Un-tuning a LE5 VX220 with ITBs

Hi,

Several years ago I swapped the Z22SE in my VX220 for a LE5 with Webcon throttle bodies. This happened to be about the same time my life got more complicated, and basically I've never had the time to get it 'right'. I have lost some faith in it having been trailered home a few times - so for the past 5 years I've been paying 3x normal insurance for a car that spends most of its time in the garage.

So I've decided to try and go back to normal(ish) - ditch the ITBs and VVT and go back to fly by wire and a standard ECU - which should at least start and idle much better, even if it's not as much fun.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I kept the original ECU and I think I have most of the wiring harness left, so it should just be a matter of swapping the engine with a Z22SE. However - I don't have the oil-water heat exchanger any more since I was using the one on the LE5 block.

Is it possible to run without one? I doubt I'll be thrashing it quite as much as I used to so I don't think it'll be stressed a huge amount.

Also, what'd you guys use as a source for engines? At the moment I'm thinking of just getting an engine from a reputable breaker on eBay - but are there any good folks that do reclaimed engines, or ones that have been slightly breathed on (balance shafts out, etc).

thanks!

You might be able to retrofit a Saab oil cooler to a z22se engine, which is probably identical to the LE5 and I have a few spare for that option.

or another option for you would be to simply fit a z22se cylinder head and an external trigger wheel for the factory ECU and keep it a 2.4

hmmm and heres me looking for a vvt head as my ecu can control the solenoids

The VVT system itself works well. I'd just been trying to tune it myself as I'd had a pretty bad experience at the last RR. You can get it making some really nice noises, but I'm still not sure how much extra power you can really get out of it - realistically I think it's more for emissions and lower end torque.

Does the Saab cooler look like this - and are they literally just bolt-on, or does it require some engineering to fit them?



It's really tempting to keep the old block. I guess there's even some possibility of keeping the VVT head (I originally had a system that just did VVT and left the engine control to the Webcon ECU - I could go back to that). All I'd need is the trigger wheel.

At the same time, I guess realistically I'm doing this so I can have a usable everyday car again with sensible insurance. As much as it pains me, I think I probably have to go back to a totally standard block

I might be able to get you a standard z22se very cheap £50 ish, might need some re-assembly, but otherwise it was running a few weeks ago. Probably end of Feb or early march.

I also have a brand new z22se inlet manifold, too good to bin, free to a good home.

I also have a vx220 oil cooler, probably got the hoses too, but don't have the oil filter adapter.

Thanks! The Saab oil cooler would be amazing - I guess without the adaptor the original one is a lot less useful. So you can just drill into the block and fit the Saab one? Doesn't something else need blocking off to 'divert' the oil around it?

Annoying about the engine though - it would have been great, but I'd finally managed to find a weekend when me and a mate hadn't been roped into things - and it's at the beginning of February.

I actually have my old inlet, complete with a plug for the EGR - I'm just kicking myself I kept that and sold the 2.4 inlet now!

Given the amount of money that's been poured into the car I'm not that fussed about spending a few hundred to get a known good engine though. Where do you get yours from?

Just because a big part part of me still really wants to keep the 2.4... are the Z22SE style trigger wheels available anywhere, or is there a DXF I could send off to a water jet place? I saw a group buy on the VX220 forum, but that was 4 years ago

pm sent

Thanks! Just saw this too if anyone's interested, where you explain how the Saab cooler fits: http://www.vx220.org.uk/forums/topic/96945-oil-flow-diagram/#entry1112725

another option is to do what Leevx220 did, he simply drilled and tapped a fitting to go into the oil filter, used the vx220 oil filter blanking thingy and a plastic oil filter lid.

Then use the vx220 oil cooler and hoses.