Astron engine conversion into galant/lancer
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:02 pm
Hi so your looking at re-powering your stock Galant or Lancer?
The most common and talked about conversion for early Galants and Lancers are fitting a 2.0 or 2.6 Astron engine.
Finding a engine:
Astron engines come in a few different capacities, the most popular being the 2.6 Astron or 4g54.there are also the 2.0 4g52 and the 1850 Astron.
These engines are usually found in most Sigmas except very early GE's, some Mitsubishi Tritions, L200's, fwd Magna's from TN-TS.
when selecting a engine you must find out weather its a wide block or narrow block engine.This refers to the bolt pattern on the back of the engine block itself.
When fitting a wide block motor it will be a tight fit in a Galant or Lancer if its has a manual floor pan, but is still very do-able.
When fitting to a automatic floorpan there is much more room around the transmission.
If you can plan on fitting a wide block to a Lancer or Galant it will usually have a long extension housing 5sp behind it, the rear gearbox crossmember does not have to be modified, but just moved back on the tapped holes in the chassis rails and a mackay gearbox mount fitted (for part number refer to 5sp conversion thread), however the tailshaft does need to be shortened slightly.
having said this you can see why the narrow block engines are more suitable to swap in as the tailshaft does not need modifying.
Engine and gearbox mounts
Engine mounts
When fitting a Astron to a Galant or Lancer there is no modification needed to the engine cross-member or firewall. Its really a BOLT IN engine.
With early model Galants/Lancer such as GA-GB/LA-LB it is recommended that Sigma engine mounts are used as the engine sits lower that with the stock Saturn mounts. and in these early models the oil cap hits on the bonnet frame with the Saturn mounts.
Gearbox mount
For a Galant or Lancer with a manual box behind a Astron engine the actual gearbox rubber mount itself must be changed. the mount is available off the shelf and bolts in. The cross-member must also be moved back on the tapped holes in the chassis rails which are already provided.(not the trans tunnel gear shifter hold must be trimmed back slightly for the gear shifter)
Alternator
When a Astron engine is fitted the alternator is in a different spot on the engine compared to the original Galant engine. This means that the wiring must be extended from the driver side of the engine bay to the passengers.
Most alternators found on Astron engines have internal regulator, where as the Galant ones have a external reg usually mounted in the engine bay on the inner guard. Converting from external reg to internal has been covered on this site with some very good information.
follow this link to find more-insert link here-
Cooling system
Because the engine you have put in your vehicle is of a larger capacity than original you will need to upgrade the radiator.
The most common rad used is from a sigma. When fitting one of these to a Galant its a bolt in job with no mods needed except for different radiator hoses. this info can be found by this link -http://www.sigma-galant.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3513
Also the spacer between radiator and support panel must be removed to use Sigma fan- no mods required.
When fitting a Sigma radiator to a early Lancer there is a few more complicated modifications required.
These are:
Castor bar supports must be notched out to allow radiator to sit lower for bonnet clearance.
Radiator support panel holes don't line up and more holes should be drilled.
Bottom radiator outlet points straight at sway bar and needs to be replaced with a 90' bend.
Top radiator outlet points at distributor and also requires 90' bend facing passengers side guard.
Standard sigma mechanical fan will not fit between engine and radiator, I've used a standard Galant 1600 fan between rad and engine and twin 10' thermos on the front side.
These pics can be found here-insert link here-
Please note that there are some over heating issues involved with Astron engines in LA/LB lancers, especially with modified engines and forced induction.
Exhaust
Standard cast iron exhaust manifolds used with Astrons come in a few different variations over different years. some have a single outlet and most have twin pipe outlets.
IF you are to use the standard exhaust manifold with you Lancer or Galant, the exhaust engine pipe must be modified to clear/fit around the steering box.
However most people seem to use extractors when fitting these engines, where standard Sigma extractors have to used but modified also to fit around the steering box.
Some model scorpion engine pipes may fit but are different from model to model, so its recomended to use custom extractors which can be purchased from herehttp://www.sigma-galant.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2388
Ignition system
The standard saturn engines run points ignition, most astrons have electronic ignition, there are several different styles. the easiest for this conversion is to use a distributor from a late model GN sigma as it incorperates the ignition module on the distributor itself.
Please feel free to add criticism or things ive missed so we can give fellow member the best info on this conversion. Will try and get it links etc and photos asap
The most common and talked about conversion for early Galants and Lancers are fitting a 2.0 or 2.6 Astron engine.
Finding a engine:
Astron engines come in a few different capacities, the most popular being the 2.6 Astron or 4g54.there are also the 2.0 4g52 and the 1850 Astron.
These engines are usually found in most Sigmas except very early GE's, some Mitsubishi Tritions, L200's, fwd Magna's from TN-TS.
when selecting a engine you must find out weather its a wide block or narrow block engine.This refers to the bolt pattern on the back of the engine block itself.
When fitting a wide block motor it will be a tight fit in a Galant or Lancer if its has a manual floor pan, but is still very do-able.
When fitting to a automatic floorpan there is much more room around the transmission.
If you can plan on fitting a wide block to a Lancer or Galant it will usually have a long extension housing 5sp behind it, the rear gearbox crossmember does not have to be modified, but just moved back on the tapped holes in the chassis rails and a mackay gearbox mount fitted (for part number refer to 5sp conversion thread), however the tailshaft does need to be shortened slightly.
having said this you can see why the narrow block engines are more suitable to swap in as the tailshaft does not need modifying.
Engine and gearbox mounts
Engine mounts
When fitting a Astron to a Galant or Lancer there is no modification needed to the engine cross-member or firewall. Its really a BOLT IN engine.
With early model Galants/Lancer such as GA-GB/LA-LB it is recommended that Sigma engine mounts are used as the engine sits lower that with the stock Saturn mounts. and in these early models the oil cap hits on the bonnet frame with the Saturn mounts.
Gearbox mount
For a Galant or Lancer with a manual box behind a Astron engine the actual gearbox rubber mount itself must be changed. the mount is available off the shelf and bolts in. The cross-member must also be moved back on the tapped holes in the chassis rails which are already provided.(not the trans tunnel gear shifter hold must be trimmed back slightly for the gear shifter)
Alternator
When a Astron engine is fitted the alternator is in a different spot on the engine compared to the original Galant engine. This means that the wiring must be extended from the driver side of the engine bay to the passengers.
Most alternators found on Astron engines have internal regulator, where as the Galant ones have a external reg usually mounted in the engine bay on the inner guard. Converting from external reg to internal has been covered on this site with some very good information.
follow this link to find more-insert link here-
Cooling system
Because the engine you have put in your vehicle is of a larger capacity than original you will need to upgrade the radiator.
The most common rad used is from a sigma. When fitting one of these to a Galant its a bolt in job with no mods needed except for different radiator hoses. this info can be found by this link -http://www.sigma-galant.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3513
Also the spacer between radiator and support panel must be removed to use Sigma fan- no mods required.
When fitting a Sigma radiator to a early Lancer there is a few more complicated modifications required.
These are:
Castor bar supports must be notched out to allow radiator to sit lower for bonnet clearance.
Radiator support panel holes don't line up and more holes should be drilled.
Bottom radiator outlet points straight at sway bar and needs to be replaced with a 90' bend.
Top radiator outlet points at distributor and also requires 90' bend facing passengers side guard.
Standard sigma mechanical fan will not fit between engine and radiator, I've used a standard Galant 1600 fan between rad and engine and twin 10' thermos on the front side.
These pics can be found here-insert link here-
Please note that there are some over heating issues involved with Astron engines in LA/LB lancers, especially with modified engines and forced induction.
Exhaust
Standard cast iron exhaust manifolds used with Astrons come in a few different variations over different years. some have a single outlet and most have twin pipe outlets.
IF you are to use the standard exhaust manifold with you Lancer or Galant, the exhaust engine pipe must be modified to clear/fit around the steering box.
However most people seem to use extractors when fitting these engines, where standard Sigma extractors have to used but modified also to fit around the steering box.
Some model scorpion engine pipes may fit but are different from model to model, so its recomended to use custom extractors which can be purchased from herehttp://www.sigma-galant.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2388
Ignition system
The standard saturn engines run points ignition, most astrons have electronic ignition, there are several different styles. the easiest for this conversion is to use a distributor from a late model GN sigma as it incorperates the ignition module on the distributor itself.
Please feel free to add criticism or things ive missed so we can give fellow member the best info on this conversion. Will try and get it links etc and photos asap