually lighter than the new stang!!

I agree with the first post oil oil oil the 2.4L pick up screen is a 2 to 2.5 pick up screen on the bottom of balance shaft assembly and it does not set near the bottom of the oil pan. like most that I have seen that use a pick up tube near to the bottom of oil pan . if you in fact let the oil get low and your driving like a bat outa hell then you run the risk off losing oil pressure to motor during hard turns. also speedin around causes more oil comsumtion so we all should keep a Close eye to the dip stick. if possible, maybe run the oil a little over full. imo also go synthetic beter friction reduction

This post is to eat CROW because I took the oil pan off my 2.4 L motor being the 97 model and the oil pump and the pick-up screen for this vehicle are within a 1/2 inch of the bottom of the oil pan!

Also when looking at the relationship of the oil dip stick if you got a reading at all on the dip stick you would still have plenty of oil to pump through the motor . although I would not recommend this.

the reason for removing the oil pan was to reset the balance shaft timing with the rest of the motor. I found that the Haynes manual correctly states the correct proceedure for balance shaft timing pg 2B-13 for future reference set motor at 90* past or clockwise of TDC then set balance shaft with timing marks linned up . The balance shaft end opposite of oil pump has the shafts sticking out to see a concaved section of shafts which should be lined up parallel to the ground . the meat or the part that sticks out the furtherest will be up towards motor and the indented part will be towards ground. this set up will create a parrallel line towards the ground. Hold harmonic balancer with breaker bar and set balance shaft with hand holding in place then tighten down shafts . It would be good to have help with this . sorry about off topic, needed to fix this!
As my sig says : if I could have done it right the first time :grinyes:

pull that 2.4l junk out of there and put a 2.2l in thereits not a ez swap but there a lot of mods out there

going to pick it up today!!! its fixed :D 2001 motor in it..........better then the 97 motors...

Anyone in for making a pool for when this one blows?

I've got 8.75 mos..


j/k buddy...

I'll give him a solid year if he promises to check his oil regularly :nono:

Lol many people I know around here suggested making a pool too lol...my friends and such lol..............she aint gonna blow :)

well man, ive owned and still own a 1992 Cavalier z24, 1996 Cavalier, 1996 Sunfire, 1997 Cavalier z24, 1998 cavalier z24 conv, 2002 cavalier z24 and NEVER had any problems. but i have looked into and found out the best thing to do if u want the powe is to get the 3.4 outta a grand am, get it rebuilt and put into the cavy. it will give you the power you want without the worry.

i have found out without the proper oil in it, if u redline the car constintly, which u will do since the engine aint that powerful, it cuses alot of strain on the parts. best bet, just get the 3.4

i live in michigan and got a 3.4 outta a 1996 grand am, payed 650 for the whole car with a working engine. got the engine rebuilt with it dipped in chrome and installed for 1300. one other place woulda rebuilt it and installed it for 2200 with a 2yr 100,000mile warranty. they actually sell alot of engines on Ebay

www.engine-doctor.com