You'd be better off getting an s10 motor.

But the cavalier motor will work.

 

Cavalier engines sell for a fraction of the price of what an S-10 engine sells for.
I put a 98 Cavalier engine into my 99 S-10. Others may chime in with better information but I think 97 and older are different from 98 and newer. If that is correct then 97 into 97 may just work.
You must strip both engines down to the block and head, transfer all external truck parts onto the car block and head. Dont forget the front timing cover and oil pump pickup tube, I mention those two items because the difference is not as obvious as everything else.
Before you start, make sure both engines have the cam sensor, crank sensor and EGR in exactly the same place.

 

And if anyone starts talking about camshaft nonsense, such as, the truck cam is not the same as a car cam, just ignore that ignorant babble. My Cavalier engine runs super smooth and has full power, if not more power than the S-10 engine.

 

Jdog, Yes it will work. 98 and up have a cam sensor, 97 and down do not. You will need to use the cav block and transfer everything from the truck motor on to the block. I find it easier to drop in just the block first w/ truck oil pan and truck timing cover and install eveything else after.

 

sorry, I am wrong. Pre 96 did not have a cam sensor. But the 96-97 head is different from the 98 and up heads.

 

The cav head will work too.

 

I have done it the other way around. All will work just fine. The only additional thing I will add to the above comments is to make sure you pull out the freeze plug at the front of the cylinder head as the coolant path is different in the truck.
-freeze plug
-intake manifold
-oil pan and pickup tube are slightly different
you may want to pull a main and rod bearing cap at the front (farthest from the oil pump) to see if the oil pump is still doing its job. I went ahead and put a new pump on even though the engine I got had only 90k miles on it. Some folks also like to use the earlier pump, pn M98, as it has more pressure.

dennis

 

MF, could you please explain the different freeze plugs on the head? I looked at both heads and they look the same to me. I know the Cavi has a different plug on the engine block with some sort of heater? on it. I've been having some cooling issues and I'm running a Cavi head on the S10 block. Wondering if this might have somthing to do w/ it. Thanks.

 

Hi Ed,

I looked through my phone to see if I had a picture of the head where the coolant comes out. Unfortunately I didn't see one.

the difference is that the Cav's hot coolant outlet is at the bell housing end of the head whereas the Truck's hot coolant outlet is at the accessory belt end of the engine. There is a freeze plug on the front end (accessory belt end), about 1.5" diameter. It is NOT used on the truck, but is MANDATORY on the Cav unless you want your coolant all over the ground. If it is not removed for the truck, there will be NO coolant flow, and the engine will probably overheat quickly.

dennis

 

That freeze plug thing must apply to 97 and older engines. The 98 and newer just gets the water outlet swapped.

 

http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/...erflight/Cavalier/?action=view&current=picsandvideosfromDroidX2Nov262011442.jpg

A picture of the cylinder head from a 95 Cav. Yes, it is getting a wild porting job courtesy of my Master Machinist brother-in-law.

Johnniespeed, you are probably correct.

If you look at the near end of the head, you will see a hole where the freeze plug is located on the Cav, or where the water outlet is on the truck.

dennis

 

I've actually done this on a '97. A '97 engine is a '97 engine only! doesn't matter if it's in a cavalier,sunfire,s10,Sonoma,hombre. The cam and crank sensors,ignition module,hall effects on the cam&crank itself are 1 year only.

A '97 has 3wire sensors and a '96 has 2.

as for the J body to S series goes,everything bolt on externally is different(except the valve cover)manifolds,oil pan,timing cover...the block,rotating assembly and head is the same BUT the head gasket is different and so is the oil sump.also the ground bolt hole on the drivers side front of the block is a larger size due to the Jbody using it as a mount bracket hole.

'97 cavalier engine I used

 

A '97 engine is a '97 engine only! doesn't matter if it's in a cavalier,sunfire,s10,Sonoma,hombre.
A '97 has 3wire sensors and a '96 has 2.

how to you tell a 96 apart from a 97 with the senor business or tell them apart in general

 

Yes, you can use a cavalier/FWD engine in a S10.
Has to be the same year range (like 96/97 and 98/99).
you have to replum the cooling lines and plug hole.

The other gotcha that no one seems to know about its
the head gasket. Its different on the RWD. The cooling paths
are different. Yea, it will work as is. But it MIGHT run hotter
than it should or cause other issues.

"The RWD engines used another head gasket (p/n 24575420) that restricted the flow of coolant in the front and limited the flow between the cylinders. This gasket directs the majority of the coolant up into the back of the head so it flows forward and cools the entire head before it exits through the front-mounted water outlet."



http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Item/2437/rebuilding_the_chevy_22l_engine.aspx

bob

 

That head gasket difference, is that for the 97 and older ? The 98 and newer doesnt have the freeze plug to remove,and had front outlet.
The 98 Cavalier engine in my 99 S-10 has no cooling system issues whatsoever,and it is using the 98 Cavalier headgasket.

 

^yeah,your fine. It's only a 94-97 thing with the head gasket/coolant flow.