Engine swap

[sccaGTO]

I have a technical question relating to an engine swap possibility. I don't have a Vibe. I am looking for a second vehicle for DD duty & keep the miles off my GTO. I feel pretty comfortable with the options of a Vibe or a Cobalt. I know the Vibe will do the requested tasks better than any car. I am just not a fan of the Toyota engines. My question is this: Would it be possible to put a GM Ecotec 4-cylinder engine in a Vibe? I wouldn't mind swapping trannys so long as there is little adjustment required & NO fabrication of parts required. While we are on the topic of swapping major parts: Is there any way to get a manual tranny in an AWD Vibe? I know very little about these vehicles, so I figured this would be the best place to start.Thanks for any info.

[ColonelPanic]

You have the idea of a perfect Vibe. The idea has been kicked around here a time or two, but never really escaped the "that would be nice!" stage. I know me personally, I'd love dump the Toyota engine and transmission in exchange for a GM powertrain. I could really go for some power down low, more torque, and please, an automatic that's actually smooth shifting. I would imagine the task would be so complex that it might not be worth the effort unless you're very patient, very resourceful, etc. etc... I don't know how one would go about such a project, you'll have to adapt all of this GM hardware to mount onto a Toyota chassis... Everything is going to be so different. Not to say it can't be done, as some things in life can if you put enough time and money into it. I'd say if you want GM engineering, go for the Cobalt. Or if you need the versatility of a vehicle similar to the Vibe, perhaps an HHR? The Vibe isn't really a bad little car, but if you're not into the Toyota powertrain, I'd highly recommend avoiding it.

[joatmon]

With enough time and money you could put any engine/tranny in there, but I don't see where it would be worth it. The Vibe is a good car as is, regardless of what ColonelPanic says, but it is not sacred or so super special that it is worth buying one and putting in a different drive train. I bet there is a car on the market that comes closer to what you want as is, off the shelf. I certainly can't say for sure, because I haven't looked into what it would take, but I would expect that if you changed brands of engine/tranny, you would have to fabricate mounting adapters, and probably some custom axles to interface the GM tranny to the Toyota wheel hubs. There would need to be a lot of custom wiring to merge the Vibe's existing and the new engine's electronic engine controls and computers.The AWD part of the AWD vibe is only built into the AWD auto tranny. I do not think there is an AWD manual tranny availble as a direct bolt on, you would have to make one.Really though, unless you have a lot of spare powertrains lying around, it will cost big. Buy a car that meets your needs and since you need it as a daily driver, get one where you won't immediately void the powertrain warranty. Maybe the Coalt. How about a Malibu Maxx? Subaru supposedly makes AWD wagons, they would cost less than a Vibe plus a new engine tranny for a VIbe, and it sounds like they would better meet your desires. But if you do get a Vibe and swap in a completely different powertrain, take lots of pics and post them so we can see how it goes.

[sccaGTO]

You know, I hadn't really thought too much about the Malibu Maxx. I had glanced at it thinking it was a good concept. I think most of that also came down to a manual tranny. Maxx doesn't offer one, Vibe does. Looks like I might be considering a base Vibe. Not like that's a bad thing.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by sccaGTO » Looks like I might be considering a base Vibe. Not like that's a bad thing.That's what I have and I really like it. I don't have a preference for any particular brand of powertrain, I got this one because of the mpg rating and the space/comfort of the interior. So, I would recommend a base Vibe with the 5 speed, but [disclaimer] if you buy one and then it turns out to not meet your needs/desires, it's not my fault be sure to give it a good shakeout on a test drive before you commit.

[satur9]

was it blaqjaq or somebody in canada had a shop thatwas going to do an ecotec swap on his vibe. mabey a search will turn up the post. btw i think you should put that in your sig panic. thats too funny.

[ColonelPanic]

Ok. I will. Things are pretty good, I guess. Gotta say I'm still glad I bought this car.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon » Wanna trade? Nope, no can do - I wouldn't trade this for anything.

[Toolman]

There are a lot of us GTO/Vibe guys. Are you on the GTOforum.com?

[sccaGTO]

For some reason, the admins have me locked out. No biggie. I didn't frequent that site too much. I live on http://www.LS1GTO.com. We have a ton of comedians there.

[Toolman]

That is were I got the info on how to do the bluetooth install for the GTO, I am going to be doing this for the Vibe and will post a thread on it soon.

[sccaGTO]

Waht is your screen name there?